We left Friday Harbor today with our hopes set high on encountering our Southern Resident Killer Whales. This was the first time we have seen our Killer Whales since Saturday, and we were very happy to welcome them back. We headed out through Cattle Pass and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Our guests braved the high seas with enthusiasm and wonderful questions while waiting to get on seen with the whales!

L-41 (Mega) was there to welcome us as he appeared out of the water, with his...

With not a cloud in the sky today, Captain Mike, Naturalist Heather and myself departed Friday Harbor with our guests and headed south, to where Haro Strait and the Strait of Juan De Fuca meet, to check out a Minke whale. This Minke whale was very interesting to watch. I say interesting because usually Minke whales are very scattered and don't surface in the same area. This Minke looked as though it was traveling in the same direction and kept going that one way. Most guests got...

Upon leaving our Friday Harbor location we heard a report of Minke Whales just south of San Juan Island. After watching Harbor Seals and Bald Eagles along San Juan Channel we ventured out Cattle Pass into the Strait of Juan De Fuca where it didn't take long before we spotted our first Minke Whale.
This is the time of year when we start to see more and more Minke Whales in our area. Minke Whales in our area feed on schools of Herring and Sandlance that can be found in the waters near...

Our guests braved high seas today as we crossed the exposed Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca in search of the not-so-elusive killer whale. Lately the endangered southern resident population of killer whales have been following their relatively predictable summer activity of salmon fishing on the west side of the San Juan Islands.

We first encountered these whales south of Victoria. Despite the high wind and confused sea state, J and L pod were grouped tightly and displaying resting...

We left our Friday Harbor location today, hoping for a great day with the whales in the Salish Sea. We headed south towards Cattle Pass where we saw dozens of harbor seals having a great time foraging. From there, we headed into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Haro Strait off the south end of San Juan Island where we encountered the L-12's, a smaller sub-group of the larger L-Pod (our resident killer whales). It didn't take long before we recognized L-41 otherwise known as Mega who...

We last spotted T20 and T21 on Friday near Active Pass, north of Mayne Island, British Columbia. Today we found the Transient pair enjoying the Victorian Waterfront.  Initially the Orcas appeared to be in resting mode, making slow northerly progress. Then they turned the opposite direction, heading toward the majestic, snow-capped Olympic mountains and the wide-open Strait of Juan de Fuca. The sea state was calm today, with sweeping views in all directions, signaling the beginning of...

Well whale watchers, it’s been a great season! Today was my final tour and a memorable one. We started off with a Minke Whale sighting in the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Salmon Bank. This whale couldn’t seem to get enough of the crowd, surfacing more times than I’ve ever seen a Minke Whale do so. After traveling with him for a while, we decided to head further west in search of more critters. We soon found 15+ Dall’s Porpoise just a couple miles offshore of Eagle Point. This...

In fact, the adrenaline was pumping so hard that after the trip no one could even sit down and write a blog! Composure has been regained however, so here’s a summary.

We headed straight for the Strait of Juan de Fuca and found members of J and K pod spread out, foraging northeast of Hein Bank (48°23.07N °12303.07W). The salmon must be good, because I have never seen these animals show off their catch like they did that day.

It all started with a calf…..  him and his mother...

Yes, we saw orca whales today on the 2nd of October - late in the whale watching season.  We took off from Friday Harbor, San Juan Island heading north toward Spieden Island.  As we neared Speiden, one of the guests spotted a large brown head which turned out to be a great big stellar sea lion fishing by himself.  We stayed on the south side of Speiden and Shelly spotted a mature bald eagle up in a tree. Down below the Mouflon Sheep and Sitka Deer were roaming about.

We pushed on to...

Today, even the Kittiwake had an adventure!  We traveled over to Orcas Island to pick up a family of ten for a private charter and from there on, we were surrounded by a continuous showing by Pacific Northwest wildlife!

First, it was a little harbor seal between Lopez and Shaw Islands.  Next, it was one then two stellar sea lions (BIG ones too--they can weigh up to 2,200 pounds and be ten feet long!) swimming in the currents between Lopez and San Juan Islands.  Further into the...