Haleigh | M/V Osprey | June 26, 2021 | 5:30pm

The Salish Sea supports an abundant, diverse ecosystem full of lengthy kelp beds, speckled phytoplankton, small schooling fish, and our larger marine mammals! Using our knowledge of the environment, we can predict where certain animals will congregate or where they’ll be moving. Combining this knowledge, we are further directed by visual sightings reporting cetaceans or pinnipeds to the Pacific Whale Watch Association. By sharing...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | June 25, 2021 | 5:30pm

Tonight was a gorgeous, glassy evening on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. What normally is a body of rippling waves ended up being flat and silent, perfect for spotting wildlife! We journeyed south of Friday Harbor, down through San Juan Channel and into the Strait. With the perfect conditions on the water we saw a literal sea of birds! Hundreds of Rhinoceros Auklets, Common Murres, Glaucous-winged gulls, and Heerman’s gulls were scattered...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 25th, 2021 | 12:30pm

With the sunshine on our side, we immediately decided to make the decision to head north around the top of San Juan Island with some rumors of a baleen whale lurking in the air. This brought us all the way towards County Park, just north of Lime Kiln Lighthouse. Coming on scene, we quickly discovered that this baleen was none other than a Humpback Whale! 

This filter feeding ocean giant was slow traveling north along the westside...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | June 24, 2021 | 5:30pm

I’ll likely say this throughout the summer -- sunsets are the absolute best time to be on the water. As we leave the dock and pass in and around the islands, everything around us is either sparkling or glowing. Tonight’s excursion lived up to the magic. 

Our beginning route led us eastbound on an inter-island expedition. We were following prior reports of a “T-Party” traveling through the San Juan Channel. Bigg’s Killer Whales are...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 24th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Starting off in search of whales, we always make sure to look where their food is. This means areas of upwelling or currents that are stirring up nutrients attracting small bait fish. This bait fish attracts Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, and Baleen Whales. All of these mammals attract our primary population of orcas- the Bigg’s Killer Whales. Scanning these “hot spots” are like checking out all the mini buffets and gives us an...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 24th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Starting off in search of whales, we always make sure to look where their food is. This means areas of upwelling or currents that are stirring up nutrients attracting small bait fish. This bait fish attracts Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, and Baleen Whales. All of these mammals attract our primary population of orcas- the Bigg’s Killer Whales. Scanning these “hot spots” are like checking out all the mini buffets and gives us an...

MV Osprey- Naturalist Alexandria- Monday, June 21st, 2021- 5:30

We had a wonderful time today onboard MV Osprey. As we boarded onto this vessel we knew it was going to be a gorgeous evening. The sun was shining and as far as Washington standards go it had been a warm toasty day, and the thought of being cooling off out on the water was the perfect plan for the evening. As we boarded onto the vessel we left the dock with naturalists Laura, Maxx and Alexandria. 

As we headed up San...

MV Osprey- Naturalist Alexandria- Monday, June 21st, 202- 12:30

We had a wonderful time today onboard MV Osprey. As we boarded onto this vessel we knew it was going to be a gorgeous day. The sun was shining and as far as Washington standards go it was a warm toasty day, and the thought of being out on the water was the perfect plan for the day. As we boarded onto the vessel we left the dock with naturalists Laura, Maxx and Alexandria. 

As we headed down San Juan channel we were...

Maxx K. | M/V Osprey | 06/20/2021 | 5:30pm

    This was a spectacular evening. From the moment Osprey left Friday Harbor you could see whales. A family known as the T049A’s had worked their way up the San Juan Channel and were now aimed at Friday harbor as we exited. 

These Bigg’s Killer whales were members of the T049A family and consisted of Mom, Nan (T049A), her oldest son, Noah (T049A1), and three additional children, Nat, Neptune, and Nebula. 

The family rose to the surface for...

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...