A Sunny Summer Day on San Juan Island with the Southern Resident Killer Whales

Imagery and Story by Sara Montour Lewis


The Southern Resident Killer Whales historically spent the majority of their summers in the Salish Sea, delighting summer tourists and residents alike with their frequent passes through the waters of Puget Sound. In recent years, though, with dwindling salmon populations and increased pollution and vessel activity on Puget Sound their population is at enormous risk and the Salish Sea as a whole isn’t providing for them in the way that it used to.

When we heard that J Pod and a few members of L Pod had been keeping a presence around San Juan Island we watched from afar until FOMO got the best of us and we decided to head to the island for the day to get our SRKW fill.

Our day started with a 3:30am wake up call to catch the earliest ferry out of Anacortes, where we watched a stunning sunset with great blue herons, purple martins and an (always) adorable belted kingfisher that were also starting their day. Once we hit Friday Harbor it was a nonstop scavenger hunt to track the whales and sneak in sightings from land where we could which led to a 23-hour day of pure SRKW bliss including sightings of so many adorable J Pod babies, the oldest living Southern Resident Killer Whale, a couple of fantastic breaches, and a sliver of encouragement that the Salish Sea just might be able to turn things around and provide for these whales in abundance once again.

Enjoy our journey below, and to learn more about the Southern Resident Killer Whales, including what you can do to help them thrive, jump over to our SRKW page.

A belted kingfisher and purple martin at the Anacortes ferry landing
Great Blue Heron at the Anacortes Ferry terminal
Endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales J Pod from landbank on San Juan Island

J Pod greeting us with a stunning first pass, grouped together close to shore

J Pod Southern Resident Killer Whales off of landbank on San Juan Island

J38/Cookie, J58/Crescent and J19/Shachi passing landbank on San Juan Island

Where to see orca whales in Washington State

J58/Crescent stealing hearts

How ship noise affects marine mammals
Whale watching guidelines for Puget Sound
Whale watching at Lime Kiln State Park
J Pod from Lime Kiln State Park
Southern Resident Killer Whales at Lime Kiln State Park on San Juan Island
Orcas breaching on the San Juan Islands
Best whale watching tour in the Salish Sea
Where to see Killer Whales in Puget Sound
Best whale watching tours near Seattle
Best whale watching tours from Friday Harbor
Where to go whale watching on Orcas Island
Be Whale Safe guidelines for boating near whales in Puget Sound

L22/Spirit

L Pod off South Beach on San Juan Island

L85/Mystery

The oldest living Southern Resident Killer Whale, L25, Ocean Sun

L25/Ocean Sun. L25 is the oldest living Southern Resident Killer Whale and the last remaining member of the L25s. She’s estimated to be born around 1928, making her potentially nearly 100 years old.

Orcas breaching in front of the Olympic Mountains in the San Juan Islands

L22/Spirit breaching in front of the Olympic Mountains 😍

 

Sara Montour Lewis

Sara is a photographer and is the founder of Our Wild Puget Sound. If she isn't busy working behind the camera you'll inevitably find her kayaking on the Sound, checking for chicken eggs in her backyard, or exploring the vast expanse of the Puget Sound Watershed tracking down the details for our next story.

Connect with her online: Website — Instagram — Twitter

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