L-Pod Orca Whales with Calf near False Bay

Today we traveled east out of Friday Harbor, then South and then up the west side… We got word that there were some resident orcas near False Bay on the west side of the island.

We encountered some of L-pod, the largest pod of the Southern Resident Killer Whales. We had some great views of L-pods new calf, L-112 and L-86, the mother. The calf is super cute.

We also had some great viewing time of other individuals from L-pod. After about an...

The whales were proving that they are the dominant marine species today. While we were rocking and rolling through the waves and being whipped by the wind, the orcas were effortlessly swimming along through the Canadian Gulf Islands. After we took the MV Sea Lion out of the dock today we headed for Turn Point on Stuart Island. The last orca report that we had had said that they were already past Lime Kiln and were headed North. At Haro Strait we gave way to a huge ocean-going...

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...

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...

Gray whale today near Whitbey Island Naval Base.

These whales have a streamlined body with a narrow, tapered head. Gray whales are always great to watch. We observed the whale foraging. We even saw the whales fluke.

Gray whales are bottom sediment feeders. The whale exhibited the predictable breathing pattern. Gray whales are a mysticete or baleen whale and have two blow holes.

Sometimes you can see a heart or v-shaped spray shape. This is really cool... We also got to see some harbor...

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...