#53 - Photo courtesy of Cascadia Research Collective

Today we followed whales across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.   A vague report of a whale south of San Juan Island became a gray whale known as #53 (see photo above).  On our way towards the area where he was said to be, one of our guests spotted something else in the water.  I quickly left the bridge to sit on the bow and see if I could help find anything.  Sure enough, up popped a juvenile minke whale a few hundred yards from us. ...

What do you do when there are no reports of whales?  Which way do you go so that you are in the best position in case whales are spotted?  How do you predict where whales are going to be?  The answers are - wildlife tour, any way you want and you don't.  The hardest part about being a Marine Naturalist when there are no whales, is convincing people that no one else is seeing whales either and that when it comes to our orca whales, it is impossible to predict when and where they will...

Hopefully.  Thinking positively, then the orcas are back and they look great!  We spent the trip yesterday afternoon with numerous members of L pod over in the Canadian Gulf Islands.  The first reports came in early in the morning with the orcas being well outside of our northern range.  They covered an incredible amount of water in a short time though and when we left the dock they were slaloming through Active Pass between Galiano and Mayne islands.  Capt. Mike did not waste any...

There is more to life in the islands than orcas.  With every brochure and website showing photos of leaping black and white behemoths, it is easy to forget that there are other equally stunning species that live in this area.  It is also easy to overlook the basic beauty of the setting for fear that you might miss that one great shot of a killer whale.  For these reasons it is always rather nice that the season starts and ends so "slowly".  These days spent rocking in the cradle of...

Today we departed Friday Harbor having heard word a gray whale was passing right on through the San Juan Channel! This was exciting news, because not is it a relatively uncommon event to see a gray whale in the waters around the San Juan Islands, it is even more unusual for a gray whale to pass by Friday Harbor.
With extra time on our hands, we left the harbor, stopped on by O'Neill Island and saw some bald eagles and passed by Speiden Island to view some exotic deer and sheep...

Today was a day you could not beat here in the San Juan Islands.  The sky was clear, the weather warm (for the Pacific Northwest) and the water was calm.  No one could seem to find orcas (remember, the world's largest dolphin) or whales today, but we had a lovely cruise around the San Juan and the Canadian Gulf Islands.  There were harbor seals, Steller's sea lions and harbor porpoises stretched to the horizon.  At boiling reef, which was rather odoriferous today, there were dozens...

Capt. Mike and I saved the day aboard the M/V Sea Lion today.  There have been no orca sightings for several days despite all of the companies being out and scouring the watery countryside.  We were taking our place amongst them and heading out on a northwest wildlife tour when out of the blue, literally, popped an orca fin!  What, an orca fin?!  Yes, an orca fin!!  I, maintaining professionalism and decorum at all times, proceeded to run around the boat yelling and effusing.  San...

Here we are in the San Juan Safaris office overlooking Friday Harbor and another beautiful day.  The ceiling of rolling clouds let bursts of sunlight through before carrying them away to other honored spots.  Breezes are quiet, with just enough movement in the air to make the pennants and leaves flutter, and to encourage the birds to take to wing.  Orcas have been spotted in the area off-and-on this week and hopefully they will make an appearance for us today.  I am anxious to see...

What a first day back on the job! This is my third season working for San Juan Safaris. At the beginning of every season I can't wait to get back out on the water. Today was my first day back on the boat and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect welcome back! We departed Friday Harbor having heard word that the Southern Resident Killer Whales were off the coast of Victoria headed eastbound. Captain Craig informed me that rough seas might make an encounter with the orcas a no-go...

The whale road that is. Well, world's largest dolphin road to be exact. That is right, today we saw orcas! A small pod of transient orcas was spotted on the east side of Lopez Island near a reef called Bird Rock. When we arrived on scene it was to find two males and 3-4 female transient orcas in an active feeding pattern. We did not get to see any confirmed kills, but they were definitely an active bunch with lots of diving and not much time spent at the surface. We were able...