Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 24th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Starting off in search of whales, we always make sure to look where their food is. This means areas of upwelling or currents that are stirring up nutrients attracting small bait fish. This bait fish attracts Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, and Baleen Whales. All of these mammals attract our primary population of orcas- the Bigg’s Killer Whales. Scanning these “hot spots” are like checking out all the mini buffets and gives us an...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 24th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Starting off in search of whales, we always make sure to look where their food is. This means areas of upwelling or currents that are stirring up nutrients attracting small bait fish. This bait fish attracts Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, and Baleen Whales. All of these mammals attract our primary population of orcas- the Bigg’s Killer Whales. Scanning these “hot spots” are like checking out all the mini buffets and gives us an...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 17th, 2021 | 12:30pm 

Wowzers was today an incredible day we experienced! We were able to watch a Humpback Whale right outside Friday Harbor and fluked with every dive! This led us to amazing views of the sparkling salt water gracefully dripping off the tail of this ocean giant. Nearby we even saw Harbor Porpoise presumably feeding on similarly sized bait fish, and heaps of migratory birds casually diving within San Juan Channel. Continuing north during our...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 16th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Another clear day graced us with the presence of Mount Rainier beaming high atop the Puget Sound to the south. We set off with the volcano guiding our way, passing Harbor Porpoises swimming outside Upright Channel. Passing Cattle Point Lighthouse and keeping it on our starboard side, we continued around Salmon Bank aiming for False Bay off San Juan Island. 

Not only did we catch a Bald Eagle chasing after a Rhinoceros Auklet upon...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 10th, 2021 | 12:30pm

The day shifted from a cloudy, rainy morning into a beautiful sunny afternoon- just in time for our adventure trip on the zodiac. After getting everyone geared up in their exposure suits and a brief tutorial on spotting wildlife, we were off the dock and in search mode heading north! It was a quick trip up to speed, because we were fortunate enough to have reports of Bigg’s Killer Whales IN San Juan Channel when we left the dock. Since...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 9th, 2021 | 12:30pm 

Heading south through San Juan Channel, we started our whale watching adventure by checking in on a whale rumor in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. By the time we passed Cattle Point Lighthouse, we caught sight of black dorsal fins on the southwest side of San Juan Island. This was a delighted sight since the initial reports were far south in an area called Hein Bank, a shallow bank in the big waters if the strait. Bigg’s Killer Whales and...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 5th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Leaving the dock today, our Captain decided to push north towards some whale rumors creeping in from Speiden Channel. This made the easy decision to move north through San Juan Channel in hopes of seeing some large, black and white dolphins before they swam into Canada. With Covid-19 border restrictions still in effect, we are unable to view any whales in Canada as of right now, meaning we work as hard as possible to navigate around...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | May 31st, 2021 | 12:30pm

Congratulations to anyone in the islands today- it was officially the hottest day all year! We spend every day out on the water with multiple layers on despite the temperature because these waters stay around 47 degrees year-round. With that wind flooding off the cool water, it makes for chilly trips even in the dead of summer. Lucky us! We had a lack of wind, blue skies stretched as far as we could see, and degrees. In the 3 years I...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | May 30th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Our sunny Sunday started off with heaps of Pigeon Guillemots exploring the inner Friday Harbor as we slowly made our way out of the hustle and bustle of the holiday traffic. Scouting out reports from multiple directions around the San Juan Islands, we made the decision to head north up San Juan Channel in the direction of the outer islands!

We were able to pass not only more Pigeon Guillemots, but also Rhinoceros Auklets, a variety of...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | May 29th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Kicking off Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, we left the dock with Koma Kulshan (Mount Baker) standing tall on the blue horizon as the water below sparkled in the mid-morning sun. Captain Gabe decided to start our adventures south through San Juan Channel. With the glassy water laid out in front of us, it made our ventures easy to spot Harbor Porpoise surfacing for a warm breath of air. These chocolate chip dorsal fins really stand out...