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Humpbacks Big Mama and Calf Playing in the Haro Strait!

Laura / M/V Sea Lion / 5/20/2022 / 12:30PM

This afternoon was the first hint of summer in the Salish Sea!  We headed northbound on M/V Sea Lion and had our first bald eagle encounter of the day near the Cactus Islands.  We slowly cruised through this area soaking up the blue skies and sunshine and calm green water.  The channels were all combining in this area, creating a whirlpool effect.  Our harbor seals moved in and out of the kelp beds and hoisted their bodies on nearby rocks to...

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Humpback Whale surfacing for air

Humpback Whale in San Juan Channel at Sunset

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | June 26, 2021 | 5:30pm

 

The Salish Sea supports an abundant, diverse ecosystem full of lengthy kelp beds, speckled phytoplankton, small schooling fish, and our larger marine mammals! Using our knowledge of the environment, we can predict where certain animals will congregate or where they’ll be moving. Combining this knowledge, we are further directed by visual sightings reporting cetaceans or pinnipeds to the Pacific Whale Watch Association. By sharing...

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Humpback Whale surfacing for air

Three Humpback Whales on the Canadian Border!

Abby | Sea Lion | 5/29/2021

We set out on M/V Sea Lion. Or at least, we tried. At the lowest tide of the year (or more notably, the past few years), we began our reverse into some shallow water. With the wake from the ferry and hardly any depth, we motored forward and tried again. This time, Captain Pete reversed almost symphonically, as the crowd on the stern cheered in joy that the ferry wake had ceased long enough for us to pull out of the harbor.

We made a beeline for the...

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8 Bigg's Killer Whales by Lime Kiln State Park!

Abby | Kestrel | 5/27/2021

We suited up for our tour, the promise of a typical Washington drizzle looming off in the distance. The tide was at its lowest point, more so than I had ever seen, driving the crustaceans and nudibranchs lower on the pilings than they cared to travel. We set off on the zodiac, reports coming in about a Bigg’s killer whale family heading North on the western side of San Juan Island. As we zipped away from the harbor, heading South through San Juan Channel...

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Whales Filter Feeding in the Haro Strait!

Laura C. | M/V Kestrel | 8/14/2019 | 11:00am

This morning’s adventure whale watch and wildlife tour was simply outstanding!  Captain Gabe directed our vessel, Kestrel, southbound towards Hein Bank.  This area is a great spot for wildlife viewing!  There are a few shallow banks south of San Juan Island, rising above the deeper sea floor to about 50 feet.  These areas tend to congregate dense amounts of small schooling fish along the ledges of the bank, where they prefer to reside near...

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Magical Sunset Tour with "Exotic" Bigg's Killer Whales!

Piper | Thursday, July 11, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 PM

On this evening’s sunset cruise, we had two really lovely groups of folks visiting the Salish Sea for the first time! The M/V Sea Lion motored out of Friday Harbor and north through San Juan Channel, passing by some wee harbor porpoises and harbor seals swimming along the channel. Our destination was Plumper Sound amongst Canada’s Southern Gulf Islands where a hodgepodge of Bigg’s killer whales were hanging out together!

We...

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Bigg's whales swimming

Orca/Humpback Rumble in the Strait of Georgia

Saturday, June 2, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 Noon

 When Captain Gabe, lead naturalist Captain Sarah, new naturalist Jordan, and I pushed off the docks this afternoon, we never could have imagined the incredible sight we were about to witness. There were reports of orcas to the north, so, leaving the marina we turned left up San Juan Channel. Just as we rounded Point Caution we spotted a bald eagle perched atop a conifer overlooking the sea and stopped to get a closer look.

We then...

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