Haleigh | M/V Osprey | June 20, 2021 | 5:30pm

Every time we leave the harbor in search of wildlife, we combine our scientific knowledge of the Salish Sea with previous visual sightings to pinpoint the best routes. That being said, it takes time to actually get on scene with wildlife. On a sunset trip like today, I feel fortunate that within 10 minutes of departure we had our eyes on a Humpback Whale! This humpback was found in San Juan Channel between San Juan island and Orcas...

Maxx K. | M/V Kestrel | 06/19/2021 | 2:00pm

    By the time Brian and I left Friday Harbor the rumors of Killer whales north of us were consistent. With Kestrel filled with excited guests we turned northbound through San Juan Channel and up towards Stuart island. 

    When we arrived at the Cactus Islands we briefly stopped to observe some harbor seals hauled out on and swimming amongst the rocky islands, seemingly unaware of the potential black and white dangers that had just passed...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 17th, 2021 | 12:30pm 

Wowzers was today an incredible day we experienced! We were able to watch a Humpback Whale right outside Friday Harbor and fluked with every dive! This led us to amazing views of the sparkling salt water gracefully dripping off the tail of this ocean giant. Nearby we even saw Harbor Porpoise presumably feeding on similarly sized bait fish, and heaps of migratory birds casually diving within San Juan Channel. Continuing north during our...

It was an awesome wildlife day in the Salish Sea! After a smooth exit out of Friday Harbor, we began our search for wildlife southbound in San Juan Channel. Our first stop was at Whale Rocks to look at two kinds of Pinnipeds: Steller Sea Lions and Harbor Seals! While the Harbor Seals were peacefully hauled out, the hefty Steller Sea Lions splashed around the shallow waters and roared fiercely. Observing pinnipeds cohabitating helped us distinguish their differences in size...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 06/13/2021 2:00pm

What an adventurous day! Captain Brian, Captain Erick and suited everyone up and headed out in the rain! I was very impressed with everyone as we faced the rain and headed up full speed to Canada.

As we approached the border, we saw a lone transient orca whale! He was in Canada so we were not allowed to approach closer but eventually he turned and headed closer towards our direction! It was amazing to watch him gently swim through these...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 11th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Let me preface this blog with saying: This was the BEST HUMPBACK WHALE EXPERIENCE OF MY ENTIRE LIFE.

We love the fact that more and more baleen whales are returning to these waters year after year and coming back with their young calves, who in turn return the following year as well. Once heavily whaled out of this area, it took a long time (this most recent decade, in fact) for these whales to start returning to our waters to feed. One...

Maxx K. | M/V Osprey | 06/07/2021 | 12:30

It was a beautiful day here in Friday harbor. The sun beamed down on me and Laura as we guided our guests down the dock towards Osprey where Haleigh and Gabe waited to assist them aboard. 

We left the harbor heading south down the San Juan Channel towards the Juan de Fuca. We stopped almost immediately to admire a dozen or so harbor seals that were hauled out around Turn Point. With the sun just over them we could clearly see how diverse the...

Laura | M/V Osprey | 6/4/2021| 12:30

It was a wonderful day out in the Salish Sea this afternoon!  We headed north through San Juan Channel and started looking for all the prey items of our Bigg’s killer whales, like seals, sea lions and harbor porpoises!  We searched through Spieden Channel and found some adorable harbor seals and bald eagles!  Spieden Island is a great place to check out our bald eagle population and look for some cool non-native animals that have been residing...

Big Mama is my hero. 

Maxx K. | M/V Kestrel | 06/02/2021 | 2:00

Today was a classic example of how spontaneous and serendipitous whale watching here in the San Juan Islands can be. We left the harbor without a concrete plan: whales hadn’t been spotted in US waters, or if they had, they had only just hopped the border and disappeared into Canada. 

With the guidance of Captain Brian, we turned north, heading up the San Juan Channel towards Boundary Pass. 

We stopped at Spieden...

Maxx K. | M/V Kestrel | 06/01/2021 | 2:00

I woke up this morning with one of those unexpected, unwarranted gut feelings that today was going to be awesome. Today we were going to see something really special. And that we did. 

We set out of Friday Harbor heading north. Like days prior, we were getting reports of whales off Saturna Island, hugging the US/Canadian border. 

Now historically, because of the Right of Free Passage, this would be absolutely no stress. However, given the...