Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | April 19th, 2021 | 13:00

Shortly after departing the dock, we received word of some Killer Whale reports northeast of Orcas Island. We immediately started heading that way north around the islands, passing lots of wildlife along the way such as harlequin ducks, rhinoceros auklets, pigeon guillemots, cormorants, Harbor Seals, and swimming Steller’s Sea Lions. About halfway between Barnes and Matia Islands, we started to see three spouts of Bigg’s Killer Whales...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | April 12th, 2021 | 13:00

What a clear day in the San Juan Islands! Not only could we see Koma Kulshan (Mount Baker) standing tall from the North Cascades, but we could also see Tahoma (Mount Rainier) to the south! You know it is a special day in the Salish Sea when both volcanoes are making an appearance. Starting off the trip, Captain Sarah took us south through San Juan Channel passing heaps of Rhinoceros Auklets. On the southern side of Salmon Bank, we...

Laura C. | M/V Kestrel | 8/12/2019 | 11:00am

Today was such a wonderful day out on the water!  M/V Kestrel headed to Flattop Island for our first stop to appreciate the diverse wildlife in the area!  There, we found some harbor porpoises, harbor seals and bald eagles!  A harbor seal was making a lot of noise and vocalizations as a large congregation of animals basked along the rocks.  It is weaning season for a lot of youngsters and some may be calling out for their mothers, as they...

[Sarah C. 8/6/17 5:30 Sea Lion]

Smoky skies continue to haunt the San Juans this week, giving us an eerie backdrop to our whale watches. Paired with the setting sun, the persistent smoke makes for an overwhelmingly orange-pink atmosphere that permeates the sea, sky, and wildlife. And while we hope for a prompt resolution to the forest fires in British Columbia, we can't help but observe in awe their effects on our daily sunset whale watches from Friday Harbor.

We left the dock today...

Whale Watching Report for Monday, April 23, 2012

We pulled out of Friday Harbor under bright skies. There was a whale report of animals near Anacortes headed south. So we headed south down the east side of San Juan Island. We made a stop near the south end of San Juan Island to view about 14 big, fat Stellar Sea Lions. Most were hauled out. The few near water’s edge seemed to be having a vocal and physical ‘tiff’.

I’ll spare you the ½ hour that we and several other boats...