Sunday June 22, 2020

Happy Father’s Day to everyone! We know it is technically supposed to be summer these days but up here in the PNW summer seems to have a slow start. We left Friday Harbor on a little bit of an overcast day, but as we left and headed north the weather started to clear. We headed up towards Flattop Island where we got to see some sleepy Harbor Seals sunning themselves on the rocky coastline. As we passed them two Bald Eagles popped into view in one of the Douglas...

Sarah | 11/09/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

We left San Juan Island under typical November gray skies with a sight drizzle. Weather doesn’t really affect our wildlife sightings, we usually see the same wildlife on sunny days and rainy days.

Captain Pete and I decided to head north through San Juan Channel to start our trip off. We stopped at Spieden Island to look for some bald eagles. We got a great look at a pair of eagles up on some of the trees on the North side of the island...

Sarah | 11/02/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Today we had an amazing November day to go out and explore the Salish Sea. With smooth, glassy water, and amazing sunshine we were excited to leave the dock and go out an explore. We elected to head north through San Juan Channel, and right out of the harbor we encountered a bald eagle sitting on the shore ripping into and eating some sort of bird. There were downy feathers scattered all around the enormous bird and we got to see some glauc...

Sarah | 10/29/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

On Tuesday we enjoyed an amazing day on the water with tons of wildlife and great weather. The chilly fall weather didn’t keep us from enjoying the magnificent Salish Sea Marine Ecosystem, we just bundled up!

We started the trip with a start at Flattop Island just north of San Juan Island. We got great looks at some harbor seals in the water around the rocky outcropping and even hauled out on the rocks. These are our most numerous marine...

Naturalist Erick | Wednesday, October 9, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | Noon

Today, was another sunny, fall day in the San Juan Islands. Captain Sarah and I headed out to search for some wonderful wildlife. We headed south through San Juan Channel and as we passed Turn Island we spotted a majestic Bald Eagle soaring along the rocky, cliff-lined island. We usually see the Eagles being lazy and perched on a rock or tree. This one was soaring in the blustery fall air and making dives over the...

Olivia | September 30th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Today was SO magical! We left Friday Harbor heading north through the San Juan Channel and cutting through Spieden Channel in order to end up near Henry Island. All along the way we saw swimming Harbor Seals and Harbor Porpoises! However, what really took our breath away was seeing a big male Southern Resident Killer Whale! It was beautiful right in the sunshine! I may use an excessive amount of exclamation points in this blog...

Sarah | 09/29/2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Captain Gabe and I set out from Friday Harbor for another day on the Salish Sea. We set out from Friday Harbor heading south towards reports of good weather and smooth water.

On our way out towards open water we decided to stop to check out some Steller’s sea lions hauled out on Whale Rocks in Cattle Pass. These massive pinnipeds are the largest sea lions in the world, males can reach lengths of 12 feet long and weigh over 2,400 pounds! We...

Olivia | September 28th, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Sadly, today was my last Kestrel trip of the season with Captain Gabe and we decided early on that it was going to be epic. Being one of the first boats out on the water, we often must travel into areas where there haven’t been other boats in order to find potential whale sightings. We heard of a Humpback Whale near Battleship Island north of Roche Harbor, but decided to go scope out waters elsewhere due to the amount of boats...

Sarah | M/V Sea Lion | 09/25/19 | 12:00pm

What a day out on the water! It was a spectacular September day here in Friday Harbor, and we left the dock with great reports of whales and other wildlife in our area. Captain Erick started off our tour by steering M/V Sea Lion north out of Friday Harbor.

It wasn’t long before we came across the T100 family of Bigg’s killer whales. Formerly known as the “transient” ecotype, these large bodied orcas are marine mammal eaters, specializing...

Sarah | 09/13/2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Today was just a lovely day on the water! With calm seas and some reports of several baleen whales in our area, Captain Gabe and I were eager to hit the water.

We started our day heading south from Friday Harbor through San Juan Channel towards Cattle Pass between San Juan Island and Lopez Island. We stopped for a brief look at some Steller’s sea lions hauled out on a rocky outcropping known as Whale Rocks. These massive pinnipeds are the...