There is certainly a lot of excitement on the water today, from a variety of boats and yachts to BBQs on the shore, but most importantly..the orcas whales!  We headed to the west side of San Juan Island today to oo and awe in the presence of our resident J-pod orcas.  We spotted the orcas off every direction of the boat.  Not to mention that two bald eagles were flying above us.  The orcas were spread out from each other, occasionally joining with a family member to travel in a small...

Our San Juan Safari photo contest may have a few new impressive entries because this evening's sunset tour was truly "picture perfect".

The sun was low in the sky, illuminating the clouds and creating a soft glow upon the water.

Two majestic bald eagles, with 7 foot wingspans, soared above us as we headed north towards S. Pender Island.
Our crew was thrilled that we were able to cross into Canadian waters.  We said goodbye to the U.S. and hello to the orca whales!  We spotted at...

In the San Juan Islands, we are blessed with an abundance of wildlife. We are one of 7 places on Earth with a high population of orcas. Almost every single day for the past two weeks we have seen them off the west side of our very own island, San Juan. The west side of the island is where the land based whale watching park is located. Like a stationary sentinel, it watches the orcas foraging off the cliffs below.  We are one of the few places in the world where you can see 'black and...

What a beautiful day it was out today! Lately the Orcas have been cruising the west side of San Juan Island so when the reports came in today of whales over by Lummi island I was really excited. Whales and somewhere new to see! Lummi Island is located just off of Bellingham. We barely made it out of Friday Harbor before we encounter Dall's porpoise frolicking in the wake of boats passing by. The adorable black and white porpoise are often found riding the bow of boats. After a few...

Softly we sat and watched the whales about 700 yards away from us. At first we could only see white wake, their bodies like boats zooming through the water. As we waited, their dorsal fins began to loom in the distance. We followed them as they swam parallel to us west along the south side of Stuart Island, reuniting with their pod at Turn Point Light House.  It was a slow but satiating afternoon as we watched the orcas loll about the land, hugging the shore. Bright, sunny, peaceful...

It was a cool and blustery overcast day in the San Juan Islands today, but that did not stop us from spending time with the orcas.  On the west side of San Juan Island, from Kellet Bluff to Lime Kiln Point State Park, we tracked several orcas through the surf.  Of the animals that we were able to identify there was L26 "Baba", her daughter L90 "Ballena" and her grandson L92 "Crewser" who is a sprouter male.  The orcas are a matrilinial society, which means that the oldest female in...

All of Dawn's photos from the Whale Watching & Wildlife Tour June 10, 2010 have been entered into our photo contest.

What better way to end a busy day shopping in Friday Harbor than on the calm waters of the Salish Sea?  Surrounded by marine wildlife in every direction, this evening's sunset tour was quiet the safari!  The adventure started with the misty blows of orca whales off Spieden Island.  As we approached them we were able to identify a few members of Jpod, including the impressive adult male "Ruffles", 100-year old "Granny", and "Blackberry".  They traveled in a large closely knit pod...

Another sunny day on the Sea Lion!  As we boarded the boat, we received news that orca whales were spotted north near Vancouver.  Communicating with the other whale watching vessels helped inform our crew that the whales were actually heading closer to us near Saturna Island.  The excitement on the boat stirred like the nutrients upwelling in the currents of the Salish Sea.

We spotted three members of our Southern Resident orca community when we arrived at Monarch Head.  There was a...

The reports were in, telling us to search near the west side of San Juan Island for a group of L-pod orca whales.  We arrived at False Bay shortly after departing from Friday Harbor.  A cross-cultural crew of guests from Singapore to Kentucky adjusted their binoculars and were ready to see our famous Southern Resident Orcas.  Their dreams of visiting the remarkable San Juan Islands this summer had finally become a reality.  From the sunny deck of the Sea Lion we saw a tall, glossy...