San Juan Islands Sea Kayaking from Anacortes

Another well-timed sunny spell pulled people out of their homes for some weekend sea kayaking. We're running our Burrows Island trips pretty regularly now as the daytime temperatures get more comfortable for outdoor activities.

This weekend we noticed that many of the wintering sea birds have left for the summer breeding grounds up north. Our local pigeon guillemots are beginning to show off their fashionable new breeding plumage. They are all decked out in sporty black with bright white wing patches, bright red feet add a touch of racy color to the whole ensemble.

The madrone trees are just about to bloom as well. In a few days the green forested slopes of the island will be lit up with patches of beautiful creamy yellow blossoms. This is always an exciting time of the year as we watch the spring bloom unfold.

Speaking of blooms, we are getting reports from the Skagit Valley that the Daffodils are going crazy, the Tulips should not be to far behind. You don't want to miss this incredible show!

Sunday and Monday were drop dead gorgeous days to be sitting in a sea kayak and enjoying the San Juan Islands! Is anyone else out there taking advantage of these warm afternoons? We had a great trip on Sunday. Some really nice folks from Stanwood joined us for a kayak trip around Burrows Island. Our guide Mira led the trip, accompanied by Jeff and Rebecca Hoeben, two of the most recent additions to the Anacortes Kayak Tours family. You'll be seeing a lot of these guys on the water this summer.

On Monday we took a special trip out to Strawberry Island. This little gem of an island is often one of our stops on our circumnavigations of Cypress Island. Camping on Strawberry Island is one of the most amazing experiences you could ask for out of a San Juan Islands sea kayaking experience.
To call it a campground here would be a stretch. There are just three lovely sites on the entire island. From any of them you can relax and listen to the sounds of the water, seals slapping the surface, the sharp exhalations of porpoise, an eagle calling to it's mate.
We sat on the rocks at the south end of the island and ate our lunch while looking out across Rosario Strait to Blakely, Decatur, and the rest of the San Juans. Porpoise foraged for squid, herring, and other small baitfish which were disoriented in the currents. Seagulls, not known as a perching bird, have made an old dead snag into a lookout. Dozens of them stood on the branches, eyeing our lunches with a hopeful gaze (no such luck, any slim chance of a handout evaporated as one of their cohorts unloaded some unmentionables onto my kayak).

At 12:26 the Sun was officially at it's halfway point to it's zenith. The "vernal equinox" had been reached, Spring was finally here. Up with Spring!

Kayaking back to Anacortes later that afternoon was wonderfully uneventful. We relaxed as we paddled. With the muted calls of Rhinocerous Auklets all around, we watched the Sun sink slowly towards the horizon.

Yesterday was yet another nice day to be out sea kayaking. I don't want to get too hopeful, but it seems like some real spring weather is just around the corner. We are getting a sneak peak this weekend.

Although there have been a few sprinkles, the air temperature has been really pleasant.
We started yesterday's trip wearing pogies (a kind of mitt that we put over the paddle shaft to keep wind and water from chilling our hands). By the end of the trip it was actually too warm to wear them. With just a few layers on, we all felt a bit overdressed.

Sea kayaking during this time of the year is great, there are very few boats on the water and we feel as if we have the place all to ourselves. Because of the winter rains the moss covering the rocky shoreline is luxuriantly thick, red-flowering currants are blooming profusely, and the first leafy buds are erupting from the branches of willow trees. We now have seen the female Peregrine falcon in her nest, soon we'll enjoy watching her chick hopping around the eyrie.

We also noticed that the alcids (a family of birds which include Puffins) are strting to show up in their breeding plumage. The Pigeon Guillemots have lost the non-descript black and white plumage and are now sporting a jet black body with brilliant white spots on the wings, and bright red feet. If we are lucky, we can catch a glimpse of the insides of their mouths -also a bright red. Rhinocerous auklets are looking rather dapper as well. They have long nuptial feathers over their eyes and a horny protrusion on their bills that gives them their descriptive name. Most of our eagles are back, lazily roosting in trees as we paddle under them, or soaring high above us on the rising air columns.

This is a busy weekend for us! Lots of folks want to go sea kayaking. Give us a call, we'd love to show you around.

On Sunday the weather was warm. Spring-like warm actually. Saturday the breeze knocked a few degrees off of the ol' thermometer, but Sunday was calm and the water was still. Our group consisted of three lovely Swiss ladies, the husband that belonged to one of them, and a super nice married couple from Abbotsford B.C.

We kayaked our regular route around Burrows Island. It was a leisurely paddle as we inspected the remnant kelp that survived through another winter. Soon the new shoots will reach the surface, filling in the empty spaces between these worn out individuals.
Out by the lighthouse we paused to take some pictures of the former coast guard station, and enjoy our surroundings. The Olympic Mountains, Lopez, Blakely, Decatur, and Orcas Islands were basking in the sun. Cypress Island, with it's serpentine soils and unique plant communities invited future exploration. I am looking forward to May when we start our multi-day trips!

Luck was with us on the way back home. We sighted a pair of Bald eagles were mating in the tops of the trees! It looks like we'll hear the cries of a youngster later this year.

The weather has been great this weekend. Let's keep our fingers crossed for more of the same.

When the sun shines in March we'd better take advantage of it. The folks who joined us yesterday for some sea kayaking definitely did. We departed for Burrows Island under sunny skies and a cool north breeze. While crossing Burrows Bay we saw a good number of Red-necked grebes, Marbled murrelets, and Pelagic cormorants. The murrelets, paired up as always, are still in their stately black and white winter plumage. We drifted for a while as we observed them repeatedly diving after the small fish and crustaceans that make up their diet. Soon they will molt into the cryptic brown nesting plumage that makes tracking them to their forest nests so difficult.

Kayaking around the south side of the island we came across a Peregrine falcon roosting atop a cliff on a tree limb. It looks like they will be nesting there once again. We've enjoyed watching the whole process of chick rearing for several seasons now. A little later we had a close encounter with a pair of Black Oystercatchers. These noisy birds forage along the shore, looking for mussels, barnacles, and other shellfish to fill their bellies. One of our guests, Pierre-Luc from Montreal, had a National Geographic moment and came away with one of the best images I've ever seen of these interesting birds. Hopefully we'll get a copy to share here in our reports.

The breeze freshened a bit as we continued paddling our kayaks between Allan and Burrows Islands. By the time we rounded the west side we had the perfect sized waves for bouncing around and having fun. Lots of sailboats were out as well, enjoying the San Juan breezes. After a short break on a pocket beach by the lighthouse we continued over to Washington Park on Fidalgo Island. Again the waves were perfectly sized, everyone seemed to be enjoying the ride. Towards the end of the trip we drifted for a long while as seals swam around the boats. I swear that they can sense a camera lens pointing at them. They would dive underwater just as someone was about to start shooting.

All in all it was a great day. After a windy winter, like the one we've just had, it's good to get out and breathe some salt air for a change. I think that we'll be getting out quite a bit from here on out.

Thanks to Thad, Tracy, Don, Neil, Pierre-Luc, and Amy for giving us a call, and getting me out on the water!

Well, we're heading out again about an hour from now. The weather is great and we're excited for another day of sea kayaking! I'll report back to tell you how it was.