By Captain Ken Rea
Orca
A beautiful but very hot day on the water with many cetaceans including ORCA, HUMPBACK, MINKE WHALES and HARBOR PORPOISE. We saw so much wildlife today that a book could almost be written.
Humpback
We started off with HARBOR SEALS and moved on to BALD EAGLES and then to see a HUMPBACK WHALE known as Tempest. He was alone and traveling southbound in a determined manner out of San Juan Channel and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There was a feeding MINKE WHALE and several HARBOR PORPOISES nearby.
Rhinoceros Auklet
Tufted Puffin
We moved on to view some beautiful TUFTED PUFFINS and RHINOCEROS AUKLETS. Along with nice views of Mount Baker and the surrounding mountains we call the Cascades.
On the second tour, we located the T37As up north. We worked our way there and enjoyed many wonderful displays of pleasure among the pod.
We just happened to be on the wrong side of the sun and saw some amazing sights. If we had been on the other side of the whales, we would have had so many nice pics.
As it was, I had some nice silhouette shots but not the sharp crystal-clear shots I hope for.
Ken Rea, owner and operator of the Spirit of Orca, is also the tour guide, photographer and naturalist on his Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours in the Salish Sea, San Juan Island, Washington.
Photos by Ken Rea
To learn more about Captain Ken, visit https://spiritoforca.com
