Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | September 20, 2021 | 1:30 pm

For our classic whale watching excursion, we decided to travel north through the San Juan Channel. Reports of some killer whales were far up north towards Saturna Island, meaning we needed to make a straight shot there. We passed by Jones Island, Spieden Island, and eventually Waldron Island, leaving Saturna straight off of our bow. As we neared closer, we caught sight of some exhalations! 

These Bigg’s Killer Whales were...

September 18th, 2021

Abby | M/V Kestrel | 2pm | 9/18/2021

Captain Solan and I zoomed south in San Juan Channel, cumulonimbus clouds rising steadily in front of Mount Baker. We headed over to Goose Island where double-crested cormorants stood atop their haystack-style nests and glaucous gulls screeched loudly at the prospect of an opportunistic snack. Harbor seals, or “rock sausages,” lazily laid on the shoreline, intermittently raising an eye at our presence. A large bull kelp...

Maxx K. | M/V Kestrel | 09/16/2021 | 2:00pm

    Kestrel flew out of Friday harbor with purpose this morning: a family of Bigg’s Killer whales had been reported passing through Deception Pass State Park and were now traveling across the Juan De Fuca. We stopped briefly at goose island to observe the cormorants that sat proudly over their neatly stacked nests. A harbor seal passed at the water's edge, diving to forage amongst the Bull Kelp forest that sat between us and the bird Island...

Abby | M/V Kestrel | 2pm | 9/9/2021

Captain Solan and I slipped out of the harbor, deliberately cruising south through San Juan Channel to spot many different species, including:

• Steller Sea Lions
• Harbor Seals
• Double-Crested Cormorants
• Pelagic Cormorants
• Glaucous-Winged Gulls
• Marbled Murrelets
• Pigeon Guillemots

As we were viewing a large congregation of birds feasting on a bait ball, Solan and I received word of a family of Biggs (transient) killer whales heading north through...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | September 9, 2021 | 1:30 pm

Our classic whale watching tour took off smoothly with blue skies around us and a boat full of passengers excited to search for wildlife! We began heading south through the San Juan Channel headed towards the Strait of Juan de Fuca. As we came through Cattle Pass, the smell of harbor seals and Steller’s sea lions wafted towards our vessel and drew us closer. We listened to the growls and play fighting by these toasty-brown males...

Abby | M/V Kestrel | 2pm | 9/8/2021

Captain Solan and I cruised out of the harbor with the intention of viewing what is known as a “T-Party,” where several families of transient, or Biggs, killer whales were playfully interacting with one another. We zipped in between Shaw and Lopez Island, through Obstruction Pass, and headed North through the Rosario Strait before seeing our first exhalations and dorsal fins dotting the surface of the water.

Below is a list of the matrilines we...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 08/16/2021 2:00pm

Nturalist Haleigh and I joined captain Pete on the boat with our excited guests and headed out to see what we could find around the Salish Sea.

We headed north and crossed the border into Canada. Here we found Orcas!! Beautifully swimming around off the coast of Pender Island, we watched in awe as they searched for any prey that could be hiding within the rocks. It felt like a whole different world as we appreciated being able to boat in...

Haleigh | M/V Kestrel| August 15, 2021 | 10:00 am

We got underway this morning as clouds rolled towards Friday Harbor from the south. Luckily, we were heading north, following reports of Bigg’s Killer Whales near Vancouver, BC. Out on the water the swells were small and the sky over us stayed blue as we headed towards Canada full speed ahead, knowing we had a lot of ground to cover. We made a stop at Flat Top island to admire some plump and adorable Harbor Seals before continuing...

Abby | M/V Osprey | 8/11/2021

Naturalist Jordan, Captain Gabe, and I set out on an adventure to find some orcas. We had already seen them on our first trip, but they were still quite far at this point. We decided to take a gamble and press on towards Canadian waters, hopeful they would directionally trend in our favor. We headed north through San Juan Channel, a bald eagle making an immediate appearance as it regally sat atop a tall pine. We made a quick pit stop at Flattop Island to...

Abby | M/V Sea Lion | 8/9/2021

As usual, Captain Pete and I have the best luck. With multiple matrilines traveling through the islands, we had our pick of the pod. We decided to travel towards the T037A’s, one of my favorite Biggs killer whale family groups, which has a total of six members, although only five were present:

• Volker T037A (Female, 1994)
  
  • Inyo T037A1 (Gender Unknown, 2007)—Not present today
  • Inky T037A2 (Male, 2009)
  • Spinnaker T037A3 (Male, 2013)
  • Crinkle T037A4 (Gender...