Summer 2018: Orcas Island, Washington State
At the end of August and beginning of September, 2018, we spent a long weekend on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands in Puget Sound. This was in fact our second trip to the San Juan Islands, the first time being three years ago to San Juan Island.
This time, our trip started from Anacortes as we boarded a ferry by Washington State Ferries. From the pier, I could already see a few nesting Pelagic Cormorants.
As the ferry pulled away from Anacortes and entered the waters of the San Juan Islands, the sky also cleared up, promising a nice few days ahead (a promise that was fulfilled).
The first afternoon, we settlted into our bed and breakfast, then drove around the western end of Orcas Island, ending up at West Beach, where we watched the sunset.
We spent much of the second day, the first of September, exploring Moran State Park. We first hiked to Cascade Falls, then around Cascade Lake. It was a wonderful hike on a glorious day.
At this season, wildlife was rather scarce, this Eight-spotted Skimmer dragonfly was the only highlight.
Next, we drove to Mount Constitution, at 2,399 feet, the highest peak in the San Juan Islands. There is a watchtower at the peak, which offers panoramic views. Although the air was not the clearest, at least it was not completely blocked by smoke from the wild fires in British Columbia.
We ended this day at the beach in Obstruction Pass State Park.
The place we stayed at on Orcas Island was Otters Pond Bed and Breakfast (see my Tripadvisor review here), which is a clean and cozy place by a lily-covered pond. The owners are nature lovers too and put up multiple bird feeders and a bird bath. In the morning, birds, including the tireless Anna's Hummingbirds, come to feed. At this season, bird diversity was low, and none of these birds were new to me, but I enjoyed watching them nonetheless.
This was our third day (after two nights at the B&B), and we had to check out. But we still had plenty of time before our ferry ride back, so we went to Moran State Park again. This time, we hiked around Mountain Lake. I saw a little bit more wildlife on this hike, including several active Douglas Squirrels and an interesting bird -- it appears to be a hybrid between Red-breasted and Red-naped Sapsuckers.
We made one last stop at Little Summit, at just over 2000 feet, it is lower than Mount Constitution. Some noisy Red-breasted Nuthatches greeted us from the tree branches.
We went back to "town" for lunch -- town is Eastsound, the largest population center on the island (with nearly 4000 residents!). Several stores and mesuems have animal-themed sculptures in front, which are obviously quite tourist-oriented, but quite interesting nonetheless.
We had more time to make one last visit, to Orcas Island Pottery. With the colorful potteries spread in the bright sun on a bluff overlooking the sound, this place is quite picturesque, making our last stop totally worthwhile.
We then boarded the WSF ferry back to the mainland. As the left the island, Mount Baker came into view in the beautiful late afternoon light, putting a lovely finishing touch to our short excursion to the island.
(Click on each image to see the high-resolution version)
Pelagic Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
San Juan Islands
Sunset at West Beach
Cascade Falls
Cascade Lake
Eight-spotted Skimmer
Mount Constitution
Islands
Window
Obstruction Pass
Otters Pond
Anna's Hummingbird
Anna's Hummingbird
Anna's Hummingbird
Anna's Hummingbird
Spotted Towhee
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Black-tailed Deer
Maintain Lake
Maintain Lake
Douglas Squirrels
Douglas Squirrel
Sapsucker
Little Summit
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Crab Sculpture (outside a co-op grocery store)
Bird Sculpture (outside Orcas Island Historical Museum)
Cocoa the Hippo
Orca Sculpture (outside an orca-watching tour office)
Orcas Island Pottery
Pottery
Pottery Crab
Mount Baker
Mount Baker