Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | October 13, 2024 | 12:30 pm

October weather can be tricky out here in the Salish Sea. Luckily for our Classic Whale Watch & Wildlife Tour last Sunday, we were granted calm seas and sunny skies. Although the elements can sometimes prove tricky, Fall is a spectacular time to come whale watching in the San Juan Islands. Not only do we still regularly see killer whales, but we start to get a massive influx of migrating humpbacks as well. By October, most of the humpback whales...

Today, like most days, the Salish Sea was demonstrating the full potential of this incredibly unique ecosystem. Captain Mike, myself, and the excited passengers aboard the Sea Lion were fortunate enough to bear witness to some incredible activity that is a sure sign that Autumn is upon us.

We headed South out of Friday Harbor after leaving the dock on a hot tip that there were some large marine mammals spotted South of Lopez island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

On our way down the...

To be born into the world a baitfish would be an especially cruel fate. Baitfish such as herring, sand lance, and surf smelt form the base of the food chain, performing a critical, albeit brief function in the Salish Sea ecosystem.

Schools of these forage fish were being discovered and plundered all across the shallow banks south of San Juan Island today. Gulls attacked the schools from above while rhinoceros auklets picked them off from below, returning from their dives with a...