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Great Wildlife and Orca Tour Near Salt Spring!

 

 

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 08/11/19 | 3:00pm

What an amazing trip!

Captain Gabe and I set out of Friday Harbor and headed north through the San Juan Channel. We boated around the eastern tip of Speiden and towards the Cactus Islands. Here we found a bald eagle!

The eagle was devouring a huge salmon on the rocks close to the water. It was really cool watching him tear pieces away and you could literally hear him eating! But then things got interesting! Another bald eagle swooped in to...

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Bigg's Killer Whale Cruising by Canada

Piper | Sunday, August 11, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30 PM

On this lovely Sunday afternoon, Captain Erick, naturalist Erin, and myself headed out into the Salish Sea with an awesome group of guests to see what sorts of critters were hanging out in the area. We left the docks of Friday Harbor and headed north in San Juan Channel.

There was a report of a lone Bigg’s killer whale that had first been spotted to the east, between Blakely and Decatur Islands but had booked it northwest and...

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Orca whale near Friday Harbor!

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 08/11/19 | 11:00am

Today was so fun!

We got incredibly lucky as Captain Gabe and I headed out of Friday Harbor and basically found a whale immediately!

We first spotted a bald eagle up in the trees near the harbor! We stopped to check him out and watch him perched up in a tree, scanning his surroundings for any fish!

Then, we joined our whale! We identified him as T65A2 swimming by himself up the east side of San Juan! And he was booking it. Swimming super fast...

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Bigg's Killer Whale Near Victoria B.C.

Crew Favorite Killer Whale Traveling Solo

Olivia | August 9th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

It was a gorgeous day on the water today as Captain Erick, Co-Naturalist Erin and I headed south with our passengers through the San Juan Channel. We caught word of a lone male Orca traveling near Victoria, B.C. and decided to make the trek southwest to see if we could view one of our favorite Bigg’s Killer Whales. On our way there, we passed heaps of Harbor Porpoises and bait balls, making it an entertaining trip through the Strait...

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Bigg's Whales Hunting Seals at Flattop!

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 08/07/19 | 5:30pm

This sunset tour turned into one of my favorite tours yet!

It all started with Captain Pete, Naturalist Laura and I heading out of Friday Harbor. We couldn’t believe our luck! Immediately, we heard reports of orca whales literally swimming 15 minutes away from us!

We jaunted over to Jone’s Island and found the orcas right away! This amazing orca pod consists of T18 (grandma of the group and one of the oldest females in the region, estimated...

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Southern Resident Killer Whales in Haro Strait

Bigg's Killer Whales get a harbor seal lunch!

Naturalist Erin | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM | Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Today's trip was magical! We started our trip with no firm reports of whales, so we decided to head toward the Strait of Georgia and cover some different areas than other boats were covering. We were going for a whale search. We stopped by Flattop Island, which is an important wildlife refuge. Here we saw harbor seals hauled out on the rocks and swimming around in the water. At one point, one of them even jumped...

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Big Male Orca Whale Near Stuart!

 

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 08/06/19 | 1:30pm

Today started as a gorgeous sunny day without a cloud in the sky, and it just got better. Captain Sarah, Naturalist Laura and I headed out of Friday Harbor and headed north through the San Juan Channel up towards reports of wildlife! But, on the way, we kept finding other random wildlife!

We stopped as we saw a swarm of birds, also known as a bait ball, swirling over a sea lion! It was really cool to briefly see this Steller sea lion pop...

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Olympic Peninsula Sunset and SO Many Orca Whales!!

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 08/4/19 | 5:30pm

Today was a magical day out on the water! Captain Erick, Naturalist Olivia and I headed out of Friday Harbor and went south through the San Juan Channel. We boated past Cattle Point Lighthouse and took some gorgeous pictures. Then we headed out into open seas and towards the Olympic Peninsula.

We sped across this large expanse of nothingness, enjoying the still water as we watched birds pass by and porpoises sneakingly swim past.

Eventually we...

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Orca Whales In the Strait of Georgia!

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 07/29/19 | 1:30pm

What a lovely day out on the water! I really enjoyed talking with all my guests. They were a great group.

Captain Sarah, Naturalist Alexandria and I took our vessel, the Sea Lion, out of Friday Harbor and sped up through the San Juan Channel.

We boated up towards this little island near Waldron Island and spotted tons of seals! These harbor seals lounged lazily amongst the wet rocks and snuggled up against each other as they fought the rising...

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Bigg's Killer Whales near Saturna Island!

Erin | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM | Monday, July 29, 2019

What an incredible day packed with wildlife in the Salish Sea! When we left Friday Harbor, the sun was shining and it was shaping up to be a gorgeous day. We headed north out of the harbor toward a report of orcas in Boundary Pass! The water was calm, and we were all excited to see wildlife. We stopped past White Rock, which is south of Waldron Island. It is an important wildlife refuge for pinnipeds and birds alike. We saw a lot...

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