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Southern Resident Killer Whale

Southern Resident Killer Whales Fish off of False Bay!

Erick | M/V Sea Lion | Saturday, September 19, 2020 | 1:00 PM

 

 

The skies finally cleared today when Captain Sarah and I ventured out to search for wildlife in the Salish Sea. We headed south after getting reports that the Southern Residents had been spotted near the southern end of San Juan Island! As we headed down, we made a stop at Whale Rocks to look at the Steller Sea Lions and the Harbor Seals. After looking at those growly pinnipeds we continued on our way and headed...

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Bigg's Orcas

Trip to Deception Pass and Watching the T37A Bigg's Orcas Hunt!

Erick | M/V Kestrel | Wednesday, September 9, 2020 | 2:00PM

 

September is here! This is one of my favorite months here. Things slow down quickly after Labor Day and the weather seemingly steels itself for the coming autumn. Captain Brian and I took a group out on M/V Kestrel on this warm and calm Wednesday. We headed inter-island to head towards a report of Orcas in between Whidbey Island and the mainland. We cruised in between Lopez and Blakely Islands, crossed Rosario Strait and...

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Bigg's Orcas travel in Haro Strait! (T60's and T2B)

Erick | M/V Sea Lion | 1:00PM | August 21, 2020

 

This afternoon there was the treat of rain in the sky but luckily it held off till later in the day. Captain Pete and I took out a great crew of passengers out to search for the local wildlife in the Salish Sea! We started by heading south. There were some early reports of Orcas down by Middle Bank of the southwestern side of San Juan Island. We headed straight there, and they were still travelling slowly parallel to the international...

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A Trip Through Deception Pass Leads to a Whale Trifecta

Olivia | M/V Kestrel | August 7th, 2020 | 14:00

The Hail Mary works again! Captain Brian and I decided to take a chance and head far south on our afternoon adventure trip in an attempt to see Killer Whales between Whidbey and Camano Islands. This was a long shot as there was no coverage on the whales and we would have to find them ourselves, in addition to going far and pushing our time limits with the four-hour trip. We decided it was worth it to give it our all for our passengers...

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Bigg's Orcas

Bigg's Orcas Travel around the Outer Islands! (T18/T19s Killer Whale family)

Erick | M/V Kestrel | 2:00PM | August 8, 2020

 

It was another bright, beautiful, summer day out in the San Juan Islands! Captain Brian and I took a great group of guests out to look for some exciting wildlife in the Salish Sea! There was a report of some Bigg’s Orcas up near the outer islands! We headed up there through Presidents Channel and soon saw the group near Patos Island. It was the T18/T19s group that has been around for a few days now! This is a fascinating family. There...

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Bigg's Orcas

Two Families of Bigg's Orcas! : The T65A's and T37A's travel in Rosario Strait

Erick | M/V Kestrel | Saturday, July 18, 2020 | 2:00PM

 

It was another beautiful summer day here in the San Juan Islands! It was sunny, breezy, and beautiful blue skies everywhere you look. We could see Mt. Baker, the Olympic Mountains, and all the way down to Mt. Rainier! Capt. Brian and I took a full crew of guests out to look for whales and other wildlife. There were some early reports of some Orcas east of San Juan Island that were spotted near the ferry lane, so we headed that...

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Southern Resident Killer Whales in Boundary Pass

Humpback Whales and Southern Resident Killer Whales Swim the Sunny Strait of Juan de Fuca

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | JUly 14, 2020 | 13:30

Every moment of our trip was a picture-perfect day out on the water. From the minute we left the dock we were graced with sharp views of Mount Baker [volcano] towering over the islands, a full bodied Mount Rainier [volcano] greeting us in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, as well as the entirety of the Olympic Mountain Range silhouetting the South.

We took a sneak peek at some Harbor Seals hauled out near Turn Island before spotting Harbor...

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J Pod Foraging on Alden Bank

J Pod Seen Foraging on Alden Bank!!

Laura | M/V Sea Lion | 7/13/2020 | 1:30 PM

M/V Sea Lion rocked it today in the Rosario Strait!  We left the dock with reports of a humpback whale south of San Juan Island and a potential orca whale sighting near Point Roberts in the Strait of Georgia from this morning.  Our captain and I discussed our tactic and decided to steam north in hopes of getting to see something black and white today.  Passengers were fully behind this notion and eagerly scanned with their binoculars across...

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J Pod Found Foraging on Salmon Bank

J Pod Found Foraging on Salmon Bank

Laura | M/V Sea Lion | 7/11/2020 | 1:30 PM

Waking up this morning with rainy skies was no deterrent to visitors of San Juan Island to come on a whale watch, as marine mammals obviously love the water!  Passengers were happy as clams to board M/V Sea Lion with high hopes for the day and I was thrilled to hear reports of whales booming on the radio in our bridge!  We headed south through San Juan Channel and curved over towards Salmon Bank.  Captain Pete was in communication with other...

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Southern Resident Orcas

J pod Orcas back on the West Side and a Humpback Whale in SJ Channel!

Erick | M/V Kestrel | July 10, 2020 | 2:00pm

Wohoo! Another beautiful day out in the San Juans! It felt a little bit like summer out there in the Salish Sea but there was still a cool breeze coming from the south. Capt. Brian and I took an excited group out on M/V Kestrel to go find some wildlife! We first headed east and soon saw a blow out near Lopez Island! As we got closer, we saw that it was Humpback Whale headed south! We watched this giant whale swim quickly towards Cattle...

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