Our day began with Harbor Seals!  As usual they were taking advantage of the beautiful weather and having a snooze while soaking up the sunshine. 

We then motored south through the San Juan Channel where we saw a number of marine mammal and seabird species including Harbor Porpoise, Steller Sea Lions, Common Murres, Rhinoceros Auklets, Cormorants, Harbor Seals, and a plethora of Gulls.  These animals were most likely foraging in this highly productive area. 

As we cruised south...

The weather was perfect: high around 70 degrees, clear blue sky, and very light breeze.  The only thing that could make it better would be a day with the Orcas.  Did you order up Orcas?

Yes, a large order, please!

Coming right up.

We ran north - through beautifully calm water, enjoying the spectacular scenery.  Mount Baker was a clear and crisp as I've ever seen it.  Along the way, we saw harbor porpoise, common murre, pigeon guillemot, and harbor seals swimming about.

As we...

Today we were watching a variety of wildlife on the south side of San Juan Island.  We observed between 10-15 members of L pod that were spread out south of False Bay and heading to the southeast (48°25.25N, 123°05.87W).  Five to six orcas were surfacing in a tight-knit group.  Three other individuals were at least 500 yards away to the south and east, but traveling in the same direction.  One orca breached twice; what an incredible splash!  We believe we spotted the L85 “Mystery” in...

The sun is out, the sky is blue, it’s beautiful, with wildlife too! Dear readers, won’t you come out and play?

Today couldn’t have been more enjoyable!  The sunshine, the summertime, *perfect temperatures, and water like glass! We saw tons of wildlife including at least 3 dozen Harbor Seals, 2 Great Blue Herons, a Bald Eagle, Harbor Porpoise, Cormorants, Rhinoceros Auklets, Common Murres, and 15+ Steller Sea Lions. We also had a great round of wildlife bingo with each and...

Today we headed north on a wildlife adventure!  Incredible scenery through the northern San Juan Islands; we passed by Spieden Island first.  Adult male mouflon sheep were grazing near shore; their large and round horns are quite a sight.  Several females were also resting in the grass close by.  We also spotted a bald eagle at the top of a tree looking out for its next meal.  A harbor seal was resting with her pup on a mattress of rockweed, a type of seaweed, up against the...

We went on a wildlife adventure today, which included a circumnavigation of Lopez Island! Several harbor seals were hauled out near Turn Island, off the east side of San Juan Island. As we headed south we encountered at least seven Stellar’s sea lions on Whale Rock. The waters on the Strait of Juan de Fuca were calm which made the observation of surface activity noticeable! We spotted a harbor porpoise making quick dives just off the bow of the boat. So many different species of sea...

It was another hot one today! Beautiful for seeing all kinds of wildlife. South of San Juan Island was our destination as we left Friday Harbor. Just outside, we stopped to view some harbor seals and pups hauled out on the rocky reef and a bald eagle in the tree tops. Further south, on whale rocks, there was a massive Steller sea lion sitting up, then five or six others swimming amongst the bull kelp.

Then, at salmon bank we spotted not only some harbor porpoise, but the slender...

Tons of whale action today; three Minke Whales and even a Humpback!!! (Salmon Bank, 48°25.01N 122°59.19W)

Humpbacks typically don’t come this far inland, to San Juan Island, so it was a great treat! These whales couldn’t be more graceful raising their fluke entirely out of the water and slowly diving down without a splash. They are THE true mermaids of the sea.

On our way in we saw tons of other wildlife including Bald Eagles, Harbor Seals, Steller Sea Lions, and Harbor Porpoise.

Wha...

We had a very exciting and full-of-wildlife day! We departed Friday Harbor heading north into Canadian waters. Before seeing the main event (killer whales) we spotted about five or six harbor porpoise just north of San Juan Channel. Not long after we saw one dorsal fin, then another, then three more! There were about eight to ten southern resident killer whales, traveling close to each other. They were moving north along Pender Island (48º 36.54’N 123º 04.94’W). We watched as...

What I love about living in a rain shadow is that the weather tends to clear up in the afternoon, just around the time we reach whales. Today was one of those days. We departed Friday Harbor at 1:30 pm in a hazy fog, heading south. Expecting at least some rain, we all suited up in our yellow rain slickers, binoculars in hand. There were a few harbor porpoise, but what was super unusual were the two huge, male Stellar sea lions hauled out on Whale Rocks! We typically see these sea...