We had an amazing day in the San Juan Islands. The rain held off, the seas were calm, and we saw Killer Whales! Upon leaving Friday Harbor we motored south along the east side of San Juan Island and made our first stop at Tern Island to view Harbor Seals hauled-out on the rocks. We continued south and stopped at Goose Island to see a number of bird species. We then traveled around to the south end of the San Juan Island and found the Resident Killer Whales about 2 miles southwest of...

A day of adventure here in the San Juan Islands.  We departed on flat, calm water cruising north through the San Juan Channel when we heard reports of killer whales on the west side of the island near Kellet Bluff.  We found the whales 1.5 miles offshore from Lime Kiln Point (48°32.49’N, 123°10.71’W). 

The whales were members of J-Pod.  They were spread out, and cruising along the coast headed south.  A member of the L-Pod, L87 “Onyx”, was also seen among the J’s. ...

Today we definitely went the extra mile. Out of the harbor we were immediately faced with a tough decision; head south to a confirmed Humpback Whale sighting that we could easily reach, or take the chance of catching up with some Orcas that were spotted in Canada and heading north.

Captain Mike went with his gut and we headed north. We made our way through the San Juan Channel and Presidents Channel seeing several Harbor Porpoises, Harbor Seals, and even a few Steller Sea Lions in the open water...

The sun was shining high in the sky as we left Friday Harbor this afternoon. We headed south, far south, enjoying the natural beauty of the islands along the way. At 48o 10.80’N 122 o 59.70’W, off shore between Dungeness Spit and Port Angeles, we spotted our first blow. It was the Southern Resident killer whales. The Orcas were spread out all around us. We watched as they milled around in groups of two to four individuals, diving and blowing, their dorsal fins cutting through the...

With early news of orca spottings, today’s tour headed north towards the U.S./Canadian international border.  Once we reached Turn Point we saw a few boats in the area and began our search. Within a quick ten minutes we had spotted two members of J-pod, our southern residents, and were able to follow them, watching them mill around and rise above the water's surface.

After about twenty minutes we moved on with our search and headed back southwest. It only took a couple hundred yards...

Another beautiful sunny day in the San Juan Islands. We saw several members of the J-pod including J2 “Granny” the 100 year old matriarch.  After viewing the whales we motored through Mosquito Pass into Roche Harbor where a number of seabird species were observed including surf scoters, rhinoceros auklets, pelagic cormorants and pigeon guillemot We ended our day traveling along Spieden Island where harbor seals and Steller sea lions were hauled out basking in the sunshine while...

Whale Watching Report for Monday, April 23, 2012

We pulled out of Friday Harbor under bright skies. There was a whale report of animals near Anacortes headed south. So we headed south down the east side of San Juan Island. We made a stop near the south end of San Juan Island to view about 14 big, fat Stellar Sea Lions. Most were hauled out. The few near water’s edge seemed to be having a vocal and physical ‘tiff’.

I’ll spare you the ½ hour that we and several other boats...

California Sea Lion

A Warm Spring Day of Whale & Wildlife Watching from Friday Harbor, San Juan Island

Today we took off with reports of our resident orcas coming north on the west side of San Juan Island.

We headed out of Friday Harbor going north making a stop at NWR Yellow Island, and rock outcroppings with 43+ snoozing Harbor Seals.   We made our way along the coast of Speiden Island. Often times this is a great place to spot Bald Eagles – no Eagle this time.  But we did...

     Yesterday Transients Orcas, today Residents Orcas! Traveling all the way to Mouat Point off North Pender Island, Canada, we caught up with members of J and K pod. Although the Orcas kept us on the move, we paused long enough to see foraging, plenty of tail-slapping, a slow-motion spy-hop by Sekiu (K-22), and an excellent full-body breach! It was also a treat to clearly hear vocalizations on our hydrophone.

     A stop at Green Point on Speiden Island on the way home gave us a...

  Today with beautiful weather the two Kenmore Air sea planes touched down at the dock and we were there waiting to take the guests for a wildlife tour.  The group included people from Denmark, Sweden and Japan.

We went down the east side of San Juan Island stopping a few times to view birds and harbor seals. We had a good look at a mature bald eagle, solo, at the top of a tree. As we neared the southern-most tip of the island, we stopped (turned off the engine) and sat to watch...