What a day!  We didn’t have to travel far, getting to enjoy the company of many members of J-Pod, with the star being “Big” Mike, J-26.  We were on the northwest side of San Juan Island at 48° 36.9345 / 123° 11. 8222.  Shachi, J-19 was leading a group of other females north.  After nearly an hour with the active Orcas, we turned north for a tour along Spieden Island, with harbor seals, Mouflon sheep and sika deer galore!  We punctuated  the hurrahs on that stretch with 3 bald eagle...

We had our first sunset tour of the season tonight and the only way to describe it was AMAZING! We had a small intimate group as we headed north out of Friday Harbor and quickly made our way to the west side of San Juan Island. The water was a bit choppy as we rounded Roche Harbor, but it made for a very adventurous and exciting boat ride! Just north of Lime Kiln one of our guests spotted a dorsal fin close to shore. Then we all spotted a lot more dorsal fins and misty blows. The...

We were very lucky today because the whales made it easy to view them! The transient, marine mammal eating, killer whales were right off San Juan Island. We headed south out of Friday Harbor and only had to travel to Griffin Bay before we saw a giant, male killer whale dorsal fin slice through the water. Shortly after, more dorsal fins came up followed by the misty, powerful blows of their exhalations. We counted five Orcas total, one of which looked to be a small calf! The whales...

Transients Orcas and Summer weather!

Fantastic day on the water:  treated to clear skies, summery temps, and a stunning view of Mt. Baker, we traveled north out of Friday Harbor, around the north side of Orcas Island, until catching up with Transient Orcas on the north side of Lummi Island. Counts varied, depending on who you talked to, but we agreed that we did see 7 total. Latitude 48°44’ Longitude 122°45’. As mesmerized as we were by the orcas, it was hard not to notice the many...

From my experience, the best whale watching days occur in weather similar to today's: overcast and rainy. However, everyone was positive and optimistic that we would see whales. Well, not only did we see Orcas, we saw both ecotypes!

Our boat, the Sea Lion, headed north out of Friday Harbor towards East Point. Along the way we spotted some harbor seals as well as a juvenile bald eagle. Then, as we came across the north end of Orcas Island there was word that Transient killer whales...

Today we definitely went the extra mile. Out of the harbor we were immediately faced with a tough decision; head south to a confirmed Humpback Whale sighting that we could easily reach, or take the chance of catching up with some Orcas that were spotted in Canada and heading north.

Captain Mike went with his gut and we headed north. We made our way through the San Juan Channel and Presidents Channel seeing several Harbor Porpoises, Harbor Seals, and even a few Steller Sea Lions in the open water...

The sun was shining high in the sky as we left Friday Harbor this afternoon. We headed south, far south, enjoying the natural beauty of the islands along the way. At 48o 10.80’N 122 o 59.70’W, off shore between Dungeness Spit and Port Angeles, we spotted our first blow. It was the Southern Resident killer whales. The Orcas were spread out all around us. We watched as they milled around in groups of two to four individuals, diving and blowing, their dorsal fins cutting through the...

With early news of orca spottings, today’s tour headed north towards the U.S./Canadian international border.  Once we reached Turn Point we saw a few boats in the area and began our search. Within a quick ten minutes we had spotted two members of J-pod, our southern residents, and were able to follow them, watching them mill around and rise above the water's surface.

After about twenty minutes we moved on with our search and headed back southwest. It only took a couple hundred yards...

Almost left a naturalist at the dock today! With the winds prevailing, the naturalist wasn’t quite fast enough to get on board once she let the lines loose. Luckily the captain came back to pick her up at the “Spring Street Landing” dock. With all on board we headed out through the San Juan Channel. A light drizzle and sun-teasing skies had the crowd curious. We arrived at the first stop on the north side of Spieden Island and found one lonely Steller Sea Lion. Traveling our way...

Calm seas, sunshine, and ORCAS!

Upon leaving the harbor we traveled along the eastside of San Juan Island and found members of the J-Pod at the southern end of the island.  For much of our encounter, the whales were spread out over a large distance but would then regroup and spend time within close proximity of each other.

Whales were traveling, milling, and exhibited foraging behavior, although no fish were seen.  We heard amazing vocalizations using our underwater hydrophone...