Although the day started out grey, the sunshine quickly took over in the San Juan Islands.  Captain Mike lead Naturalist Emily, Naturalist Kevin, and the guests on board the M/V Sea Lion north out of Friday Harbor in the pursuit of orcas.  We started the morning with no orca reports, which is common in the early season, so we went to look in areas that orcas frequent in the San Juans. As we were headed around the north side of Spieden Island two dorsal fins were spotted and moments...

The whale watching season is coming to an end here on San Juan Island, and in the Salish Sea. The weather is getting colder, the days shorter, but that doesn't seem to have an effect on the transient orcas! When we left Friday Harbor, we headed south then west traveling off the shores of Victoria to catch a glimpse of some transient orcas. When we arrived on scene, the T46b group of five orcas were traveling close together. After waiting in anticipation for over an hour to see orcas...

Yesterdays trip turned out to be pretty great! Lots of whales, wildlife and rare findings! We left Friday Harbor and headed for the west side of San Juan Island to catch up with the T-120 group of mammal hunting transient orcas, stoping along the way to see harbor seals and steller sea lions.

When we got to the orcas they were traveling at a very fast speed, probably chasing their prey. Just as I was telling guests how orcas hunt cooperatively and come together in a tight group...

We left Friday Harbor yesterday, like many fall day, with no whale reports! However, as we headed out through Cattle Pass we heard of a humpback whale on Kelp Reef! The one humpback soon became two and the M/V Sea Lion headed straight there! Along the way we came across some great dall porpoise activity! They are so much fun, you can tell where they will be because they swim so fast that they leave a trail on the surface of the water! They spent probably ten minuets playing alongside...

Today was one of those days that only happens once in a season- sunny September skies, flat calm ocean water, wildlife everywhere, great guests... oh, and did I mention orca whales that seemed to be breaching out of the water every thirty seconds?!

Let's start at the beginning! Today the M/V Sea Lion left Friday Harbor and headed north into Canadian waters once again. Today however, we were in search of the mammal hunting orcas known as transients, or Biggs Killer Whales. We really...

We left Friday Harbor today and motored out towards Salmon Bank. The rain had quit for most of the duration of our trip and the sun was starting to shine through. As we went through Cattle Pass and by Whale Rocks we got some great looks at steller sea lions and harbor seals. They were foraging in the water as well as hauled out on the rocks giving us some great looks.

As we got out to Salmon Bank we soon came upon members of KPod. The whales were spread out for miles foraging for...

Today the M/V Sea Lion left Friday Harbor with good reports of black and whites on the west side of San Juan Island. As a naturalist, I always like it when there is a high probability of seeing not only whales, but more specifically, Orcas. It was also naturalist, Andrew', last time on the water for the season. So, with hopes set high by myself and the guests on board we headed out towards Salmon Bank where the whales were reported to be foraging. Our hopes would be met throughout...

The M/V Sea Lion motored out of Friday Harbor today and headed north! With September comes the fall weather, guests on board braved the misty, chilly weather to watch some Orcas. It was certainly worth it because as soon as we got north of Stewart Island we caught up with the T-19 group of mammal hunting whales! I was particularly excited because I hadn't seen the infamous "Mr.Floppy" yet this summer. He is an 18 year old male and his dorsal fin has almost reached maturity. It looks...

It’s not often that we get to choose between viewing Bigg’s Killer Whales or Southern Resident Killer Whales on the same trip. That was the case today. I wish we could spread out this luck for the guests who didn’t get to see any killer whales on their trip. For a time during peak summer, we were striking out trip after trip, at a time when killer whale sightings should have been at their peak. That unpredictability is part of the fun of viewing killer whales in the wild.

So what did...

The M/V Sea Lion left our Friday Harbor location and headed south today, out through Cattle Pass and out to Hein Bank. It had turned into a gorgeous day with sunny skys and calm water. Everyone was happy to be on a boat rather than on land! Along our way to Hein Bank, we came across many steller sea lions! These guy's are just huge, and never cease to amaze me with their size! They were on and along whale rocks fighting, roaring, and some that were just laying in the sun. Yep, they...