Yesterday all of our stars aligned. During April, cetacean sightings have historically been a bit hit or miss… whales here one day and then gone the next. Lately we have had a lull in whale sightings, but we have still been out enjoying the beautiful weather and ample wildlife of spring in the Salish Sea.

We left the dock with no good report of orcas; no one in the Pacific Whale Watch Association’s spotting network had spotted anything. About 30 minutes off the dock, Captain Mike...

Captain Mike and I had yet another perfect spring private charter on the M/V Sea Lion. We woke up this morning and it felt like summer! The sun was shining, the sky was that special shade of San Juan blue, and there were reports of whales!

We headed north out of Friday Harbor skirting the northern side of Spieden Island. There were so many bald eagles out and about today, pretty much everywhere we looked we could find one: perched in Douglas firs on the shores, on the sloped of...

We are getting spoiled with these early season trips here on San Juan Island! Yesterday was one of those magical trips that we have spent all winter dreaming about. Captain Mike and I left Friday Harbor with a lively private charter group on the search for some wildlife! As it is still early season for seeing killer whales, I was cautiously optimistic on our chances of seeing whales, but thought if we did see orcas that they would most likely be some of our local Bigg’s killer whales...

Yesterday we were greeted by the happy news that there is yet another new calf in the endangered Southern Resident community of orcas, and the sixth born into the familial grouping known as J Pod.

NOAA scientists first observed a new calf travelling between J14 Samish and J37 Hy’Shqa on January 18th and confirmed the sighting yesterday. Right now there is no confirmation on which female is the mother, but that is not unusual as all females within a family will take an active role in...

Any day on the water can be full of surprises and as we left the dock, intending to go find Humpback Whales, Captain Mike got word of two male Orcas in Rosario Strait. Humpbacks are wonderful creatures, but any chance to see black and whites shouldn't be taken for granted. So, we headed for the East side of the San Juans with high hopes.

When reports of lone or small groups of Orcas come in, they can often be Transients. Also named Bigg's Killer Whales, after the first researcher who...

AMAZING DAY ON THE WATER! We had rain, we had thunder, and most importantly we had a whole bunch of whales! It was a true Pacific Northwest day with lots and lots of whales. We met up with all of K pod and some members of J Pod. It was an amazing opportunity to see these whales moving together along the westside, but also to be surrounded by mother nature at its finest. Thunder rolling in the background, with whale blows in the distance, all in all it was an excellent day to be out...

It was an eventful day today with our resident whales along the westside of San Juan Island. We were greeted by both members of K Pod and L Pod for our afternoon trip on the M/V Sea Lion. We first met up with these whales at Battleship Island and then followed them north towards Turn Point Lighthouse on Stuart Island. I always love being able to see them at Turn Point because Mt. Baker, the lighthouse, and the whales, will occasionally line up perfectly for the ultimate whale...

With the grey clouds clearing Captain Mike, Tyler, the guests, and I left Friday Harbor heading north towards Speiden Channel. Just off the south west end of Speiden Island, we encountered a Humpback Whale mother and her calf! Humpbacks are sometimes spotted in the Salish Sea during their migration north. The San Juans provide a nice protected area for these huge travelers to pass though.

A short way a way, in the Haro Straight off of Sydney Island in Canada, we ran into two...

As we left for our tour on the M/V Sea Lion, the sun was shinning bright and the breeze was warm. As we picked up though, the air turned cool and the waters of Cattle Pass were whirling around as the tidal exchange was creating up-welling zones. We were all preparing to see some great wildlife with the reports of many different whales. Before we got on seen with the whales we got to see what I refer to as "Harbor Seal soup" were all of the seals are in the water foraging and we have...