Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | October 9, 2021 | 12:00 pm

For today’s whale sightings, we didn’t have to go too far! We left Friday Harbor pointed North through San Juan Channel where we were united with a family of Bigg’s Killer Whales. Within the group was T60 (Panthera) and three of her five living offspring. T60C (Yelnats) is her oldest living calf born in 2001. T60F (Tigris) and T60G (Unnamed) are her two youngest calves, born in 2012 and 2019. Two of her middle children, T60D and...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | October 7, 2021 | 12:00 pm

Today’s weather was spectacular. The water was glassy and calm everywhere we ventured, and the sun was shining with the blue sky and puffy clouds above. We began our tour southbound to scan the shallow banks within the Strait of Juan de Fuca. As we made our way through Cattle Pass, Steller’s Sea Lions bobbed up and down in the water. We saw even more of these blubberous beasts lying on Whale Rocks, some roaring while others...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | October 6, 2021 | 12:00 pm

There is a plethora of wildlife that can be seen in the Salish Sea. Today’s trip highlighted the many animals that can be seen, especially if we give the trip the time and space to fully develop. We left the dock in search of a reported group of whales traveling. In our pursuit to find them, one of our guests spotted a Humpback Whale traveling across the stern of our boat. It was an incredible find as this whale was barely...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | October 5, 2021 | 12:00 pm

It’s peak Humpback Whale watching season in the Salish Sea! Our Humpbacks are incredibly special because in the 1900’s, they were entirely whaled out of the area. Due to the increase in bait fish over the last couple of decades, more Humpbacks are returning each summer season. Females that return occasionally bring their calves back with them, teaching those young cetaceans that the Salish Sea is a viable feeding ground. With this...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | October 1, 2021 | 12:00 pm

It’s not super common to find whales right outside of the harbor, but when it happens it is incredibly special! Today was that day. We found two Humpback Whales traveling South through the San Juan Channel. Each surfacing was powerful, with a 15 foot exhalation releasing a plume of misty water into the air. The two humpbacks were traveling close alongside one another. At one point as they dove, one tail fluked while the other half...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | September 30, 2021 | 12:00 pm

Throughout this summer, we have only encountered the critically endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales a handful of times. It is growing more rare to see these struggling animals due to the lack of prey for them in the Salish Sea. Chinook Salmon is their #1 food source and has been heavily overfished and further declined due to habitat loss of freshwater rivers. Because they no longer have a stable food source of Chinook...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | September 22, 2021 | 1:30 pm

Today’s encounter with our Bigg’s Killer Whales was spectacular. After a long journey through San Juan Channel towards a chain of islands known as the outer islands, we saw the whale watching vessels in the distance! Rounding the west side of Sucia Island is where we first saw some spouts from a family of Bigg’s Killer Whales. This family seemed to be actively hunting and devouring a freshly-caught harbor seal. As they finished...

Maxx K. | M/V Sea Lion | 09/21/2021 | 1:30pm

    Today was awesome. 

Not only did I get to work with Abby and Gabe on Sea Lion, we got to watch an incredible family of whales actively hunting and killing what I assumed to be a harbor seal! 

    We left Friday Harbor on a mission: whales had been spotted north of us off of Sucia Island. It was going to take us a little while to get there but the journey was beautiful and full of great chats. As we rounded the northern tip of Orcas...

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...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | September 16, 2021 | 2:00 pm

Family ties are incredibly important for many animals. Staying connected with your relatives is a way for information and culture to be passed down. For killer whales, older relatives act as a necessary resource for learning how to be an orca in the environment. Today, we witnessed the head matriarch of the T18 matriline, Esperanza, traveling with her youngest grandson, T19C Spouter. The two had split off from Esperanza’s...