It has been a few days since we have seen L pod (or the Southern Residents in general)  and we can only assume that means they have gone off in search of food in the Pacific, but today we were in luck!  This  afternoon reports came in that they were headed towards San Juan Island. As we headed off for our afternoon trip we decided to go south around the tip of San Juan Island and over to false bay to greet them. Before we could get there we stumbled upon a stellar sea lion swimming...

Click on this link to hear Orcas Vocalizing -The Hydrophone on the MV Sea Lion August 2010

and see part of the whale watching tour

We saw a minke whale on the west side of Waldron Island today!  Although there weren't any reports of orcas, we still managed to see a lot of marine wildlife.  We rarely see minke whales this many days in a row.  They are solitary travelers and can hold their breathe for long periods.  So when they come to the surface for air, you can't help but get excited.  Our guests had some spectacular views of the minke today.  We spent a while with the whale and then headed towards the Cactus...

Today, we actually saw whales as opposed to the black and white dolphins known as 'orcinus orca.' Whales and dolphins are classified according to two things; their size, with porpoise being the smallest, dolphins being mid sized and whales being the largest, with the Blue Whale being the largest mammal ever known to exist. The other thing they are classified according to is their feeding apparatus. The only whale that has teeth is the Sperm Whale. So if it has teeth and it's not a...

I went out with an especially cheerful group of people who were 0ld friends with eachother. In 1992, they flew around the world in small planes, over Russia. Now they get together every year, and this year they got together in San Juan and chartered the Kittiwake. The name of their group was the International Friggin' Crazy Flying Club. So as you can imagine, they were a fun group to go out with.

When we left, it was gray, a thin blanket over everything, but relatively warm. The...

Last evening we headed towards the southern tip of San Juan where Cattle Point Lighthouse is located.  This is our last week of sunset tours and I'm really going to miss the way that lighthouse looks against a setting sun.  That thought was interrupted when we spotted Stellar Sea Lions showing off their large bodies on Whale Rocks.  These sea lions can weigh up to 2200 lbs!  We continued up the west side of San Juan where we encountered the L-pod around False Bay.  The whales...

Yesterdays afternoon trip saw a little seen baleen whale - a minke. There are only about 18 minke whales in and around the islands. Our guests got very good looks at this whale in the afternoon both from the MV Sea Lion and the smaller MV Kittiwake.

Last evening on the 5;30 tour the resident orca whales were back in range and Captain Craig said they saw lots and lots of whales.  He thought possibly all 90 of them - not just in one spot of course.

This afternoon boat boats are again...

Side Breach and Straight Ahead Orca Whale by Sosha Mathew

Lone Orca Whale Off San Juan Island at Sunset, by Sosha Mathew

Snoozing Seals and Gulls, by by Sosha Mathew

From our Sunday, August 1, 2010 Tour. These will be entered into our photo contest. Thanks Sosha!

The oldest member of the Southern Resident Community is named Granny. She is estimated to be a 100 years old. She is also the matriarch of J-pod. Her cohort is a 60 year old male named Ruffles. Ruffle's dorsal fin is 5 to 6 feet tall, a common measurement for adult males, as compared to the 2 to 3 foot tall dorsal fin of the average female. A juvenile male is indistinguishable from a female with the exception of their ventral markings. A small black dot on each side of the ventral...

WHAT'S YOUR 20TH ANNIVERSARY STORY? 2011 is People For Puget Sound's 20th birthday and we'd like to hear your story about Puget Sound and People For Puget Sound during the last 20 years” and looking ahead to the next 20.

Were you on the first Sound Voyage?

At the first Lobby Day in 1992?

Were you a Kid for Puget Sound? Did you volunteer during the early days of restoration and shoreline inventories?

Check out the stories and we'd love to hear from you.