Hello, It’s me... again, and yes I’m sorry but not sorry I’m going to talk about salmon and their connection to Southern Resident Orcas again. Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) eat fish and 80% of their diet is one species of fish: Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), and yes before you ask they definitely tell the difference. It’s probably not because of their refined palate, but perhaps, it’s more likely due to their incredible echolocation abilities to determine between...

Isn't it fascinating how tied to their families orcas are? By mom's side for life...I'm sure some human moms wish this were the case for their own children. As part of a matriarchal social structure, newborn calves will stick close to Mom and nurse for their first year of life, eventually becoming weaned. But, unlike, say, a humpback whale, these calves don't go off on their own after a year or two. They're going to stay with mom for life. She's the leader of the pod, and the...

Yesterday was amazing! The past few days the residents have come back into the Salish Sea and have been traveling up an down the islands foraging for salmon, and we hope they find plenty of them! A great place to find the Southern Residents in the islands is on the west side of San Juan Island which is part of the Haro Strait. The salmon migrate from the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Juan de Fuca and start to head north, most of them are heading towards the largest river around...

Orcas, Killer Whales, Blackfish, Sea Pandas – the species scientifically labeled Orcinus orca is known by many names, and they are probably one of the most distinctive looking mammals in the sea. Although these large, intelligent, black and white dolphins look a lot different than you or me, you’d be surprised how similar we and they are… but first let’s talk about an awesome day.

            It was one of the sunniest and clearest days that I’ve seen this spring as we left...

Last night we were greeted with a happy confirmation from the Center from Whale Research, that our core staff here at San Juan Safaris had been hoping for since a staff jaunt out to San Juan Channel on December 1st.... A NEW CALF FOR J28 POLARIS!!

On December 1, with a report of whales right outside of the harbor, we quickly left the office and our post-season projects, jumped into the car, made our way down to the M/V Sea Lion, cut the lines, and were off! A group of J Pod whales...

Today was one of the best trips I had all season. Captain Brian, Naturalist Mike and I set out from the dock without a single report determined to find some wildlife we set out North towards Spieden Island. When we reached the Wasp Islands just west of Orcas and Shaw Islands we received a report of a large group of orcas moving south through Rosario Strait on the other side of Orcas Island, so of course we had to go check it out. Though there was a bit of wind and some significant...

Today Captain Brian and I left the dock under perfectly Pacific Northwest cloudy skies with a boat full of passengers who, as usual, were excited to see the wildlife of the Salish Sea.

Captain Brian and I were particularly excited as well because we had heard reports of something that has been lacking in this area for over a week now: Southern Resident Killer Wlhales! The fish-eaters were spotted heading back into the San Juan Islands after spending some time in Northern British...

Our legendary 2015 late season whale watching continues to impress, with this weekends sightings including resident killer whales, humpback whales, as well as transient killer whales.

On Friday the Sea Lion went out on a high seas adventure, looking to find some of our Southern Resident killer whales just to the south end of the San Juan. We marveled at some members of L Pod including L72 Racer and her son L105 Fluke as they surfed in the waves around our vessel. We also enjoyed...

We have had an absolutely incredible season here in the San Juan Islands. Whenever naturalists or captains run into each other around town all we can do is laugh and shake our heads... the frequency of whale sightings has just been out of this world this season. October has been no different.

On Saturday we headed out of Friday Harbor with reports of Resident orcas spread out from the northern reaches of the San Juan Islands all the way to the southern end of Lopez Island. We ended...

Spring ended with a glorious day out on the water. After the fog rolled out, the sun shined through the clouds as the M/V Sea Lion headed north out of Friday Harbor. Captained by Mike, Naturalist Sarah and I led a full boat on what would be a wonderful day towards Canadian waters following reports of wildlife in the area.

We didn’t need to travel far- as soon as we turned into San Juan Channel dozens of harbor porpoise appeared, playing in the swirling waters. Dorsal fin after dorsal...