Trip Report: San Juan Island, April 2012
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It's springtime in the Pacific Northwest and I was itching to head to American Camp National Historic Park on San Juan Island to photograph the new spring fox kits that my friend, Ian Phelps, had shot for last couple years. The weekend weather outlook was good so we hopped on the ferry and headed out for a couple days to see what we could find.
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The wide open rolling prairie in American Camp National Historic Park is a stark contrast to Washington's iconic evergreen carpeted mountains. Thousands of years ago, prairies were common in the Puget Sound area, but glaciers, Europeans, and rabbits changed that. As pretty as this area is, its not a truly healthy prairie ecosystem, due to the invasive plants and rabbits introduced by European settlers. Currently, the prairies of American Camp are in initial stages of restoration.
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Luckily, there is a predator that is perfectly suited to reduce the numbers of destructive rabbits: the red fox! The beautiful foxes are plentiful in the park and seem to be quite well fed. Unfortunately, these foxes don't just eat rabbits, they have become accustomed to getting food from humans and will approach cars without caution just to get a treat. Anyone visiting the park should NOT feed the foxes, no matter how cute they are.
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Lucky for us, just as we boarded the boat, our captain got word that there had been a sighting not too far from where we were. After a short ride, were found the pod of transient orcas cruising along the shoreline with tour boats in hot pursuit.
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These guys were really amazing to watch. The pod consisted of about five females, one baby, and a large male. Transient orcas aren't known to breach and show off the same way that resident Puget Sound orcas are known for, so we just watched them cruise along, coming up for air every few minutes.
Photographing orcas is MUCH more difficult than I thought it would be. As if shooting hand held from a boat that is constantly moving in every direction possible was hard enough, trying to guess where the pod would surface next made getting a good shot just about impossible. Even our experienced boat captain was having a hard time keeping up with the whales. All in all, it was an amazing encounter and a great learning experience.San JuanIslandWashingtonAmericanCampNationalHistoricParkfoxkitsorcaskillerwhaleraymaker
Our ferry back to Anacortes ended an amazing weekend of foxes, orcas, seals, and deer. This short outing felt like a "trip of a lifetime" and was pretty much right in my back yard. The Pacific Northwest is truly and amazing place.
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