She was my first wild orca. I will never forget that moment as I sat on the bow of the M/V Sea Lion, mere hours after stepping off the ferry, and I was looking at her family. I watched her glossy back break the surface and heard that powerful "kwoof" that instantly became my favorite sound. I took in every detail of her closed saddlepatch and petite dorsal fin with a scallop out of the trailing edge before she dove below the surface.  With a wandering tear rolling over my cheek, and...

Isn't it amazing how family-oriented killer whales are? They wouldn't be very successful out there in the big wide ocean without their moms and sisters and brothers! Once a female orca gives birth to a calf, that calf is going to stick by her side for life. Family pods are the core unit of orca society, and they are headed by the female matriarch. She's generally a wealth of information since she's been around the longest, and she can show her family the ropes as far as where to...

Today myself, Alex and Captain Mike left the dock on the Sea Lion with a boat full of excited passengers, great whale reports and a beautiful evening ahead of us. As we left Friday Harbor we headed South past Griffin Bay in the San Juan Channel. We stopped near Goose Island (still on fire from 4th of July negligence and hot dry weather) to check out some seals lazily swimming in the current, popping their heads out to check on us as we passed. This time of year holds lots of curious...

Today the M/V Sea Lion left the dock with Captain Mike, naturalists Mike and Tyler, and a boat full of excited passengers. We had reports of Orcas traveling up the west side of San Juan Island so despite a few clouds, we were all smiling. On our way around the south end of the island, we stopped at Whale Rocks off of Cattle Point to check out some pinniped action! We were able to see harbor seals and Stellar's sea lions hauled out on the rocks while a bald eagle perched on top. It is...

Today we left Friday Harbor with a full boat of eager passengers who were determined to see some Orcas, and L Pod did not let them down! Captain Mike, Naturalist Andrew, and myself, did not have to go far to encounter L Pod stretched out along south end of San Juan Island. We stayed with a subgroup of L Pod hanging around Salmon Bank for the majority of the trip. This proved to be an excellent decision when a group of females and juvenile males repeatedly displayed breaches, tail...

Another wonderful day on the water! Sun was out and it was HOT. Captain Mike, Naturalist Emily, and myself went south out of Friday Harbor and then steadily made our way north along the west side of San Juan Island. While meandering along the west side, we first encountered a large group of bobbing seals in the water. After sitting in silence for a bit we realized our boat was surrounded by harbor seals! It was great to see them enjoying the crisp 46 degree waters.
After saying...