July 22nd, 2022

Abby Dahl

2pm M/V Kestrel

Captain Eric and I started our tour with plumose anemones and sea slugs; critters that call the underside of the docks and pilings their home. It’s one of my favorite things to do with guests, to work our way up the trophic scale by starting with the tiniest, most beautiful organisms first. If you can start with the smallest organisms on a tour, you create a keen eye onboard and can bring back the childhood sense of wonder to always seek out...

July 21st, 2022

Abby Dahl

2pm M/V Sea Lion

Captain Erick and I chugged out of a busy Roche Harbor, with our sights set on a humpback whale just north of Stuart Island on the Canadian border. We cruised by some thermoregulating harbor seals and their newborn pups, with the sun glistening off the calm waters of Spieden Channel. When we got to the humpback whale identified as the female “Fallen Knight,” we had some great looks and some beautiful tail flukes.

Upon leaving the scene and...

Maxx K. | M/V Osprey | 07/19/2022 | 12:30pm

    Me oh my it was a beauty out there! There wasn't a gust of wind out on the water today and you could see blue sky clear down until the bold and beautiful Olympic Mountains. 

    Osprey absolutely flew today, zooming up through the San Juan Channel and rounding over the north side towards rumors of a couple of Bigg’s Killer Whales we’ve come to lovingly know as the “butcher boys (T049A2 and T065A3).” *These maturing males have been...

July 8th, 2022

Abby Dahl

10am Kestrel

Captain Gabe and I zipped out of the harbor with hopes of seeing some Biggs killer whales spotted north. Rumor had it that they were the T065A’s, my favorite matriline in all the Salish Sea, quite possibly my favorite whales in the entire world.

The T065A’s are made up of:

• T065A “Artemis” (1986, Female, Mother of all listed below)
  
  • T065A2 “Ooxjaa” (2004, Male)
  • T065A3 “Amira” (2007, Gender Unknown)
  • T065A4 “Ellifrit” (2011, Female)
  • T065A5 “Elsie”...

June 30th, 2022

Abby Dahl

10am M/V Kestrel

Captain Michael and I peeled out of the harbor, knowing it was about to be a long journey in our search for whales. We had only one report of Bigg’s killer whales near Race Rocks in British Columbia, Canada, so we took a right and began heading south through San Juan Channel. It was almost ironic, as we immediately found a pair of humpback whales upon our southbound journey. They were taking long dives, so we only saw them a few times before...

Maxx K. | M/V Kestrel | 06/27/2022 | 2:00pm

    It’s was a bomby summers day. Kestrel absolutely flew threw the San Juan Channel, cutting through the velvety water with ease. We raced up and around through Waldron Island, stopping briefly once to scope out Skipjack Island and dozens of Harbor seals that rested along its rocky shorelines. 

Harbor seals haul out onto rocks for a variety of reasons such as rest, thermoregulation, birthing and nursing. This gives us a great opportunity...

Maxx K. | M/V Osprey | 06/26/2022 | 12:30pm

    Today was hotter than hades! No doubt about it, summer is officially here. 

    Osprey slowly put putted its way out of Friday Harbor, north through the San Juan Channel and around again into Presidents Channel. A family of Biggs Killer Whales known as the T036A’s had been picked up right outside Friday Harbor a few hours before and had already made it to Sucia Island, north west of Orcas. 

    The T036A’s were a new family to me, being...

Maxx K. | M/V Kestrel | 06/21/2022 | 2:00pm

    One of my favorite things about working as a naturalist is trying to interpret what is going on in the head of a whale. They are assumed to be some of the smartest creatures on the planet: Killer whales in particular have the second largest brains in the animal kingdom AND the second largest brain to body ratio (another presumed indicator of intelligence). The inherit intelligence and personality of a killer whale, something we only get...

Maxx K. | M/V Kestrel | 06/21/2022 | 10:00am

    I love a morning tour, for a lot of reasons really, but also because there is a real sense of urgency and tension. Being a part of the PWWA is such a great tool, not only are we able to collect and share data about whale behavior but we’re also able to stay up to date on where they’re being located. Given that none of the whales seen out here are tagged, we're reliant on spotting them ourselves! 

    At 10:00 in the morning, it’s easy...

Maxx K. | 06/20/2022 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00pm

    It took next to no time for Kestrel to fly into the Juan de Fuca today. The sea was just choppy enough to spice up our travels a little bit as we raced off to meet Big Mama and her calf over Hein bank. Big Mama is probably the coolest Humpback whale that I’ve ever met. She’s a pioneer to start, being one of the first humpbacks observed here during the Humpback Comeback back in 1997. Since then she returns here year after year and has...