Yesterday, our little heat wave finally broke so we are back in the safety of 60˚-70˚F. Captain Pete, Kelsey, and I headed out south to go find some wildlife. The Salish Sea is a mix and a crossroads of some many different things constantly changing with the seasons so every day is so different. The Salish Sea is a intersection of the Pacific Ocean, large rivers running from snowcapped mountains, and the land. The ingredients along with seasonal weather changes mix differently...

(6/24/17 - Kestrel 10AM and 2PM Departure)

Today we left Friday Harbor and headed South toward some common whale feeding grounds.  We found one lone humpback whale milling around a small area.  One major difference between toothed whales (orcas) and baleen whales (humpback whales) is their social structure.  Toothed whales are generally stay in family groups called pods, while baleen whales are mostly solitary but will sometimes pair up for short periods of time, anywhere from a few...

The 25th felt like summer! We had bright blue cloudless sky and smooth waters as we departed Friday Harbor with a small, intimate group of guests on the M/V Sea Lion. We took a right out of Friday Harbor, heading south, and immediately got views of harbor seals hauled out on rocks and Mt. Baker’s snowy peaks. As we continued south, we had a wonderful encounter with some feeding harbor porpoises in upwelling currents in Griffin Bay. We had dozens of the small cetaceans feeding around...

It’s still our shoulder season here in the San Juan Islands. That just means a few things. First: there’s a higher chance of rain, but not to worry this past El Niño event with other meteorological factors has seemed to brought summer early to the islands with sunny, warm days, and second: the consortium of wildlife that we are apt to see is a little bit different… sometimes.

            Normally this time of year the Southern Resident Orcas are still out to sea, hunting salmon and...

Today was an outstanding day on the water! The weather was gorgeous and warm and the water was flat calm. Spent the afternoon trip with some transients near Battleship island and a small part of J pod the J17s hanging out near turn point on Stuart island. Had many opportunities to see the whales in all their glory, with a number of breaches and spy hops, but this was just the first trip of the day.

I don't know if it was the summer solstice or what but we had an amazing evening and...

There have been some subtle changes in the Salish Sea of late. Common murres have been flooding in, little phalaropes are again congregating at current lines, and it seems that another Steller’s sea lion adds itself to the slumberfest at Whale Rocks each day. In the coming days and weeks other migratory waterfowl like loons, grebes, and scoters will arrive from northern breeding and feeding sites. We’ve recently ended our sunset tours because darkness was beating us to the docks. All...

Today The M/V Kittiwake wasn't going to let a little thing like distance get in the way of seeing killer whales! Reports had Transient Orcas heading west near Discovery Island off the coast of Victoria, Canada. It was going to be quite the trek to get to these whales, but Captain Jim is never one to pass up on a challenge. On our way to the scene, we were able to spot some Harbor Seals, Harbor Porpoises, and even two Minke Whales. All this wildlife along the way would have made for...

M/V Sea Lion, Captain Craig, Naturalist Andrew and myself had a busy day out on the water! With a full boat on our 1:30 trip we ventured north to avoid the fog down south. Heading north turned out well because we were able to see some Harbor Porpoises along the way! We ran into a small group but in this group were little ones. Andrew and I believe that we were looking at some juvenile porpoises. On the way down to the Orcas it started to rain, but that didn't stop our guests from...

Leaving Friday Harbor, Captain Mike, Kevin, passengers aboard M/V Sea Lion, and myself headed south towards the Westside of San Juan Island for both our afternoon and evening trip. On both of these trips we met up with a subgroup of L pod. Same as yesterday, it was Wave Walker, L-88, that stole the show! Wave Walker has a very distinctive saddle patch that helps in identifying this 20 year old male. He wasn't alone though, he was joined up with L-84, Nyssa, and the L-54's, who...

The crew and passengers aboard our original San Juan Safaris vessel, the M/V Kittiwake, braved the dense fog bank that awaited us at Cattle Pass in search of earlier reports of humpback whales. At certain points during the trip visibility was as low as 150 yds! Not to worry though, because Captain Jim wasn't going to let that get in the way of seeing humpbacks!

As we motored South, passengers were constantly on the look out for our baleen friends who have traveled great distances to...