By Captain Ken Rea
Wow! What a day with a breaching HUMPBACK WHALE and a squid-catching TUFTED PUFFIN.
We started out knowing there were ORCA spotted but they were on the Canadian side of the border and we are not permitted into Canada during these Covid restrictions.
We spent time throughout the day with MINKE WHALES and other marine life. MINKE are a difficult whale to ID, however, this particular one is definitely a one-of-a-kind and easy.
On the second tour, I made a run for the ORCA since they were crossing into US waters. I was about three-fourths of the way there when they changed course and headed north back into Canadian waters.
We altered plans and spent time with a HUMPBACK WHALE that breached a couple of times and showed his fluke a few times.
On the third tour, gale winds had started to pick up out west with the ORCA that had crossed into US waters again. But the weather would not allow us to get to them.
We spent time with a MINKE in San Juan channel and saw much more marine life within the islands. We started towards the TUFTED PUFFIN again, but the water was a bit rough and opted to stay within the islands to view other marine life like sea birds and STELLAR SEA LIONS.
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
