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Southern Resident Killer Whales in Boundary Pass

Unexpected Whale of a Day; Duo Humpback Whales and Southern Resident Killer Whales Come Feed in the San Juan Islands

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | Septmeber 28th, 2020 | 13:00

Today was probably the clearest day we have had in over a month. No clouds were to be found in the blue, sunny skies and our old friend Mount Baker stood tall waving hello after a few weeks sitting behind clouds, smoke, and lots of fog. It was already setting out to be a gorgeous, fall day out boating in the San Juan Islands with a little twist of summer on top. Our migrating Humpback Whales have spent most of the summer foraging...

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Southern Resident Killer Whales Swim into the Salish Sea

A Moment in History with the Southern Resident Killer Whales

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | September 5th, 2020 | 13:30

Leaving Friday Harbor and setting out south to find whales, we had no idea we would be part of such a unique moment in history. We started the long trek through the Strait of Juan de Fuca with Mount Baker peering down at us and Harbor Porpoise swimming in every direction we looked. Just shy of two hours later [so proud of our patient passengers!] we came across the south western corner of the United States border when we started...

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K Pod on the West Side of San Juan Island!!

Southern Residents K Pod on the West Side of San Juan Island Once Again!!!

Laura | M/V Sea Lion | 7/2/2020 | 13:30

    Today was a magical day on the west side of San Juan Island!  I am ecstatic to report K pod received the upmost welcome back as they made their way up and down the shoreline, foraging and enjoying their time back home!  There are 17 individuals left in this pod, and we were all able to see them spread out and moving through the water in their natural habitat, a heart-filled experience that hopefully we will be able to see again one day.  

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orca

K pod Returns! K pod resident Orcas swim down the west side

Woah! It’s July. When did that happen? It definitely does not feel like July which I bet most people around the world can commiserate with. On top of that we are getting some classic early July Pacific Northwest weather here. Captain Sarah and I headed out into the gray day and light rain to go searching for more exciting wildlife in the San Juans. We headed south towards San Juan Channel and Cattle Pass. As we entered the pass the rain let up and we soon saw a Minke Whale around...

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Trifecta Thursday! Southern Resident Orcas, Minke Whales and a Humpback!

Piper | Thursday, September 26, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM

Wowza! Today was an epic day in the Salish Sea; Captain Gabe and I took an awesome group of people out on our Adventure boat, armed against the wind in exposure suits. We left the docks and headed north into San Juan Channel, eventually arriving at White Rock where a haul-out of harbor seals was scooching itself across low-lying rocks. Just north of there Gabe was glancing out at a giant gathering of birds, a great sign...

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Southern Residents Near San Juan!

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 09/05/19 | 11:00am

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, random dogs were barking in the distance; it was looking like a great start to our whale watch!

Captain Gabe and I took our new friends out of Friday Harbor on the Kestrel. We headed down south through the San Juan Channel towards Cattle Point.

Along the way we stopped to watch a big bait ball! Swarms of birds were pecking at the surface of the water and diving down to catch fish that were balled...

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J pod and K pod orcas fish in Strait of Georgia [Saturday, 9/15/18, M/V Kestrel, 10:00]

[Saturday, 9/15/18, M/V Kestrel, 10:00]

 

On Saturday, Captain Gabe and I took a great group out on a cloudy morning to go look for some amazing wildlife. We headed up north. We went through San Juan Channel and up past East Point towards the Strait of Georgia. Here, in between Saturna Island and Point Roberts we started to see some blows in the distance. We slowed down and approached these whales we could see that they were members of the Southern Resident Killer Whale Community...

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Trifecta with Residents and Transients

09/04/17- M/V Kestrel- 10AM & 2PM

Today was by far one of the best days out on the water for me this season.  On our first trip we had a whale watching trifecta, which is when we see all three main species of whales that we watching this area; minke, humpback and orca.  On our second trip we got to see transients and our long missed resident whales, who were back in the area for the first time in 29 days.  Not only were the whales amazing, but we had enthusiastic and curious guests...

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Adult Male Surfacing

Resident Whales South of San Juan Island

(6/29/17 - Sea Lion 1:30 PM Departure)

You couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day to be out on the water here in the San Juan’s.  We left the dock with reports of Southern Resident Killer Whales on the south side of San Juan Island, near False Bay.  We headed straight toward that report of whales and decided to look for other wildlife on the way back.  After a nice leisurely ride we made it to the whales.  Our guests were very enthusiastic about seeing the whales and getting...

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[6/25/17 - M/V Sea Lion] Applying for Residency - Southern Resident Orcas Return!

[6/25/17 - M/V Sea Lion - 1:30PM] The Residents are back! Parts of J pod and L pod were both spotted and heard (on the hydrophones) this morning. This is exciting! The San Juan Islands are best known for the salmon eating Southern Residents and it’s great to hear that they are back at least if only for a little while. Captain Gabe, Rachel, and I set out with a great crew to go find them. When they are around they usually have a few distinct paths that they like as they search for the...

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