Sunset Whale Watching Tour off Point Roberts photo by Gues John Mc Cormick
Captain Mike and I found J-pod up by Pt Roberts this evening. We saw Granny as well as several other members including Mike (J-26). Mike ended up doing a full body breach three times in a row! It was AMAZING! Everyone was happy and had a great time.Naturalist, Amy
It was all about the killer whales today as we left Friday Harbor heading south, but we did see a large group of harbor seals hauled out on a rocky island on the way. After rounding Cattle Point heading around the west side of the island, we spotted two members of J-pod just outside False Bay. It was an adult female and a smaller whale that looked like a calf.
The whales were traveling south but stopped moving and started to dive and surface in one spot. We turned off the boat to...
Upon departing Friday Harbor, our guests were eager to suit-up in the bright yellow rain slickers we provide onboard; a little rain was not going to stop this group from having a wonderful time. So, with a pair of binoculars in hand, a sense of adventure in our hearts, and a boat full of positive attitudes, we were ready to see what the day would bring and boy, we were not disappointed!  Â
Having heard reports of whale activity, Captain Craig took us east through Upright Channel...
Today we visited some of the bad boys/bad girls of the sea, the Transient Orcas. Now donât get me wrong, they arenât misbehaved, they just prefer some of the larger meat items on the menu.Â
The first one we spotted was a male headed north in the San Juan Channel just offshore of San Juan Island. Transients are fairly individualistic so it was not a surprise to see him alone. It was a surprise however to some Harbor Porpoise just off our stern headed in the same direction. If...
Absolutely beautiful today in both weather and wildlife. It was bright, sunny and warm; probably the hottest day we've had all season. We left Friday Harbor heading north, and had to make a long trip to get to see some killer whales. But, even though we didn't have time to meander around the islands looking for other wildlife, we saw harbor seals and a large group of harbor porpoises on either side of our boat along the way.
It wasn't too much longer until we saw dorsal fins in the...
Everywhere we looked around!!!!
Jâs and Lâs were enjoying themselves today, intermingling just off the west side of San Juan Island, Haro Strait (48°32.60N, 123°10.58). There were approximately three different groups spread out and one of the groups had two large males intimately chasing after a set of females. We decided to give them a little privacy and let nature takes its course, so we went on to catch up with âMoonlightâ (L83) and her son âMidnightâ (L110).
The...
North was the direction we headed out of Friday Harbor and it didn't take long to spot wildlife; a bald eagle was perched high in the tree tops just outside the harbor. Along Spieden Island is where we encountered more wildlife. Harbor seals were hauled out on a rocky island just off the island, and as we motored ahead a bald eagle flew along the island traveling the same pace as our boat! J-pod, the second largest pod in the Southern Killer Whale community, was also around the San...
Rain could not keep us away from the whales today as we departed North out of Friday Harbor. It was a bit foggy as we left, but the further north we went, the clearer it became. Then, just south of Turn Point we spotted J-2 "Granny" swimming along Stuart Island by herself. We watched as the 101 year old killer whale surfaced and dived. The rest of J-pod wasn't far behind her including J-27 "Blackberry". After watching the whales go by for a while we started back towards San Juan...
What a day! We didn’t have to travel far, getting to enjoy the company of many members of J-Pod, with the star being “Big” Mike, J-26. We were on the northwest side of San Juan Island at 48° 36.9345 / 123° 11. 8222. Shachi, J-19 was leading a group of other females north. After nearly an hour with the active Orcas, we turned north for a tour along Spieden Island, with harbor seals, Mouflon sheep and sika deer galore! We punctuated the hurrahs on that stretch with 3 bald eagle...
Word was that killer whales were north and headed north today, so we wasted no time departing from Friday Harbor. Along the way we spotted a few curious harbor seals and some harbor porpoise. Then we weaved in between the beautiful Canadian islands of Saturna and South Pender before heading through Active Pass. Just north of Active Pass we spotted a killer whale breach in the distance! (48° 53.267 N 123° 17.661 W). It was J-Pod. The whales were spread out, traveling in small groups...