Piper | Friday, August 9, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 3:00 PM

This afternoon Captain Gabe and I took a lovely group of guests out on the Kestrel for an epic trip down to Admiralty Inlet, at the very top of Puget Sound. We left the marina and headed south into San Juan Channel. This channel opens up to the Strait of Juan de Fuca at Cattle Pass, where a haul out of Steller’s sea lions and harbor seals were soaking up the sun.

We looked on as a giant bull pulled himself out of the icy waters...

Naturalist Erin | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM | Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Today's trip was magical! We started our trip with no firm reports of whales, so we decided to head toward the Strait of Georgia and cover some different areas than other boats were covering. We were going for a whale search. We stopped by Flattop Island, which is an important wildlife refuge. Here we saw harbor seals hauled out on the rocks and swimming around in the water. At one point, one of them even jumped...

Laura C. | M/V Sea Lion | 8/6/2019 | 5:30pm

Our evening wildlife cruise aboard M/V Sea Lion was spectacular!  We all anxiously made our way out of Friday Harbor as quickly as possible because we heard reports of orcas traveling south from Boundary Pass to Stewart Island!!  It is so exciting to hear of whales traveling so close to home!  On our way north we made a quick pit stop to see a splashing Stellar sea lion in full feeding mode around a bait ball!  The birds were the first...

Piper | Saturday, August 3, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30 PM

On this beautiful Saturday afternoon in the San Juan Islands, Captain Gabe, naturalist Olivia, and I took a lovely group of people out to scan for whales and wildlife! We headed south into San Juan Channel after leaving the marina and just before we got to Cattle Pass we spotted a couple groups of harbor porpoises swimming around the boat!

We continued south of San Juan Island into the Strait of Juan de Fuca where we came upon...

Laura C. | 8/3/2019 | M/V Kittiwake | 11:00am

We all had an outstanding day on M/V Kittiwake!  With morning reports of minke whales feeding south of Cattle Point on Hein Bank, we anxiously headed south to check out the action!  On our way we stopped along some tiny islands to see some harbor seals and their pups!  These adorable animals were enjoying the sunshine and cool ocean temperature today!  Scanning the area above, we were excited to see a bald eagle perfectly perched over all...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 07/29/19 | 1:30pm

What a lovely day out on the water! I really enjoyed talking with all my guests. They were a great group.

Captain Sarah, Naturalist Alexandria and I took our vessel, the Sea Lion, out of Friday Harbor and sped up through the San Juan Channel.

We boated up towards this little island near Waldron Island and spotted tons of seals! These harbor seals lounged lazily amongst the wet rocks and snuggled up against each other as they fought the rising...

Erin | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM | Monday, July 29, 2019

What an incredible day packed with wildlife in the Salish Sea! When we left Friday Harbor, the sun was shining and it was shaping up to be a gorgeous day. We headed north out of the harbor toward a report of orcas in Boundary Pass! The water was calm, and we were all excited to see wildlife. We stopped past White Rock, which is south of Waldron Island. It is an important wildlife refuge for pinnipeds and birds alike. We saw a lot...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 07/28/19 | 1:30pm

Today was magical! So many exciting things happened.

Captain Sarah and I headed out of Friday Harbor, down the San Juan Channel and towards Cattle Point.

We stopped by this small island called Whale Rocks and found some Steller sea lions! I was incredibly excited to see these huge marine mammals because they’ve been up in Alaska for their mating season for most of the summer! They lumbered around the island as their harbor seal cousins...

Erin | Sunday, July 28, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM

What an incredible afternoon aboard the M/V Kestrel! The sun was shining when we left the harbor, and we were all ready for a wildlife adventure! We left Friday Harbor and headed north toward some reports of orcas in Boundary Pass. Since the reports of the whales were so close to where we were, we figured we could go and search for some other wildlife before heading towards the orcas. We went to Spieden Island and cruised along...

Erin | M/V Sea Lion | Saturday, July 27, 2019 | 5:30 PM

It was a lovely evening of viewing wildlife around the Salish Sea. The Salish Sea attracts so many different types of wildlife because of the amount of productivity that occurs. This productivity creates phytoplankton and allows for the whole food chain to be present, especially throughout the summer months. Our first wildlife sighting was at Flattop Island. Flattop Island is northeast of Spieden Island, and it is designated as...