Haleigh | M/V Osprey | July 9, 2022 | 12:30 pm

 

This summer is proving to be a successful time to view wildlife, and today we were able to see two of our largest marine mammals found in the Salish Sea! As we departed from Friday Harbor, we first headed south to begin our search. Making our way through Cattle Pass, we could hear roaring Steller’s Sea Lions and squawking Pelagic Cormorants and Gulls atop Whale Rocks. We continued south towards a shallow area known as Salmon Bank where...

​Helena 7/10/2022 MV Kestrel 10am   MV Kestrel had a jam packed Saturday with wildlife everywhere we looked! We began our adventure heading south as we received some reports from other vessels south of Lopez Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. With the Olympics peeking out behind the clouds, we made it through Cattle Pass and out of the San Juan Channel. We quickly caught up with a pod of the mammal-eating ecotype of orca whale in the Salish Sea, Bigg's Killer Whales! On scene were...

7/7/2022

Helena

MV Osprey

12:30

 

We departed Friday Harbor for our Classic Tour at 12:30pm ready to explore all the Salish Sea has to offer! Our journey began by heading south down San Juan Channel, with San Juan Island to our starboard and Lopez to our port. We came into view of Cattle Point Lighthouse at the mouth of where the Channel meets the Haro Strait and the greater Strait of Juan de Fuca. This is one of my favorite views to see from the sea during our trip. First installed...

Helena 7/2/2022 MV Osprey 12:30pm  

I can’t think of a better Saturday afternoon spent than on the deck of MV Osprey! We departed Friday Harbor for our afternoon tour and headed south down San Juan Channel towards Whale Rocks where we encountered our first cetacean of the day -- a Minke Whale! The Minke Whale is a type of baleen whale, which unlike our toothed whales in the Salish Sea such as the orca, has baleen keratin plates that allows them to filter feed. These mammals eat...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 07/25/2021 10:00am

What a lovely day out on the water.

Captain Pete and I headed south down the San Juan Channel and out towards open waters. We searched around the southern shores of Lopez Island looking in calm waters for any blows. Not finding anything just yet, we spread our search further south out into open waters.

We stopped by some rocks where we spotted Steller sea lions! These huge pinnipeds climbed up the steep rock face and barked at each other as...

Jordan | M/V Osprey | 07/10/2021 12:30pm

The day began as Captain Brian, Naturalist Alexandria, Naturalist Haleigh and I jumped on Osprey with our guests and headed out to search the islands.

We headed south down the San Juan Channel and cruised towards Cattle Pass. Along the way, we stopped and watch the floppy seals enjoying their rocky haven. There were even pups there trying to keep warm in the sun.

 Continuing on our way, we saw the lovely Cattle Point lighthouse that indicates...

Jordan | M/V Osprey | 07/10/2021 12:30pm

The day began as Captain Brian, Naturalist Alexandria, Naturalist Haleigh and I jumped on Osprey with our guests and headed out to search the islands.

We headed south down the San Juan Channel and cruised towards Cattle Pass. Along the way, we stopped and watch the floppy seals enjoying their rocky haven. There were even pups there trying to keep warm in the sun.

 Continuing on our way, we saw the lovely Cattle Point lighthouse that indicates...

Haleigh | M/V Kestrel | July 6, 2021 | 2:00pm

 

Our adventure tour took off as a slow ride. Cattle pass, the southernmost part of San Juan Channel squished between San Juan Island and Lopez Island, was full of fog. We drifted through at a snail's pace, eyeing from left to right for any oncoming boats or logs. Eventually, we exited the fog and could pick up speed towards the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Earlier reports of a humpback whale traveling out that way led us on our path. Within a...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | July 3, 2021 | 5:30pm

 

On this evening’s classic sunset wildlife tour, we adventured southbound towards the junction of many channels. The Strait of Juan de Fuca, Haro Strait, Rosario Strait, and San Juan Channel are constantly intermixing waters rich with phytoplankton and bait fish. The churning at shallow banks makes for especially abundant feeding ground in the ecosystem that can be filled with wildlife. This was our destination for the evening.

 

As we...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 06/23/2021 2:00pm

Today was such a gorgeous day out on the water. The waves seemed almost mystical like we were floating in a painting.

The day began with Captain Brian and I jumping on the Kestrel and heading out towards the southern point of San Juan. Within the San Juan Channel, we spotted a large group of harbor seals lounging on the rocks. We even saw a pup! Hopefully, soon we will see more baby seals popping up.

We also found a bald eagle jumping along...