Reports from the Field

Although we've been running sea kayaking tours out here since January, the boating season has officially arrived here in the Pacific Northwest. Opening Day celebrants had great weather yesterday as they enjoyed the boat parades down in Seattle.

May has finally arrived, and our summer sea kayaking season is in full swing! The days are getting longer, the air temperature is warming up, and the sunsets seem to linger on forever. Last night the sun set at 8:31pm. Our weather only gets better from here. The Pacific High (a massive semi-permanent high pressure system) is moving north and east across the Pacific Ocean, and the Aleutian Low (our winter storm factory) is receding to the west. The presence of that monstrous high pressure system limits the strength of approaching weather disturbances and creates warm, sunny days. The average precipitation for the Anacortes area is less than 2.5 inches in May.

Our spring wildflower dispay is winding down now, but the fresh smells of new plant growth still permeate the air. Great weather and favorable tides meant that we were able to circumnavigate both Burrows and Allan Islands on several kayaking trips this week. Allan Island's west shoreline is remarkably rugged with overhanging cliffs and shallow sea caves. Eagles roosted in the trees above us, and curious seals escorted us down the shoreline. It's amazing how bold these animals can be when they are in the water. When they are hauled out on the rocks we have to exercise great care to avoid disturbing them, but in the water they feel much more comfortable and actually follow us around. Once again it was a week filled with wonderful porpoise encounters, we are quite fortunate to have these little cetaceans around so often.

The sea lions that have been hanging around the northern San Juan Islands this winter appear to be working their way back out to the Pacific Ocean for the summer. We have been seeing one or two of them a day off of Burrows Island as they head south down Rosario Strait. Once they all leave we generally won't see them again until the summer is nearly over. The Stellar sea lions that we see here in our waters are almost always males. They appear to be either young males (not ready for the big guys out on the coast), or older individuals that may be past their prime. We've also been seeing a few of the smaller California sea lions foraging on the east side of Allan Island. California sea lions are distinguishable from the Stellars by their darker color, smaller size, and the sharp forehead of the males (called a sagittal crest). Although we don't see large numbers of these guys around the San Juans, they seem to be in the area all year.