Today we traveled north towards Stuart Island.  Captain Mike stayed in close communication with the other whale watching vessels; he received many reports that the whales were in that area.  Our spirits rose with anticipation!  Shortly after we departed Friday Harbor we spotted a bald eagle soaring high above San Juan Island.  As we neared Stuart Island the orca whales were traveling south down Haro Strait.  We traveled parallel to the direction they were heading along the west side...

"Soon we'll be making another run.  The Love Boat..."

These orcas are all about peace, l0ve and fish these days.  They have been more active than I have ever seen them before with the percussive behaviors, the amorous behaviors and the feeding behaviors.  It is fantastic and exactly what we want to see from our small population of endangered marine mammals.

Today we spent time with L pod, and while they were not as active in the splashing and feeding departments, they made up for...

Today, although the clouds cooperated and cleared way for the sun to shine upon our faces, the wind decided it would continue to bluster all throughout the day. Ah well, we said, and crashed the M.V. Kittiwake through the waves. Onward to Canada, we sped!

The whales had been reported in 4-5 foot swells of the south end of San Juan Island mid-morning today. By the time we reached them on our afternoon trip they were already all the way to North Pender Island! North Pender is one of...

Big Slap! Wild Tail Slap by Judy Jacques

I am submitting three photos that I took the afternoon of July 12th while on the boat "Sea Lion".  It was a totally fabulous afternoon, a little choppy, but we saw lots of whale activity.  We actually had a whale come under our boat and breach up on the other side.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the whole breaching show, but did get a couple of nice shots of which I hope you will enjoy.  The other photo I am sending I thought was...

Well we are all becoming overly familiar with the Canadian waters these days.  Reports were in that once again the Orcas were near the coal docks but it was music to our ears to hear they were at least headed south our direction. It was a beautiful day for a boat ride so we didn't mind the extra time it took to reach the whales. The whales were spread out in many small groupings and very active. We saw many breaches and lots of tail slapping. It's always exciting to see but even more...

Sunday, July 18th, 2010 was an evening to remember.  The crew aboard the M/V Sea Lion never thought they would be so deeply touched in the presence of the orca whales.  We spotted at least 12 members of the L-pod traveling in small groups of 3-5 near Eagle Point.  The calm waters on the west side of San Juan Island made for perfect viewing conditions.  Adult and juvenile whales were hauling their large, glossy bodies out of the water left and right.  Breaching, spy hopping...

In the San Juan Islands, we are blessed with an abundance of wildlife. We are one of 7 places on Earth with a high population of orcas. Almost every single day for the past two weeks we have seen them off the west side of our very own island, San Juan. The west side of the island is where the land based whale watching park is located. Like a stationary sentinel, it watches the orcas foraging off the cliffs below.  We are one of the few places in the world where you can see 'black and...

Softly we sat and watched the whales about 700 yards away from us. At first we could only see white wake, their bodies like boats zooming through the water. As we waited, their dorsal fins began to loom in the distance. We followed them as they swam parallel to us west along the south side of Stuart Island, reuniting with their pod at Turn Point Light House.  It was a slow but satiating afternoon as we watched the orcas loll about the land, hugging the shore. Bright, sunny, peaceful...

It was a cool and blustery overcast day in the San Juan Islands today, but that did not stop us from spending time with the orcas.  On the west side of San Juan Island, from Kellet Bluff to Lime Kiln Point State Park, we tracked several orcas through the surf.  Of the animals that we were able to identify there was L26 "Baba", her daughter L90 "Ballena" and her grandson L92 "Crewser" who is a sprouter male.  The orcas are a matrilinial society, which means that the oldest female in...

All of Dawn's photos from the Whale Watching & Wildlife Tour June 10, 2010 have been entered into our photo contest.