Today was an awesome day out on the water!  Our great group boarded M/V Sea Lion this afternoon and headed out east.  Once we passed over to Rosario Strait we headed north to catch up with some Transient (also known as Bigg's Killer Whales) that we had reports of!  We were so excited when we got on scene!  There were quite a few individuals- at least two families of these Bigg's Killer Whales!

We hung out for quite awhile with these amazing animals, watching their massive dorsal fins...

Leaving the harbor with a full boat Captain Mike, Alexandria and myself were excited to get out on the water and see what orcas were hanging around the San Juan Channel! It’s really a treat and a weight off our shoulders when the whales are right outside the harbor since sometimes we must travel two hours to even catch up to them! With high spirits, we headed North up the channel hugging the east side of San Juan island. About two miles up the coast, we saw some faint spouts coming...

Jordan | July 30, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30 trip

Today’s trip started out with sunny skies and excited guests as we left Friday Harbor for our 1:30 trip on our Sea Lion vessel. Captain Pete, Naturalist Rachel and I heard reports of some whales far up in Canada. Luckily, they were headed south towards us, so we headed north to meet them! We boated up through the San Juan Channel and through Boundary Pass alongside the west side of Waldron island as we entered Canadian waters and...

Gabe and I were ready to take off on a sunny and warm Sunday afternoon. We had a half full boat and the guests were enjoying the warm breeze and bright view of the islands as we headed up the San Juan Channel. We had been with a group of transient orcas, who have been hanging around the islands for the past month or so, all day and now we were headed out to catch up to them again. They had traveled all the way from South end of Lopez and up past Waldron Island in just a few hours we...

[M/V Sea Lion- 5/5- Naturalist Alexandria]

Aboard M/V Sea Lion guests were treated to a gorgeous sunny Spring day.  Captain Mike, Naturalists Piper and myself, Naturalist Alexandria, all boarded for an exciting trip on the water as the sun shined down on us for one of the first of our perfect spring days of the year. 

We were lucky enough to be treated to some amazing Transient Sightings while on our trip!  We saw a family of three orcas hanging out north off the shore of Waldron...

A Look Back At Our Fantastic Trip

[Naturalist Alexandria – 09/20/2017 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

Our energetic group boarded Sea Lion on a crisp September afternoon, ready to explore the water surrounding San Juan Island to see what wildlife we could find!   We ventured north and began our search for some awesome wild life! 

Not long after leaving the harbor we were treated to some quick glances of a playful harbor porpoise frolicking in the waves as well as a harbor seal creating a...

[Naturalist Sarah C. 9/3/17 M/V Sea Lion 1:30pm departure]

Transient orcas have been spotted in the dozens around the San Juans this week. It's not always the case that we get to choose which whale sighting we pursue on our daily departures from Friday Harbor. With multiple families spotted within our range, we chose a company favorite for today's adventure - the T65A's.

Orcas, as a species, are matriarchal, meaning that the oldest female in a family group is in charge. For...

This has been the summer to see Transient Orcas, which for me has been an absolute blast! Transients, unlike Resident Orcas, are much stealthier and tend to be more elusive in their feeding patterns. Since the Southern Residents Orcas seem to be feeding elsewhere for their fill of Chinook Salmon, it has created a gap in the population. Unlike past years where Residents were the "go to" whale to watch, now the Transients have filled that void.
Overall, Residents and Transients have an...

B-E-A-U-TIFUL weather around the San Juan's today! That lingering fog bank hanging along the westside of San Juan Island was not going to stop us from having a great whale watching and wildlife tour. Captain Brent, the passengers aboard M/V Kittiwake, and myself took this as an excellent opportunity to head North away from the heavy fog bank. This turned out to be an excellent choice, because we were able to meet up a Minke Whale feeding by its lonesome along the west side of Waldron...

With plenty of sun shining, M/V Kittiwake departed Friday Harbor with a family, Captain Jim, and myself. There was one little boy who really wanted to see whales and we were able to head north to see a Minke whale. We spotted the Minke in Boundary Pass just west of Waldron Island. This Minke was very friendly and everyone was very excited it. M/V Kittiwake was very fortunate to have some great viewings of lunge feeding occurring. I was lucky enough to show the little boy the...