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...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 08/4/19 | 5:30pm

Today was a magical day out on the water! Captain Erick, Naturalist Olivia and I headed out of Friday Harbor and went south through the San Juan Channel. We boated past Cattle Point Lighthouse and took some gorgeous pictures. Then we headed out into open seas and towards the Olympic Peninsula.

We sped across this large expanse of nothingness, enjoying the still water as we watched birds pass by and porpoises sneakingly swim past.

Eventually we...

Olivia | August 4th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

Captain Erick, Co-Naturalist Jordan and I, along with our full boat of passengers, decided to head south for an opportunity to see some Bigg’s Killer Whales in the Strait of Juan de Fuca south of Hein Bank. Along the route, our captain was thrilled about seeing heaps of Phalaropes! These small birds are not often seen this close to shore, and typically feed on plankton. One female breeds with multiple males and leaves them to raise...

Piper | Sunday, August 4, 2019 | M/V Kittiwake | 11:00 AM

Today Captain Brian and I took some really awesome people out on the M/V Kittiwake to try to find some whales and wildlife! When we left the marina there were no whale sightings, so we decided to head south in San Juan Channel to do some searching of our own! On our way down the channel the radio came alive with a report of killer whales right where we were headed for the day!

We continued south and caught up with the orcas...

Olivia | August 3rd, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30pm

What an evening! We had a beautiful morning with two types of Baleen Whales (still in range) which made it an exceptional trip, and by the sunset trip, we found out about some Killer Whales sightings. The only problem was that they were just out of our range and we wouldn’t be able to make it within the 3-4 hour trip, and more importantly, back before it gets dark. We knew our passengers really wanted to see them, so with a lot of...

Piper | Friday, August 2, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 PM

Heading out on our second tour for the day, Captain Gabe and I took some awesome people out into the Salish Sea! We left the marina in Friday Harbor and hung a left, up San Juan Channel and towards the north. We passed by a channel marker not too far from the harbor upon which sat a bald eagle! I’m certain he was using that post to scope out his next meal! We continued northeast through President Channel and up past Sucia Island...

Laura C. | 8/2/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

Today was a prime example of marine mammal hunting specialists at work!  We made our way north on M/V Sea Lion towards Patos Island to find killer whales enjoying an afternoon meal!  Our Bigg’s killer whales closely circled a carcass and passed it around to fellow family members.  This family, the T65As, have been seen frequently throughout the summer season in the Salish Sea and are taking full advantage of our plentiful harbor seal and...

Olivia | July 31st, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30pm

This evening, the whales made our job very easy! Captain Pete and I brought our passengers around the northern side of San Juan Island, through Spieden Channel, and down towards Lime Kiln. Prior to getting there, we spotted the same family group of Bigg’s Killer Whales that we saw south of San Juan Island earlier that morning. The T46B1’s were feeding right outside of Mosquito Pass and comprised of three individuals, including the...

Olivia | July 30th, 219 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

This afternoon we had a full boat of wonderful passengers. Captain Gabe, Co-Naturalist Laura, and I talked about how much we loved everyone we chatted with and had such a variety of backgrounds on board. We set out north through the San Juan Channel towards Boundary Pass. We were lucky enough to leave the dock today with a potential whale report that was north of Saturna and heading southeast towards Tumbo and East Point.

On our way to...