Olivia Esqueda | March 22nd, 2025 | M/V Sea Lion | 2:30pm Charter

This afternoon was such a special treat out on the water with the Orca Behavior Institute’s Biggs 201 Class. Lucky for us, we were able to leave the dock about 10 minutes early, which worked in our favor since we had a whale report flirting with the line of the range our vessel could travel in the allotted timeframe to get folks back for the 6:25pm ferry!

We immediately started traveling south through San Juan Channel keeping San...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | March 21sh, 2024 | 12:30pm

After pouring all morning, the rain finally lifted as we motored out of Friday Harbor and into San Juan Channel. The sun was even peeking out from the overcast sky and the water was flat calm. We certainly did not have to travel far today; whales were reported right outside the harbor!  A group of 3 Biggs Killer Whales known as the T124A’s

• T124A Kittywake 1984 F
• T124A6 Kasuun 2016 M
• T124A7 ----- 2021 F 

This group is made up of mom (kittywake) and her...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | March 16th, 2024 | 12:30pm

     Rare for the start of a season, we had not one…but two different whale reports as we left the harbor. We opted to first head north up San Juan Channel, investigating a solo male killer whale report around Crane Island. This killer whale was identified as:

• T49C Nielson 1998 M

As we arrived on scene, the bull was nowhere to be found. After a long 15 minutes of listening and anticipation, that massive 6ft tall dorsal fin appeared! We watched this...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | March 10th, 2024 | 12:30pm
 

Excitement was in the air as we left the harbor on our first tour of the 2025 season! The sky was an overcast grey but at least the forecasted rain was holding off. No whale reports just yet…so we were fully in scanning mode. Our first wildlife encounter was almost instantaneous. A bald eagle soaring overhead suddenly took a nosedive entrapping an unlucky fish in its talons. Gulls swarmed around the commotion as the massive raptor flew off and...

Olivia Esqueda | M/V Sea Lion | September 28th, 2024| 12:30pm

Saturday out on the water was SO fun! We headed south through San Juan Channel making a brief stop at Goose Island where we saw Harbor Seals, Double Crested Cormorants and Pelagic Cormorants before passing Cattle Point Lighthouse and exploring the Strait of Juan de Fuca. After transiting past heaps of Surf Scoters, we came across a large bait ball where we were able to see one of the few Minke Whales in the Salish Sea. However, we...

Olivia Esqueda | M/V Sea Lion | September 25th, 2024 | 12:30pm

We are loving these fall days out on the water. Not only can we see the wildlife that spend the summer months here still hanging around, but we are also starting to see a return of the wildlife that will spend the winter months in these waters. These transitional phases bring in a broader biodiversity within the Salish Sea, making the shoulder seasons some of our favorite times of year to get out on the water. 

Today we felt lucky to...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | September 29th, 2024 | 2:00 pm

Today was the perfect afternoon as Captain Vaun and I headed out on our last trip of the season together. We left Friday Harbor and began traveling north up San Juan Channel to follow up on some reports of whales near Sidney, BC. As we passed Spieden Island, we stopped to look at a few harbor seals hanging out on some small islands before continuing to the Haro Strait. Once we were nearing the Canadian Border, we suddenly saw the dorsal...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | September 23rd, 2024 | 12:30 pm

Happy Monday from the M/V Sea Lion! We began our afternoon by heading south, excited to explore San Juan Channel and search for wildlife. Our first stop was at Goose Island near Cattle Point on the southeast side of San Juan Island. We got great looks at one of my favorite marine mammals, the harbor seal, as well as lots of cormorants and other sea birds along the rocks. It’s always a great sign to see this kind of activity in our...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | September 22nd, 2024 | 2:00 pm

Our afternoon brought us on another great adventure in the Salish Sea! We left Friday Harbor under cloudy skies, and quickly made our way north as we had some exciting reports in the Strait of Georgia in Canada. We made a quick stop to look at a group of harbor seals on some islands in San Juan Channel, but soon continued on to the north. As we neared the Canadian border, the rain began to pick up but we were not deterred! We continued...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | September 21st, 2024 | 12:30 pm

Today’s Classic Whale Watch was another perfect September day on the water! We left Friday Harbor with reports of some whale activity to the east in Rosario Strait, so began our trip by heading in that direction. After traveling interisland and seeing great views of Shaw and Lopez Islands, we soon slowed down to approach the scene of some killer whales! As we approached, we could see there was a family of five Bigg’s Killer Whales...