Great whale watching out in Haro Strait today! Whales were spread out between Stewart Island and Lime Kiln State Park. We caught up with our first pair, mama and calf, just off Henry Island, near Kellet Bluff (48°34.60N, 123°12.03W). They were moving extremely fast, almost to be confused with porpoise, looking as if they were trying to catch up with the rest of the pack on the western side of San Juan.

After traveling with them for a bit, another female appeared out of nowhere...

AND SO ARE THE WHALES!

The salmon must be satisfying, because we have been seeing our Southern Residents for weeks now, on both trips! Today around 3:00 PM we met up with at least 10 members of J and L pod just south of Mosquito Pass, traveling north in Haro Strait (48°35.66N, 123°12.61). They too, seemed to be enjoying the sun, surfacing multiple times and playing around in the water. They were definitely not shy, and we were able to identify, in plain sight, Spieden (J8), Slick...

Today we hung out with 7 members of J-pod in Haro Strait between Henry and Stewart Island (48°38.88N 123°12.07W). What can I say, they had us at hello—from the minute we arrived they seemed excited, yet kind, greeting us with a spy hop and adult breach. It was almost as if they were welcoming us into their home and from that point on a connection evolved.

After a few minutes of riding alongside them, they merged into a single family unit, moving as one. The love, the passion, and...

Today was another great day amongst our Southern Residents! We found members of J and K pods spread out in the strait, in groups of 3 or less, between Salmon Bank and False Bay (Haro Strait 48°27.07N, 123°04.02W). Some were foraging, some were resting, while others just appeared to be milling around in the calm seas.

After riding alongside one group, we would switch off to another, paying each small group a visit. We even saw a few adult breaches, which ironically occurred just...

Everywhere we looked around!!!!

J’s and L’s were enjoying themselves today, intermingling just off the west side of San Juan Island, Haro Strait (48°32.60N, 123°10.58). There were approximately three different groups spread out and one of the groups had two large males intimately chasing after a set of females.  We decided to give them a little privacy and let nature takes its course, so we went on to catch up with “Moonlight” (L83) and her son “Midnight” (L110).

The...

It was another beautiful day on the water. The sun was out in full shine, the water pure glass. Out in Haro Strait at the very northeastern tip of D’Arcy Island we found two Transient Orcas (48°35.77N, 123°15.61W). We identified them as male T20 and female T21. Fortunately we were able to watch them hunt for a while.

We then continued our way around Mandarte Island, through the Cactus Islands, and back home. We saw all kinds of wildlife including Cormorants, gulls, Pigeon Guillemots...

Today we headed out in full force with both boats, the Sea Lion and Kittiwake. We heard a few rumors of Big Black Fish milling around Lime Kiln so we headed in that direction. As we passed South Beach we saw our first group of dorsal fins break the water surface ( Haro Strait, 48°26.27N 123°01.48W).

Big “Mike” (J26) somehow made his way into a group of female K’s including “Raggedy” (K40) and seemed to be looking for a hot a date! He was definitely showing off what he’s got...

Today we caught up with 3 members of L-pod, a female and her offspring, on the west side of San Juan Island (Haro Strait 48°33’56.84N, 123°10’50.29W). They were headed south right against the shore line, moving at a very quick rate.

Within a few minutes of arriving we discovered that the female was L-55 also known as “Nugget” and one of the calves was L-118! We were very excited to see L-118 return home with mama because this calf was just born last year (2011) and can now be given a...

Our journey took us north.  As we motored through the San Juan Channel we cruised along and observed the Sika Deer and Mouflon Sheep on Spieden Island.  We continued north through the scenic Cactus Islands and across the border into Canadian Waters.

Have you ever seen an eagle taking a bath?  Well, we did!  On the south side of Spieden, our national symbol had found a hollow in the rocks and was enjoying a fresh-water bath.  He was not shy.

On through Johns Pass and a view of...

We saw everything and it felt like we went everywhere today.

After being on the water for over an hour a whale report came to Capt. Bill that the whales were in Haro Straight near Canada paralell with the Lime Kiln light house.  Leaving Speiden Island we headed back to Haro Strait and caught up with a group of approximately 6 Transient Orcas whales near Kelp Reef.  This made the tour run much longer than our regular 3 hours - but all the guests thought it was well worth it.

Natural...