What a beautiful day it was out today! Lately the Orcas have been cruising the west side of San Juan Island so when the reports came in today of whales over by Lummi island I was really excited. Whales and somewhere new to see! Lummi Island is located just off of Bellingham. We barely made it out of Friday Harbor before we encounter Dall's porpoise frolicking in the wake of boats passing by. The adorable black and white porpoise are often found riding the bow of boats. After a few...

Softly we sat and watched the whales about 700 yards away from us. At first we could only see white wake, their bodies like boats zooming through the water. As we waited, their dorsal fins began to loom in the distance. We followed them as they swam parallel to us west along the south side of Stuart Island, reuniting with their pod at Turn Point Light House.  It was a slow but satiating afternoon as we watched the orcas loll about the land, hugging the shore. Bright, sunny, peaceful...

It was a cool and blustery overcast day in the San Juan Islands today, but that did not stop us from spending time with the orcas.  On the west side of San Juan Island, from Kellet Bluff to Lime Kiln Point State Park, we tracked several orcas through the surf.  Of the animals that we were able to identify there was L26 "Baba", her daughter L90 "Ballena" and her grandson L92 "Crewser" who is a sprouter male.  The orcas are a matrilinial society, which means that the oldest female in...

All of Dawn's photos from the Whale Watching & Wildlife Tour June 10, 2010 have been entered into our photo contest.

What better way to end a busy day shopping in Friday Harbor than on the calm waters of the Salish Sea?  Surrounded by marine wildlife in every direction, this evening's sunset tour was quiet the safari!  The adventure started with the misty blows of orca whales off Spieden Island.  As we approached them we were able to identify a few members of Jpod, including the impressive adult male "Ruffles", 100-year old "Granny", and "Blackberry".  They traveled in a large closely knit pod...

Another sunny day on the Sea Lion!  As we boarded the boat, we received news that orca whales were spotted north near Vancouver.  Communicating with the other whale watching vessels helped inform our crew that the whales were actually heading closer to us near Saturna Island.  The excitement on the boat stirred like the nutrients upwelling in the currents of the Salish Sea.

We spotted three members of our Southern Resident orca community when we arrived at Monarch Head.  There was a...

The reports were in, telling us to search near the west side of San Juan Island for a group of L-pod orca whales.  We arrived at False Bay shortly after departing from Friday Harbor.  A cross-cultural crew of guests from Singapore to Kentucky adjusted their binoculars and were ready to see our famous Southern Resident Orcas.  Their dreams of visiting the remarkable San Juan Islands this summer had finally become a reality.  From the sunny deck of the Sea Lion we saw a tall, glossy...

Captain Craig and I left Friday Harbor with a group of enthusiastic guests to explore the wonder the islands have to offer. Having only heard news of whales heading west past Trial Island (near Victoria) -which is too far for us to reach, especially in a rolly-polly Haro Strait - we headed north to see what we could find.

Today was an eagle-packed day. We saw mating pairs left and right, first at O'Neil Island, then on one of the Cactus Islands. We also saw eagles flying past islands...

Its been a prolific past 9 days marred by only been 1 day whale-less day. We've been blessed by humpbacks, transient orcas and resident orcas. For the past few days we've seen the easily identifiable T-40. Transient male dorsal fins can get up to 6 ft. tall and T-40 is all male. Born in 1961, the tip of his dorsal fin is dropping with age. It creates a natural umbrella handle or hook. Over the past few days he has been traveling with 2 companions, possibly both females or juvenile...

It must be since Capt. Hook just arrived!  That is right, we spent the day with good old Capt. Hook and, in this story, his jolly gals.  And we did not have to go more than twenty minutes down San Juan Channel before we met up with them.  Transient orcas T40, or Capt. Hook as he is affectionately known, and two females were traveling north up through Griffin Bay on the east side of San Juan Island today.  It was a quick trip from the dock for us and the rest of the whale watch fleet...