Having heard an early morning report that J Pod was milling around the False Bay area, I left the office this morning giddy to get aboard the MV Sealion. The clouds in the sky may have dampened San Juan Island, but they sure weren't dampening our spirits! After coming through Cattle Pass, passing by False Bay and reaching Lime Kiln State Park, we started to see dorsal fins. We travelled slowly on scene because the orcas were spread out all over the place.

As we sat in placed and...

It is good to live in the islands these days. Capt. Pete, Nan and I welcomed a diverse and friendly group onto the MV Sea Lion today and we were able to show them the islands in all of their glory. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the water was calming. The Orcas seemed to have moved off to parts unknown overnight, but that did not stop our guests from spotting some great wildlife.

There were more Harbor Seals than you could shake a stick at and we saw almost every color pattern...

Boy, did we have a great day out on the water today! A boatload of guests, Captain Pete, naturalist Tristen, and I departed Friday Harbor with the sun glistening on our faces. The weather today was warmer than the past few days, it is really starting to feel like summer is coming to the islands. Captain Pete had heard that J Pod was up by Point Roberts in Canada - so northward we went!

As we cruised up toward Canada we pasted many, many harbor porpoises porpoising (because the...

With the sun shining and the water sparkling, Captain Nancy, the other naturalist Tristen, a group of (as always) enthusiastic and eager guests, and I took off from Friday Harbor with the hopes of meeting up with J pod. To the excitement of guests, naturalists, and captains alike, J pod (the most resident pod [pod = family unit] from the Southern Resident Community) has been in the area almost every day for the past couple weeks. Captain Nancy heard word that the group was moving...

After a few days off the water, I was antsy to get my share of the J Pod viewing action. Luckily, J Pod decided to appease my desires and we left Friday Harbor with a group of excited guests to catch up with the whales (well, dolphins - technically) on the west side of the San Juan Island.

After viewing some harbor seals hauled out (as usual) on some rocks, we arrived on scene, with the whales spread out heading in the direction of Port Angeles. Captain Nancy followed next to a group...

Our adventure startedby heading North out of Friday Harbor. We found the orca whales about 5 miles North of Patos Island heading and they were headed north.

Members of J and K pods were there. We identified J-1 "Ruffles". We were also lucky enough to see one individual back dive about 4 times in a row. One of our guests got a great picture. Hope she emails it to us (Fun@SanJuanSafaris.com)

On our ride back we made a quick stop around Yellow Island to see some Harbor Seals...

With no reports of whales our safari started by heading South out of Friday Harbor. We passed Whale Rocks and encountered Steller's Sea Lions and Harbor Seals. I am always impressed with the size of Steller's Sea Lions around 1500 pounds! Pupping season for harbor seals is mid June and I can't wait to see all the baby seals.

We also took a good long look at Goose Island on the southern tip of San Juan Island and saw the Cormorant rookery. Fishermen from China historically had used...

Today on the Sea Lion we went out North of Friday Harbor, on the way to find the orcas we saw Harbor Seals hauled out. We then found J-pod. We saw a calf, one female and one male. On the way back to Friday Harbor we encountered Stellar Sea Lions of Patos Island swimming. Everyone was amazed with just how large the Stellars were. We also saw Harbor porpoise. We discussed some of the differences between dolphins (orcas are the largest member of the dolphin family) and porpoises...

Orcas, J-pod found just south of Sinclair Island. We counted about 20 individuals and we were lucky enough to see a calf. We were able to see the orange-ish pigmentation. We were also able to identify J-1, Ruffles. They seemed to be in a sleep pattern. Orcas are voluntary breathers so they exhibit unihemispheric sleep. This sleep pattern allows 1/2 the brain sleep while the other 1/2 is awake.

Sincerely,
San Juan Safaris Naturalist
Jeannette
Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our...

It was a lovely golden day on our inland waters and our boat load of guests were a real treat. Captain Pete, Ashley and I welcomed a full boat of passengers onto the MV Sea Lion, including a wee mariner just new to this beautiful world. Our destination was soon discovered to be the open waters just North of Patos Island State Marine Park. Another boat operator called out "I've made contact" over the radio waves and we knew that Orcas were soon to be seen. They even happened to be...