[06/23/2017 – M/V Kestrel – 02:00pm]

M/V Kestrel is our newest vessel in our fleet of four, and she has consistently proven to be an amazing tool over the last year of use. Going into her second summer as a part of our fleet I am excited to see how we can continue to use this incredible boat to better our guest experience. We are consistently impressed by the smoothness of the ride and just the sheer distance that we can cover on this boat.

Yesterday’s tour was a great example of...

[2017/06/19 ~ M/V Kestrel, 1000 and 1400 departures]

It was humpback mania in the Salish Sea today. Not only did the M/V Kestrel see four different humpbacks, but our other vessels also humpbacks! Altogether, we estimate that San Juan Safaris saw six different humpbacks today. That may not sound like much, but the Salish Sea is home to a relatively small population of humpbacks, estimated at 45 individuals last year. So, really, we saw 11% of our humpback whale population today. That...

(06/18/2017 -Kestrel 2:00 pm Departure)

Today was a true Pacific Northwest day here in the San Juan Islands, with light rain and fog throughout the entire day.  We headed South towards reports of transient killer whales.  On our way to the whale report we stopped by the whale rocks to see some Steller’s sea lions.  Many of these huge animals were hauled out on the rocks while a few were playing in the water nearby.  While we watched the sea lions we got a report two humpback whales...

[6/17/17- M/V Kestrel- 2:00PM] It was a day to remember out on the Salish Sea! We departed Friday Harbor from San Juan Island on M/V Kestrel, a high-adventure zodiac-style boat. And holy smokes, within 15 minutes we were already upon some transient killer whales! Snuggled between San Juan Island and Lopez Island were the T65’s, a small family group that has been hanging around the San Juan Islands frequently. They were calmly traveling in a tight-knit group, breathing together in...

[06/16/2017 – M/V Kestrel – 02:00pm]

The whale watching has been great lately! We are entering what local naturalists are calling the “new normal.” The diversity of our ecosystem is shifting, and we are seeing that reflected most notably in our local orca populations. With a drop in our local salmon population we are seeing less and less of our Southern Resident killer whales in our inland waterways. Traditionally we expect to see members of J, K & L Pods from about May through...

[06/12/17 ~ 1:00 Kestrel]

Even on my second season here at San Juan Safaris, there are still days where I'm simply in awe of the area that I'm surrounded by. The churning waters of the Salish Sea, punctuated by evergreen-capped islands, both hosting a unique and charactaristic array of wildlife that I always feel blessed to be graced by on a daily basis. Today was one of those days, with crystal-clear skies and water just choppy enough to keep us on our toes, and reports of whales...

(06/11/2017 - Kestrel 2pm Departure)

One of the best things about wildlife watching is that you never know what is going to happen.  Every day is different and the day before doesn’t necessarily give you any indication of what the next day will be like.  Yesterday there were orcas just outside of Friday Harbor, today we had to travel about 35 miles one way in order to catch a glimpse of these magnificent animals.  It was an absolutely beautiful day, the sun was shining and the water...

(06/10/2017 - Kestrel 2pm Departure)

Yesterday I said that our trip was a once in a lifetime experience and one for the books.  Well today’s trip was a repeat!  We had an amazing day out on the water full of some of the best wildlife viewing in my time out on the water.  We were lucky enough to have a day where there were transient orcas right outside of Friday Harbor.  We left our dock and watched the T2C’S looking for food for about 30 minutes.  The T2C’s are a pod of 5 whales...

(06/09/2017 - Kestrel 2pm Departure)

Today was one of those once in a lifetime experiences out on the water. We headed North West towards Swanson Channel where there were reports of a large group of transient orcas.  On our way to look for the orcas we stopped to see some of their favorite food, harbor seals!  We looked at those adorable rock sausages for a bit and then ventured on.  We got into the area where the orcas were located and saw them moving rather erratically.  They were...

[06/07/2017 – M/V Kestrel – 2:00pm]

Today’s M/V Kestrel trip was arguably one of my favorites of the season so far. We had an amazing time with two species of cetaceans and the plentiful other wildlife of the Salish Sea. Leaving Friday Harbor we took a right, heading south, through San Juan Channel towards Cattle Pass to check out some seals and sea lions before continuing on into Haro Strait. The water was glassy and we had multiple reports of whales in the area.