The Southern Residents are still in the area, and we found them today around 3:00PM heading south in Haro Strait near Kelp Reef (48°33.11N 123°13.47W). The first whales we encountered were Blackberry (J27) and Mike (J26) who had made their way into the K18s possibly trying to score a date, or at least some companions to travel with. Mike (J26) was however keeping his distance behind the group while Blackberry (J27) was right in the middle, what seemed like a nice wingman move to me!

Supposedly it’s September, but the last two mornings here have been completely blanketed by fog. All the more adventure we say!

And today it was as we headed directly for the thick of it with rumor of Black and Whites on the other side.  Once we reached Cattle Pass the eeriness set in and we were confronted with limited visibility and an immediate chill. The naturalist had everyone’s eyes peeled for creatures that may be lurking amongst the midst, an easy distraction techniqueÂ...

What a fabulous day on the water! We started the trip off with an abundance of wildlife as we made our way through San Juan Channel. We saw dozens upon dozens of Harbor Seals hauled out, sun bathing on any rocky islet available and bobbing through the riptides in search of food. We also saw three Steller Sea Lions swimming amongst the riptides, what seemed to be another marine mammal thanksgiving!

Once we reached Haro Strait we encountered our first Minke Whale just south of Salmon...

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...

Man was today a day for whales in Haro Strait; we saw a Humpback Whale (48°29.81N 123°11.95W) and 6 Transient Orcas (48°27.21N 123°09.33W)!!!!  There was also rumor of transients north, where most of the whale watch fleeted ended up going, but our decision to go south and around San Juan turned for the better. There were hardly any other boats around and we got the bonus of seeing a Humpback! Now if I were you, I would choose the San Juan Safaris crew.

Let's take a little risk...

Today we were lucky enough to see Minke whales on all three of our trips! We encountered them in Griffin Bay, Cattle Pass, and Haro Strait. September weather has also been treating us nicely with beautiful sunny days, and glassy seas.

The real treat however was near the end of the day when we saw an entire family of River Otters at Long Island. It started out as a single sighting, but as we watched, one River Otter turned into a whole family. Every time the otters would go back into...

Today we traveled all the way to Victoria to see some Transient killer whales. It was the T10s grouped in their usual threesome traveling near shore just off Clover Point (Canada 48°23.97N 123°21.90W). Although a small group, they did not seem like something I’d want to mess with!! Moving like a pack of wolves they scoured the shoreline in search for marine mammals. Within minutes of our presence, they had made a kill. Now it is a given that these animals are going to be...

Although Minke Whales are typically solitary animals, we saw 3 of them today traveling in close proximately to one another in Haro Strait (south of Salmon Bank and San Juan Island, 48°24.97N 122°59.02). They were all doing their Minke thing, traveling from bait ball to bait ball and lunging after any food in their path. They surfaced multiple times showing off the full extent of their bodies from rostrum, to dorsal fin, to the entire length of their back. At one point they even...

We journeyed north around San Juan Island today, first passing Spieden Island en route to Haro Strait.  Several mouflon sheep and sitka deer were feeding and resting on the hillside of Spieden Island.  Somehow they can carefully traverse the cliffs just above the chilly waters.  We circled exposed rocks to the southwest of the island where six harbor seals were resting.  We spotted at least one pup.  After we were south of Henry Island (48°35.33N, 123°12.53W) we began to see spray...

3:00 PM: 20+ Southern Residents spread out in Haro Strait from False Bay to Lime Kiln State Park (48°27.57N 123°04.48W). Members of J and K pod including Grandma Samish (J14), Mother Hy’Shqa (J37) newborn J49, Deadhead (K27) and brother Scoter (K25). Widely spread, yet exceedingly active; breaching, spyhopping, lobtaillng and porpoising in every which direction.

Naturalist Tara, San Juan Safaris