Orcas T49A1 and T49A2 near Patos, Peregrine falcons and bald eaglet

June 22, 2021 – We had a fantastic sail all the way up to Sandy Point on Waldron Island and caught up with two orca brothers, T49A1 (born 2001) and T49A2 (born 2007) near the border in Boundary Pass. The orcas had been changing course zig zagging so we paralleled the border and got lucky to have a nice encounter after they crossed back into the US. Harbor porpoise were everywhere but luckily for them they weren’t on the menu for the orcas. Together we traveled to Patos Island with a stunning view of Mt Baker, Alden Point Lighthouse, and the honeycombed sandstone geology. On the east side of Patos the orcas began hunting in the shallows where a lone sea lion watched anxiously and a mound of harbor seals hauled out on a reef watched on high alert. It appeared they may have got one (or maybe more), because we got a whiff of watermelon which happens to be the aroma after a seal predation. Sounds strange, but it’s true. We left the orcas to check out another favorite island of ours, Sucia, where we were excited to find a bald eagle chick sitting high up in its nest. Another amazing sighting today was finding two Peregrine falcons on a cliff face at their nest – one appeared to be eating something. We returned via the north coast of Orcas Island enjoying the views of the steep forested coastline and spotting three more eagles’ nests. A fantastic day celebrating with our passengers on their 40th wedding anniversary.