We began our Sunset Tour heading south through the San Juan Channel.  We stopped at Turn Island to see if anyone was home and sure enough a number of Harbor Seals were resting on the rocky shores of the intertidal zone.  After spending a few minutes with the Harbor Seals we continued motoring south and saw 7 Steller Sea Lions relaxing on Whale Rocks.  Another 2 Sea Lions were swimming nearby; these two individuals were very curious and kept inching closer to the boat as they...

Fantastic wildlife viewing today! Caught up with Southern Resident Killer Whales off East Point, Saturna Island, BC (48°27.25N, 123°02.35W). Viewed a large group of tightly packed members of J Pod, with J-37 (Hy’Shqa) and new baby tucked in between, moving westerly off Saturna Island at a slow pace. Lots of tail slapping, lob tailing, breaching, spy-hopping. Saw Bald Eagles in the trees and sitting on the rocks off Cactus Island. Guests witnessed a breathtaking dive bomb to the water...

Exciting day on the water! Leaving the harbor under rainy skies, we traveled north around San Juan Island. Happily, the skies dried and the sun soon came out just as we caught up with members of the Southern Resident Killer Whales in Haro Strait. Traveling along the west side of Stuart Island and milling in the Turn Point area (first sighted at 48°40.67N 123°14.92W) were: Onyx (L87), along with Slick (J-16) and her calf, Echo (J-42), Mike (J-26) and Alki (J-36). Our next sighting...

On last night’s sunset cruise we caught up with two groups of about 20+ Southern Resident Killer Whales headed south in Rosario Strait between Cypress and Blakely Island (48°34.46N, 123°46.05W). They hadn’t gone far since the greeting ceremony earlier that day, but you could tell the excitement had worn on them. They appeared to be resting, moving at a steady pace in unison, only coming up for 3-5 breaths before taking long dives.

From what we had identified, it was members of L-pod...

Several members of the Southern Resident Killer Whale population were seen in Rosario Strait today (48°38.49N, 122°43.12W). The whales were spread out from Lummi and Sinclair Islands all the way to Orcas Island.

The Killer Whales were initially traveling in small groups of 3-4 individuals before forming one larger group. This larger group, of at least 12 whales, were traveling in very close proximity with one another, and appeared to be swimming and surfacing right on top of each...

Many thanks to Mark for sending in these

absolutely wonderful Orca Whale and Bald Eagle photos.

We circumnavigated San Juan Island today, seeing wild life all the way around. We left Friday Harbor heading south and ran into a group of harbor seals hauled out on the rocks. Shortly after, around Goose Island, there was another large group of seals foraging in the water!

Continuing around to the west side, we ran into some fog and slowed. We could make out some boats, so we stopped and started to look for whales. Through the fog we heard the distinctive “powoof” of a killer whale...

Great whale watching out in Haro Strait today! Whales were spread out between Stewart Island and Lime Kiln State Park. We caught up with our first pair, mama and calf, just off Henry Island, near Kellet Bluff (48°34.60N, 123°12.03W). They were moving extremely fast, almost to be confused with porpoise, looking as if they were trying to catch up with the rest of the pack on the western side of San Juan.

After traveling with them for a bit, another female appeared out of nowhere...

We saw at least 5 members of J and L Pod along the southern end of San Juan Island offshore of False Bay (48°27.7265N, 123°05.3859W).  J26 “Mike” was frolicking with whales from L pod including L72 “Racer” a 26 year old female.  L72 was also traveling with her son L105 “Fluke” who was born in 2004. 

The whales were initially traveling in close proximity with each other before they began surfacing quickly and changing direction, usually a behavior associated with...

AND SO ARE THE WHALES!

The salmon must be satisfying, because we have been seeing our Southern Residents for weeks now, on both trips! Today around 3:00 PM we met up with at least 10 members of J and L pod just south of Mosquito Pass, traveling north in Haro Strait (48°35.66N, 123°12.61). They too, seemed to be enjoying the sun, surfacing multiple times and playing around in the water. They were definitely not shy, and we were able to identify, in plain sight, Spieden (J8), Slick...