OnBoard Tours Whales

Columbian Black-Tailed deer graze right outside my window on an almost daily basis, so I couldn’t resist posting this photo!

As the Southern Resident Killer Whales seem to be traveling more out in the Pacific Ocean to find their primary food; Chinook salmon, we are thankful we saw them in Haro Strait, 4 trips out of the 6 NOAA sponsored Whale Museum Land Based Tours I conducted in July and August. San Juan County Park seemed to be the afternoon ‘Whale Watch Park’ this summer!

I am thankful for the increased awareness and everyone’s efforts to restore, preserve, and conserve salmon habitat; salmon are a keystone species here in the northwest. I also appreciate all the research trying to answer; what do these iconic, distinct, endangered orcas need to survive and not become extinct?

I was lucky to get the breach photos, when over 40 orcas from all 3 pods appeared to be resting in tight, slow-moving groups, then woke up and became very surface active! The most continuous, countless breaches by many of these whales, that I can ever remember seeing and hearing!!

Clean water and air, natural sustainable habitats, aquatic noise pollution reductions; the salmon, the orcas, we humans need this, all species do really- we are ocean dependant and connected…