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...

Ok, not really, but wouldn't that be cool.  We did spend time with the orcas though and had a lovely afternoon on the west side of San Juan Island.  There was Ruffles, our big old male, some of his other J pod mates and lots of swimming going on.  Not every encounter with the orcas is a circus of breaches and spyhops, but any day that we spend with them is a good one and good days is what we are all about.

Even days without orcas are good days, because there is always something...

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...

It has been a few days since I have visited the blogosphere, but that does not mean I have been sitting on my laurels doing nothing.  We are heavily into "The Season" now and I have been out seeing orcas on a daily basis.  Yesterday it was the afternoon trip on the M/V Kittiwake and then the sunset trip on the M/V Sea Lion.  Today it was the M/V Sea Lion again, this time with Casey and Capt. Mike.  Each day has been a different experience and a lovely time on the water.  When the...

As we say (and it's true) - every day that we see orcas is a great day. I mean, here in the majestic San Juan Islands every day - whether it be sunny, cloudy, rainy, whale-free, or otherwise - offers a new and exciting kind of beauty. This means that, really, every trip out on the water, whale free or not, is a great day! That being said, today was a REALLY GREAT day for whale watching.

The summer sun shone down on our faces, as a boatload of guests, Lauren, Captain Mike, and I...

Marine Biologist John Calambokidis showed a series of slides and some video and one listed what they found including "50 gallons of undigested contents, mostly algae but 3.2 lbs were "human debris, including plastic bag material, fabrics (including a leg of sweatpants), fishing line, golf ball, duct tape and a juice pouch.

15 oz of the total debris were plastic bag pieces alone." He said this indicated that the whale had clearly been feeding in the waters in and near Puget...

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...