Waiting for Whales

We heard that there were whales coming up around sunset. We didn't get to see the whales, but I enjoyed having a chat with my other marine naturalist friends! More of the Whale Museum staff added to our group as evening drew close, but we never did see any whales.

No whales...

...but good company!

A seal!

We did see gulls

On a sadder note, Cindy told me that the bird didn't make it. Poor thing....

From American Camp to South Beach and Back Again

I decided that while I was still here on San Juan, that I would do some touristy sight-seeing stuff. I hopped on the shuttle and headed to American Camp. American Camp is called this because it is where the Americans camped during the Pig War (there is a British Camp on the other side of the island). The Pig War was basically the result tensions over land between the British and the Americans in 1859 which culminated in a shot pig (who was rooting around in someone else's garden) which then turned into a war which (finally) ended around 1872.

Luckily, there were no pigs here today--and also no fort. It has disappeared to the ravages of time. The landscape, though, is breathtaking.

The scenery was amazing, but I got a chance to use my new skills as a marine naturalist as I discovered...

that's right--a tide pool!

Barnacles ahoy!

Here's some chitons

Can you see the fish hiding in the seaweed?

An anemone

Snail buddies!

Can you see the fish again? It's using camouflage!

It wasn't just all tidepools, though I did spend quite some time attempting to get the perfect lens angle that didn't have the water reflecting me. 

American Camp has a trail that leads into South Beach, which is...a southern beach. It's grasslands and coast line and absolutely breath-taking. 

 

The bottom of a Lion's Mane Jellyfish caught in the waves. Poor thing.

All in all, it was a good day and I had fun exploring.

Marine Naturalist Training Wrap-up!

So to wrap up the training, we went on a chartered whale watch boat (and this is the first thing I went on once I arrived at the island). Oh man, oh man, oh man. We saw bald eagles, we saw seals and their pups, we saw porpoises, but we did not see a single whale. That's because the salmon's down this year and the equation is no salmon = no whales. But I did get some glorious pictures!

The first animal we spotted just as we left the harbor: a bald eagle!

Little did I know that that would be just the start of it!

Wild goats, I believe

Mom and baby hauling out

Look at the rack on this deer!

A place where seals come out of the water is called a haul out

Seals and an Oyster Catcher

Cormorants

Pigeon Guillemont (you can tell by the bright red feet)

Cormorant again

Bull kelp

Interesting rock formation

Mount Baker

Haul outs also happen on kelp

It's pupping season right now, so the mother seals are often with their pups

This Juvenile Bald Eagle flew right over our heads

And this Bald Eagle put on a show for us

At the conclusion of our boat ride, we had a party back at the Whale Museum with the most delicious cupcakes as well as a talk by Rosie of the Samish Nation about the unique relationship between the native peoples of this area and the Orcas.