J pod was spread out along the southwest coast in smaller groups. The flag of American Camp waved on in the background as we encountered the first group of three orcas. It consisted of the mature male Mike (J-26) whose sea snake was present and the flashing of pink startled and confused the passengers. As we headed further north we saw a formation of four with whom we believed to have Granny (J-2) and Riptide (J-30) leading. The juveniles we passed along the way were continuously lob...

The sun was shining and the waters were calm as we headed north in search of wildlife. Just as we left Friday Harbor, we spotted a harbor seal poking his head out of the water and slowed down to get a better look. We continued our journey enjoying the beautiful day and the sites of the surrounding islands. As we reached the west side of San Juan Island north of Lime Kiln, we saw what we were looking for, killer whales! Lots of them! The pod was spread out so we didn’t know which...

Whale Watching Naturalist with Young Whale Watcher

Today on both of our trips, we encountered J-pod.  First off of the west side of San Juan Island where they were headed northeast and then off of East point, the most northwestern point of the United States, and headed into Canadian waters.  Our whales went international today, visiting a few countries along the way.

Within the pod, we were able to identify Mike.  With Mike, we found his mother J16 (Slick); she has a little...

With one short of a full boat and some sunshine peeking through the intermittent clouds, we took the Sea Lion up north towards Canadian waters in search of some Pacific northwest wildlife.  Just outside the harbor as we were coming around the corner, a passenger spotted a bald eagle perched high in the top of a pine tree: conveniently photogenic.

Our luck kept rolling in as we soon found a large pod of orcas who turned out to be J-pod!  Rather than traveling at a quick pace, they...

J pod was present and playful today! We first saw the orcas at Saturna Island’s East Point as both juveniles and adults took turns breaching, lob tailing and spy hopping as they slowly made their way east. Two mature males were in the lead for some time, which we believe to be the pod-mates Blackberry (J-27) and Mike (J-26). An exceptional day to be viewing wildlife and on the water!

Kirsten, naturalist

We headed north out of Friday Harbor with reports that there were some orcas coming down the Strait of Georgia towards Saturna Island. On our way to start our search in Canadian waters we were lucky enough to encounter lots of harbor seals hauled out on the rocks at Yellow Island and some more at White Rocks.

From there we headed across the border at Boundary Pass and had everyone on board helping us look for signs of orca. Once we passed the Canadian Navy and a large cargo ship we...

With storm clouds and rain to the north, we started heading south towards Cattle Pass.  Word on the quiet ocean: Minke whales were in the neighborhood.

Passing several plump harbor seals hauled out off Cattle Point, we motored out to Salmon Bank and then Hein Bank, areas known for schools of herring and, subsequently, birds and marine mammals feeding on the abundant food source.  A female and calf Minke whale were seen by other vessels in the area.  At Hein Bank, we spotted several...

Today we saw two Transient Orcas way up on the west side of Pender Island.  One of them was a big male with a huge dorsal that we identified as T20.  He had one of the coolest, most unique fins I have seen so far.  With a couple of notches and a port-side lean, his dorsal was easy to ID even from several hundred yards away. The whales were milling, but, overall seemed mostly interested in moving south.

The trip up was Bald Eagle central, with the birds every couple hundred yards all...

There is only one word that could describe today.  Epic.

The sun was shining and the water was calm.  We headed north on a whim, taking the opportunity to cruise the scenic passes between Saturna Island and Pender Island.  We ended up slightly north of the Coal Docks and found ourselves amid Orcas.  At first I thought they were Transients.  There were two whales cruising west, then three, then a whole bunch more.  They were spread out to the east and west of us and we realized...

I have to say that some of my best whale days have been gross, rainy days.  Today was no exception.

We made our way down the east side of San Juan Island and around toward False Bay.  It was one of those silent, glassy, flat water days.  No seals hauled out, no sea lions on our way south.  We passed a bunch of soggy Cormorants and saw a Bald Eagle sitting on the ground.  When we got closer to Lime Kiln we saw blows way in by the rocks.  Then we saw a few more farther north. Then a...