Around 10:40 AM this morning we received a Southern Resident Killer Whale report: members of J, K, and L pod headed north in Haro Strait. We were extremely excited yet a bit uneasy knowing they were headed for Active Pass (Canada). Luckily enough by the time we boarded and headed out for the strait the whales had turned around. It couldn’t have been more perfect timing.

As we made our way into the gut of the strait, reaching a center point between Stewart, Moresby, Sidney, and...

Today we watched several members of L-Pod mill around near False Bay, San Juan Island. We got to travel with multiple groups of 1s and 2s including 3 large males and 3 females each bearing a youngster at their side. They all appeared to be very relaxed, milling around, and enjoying the simple things in life, being within the comfort of their own home. The family bond amongst them is like no other, and is quite apparent in their interaction. For these whales, it's all or none, and no...

Southern Resident Killer Whales were spread out over 2 miles and traveling south through Boundary Pass today. 

In total we spent time viewing 15 Killer Whales, but many other individuals were observed surfacing in the distance.  It didn’t matter in which direction you looked there were Orcas!  It was absolutely fan-tastic!

In the first group, there were 8 individuals including a mature male and also a young calf.  Initially these whales were traveling in two smaller groups, one...

We had a fabulous trip to the south side of San Juan Island today.  Sunny skies and calm waters in the Strait of Juan de Fuca made for incredible whale watching!  After seeing several harbor seals cruising through Cattle Pass, we encountered the Steller sea lions on Whale Rocks.  At least ten were lounging in the sun.  As we headed into the strait, we saw several members of the resident L-pod actively feeding offshore of South Beach (48°26N, 123°00W).  First we saw members of the L12...

As we traveled south we had amazing views of Harbor Seals and Steller Sea Lions.  Both species were taking their afternoon siestas, soaking up the sunshine.  Many of the Harbor Seals were resting in a “banana” pose, keeping their head and hind flippers raised out of the frigid, 49°F water.   Whereas, the Steller Sea Lions were sprawled out across the island, making even the most jagged rocks look comfortable.

We then caught up with four Southern Resident Killer Whales near...

The weather was perfect: high around 70 degrees, clear blue sky, and very light breeze.  The only thing that could make it better would be a day with the Orcas.  Did you order up Orcas?

Yes, a large order, please!

Coming right up.

We ran north - through beautifully calm water, enjoying the spectacular scenery.  Mount Baker was a clear and crisp as I've ever seen it.  Along the way, we saw harbor porpoise, common murre, pigeon guillemot, and harbor seals swimming about.

As we...

And that we did today...

With no Orca whale reports in US waters, we decided to “go for it” today, extending our tour, to make the extra trek far north into Canadian waters to see our Southern Residents. We were one of two boats from San Juan Island to make the trip, and man was it worth it!!!

Headed southeast in the Strait of Georgia, we found the K13’s whom were about a mile offshore, north of the coal docks, outside of Vancouver, Canada (48°59.37N 123°10.67W). They were...

We spent our afternoon near Victoria (48°25.3N, 123°09.5W) where we saw Southern Resident Killer Whales.  At least 15 members of J-Pod were traveling east, separated into 3 groups.  In the largest group 8 individuals were porpoising in close proximity with one another.  The whales were cruising at a fast clip, around 11 knots.  This larger group also performed some surface displays:  breaching, lobtailing, and rolling around at the surface.  We just love these whales (well...

Herb Hartman, photographer, has gone out whale watching with us so many times that he is considered an honorary staff member.
Here are photos from his two tours, one at 1:30 and one at 5:30 from August 13, 2012.

Killer Whales from both K- and L-Pods were headed north along the westside of San Juan Island. The whales were reported heading north from Lime Kiln State Park. We caught up with the leaders near Open Bay (48°34.824N, 123°11.685W) who were mostly members of K-Pod. We traveled with these whales to Kellett Bluff where we waited for the rest of the group to travel north. We saw over 15 whales as they cruised by. At times we were surrounded by whales as a few individuals were traveling...