Orca Whales South of Henry Island
On our way out to visit orcas today we stopped along Colville Island to watch about fifty harbor seals hauled out on the rocks. Moments later we realized that there was also a bald eagle picking at something on the rocky shoreline behind the seals. Next the eagle took flight and landed on the rocks just above the seals. Eventually we reached the orcas north of lime Kiln State Park, and it was obvious very quickly that we had a superpod including J, K, and L pods! J27, Blackberry, L12, Alexis, and L85, Mystery were the first three orcas we saw close-up as they swam right next to each other. Next we found J1, Ruffles, swimming out in front of the first three. The orcas were spread out in small groups. Near Henry Island the superpod seemed to group up, and we saw some breaching and spyhopping action. Then within the next fifteen minutes we saw multiple breaches and cartwheels by a variety of different orcas. As we neared the end of our time with the whales they seemed to group up in a sleeping pattern and we got some great views of many orcas surfacing close together, including several K-pod orcas like K21, Cappuccino, and K40, Raggedy. I was very excited to see my first superpod of the year, and passengers were in awe of the first superpod of their lives! Life is good! Naturalist Bart Rulon
