Lauren Fritz, M/V Sea Lion, 7/18/17, 6:00 pm Tour

Today's sunset trip was a real treat for those of us on M/V Sea Lion. As we pulled away from the dock in Friday Harbor, we were excited to venture out and meet up with some of our Southern Resident Killer Whales that had been sighted earlier near the southwestern side of San Juan Island. These whales were members of L-pod, one of the three Southern Resident Killer Whale pods that we see out here in the Salish Sea. J-pod and K-pod were...

Of the three days so far in April, the M/V Sea Lion is batting 100% in terms of whale sightings. Yesterday was a spectacular day on the water, definitely in my top five of trips ever… It’s not even summer! Captain Mike, Naturalist Andrew, and I elected to head north out of Friday Harbor, and then decided to travel around the north end of San Juan Island towards Haro Strait. We had a bluebird day and there was wildlife everywhere.

The tour started with some awesome...

Oh, I do love a good family get together. Orcas, being the incredibly social animals that they are, are often seen hanging out with their families, traveling throughout the Salish Sea and frequently foraging for salmon. But what's life without a little fun? You can't just spend your whole day searching for fish! These animals certainly need their play time, especially the families with young calves. Just like any baby mammal, calves seem to be full of endless energy, freuqently seen...

It's the magic of the San Juans - we know that every day is different out here cruising with San Juan Safaris. That's why we call it a safari - we never know what we're going to see, and it's always an adventure! M/V Kestrel cruised away from Friday Harbor with high hopes for a day full of exciting whale watching, and we were not disappointed. It was one of those days that took our breath away, each and every one of us in awe of how much diversity we are able to see out here in this...

Thursday was a great day. Sunny, calm, and we headed east which usually doesn't happen. towards the east side of Orcas Island. When we hit the rips off of Obstruction Pass you could see the clear green-tinted water of the Salish Sea churning as currents collided and looking downward you could actually see some Chinook Salmon! And where there are Chinook is the best place to search for Southern Resident Killer Whales. K pod appeared! We first spotted Scoter (K-25) with his very wide...

For the last two days the M/V Sea Lion and guests have been enjoying watching our Southern Resident Killer Whales. These Orcas are notorious for feeding on Chinook Salmon and do so at about 300-400 lbs per day! We've been seeing some great foraging behavior lately as well as lot's of social behavior! We've seen them feeding, breaching, spyhoping, cartwheeling, logging, and even mating! These Orcas are very social and love to vocalize. One of everyone's favorite things about the...

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...

Today was quite the day with lots of wildlife to be seen! Caitlin, Captain Mike, and I were paired up as a team once again and had a fabulous trip! It looked dark and ominous as we went though Cattle Pass out towards the Olympic Mountains, but it never rained a drop. We saw lots of Harbor Seals, Harbor Porpoise, and Bald Eagles as we motored out towards the whales. It's always great to see such a variety of wildlife!

When we got to the L-22s (part of our Southern Resident Killer...

Two great trips on the M/V Kittiwake today. We had both an afternoon and a chartered sunset trip. The swell had calmed down from previous days, leaving us with calm, glassy water on our trips. Both groups got great views of Spirit, L-22, and her two sons, Solstice, L-89, and Skana, L-79. This family of 3 have been moving along the west side of San Juan Island throughout the day, continuously searching for that tasty Chinook Salmon that they love ohhhh so much. And it sure looked like...

Happy Forth of July everyone! It has been a fantastic day so far! We left our Friday Harbor location and headed out to the west side of the island near False Bay where we met some of our L-Pod members. Spirit, Skanna, and Solstice were there feeding on the Chinook Salmon that are slowly retuning back to the Salish Sea. Our Southern Resident Orcas will stay with their mother and family group their whole life; this means that our Orcas here have matriarchal societies. Spirit is Skanna...