[Sunday – 3/25/18 – 12:00 – M/V Sea Lion – Naturalist Erick]

      On Sunday here in the islands Mike, Sarah, and I took a great group of folks out to see what we could find in the cool waters of the Salish Sea. We started north through San Juan Channel and towards the outer islands of this little archipelago. We squeezed in between Jones and Orcas Island and took a quick stop to take a peek at some Harbor Porpoises. These are the most common and also the smallest cetaceans (whales...

[Friday, 3/16/18 - 12:00 – M/V Sea Lion – Naturalist Erick]

     We have been experiencing a long sunny break from our normal drizzly spring weather and it seems to be bringing out all the natural spring activities in full force. Flowers are blooming, there are little lambs running around everywhere, and the birds have started to migrate back north. On this lovely, sunny day Captain Mike and I took our small group of guests out to search for some fun wildlife. We headed north towards...

[Friday - 3/9/18 - 12:00 – M/V Sea Lion – Naturalist Erick]

Banking on Wildlife

            These past few days we have had a great streak of weather that is making it really feel like spring up here in the islands. Bright, calm, sunny days with a light breeze and a small rain shower in the afternoon. The plants and animals are starting to notice too. Some of our overwintering birds are starting to head back up north and even a few flowers have started to bloom! This Friday was...

[Saturday, 3/3/18 – 12:00 – M/V Sea Lion – Naturalist Erick]

This Saturday, we headed out again on another rare, sunny spring day! Captain Mike and I took our small group of guests north towards the outer islands of the San Juans and the Southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia. We made our first stop at Green Point (the eastern-most point on Spieden Island just north of San Juan). Here at Green Point is a favorite haul out spot for our largest pinniped species and the largest Sea...

[Friday, 3/2/18 - 12:00 - M/V Sea Lion - Naturalist Erick]

A Steller Start

            Here at San Juan Safaris we are having a great time since starting one-a-day tours on March 1st. This Friday, Captain Mike and I took out a small group of folks to look for wildlife on a quintessential Pacific Northwest weather day. There was no rain but all around you could see the tree tops scraping the clouds and creating the undulating mist that often surrounds the islands this time of year...

[Sunday, 2/25/2018, 12:00, M/V Sea Lion, Naturalist Erick]

  The Steller Sweet Life       

      This Sunday, Captain Mike and I headed out to search for some amazing wildlife on another sunny day in the Salish Sea. It was pretty blustery on the west side of the islands, but we managed to stay in the sheltered waters in the middle and northern side of our little archipelago. We headed first to Green Point on Spieden Island and spotted a little bit of splashing around one of the rocky...

[Sunday 02/11/2018, M/V Sea Lion 12:00, Naturalist Erick]

     On Sunday, we were lucky enough to get another bright, sunny, brisk day. We started our whale and wildlife search headed north through San Juan Channel toward the outer islands. We stopped first at the Cactus Islands. Most folks don’t associate cacti with the Pacific Northwest, but the San Juan Islands are in a rainshadow area created by our coastal mountains and Vancouver Island. Our climate is a little more arid than...

[Saturday 02/10/2018, M/V Sea Lion 12:00, Naturalist Erick]

     And…we’re back! Saturday was San Juan Safaris’ first public trip of 2018! A high pressure system has moved into the San Juan Islands so this weekend has been sunny, calm, and a little brisk. Most folks come to see whales in the summer months for many reasons. The weather is nice, kids are off from school, and that is when we usually see the Southern Resident Killer Whales – the famous J, K, and L pods. Unbeknownst to...

[Naturalist Erick D., M/V Kestrel, 8/9/17, 2:00PM]

On our afternoon trip for the day, Gabe and I and all the lovely folks aboard started another exciting search for some cool marine wildlife. Our first stop was one of our favorites. We motored down to Whale Rocks. These two Islets emerge from the waves of Cattle Pass just southwest of Lopez Island. You can see them from the shores of both Lopez and San Juan, and when they are covered by our favorite pinnipeds you can definitely...

[Naturalist Erick D., M/V Kestrel, 8/9/17, 10:00AM]

On Wednesday, Captain Gabe and I started on the search for families (matrilines) of Transient (Bigg’s) Orcas. While in the Salish Sea this summer we have not seen the Southern Resident orcas much this summer, we have seen many of the Transient (Bigg’s) Orca matrilines. The main difference between these two distinct, non-interbreeding populations that swim through the Salish Sea is their diet. The Southern Residents eat only fish...