Today Captain Pete, Kayak Guide Jordan and I headed out on another tour on the M/V Sea Lion. We have been having some excellent weather lately, and it has been a true pleasure to be out on the water. Leaving Friday Harbor we headed North through San Juan Channel towards Spieden Island.

In Spieden channel we had an awesome encounter with some foraging Steller’s sea lions. There were at least twenty of the huge pinnipeds in the water! The animals were surfacing around the very active...

Friday, March 24th, turned into a fabulous day on the water!  Captain Mike, guests aboard the M/V Sea Lion, and I were hopeful that the cool spring day would turn something up, and we were not disappointed!  During this early season, we usually leave the docks with no reports.  I did not let this fact discourage me, because we are members of the Pacific Whale Watch Association and know of all sightings in the area in real time.  I had my fingers crossed for cetaceans in the San Juans...

We had a wonderful early spring day out on the water. Gray skies and a little Pacific Northwest liquid sunshine never stop us from finding wildlife and having a great time. With nine hearty souls aboard the M/V Sea Lion left Friday harbor and headed North.

We spotted harbor porpoises on our way up towards Spieden Island, getting some looks at their well-camouflaged backs and dorsal fins in the small waves.  As we reached Green Point Captain Mike and I were delighted to find some...

We had a wintery day out on the water on Monday. Captain Mike and I headed north into Canadian waters on the search for whales and wildlife! We saw many bald eagles scattered trough the evergreen trees and enjoyed looking for harbor seals hauled out on the shores. We motored around Spieden and Flattop Islands, marveling at how beautiful the greenery of the islands looked under the low clouds.

We continued on our search pattern north into Boundary Pass, crossing over the large...

While May through September tends to be peak season for spotting killer whales, also known as orcas, here in the San Juan Islands, we are in the midst of a second peak in whale sightings right now. From about September into November we have our peak sightings of humpback whales. These past weeks have been just spectacular for spotting these beautiful creatures.

A Background on the Mighty Humpback

Humpback whales are regarded to be the fourth or fifth largest whales in the world...

The arrival of fall brings a lot of changes to the Salish Sea and the San Juans. Garry Oaks start to turn rusty brown, the air cools and the wind picks up, and seabirds start morphing into their winter plumage. Fall also brings the arrival of new species that spent the summer busy in the open waters of the Pacific Ocean. Amongst these are the Dall's Porpoise, a small black and white cetacean known for its social nature. 

We had already circumnavigated most of San Juan Island...

Things are certainly starting to change around our little island! Summer still seems a little bit hesitant to leave, occasionally poking it's head around the corner and reminding us of the warmer days of July and August. But September has arrived in full swing, bringing with it beautiful orange and red leaves, roadsides decorated with those that have already parted from their former branch homes, and plenty of foggy, wet mornings. 

These are some of my favorite times of the year up...

Have you had the opportunity to go whale watching in the San Juan Islands? Chances are, if you have and were able to spot some of our beloved Southern Residents, you've heard the naturalists call them by name. How in the world are they able to tell these beautiful creatures apart from one another? They are all black and white! Yes, true, but they also have their very own version of an orca fingerprint! We're able to identify and distinguish our 83 Southern Residents based on their...

On Sunday, Captain Mike, myself, and Hannah set out on yet another sunny adventurous day in the Salish Sea. It was a wee bit windy down south, so we headed north to search within and on the northern edge of our little archipelago here. We skimmed past Orcas Island and Waldron Island two of our taller islands and definitely the ones with enormous coniferous trees hanging on desperately onto the rocky cliffs that rise from the dark blue waters. We approached the Patos Island lighthouse...

Coffee, coffee, coffee...we might flee to the island to get some peace and quiet, but this is one thing we definitely don't want to escape from! Fortunately, San Juan Island is home to a few nice little places to get some good coffee and find some good company, and you'll notice we have a very enjoyable absense of any chain out here. No golden arches, no green Starbucks logos, no Safeways or Fred Meyers. You need to look local to find your caffeine fix, but don't worry, I've got you...