Abby | Kestrel | 6/20/2021

Captain Brian, Captain Eric, and I left Friday Harbor looking for the same matriline that we saw this morning. On the way, we saw some new harbor seal pups off Turn Island. Somehow, we had amazing luck right after this viewing, because some Bigg’s killer whales were right next to Jackle’s Lagoon on San Juan Island! We drifted in the water with the engine off for some time while we listened to the exhales of the T049A matriline:

• T049A (Female, 1986)
  
  • T049A1...

Jordan Higgins | M/V Sea lion | 06/20/21 |2:00pm

Today was one of my favorite trips of the season! Thank you so much to all my guests for being wonderful human beings with inquisitive minds and great questions.

The day began with sunshine and a wonderful, warm summer’s breeze. We gathered on the boat and were all so excited to begin our adventure. We headed out of Friday Harbor and boated down south. It only took a few minutes before we found orcas! Just past Mitchell Bay, we found a...

Abby | Kestrel | 6/20/2021

Once again, we had the A/B team, Abby (me!) and Captain Brian. We had already been out on the water prior to our trip, and rumors of orcas rang in our ears. Apparently, there were three Bigg’s killer whales near the Orcas Island ferry terminal dock, so we zoomed over in that direction. After a large scan of the area, nothing turned up, so we went towards another loose rumor of a family of Bigg’s killer whales.

We made our way north through San Juan Channel...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | June 20, 2021 | 5:30pm

Every time we leave the harbor in search of wildlife, we combine our scientific knowledge of the Salish Sea with previous visual sightings to pinpoint the best routes. That being said, it takes time to actually get on scene with wildlife. On a sunset trip like today, I feel fortunate that within 10 minutes of departure we had our eyes on a Humpback Whale! This humpback was found in San Juan Channel between San Juan island and Orcas...

Jordan Higgins | M/V Sea lion | 06/19/21 |12:30pm

It was a gorgeous sunny day out in the San Juan Islands.

We began in Roche Harbor as Captain Pete and I jumped on Sea Lion and headed out of Roche Harbor. We boated straight up towards Stuart Island and boated towards Turn Point Lighthouse.

Just around the corner, we found orcas whales! We were very close to the boarder so we could see Canada just a few miles away. The whales cruised along the northern shore of Stuart Island exploring...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 18th, 2021 | 12:30pm

It was an exploratory day circumnavigating Lopez Island! We set off inner island through Upright Passage and eventually crept between Blakely and Decatur to reach the larger body of water known as Rosario Strait. Just west of Burrows Bay, we began seeing multiple black dorsal fins piercing the water. Slowly making our way on scene, we were able to count 12 individual Bigg’s Killer Whales!

While this ecotype typically travels in small...

Abby | Kestrel | 6/17/2021

We zoomed north through San Juan Channel with whale reports looming on the west side of the island. Once we arrived just north of Lime Kiln State Park, there they were. 21 Bigg’s killer whales! Neither myself nor our captain Gabe have ever seen this many Bigg’s killer whales traveling as a group.

There was a lot of tail slapping activity on the surface of the water as they traveled. We were all very happy to see that they had stayed on the American side of...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 17th, 2021 | 12:30pm 

Wowzers was today an incredible day we experienced! We were able to watch a Humpback Whale right outside Friday Harbor and fluked with every dive! This led us to amazing views of the sparkling salt water gracefully dripping off the tail of this ocean giant. Nearby we even saw Harbor Porpoise presumably feeding on similarly sized bait fish, and heaps of migratory birds casually diving within San Juan Channel. Continuing north during our...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 16th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Another clear day graced us with the presence of Mount Rainier beaming high atop the Puget Sound to the south. We set off with the volcano guiding our way, passing Harbor Porpoises swimming outside Upright Channel. Passing Cattle Point Lighthouse and keeping it on our starboard side, we continued around Salmon Bank aiming for False Bay off San Juan Island. 

Not only did we catch a Bald Eagle chasing after a Rhinoceros Auklet upon...

It was an awesome wildlife day in the Salish Sea! After a smooth exit out of Friday Harbor, we began our search for wildlife southbound in San Juan Channel. Our first stop was at Whale Rocks to look at two kinds of Pinnipeds: Steller Sea Lions and Harbor Seals! While the Harbor Seals were peacefully hauled out, the hefty Steller Sea Lions splashed around the shallow waters and roared fiercely. Observing pinnipeds cohabitating helped us distinguish their differences in size...