Erin | M/V Kestrel | Saturday, June 8, 2019 | 11:00 AM

Today was an absolutely wonderful day out on the water. We left the harbor and the sun was shining! Within seven minutes of leaving the harbor, we came across a pod of killer whales. This is not a common occurence, so the crew was equally as excited as the passengers. The whales were diving in a zig-zagging pattern, there was some circling behavior by some of the younger whales, and there were lots of birds in the area. It was...

Erin | M/V Sea Lion | Friday, June 7, 2019 | 12:00 PM

What a phenomenal day it was out in the Salish Sea! We saw so many different types of wildlife, and the sun decided to show itself as well! We began our trip heading south toward Cattle Point. When we got to Cattle Point, we got some great views of Cattle Point lighthouse. Then we attracted our attention toward Whale Rocks, where there were Steller’s sea lions hauled out on the rocks and swimming in the water around them. There...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 06/06/19 | 11:00am

As the sun shone bright overhead and the Salish sea beckoned us to join her, Captain Brian, Naturalist Sarah and I set out towards promising reports of humpback whales up north. But then, almost immediately, we got a brand new report of orca whales off in the Rosario Strait!

Filled with excitement, we headed south down through the San Juan Channel. As we neared Cattle Pass off the southern point of San Juan, we spotted a crazy battle in the...

Sarah | 06/03/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM 

I just got off the water after a lovely day spent with wonderful wildlife and inquisitive guests. We had amazing June weather to explore the Salish Sea and we took full advantage of the sunshine and calm seas to go exploring.

Captain Pete and I elected to head north through San Juan Channel towards Boundary Pass. We stopped at White Rock near Waldron Island to check out some harbor seals hauled out on the rocks. These small pinnipeds are...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 06/02/19 | 12:00

Today Captain Erick and I took the Sea Lion out of Friday Harbor for a wonderful cruise around the islands. We, first, headed north through the San Juan Channel and passed the eastern tip of Speiden Island.

Then, we made a pitstop at Flattop Island! This beautiful national wildlife reserve hosted various birds flying overhead and a few harbor seals laying on the protected rocks. There was even one seal swimming gracefully through the water...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 06/01/19 | 3:00 pm

As we set out of Friday Harbor on our second trip of the day, everyone was really excited and ready for an amazing adventure to come. Captain Gabe and I took the Kestrel and sped off towards the north and right to Speiden Island.

Right away we saw a gorgeous bald eagle! It was beautiful perching high in the trees close to the shoreline.

But then as we continued, we found more animals! The adorable harbor seals! One of them was hilarious as he...

Erin | M/V Sea Lion | Friday, May 31, 2019 | 12:00 PM

Today was a day packed full of amazing wildlife viewing! It was a sunny, beautiful day out on the water. We began our day heading north out of Friday Harbor, getting some gorgeous views of Spieden Island. We ended up on the western side of Stuart Island, watching a juvenile humpback whale. It was taking very short dives and only spending a few moments at the surface. It showed its beautiful fluke to us as we left. We also got an...

Erin | Monday, May 27, 2019 | M/V Sea Hawk | 12:00 PM

Today we had some students from the University of Minnesota come out on our boat! They were studying at the Friday Harbor Labs to learn more about Marine Biology field study, and they came out with us to see some Salish Sea wildlife. It was a lovely, sunny day out on the water. We left from Roche Harbor and headed north towards Canadian waters. On our way to some reports, we saw some harbor porpoises! They were coming up to the...

Erin | M/V Sea Hawk | Saturday, May 25, 2019| 12:00 PM

Today was a rainy day, but that sure did not stop us from seeing amazing wildlife. We began our trip heading north out of Roche Harbor, heading toward Pender Island, as we got some reports of orcas in that area. On our way out of the harbor, we saw harbor seals up at the surface! As we were travelling, we got sights on a humpback whale that was by itself. We stopped to watch the humpback whale, and it had a fairly predictable...

Erin | Thursday, May 23, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion| 12:00 PM

Today was a beautiful day in Friday Harbor! The sun was shining and the water was lovely. We began our trip travelling north toward East Point on Saturna Island, as we had some promising reports. We stopped at White Rocks and there were two bald eagles resting on the rocks. They were adults, as they had white plumage on both their heads and tail feathers. One of them was originally in flight, so we got to see its awesome 6 foot...