We have had an absolutely incredible season here in the San Juan Islands. Whenever naturalists or captains run into each other around town all we can do is laugh and shake our heads... the frequency of whale sightings has just been out of this world this season. October has been no different.

On Saturday we headed out of Friday Harbor with reports of Resident orcas spread out from the northern reaches of the San Juan Islands all the way to the southern end of Lopez Island. We ended...

Yesterday Capt. Mike, Brendan, and I set out on one of the calmest evenings we've had on the water. We were looking for some of the local Transient Orcas. There are three main communities of Transient Orcas that live on the west coast of North America. They all belong to the same ecotype but form different communities that usually remain in one general area, but each small pod can travel from Baja California up to Alaska. The community here is called the Washington - British Columbia...

Today we had two different whale reports by the time we left the dock; J-pod coming down from East Point, and transients coming through President's channel. Along the way, we decided to go for the transients, or Bigg's killer whales. Transients are mammal-eaters, a stark contrast between their culture and that of the resident killer whales (whom eat only fish). They'll work together to hunt for harbor seals, sea lions, porpoises, or even larger whales. An adult male orca can eat...

This afternoon, we set out from Friday Harbor with a full boat. In just a short trip, we arrived at Bird Rocks, where we had received a report of transient orcas. Sure enough, there they were, the T65As and T77s, along with all of the other whale watching boats from the islands. Shortly after catching our first glimpse of the whales, we spotted a harbor porpoise, maybe 100 yards in front of the pod. Harbor porpoises are one of the favorite prey for transient orcas, as they strictly...

Today was a very exciting day. We left the dock without any reports of whales. No humpback whales, no minke whales and unfortunately no reports of orcas. We started to steam North keeping our eyes out for any signs of marine mammals. We had the most amazing fly-over by a mature bald eagle and enjoyed traveling up the east side of Waldron Island through Presidents Channel under clear blue skies. Suddenly our Northern bet payed off, as some tall, black dorsal fins cut through the waves...

This evening Captain Pete and I left the dock on the ol' Sea Lion in classic Pacific Northwest misty weather with a boat full of good natured passengers and reports of a male Killer Whale traveling on his own in Canadian waters.

After meeting everyone, we took off in search of wildlife. Right off the bat we spotted first one than a second Bald Eagle on San Juan Island. As we headed west through Spieden Channel we saw some harbor seals and harbor porpoise appearing breifly and then...

Today we left Friday Harbor with reports of residents orcas near East Point.  As we traveled towards the reports of resident orcas we received a separate report of transient orcas near by.  We first went to see the transient orcas which were specifically the T124A's consisting of T124A, an adult female born in 1984, and her four offspring.  The orcas were first seen at the entrance of the strait of Georgia near boiling reef.  The waterway got its name because it is an area with...

Today Captain Mike, Brendan and I spent a bright and warm day out on the water. We left the dock with no reports of orcas, but some Transients were reported just as we pulled out of Friday Harbor. There are two ecotypes of killer whales that swim in the waters of the Salish Sea: Residents and Transients. The Residents are the famous three pods of salmon-eaters, while the Transients are marine mammal eaters focusing most of their attention on harbor seals. We met up with the group of...

We boarded the Sea Lion today with no orca reports and prepared ourselves to go in search of other wildlife in the area. Just as we were about to depart from the dock, Captain Pete was informed that there were some transient orcas just outside the harbor! So, we made our way out to San Juan Channel and sure enough, there they were.

The Pacific Northwest is an incredibly unique area. One of the reasons I say that, is that we regularly have the opportunity to see TWO different ecotypes...

What a trip! Today the Sea Lion left the dock crewed by Captain Mike and Naturalists Mike and Alex. Despite a few clouds, our full boat of passengers was super excited to see some wildlife! Fortunately for everyone on board, a group of Transient Orcas was spotted up north in Canadian waters. Eager to see them, we sped north! Along the way we saw a few harbor seals watching our progress as well as a bald eagle flying overhead, but we only slowed down when we began looking for a...