Mega has a large nick on the back edge of his dorsal fin and small nick farther down which makes him easy to identify.

We left our Friday Harbor location and eventually arrived on the north end of San Juan Island to find not only our resident J-pod but also a small group of L-pod known as the L-12s. This is the first time this season we've seen residents other than J-pod. The L-12s include the oldest male in the Southern Community, big L41, otherwise known as Mega.
After watching...

After leaving our slip in Friday Harbor we were greeted with beautiful calm waters in San Juan Channel. Our destination today was north in to the Canadian waters hopefully to catch up with a Humpback whale spotted earlier in the day.
After a scenic ride north we entered the Strait of Georgia around East Point of Saturna Island where the Humpback was spotted just north of Tumbo Island. This whale was fairly non-directional possibly in a feeding behavior. This has been a excellent...

Supposedly it’s September, but the last two mornings here have been completely blanketed by fog. All the more adventure we say!

And today it was as we headed directly for the thick of it with rumor of Black and Whites on the other side.  Once we reached Cattle Pass the eeriness set in and we were confronted with limited visibility and an immediate chill. The naturalist had everyone’s eyes peeled for creatures that may be lurking amongst the midst, an easy distraction techniqueÂ...

Photo Contest Winner for Bald Eagle by Paige Taken August 10, 2012

We had a fabulous trip to the south side of San Juan Island today.  Sunny skies and calm waters in the Strait of Juan de Fuca made for incredible whale watching!  After seeing several harbor seals cruising through Cattle Pass, we encountered the Steller sea lions on Whale Rocks.  At least ten were lounging in the sun.  As we headed into the strait, we saw several members of the resident L-pod actively feeding offshore of South Beach (48°26N, 123°00W).  First we saw members of the L12...

The weather was perfect: high around 70 degrees, clear blue sky, and very light breeze.  The only thing that could make it better would be a day with the Orcas.  Did you order up Orcas?

Yes, a large order, please!

Coming right up.

We ran north - through beautifully calm water, enjoying the spectacular scenery.  Mount Baker was a clear and crisp as I've ever seen it.  Along the way, we saw harbor porpoise, common murre, pigeon guillemot, and harbor seals swimming about.

As we...

Today we headed north on a wildlife adventure!  Incredible scenery through the northern San Juan Islands; we passed by Spieden Island first.  Adult male mouflon sheep were grazing near shore; their large and round horns are quite a sight.  Several females were also resting in the grass close by.  We also spotted a bald eagle at the top of a tree looking out for its next meal.  A harbor seal was resting with her pup on a mattress of rockweed, a type of seaweed, up against the...

Today we enjoyed the August sunshine on our trip to the south side of San Juan Island.  We encountered glassy and calm waters  coming through Cattle Pass, and a great view of the Olympic Mountains.  As we came upon Whale Rock, we observed several harbor seals and then ten LARGE Steller sea lions resting.  The sea lions were crowding each other for space and we heard a couple of them vocalizing and grunting!  Then we turned west into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and noticed several...

Herb Hartman, photographer, has gone out whale watching with us so many times that he is considered an honorary staff member.
Here are photos from his two tours, one at 1:30 and one at 5:30 from August 13, 2012.

Minkes today!

Although our Southern Resident Killer Whales were nowhere to be found today, we did have luck finding Minke Whales. Not just one, but two (maybe even 3!) Minkes were in the Salmon Banks area, on the south side of San Juan Island (48°25.33’N, 122°59.94’W). Just rounding the corner out of Friday Harbor, a Bald Eagle majestically perched at the top of a fir on Turn Island. On the way out of San Juan Channel, eight Stellar Sea Lions sunned themselves on Whale Rocks, while...