Haleigh | M/V Osprey | August 11, 2022 | 12:30 pm

 

For Thursday’s classic whale watch tour, we departed southbound to scan the open waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to find any whales and wildlife lurking about. Our search began scanning the shallow banks where nutrients pool at the surface due to topographically-associated upwelling. As the nutrients collect near the sunlight, photosynthesis occurs sparking massive phytoplankton blooms. What comes afterward is a reaction...

Elle | M/V Osprey | 7/29/2022 | 5:30 PM

This evening was full of baleen whales here in the Salish Sea! After travelling south past Cattle Point Lighthouse we settled our boat in shallow waters at the top of Salmon Bank. We were surrounded by birds at the surface, hunting the smaller fish below, in what’s known as a bait ball. These bait balls on top of Salmon Bank are a favorite hunting area for minke whales, a smaller baleen whale with a reputation for being elusive. After patiently...

Elle | M/V Kestrel | 7/27/2022 | 2:00 PM

After departing from Friday Harbor we headed south in San Juan Channel. Near Cattle Point Lighthouse, we entered some choppy water, produced by fast currents mixing together, as well as wind. Above the waves, we saw a fifteen-foot puff of air: an exhalation from a humpback whale! The whale surfaced and dove, rarely staying under the water for more than a few minutes as it fought against a six-knot current. The whale didn’t make much progress...

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...