Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Laura C. | M/V Sea Lion | 11/17/2019 | 12:00 pm

What an exceptional day out on the water!  The Salish Sea was a buffet of small schooling fish swirling through the surrounding cold-water currents.  M/V Sea Lion headed out of Friday Harbor with gusto to stop only minutes away to our fist whale sightings!  The T18s were in the area foraging just north of Friday Harbor!  T19C and T18 were hugging the east side of San Juan Island and T19B and T19 were in San Juan Channel about 300 yards...

Erick | Sunday, November 10, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | Noon

                We’re quickly moving into November and soon it will be the last trip of the year! This Sunday, we received great sunny weather with a slight breeze as we headed out with Capt. Pete at the wheel as well as Sarah and myself along as Naturalists. We headed north towards reports of whales that Brain, the owner of San Juan Safaris and Sarah had found earlier this morning! As we approached Green Point on Spieden...

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...

Laura C. | M/V Sea Lion | 11/3/19 | 12:00pm

What an awesome day out on the water with Captain Pete!  M/V Sea Lion ventured north into the San Juan Channel on a clear sunny morning blanketed with crystal blue skies.  With only 10 passengers aboard, were able to move around our spacious vessel and appreciate the natural splendor of the surrounding islands in relaxed contentment.  Around the bend of Friday Harbor to the left I quickly spotted a bald eagle overlooking a madrone tree. ...

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 | 11/01/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

It was an amazing day on the water here in the Salish Sea. Captain Pete and I left the dock in Friday Harbor and decided to point south through San Juan Channel towards Cattle Pass on the search for whales.

On the way out of Cattle Pass we decided to stop at Whale Rocks to take a peek at some Steller’s sea lions hauled out enjoying some of this late fall sunshine. These huge sea lions are the largest in the world, with males topping out at...

Sarah | 10/31/2019 | Happy Halloween! | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

The sun was shining, the water was glassy, and Captain Pete, our guests, and I set out from Friday Harbor this afternoon. With absolutely amazing water in the Salish Sea to spot all manner of wildlife we were certainly excited go out an explore!

We decided to head north towards Flattop Island. Recently we have had awesome luck up in around this National Wildlife Refuge looking for wildlife. Today was no different, we got...

M/V Sea Lion | Naturalist Alexandria | Wednesday, October 30, 2019

What a great day we had today!  It was probably one of the most perfect fall days!  We left the dock and were so excited to see what the day had in store for us.  We headed north up San Juan Channel and caught up with some Minke Whales off Flat Top island.  We had previously stopped there to check out some Harbor seals that were hanging out on the rocks, and had also seen an eagle fly by and land on the cliff just in...

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...

Sarah | 10/28/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Today was a beautiful fall day in the San Juan Islands. We enjoyed sunny skies out on the water and smooth seas as we cruised through the islands.

We started the day heading north through San Juan Channel. In recent weeks we have had great sightings up and around the Canadian Gulf Islands due to the plentiful nutrients and food in the area. We made it to Flattop Island and got a chance to see some harbor seals as well as some bald eagles pe...