Laura C. / 7-3-2019 / M/V Kestrel / 3:00pm

This evening’s excursion was full of a variety of wildlife!  Our vessel headed north and just as we headed away from Friday Harbor we saw a bald eagle swoop across our bow overhead.  Within the first five minutes we already had a wildlife encounter!  The bald eagle is one of the few species to rebound as a population and were delisted from the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  This area is home to about 150 breeding pairs and are a great...

M/V Kestrel | July 2nd, 2019 | Naturalist Alexandria

What an awesome day we had today on the water!  We were with a family of Biggs Killer Whales for our trip, and we sure got to spend a nice chunk of time with these incredible animals!

As Captain Pete and myself looked at the reports for the day, we were excited to know that we definitely had reports of orcas out and about.  Now we never know anything for sure until we are on scene for sure; until we personally, with our own eyes...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 07/01/19 | 11:00 am

Happy Canada Day!! Today was absolutely gorgeous as the sun glistened high in the sky and warmed the Washington air.

Captain Pete and I took the Kestrel out of Friday Harbor towards the north. Immediately, we received multiple reports of whales throughout the northern American Islands. Excited, we headed that direction.

Along the way, we stopped by White Rocks. Here, we saw so many seals! These harbor seals were literally laying on top of...

Erin | M/V Kestrel | Sunday, June 30, 2019 | 11:00 AM

Today was an awesome day on M/V Kestrel. We began the trip heading north out of Friday Harbor, as there were some reports of orcas in that direction. It was gorgeous out on the water. The sun was shining and the water was calm. We got to stop at White Rock, which is right by Flattop Island. There were about twenty seals hauled out on the rocks, and there were at least five bald eagles resting on the rocks as well! Some of the...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 06/29/19 |

Today was a great day full of adventures! Captain Gabe and I took the Kestrel out of Friday Harbor and headed north to reports of whales up in the Strait of Georgia.

We sped up through the San Juan Channel and up towards Waldron Island. We stopped by a group of rocks jutting out of the water called “white rocks.” A few birds were sitting along the rocks and among them we spotted massive bald eagles! It was so cool! The adults had bright white heads...

Olivia | June 27, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Our morning trip out on M/V Kestrel definitely started off as an adventure as we were getting everyone suited up in the rain. Despite the June showers, we wore smiling faces as we set out to find the whales we received word about. We traveled north through the San Juan Channel and made a pit stop at Flattop Island to look at some Harbor Seals who were napping on the coastline. Things heated up fast as we then saw a bunch of Pigeon...

Piper | Tuesday, June 25, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM

On this sunny Tuesday morning captains Gabe and Pete and I took a great group of folks out on the Kestrel, heading over to the Wasp Islands to try to locate a group of orcas who had been seen by a passing ferry. The group of Bigg’s killer whales were located and I identified them as the T101s, which are a really cool group of a mom, T101, who we think was born in 1973, and her three grown boys, T102, T101A, and T101B! The group...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 06/23/19 | 11:00am
 

The day started with clouds floating low in the sky. It wasn’t the typical overcast but somehow much more beautiful as they hid the distant mountains. Captain Gabe and I took the Kestrel out of Friday Harbor and headed north through the San Juan Channel.

We sped towards this beautiful island called Flattop and stopped along its shoreline. Here we found a bald eagle perched high in a tree, its white head glowing in the light. Then we saw...

Erin | M/V Kestrel | Saturday, June 22, 2019 | 11:00 AM

It was a truly adventurous trip aboard the M/V Kestrel this morning. We began our trip heading north out of Friday Harbor. There were some orca reports in the Strait of Georgia, and we figured we would give it a shot to try and see them. On our way there, we stopped at Flattop Island. We saw lots of harbor seals hauled out on the rocks, some of which were heading into the water. We then went around the island and saw at least 6...

Laura C. | 6-21-2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Today was a gorgeous day aboard M/V Kestrel with Captain Gabe leading our voyage!  We headed south and were lucky right off the bat, finding harbor seals, Steller’s sea lions and a pair of bald eagles all sharing some small rocky islands right near San Juan Island.  We all were able to appreciate the sheer size of a hefty male sea lion as he shimmied his way towards the edge of the rocks, surrounded by basking females.  The harbor seals...