Having heard a report that some members of the Southern Resident Community (the salmon-eating orcas) were spread out all down the west and south side of San Juan Island, we boarded the guests and cruised south down through San Juan Channel. The weather was warm, the sky was remarkably clear, and the water was calm. As we cruised through Cattle Pass the guests and naturalists gazed at a wonderful view of Mt Rainer (a mountain that we don't usually see from the San Juan Islands' waters...

What a day! There were Orca families zooming everywhere with breaches, tail slaps and spyhops galore. We saw auklets and harbor seals and even a bald eaglet in the nest with his parents standing guard in nearby trees. The sun was out and the waters were calm and our guests on the MV Kittiwake could not have been more fun.

Capt. Craig and I took a lively group of visitors through Friday Harbor and down the east side of San Juan Island. Just past Turn Island we stopped to see some...

Life is good as a naturalist these days. The Orcas are back in the islands and the summer is in full swing. With the 4th of July coming up, as well as Friday Harbor's centennial and the sesquicentennial of the Pig War there is no shortage of special events to fill those hours that can not be spent on the water. Luckily for our guests today, it was a day spent on the water and in the company of whales. And not just giant black and white dolphins, but real whales as well.

As we...

Not wind, nor weather, nor water can deter us. If the whales are in the vicinity then we will do all we can to get to them. So said our guests today on the MV Sea Lion. Despite the grey skies and the spitting rain everyone was ready to get out on the water and commune with whales. We were in no way disappointed. The reports had been of sporadic behavior, but we found the whales at the South end of the island moving around in classic feeding patterns, which means that they were...

How do you measure the quality of a moment? What is it that makes some indelible and others ephemeral? Why aren't all moments created equal?

Today was one of those types of days. It was grey and overcast with a little bit of rain in the air. The water was steely but calm and nature seemed to be holding it's breath. An eagle floated slowly past, harbor porpoises surfaced erratically and the breezes were still. There was a sense of bridled anticipation coming from the guests, the crew...

I knew when I woke up this morning and the sun was shining that it was going to be a good day! And it was.

Both our trips today had amazing looks at the Orcas or Killer Whales that frequent the San Juan Islands. We lucked out on our 1pm tour with reports of Residents (salmon-eating Orcas) eastbound near Victoria, BC. A little trip to the south around Cattle Pass and across the Straits (which looked as if it were a pond today)....so calm, clear views of the Olympic Mountains to the...

Today was a great orca viewing day. The whales were doing back dives and breaches!!! They were also traveling fairly fast. Both the guests and I very interesting to watch. Everyone on the boat was very impressed with J-pod.

J-pod is one of the three pods that make up the southern resident killer whale community. These killer whales are actually fish eaters, they do not prey on marine mammals. These orcas have been listed as an endangered species in both Canada and the United...

What a day, what a day! Sunday morning started with a morning downpour, but by 1 pm it was sunshine with clearing skies!

On our way around the island we stopped for magnificient views of Bald Eagles, both mature adults and immature subadults all in trees near a washed up Harbor Seal carcass. The eagles really are scavengers first, predators second.

Then we spent our afternoon on the northwest corner of San Juan Island in Speiden Channel with Southern Resident Orcas from J & L...

Some days you get to see whales and some days turn out a little differently. I had the opportunity to work on a different boat today and see some new areas of the islands. Naknek Diving was chartered as a water taxi and Capt. Kurt needed a mate to help with the trip; since I was available and eager to go, I got the job.

The MV Naknek is a wooden boat and is fitted up in a much different manner than the MV Sea Lion. As a dive boat there are racks for tanks and gear, a stove to...

Our evening sunset tours are very popular, but after tonight they are going to be the talk of the town. It is not every day that less than five minutes after you leave the dock you are with a whale. But on this night, that is exactly what happened. Capt. Nancy and I boarded our guests onto the MV Sea Lion for an evening cruise in the hopes that the Orcas that we knew were west of Victoria, B.C. would swim our direction. I had just finished giving the group some history on the...