Sarah | 11/02/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Today we had an amazing November day to go out and explore the Salish Sea. With smooth, glassy water, and amazing sunshine we were excited to leave the dock and go out an explore. We elected to head north through San Juan Channel, and right out of the harbor we encountered a bald eagle sitting on the shore ripping into and eating some sort of bird. There were downy feathers scattered all around the enormous bird and we got to see some glauc...

Sarah | 11/01/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

It was an amazing day on the water here in the Salish Sea. Captain Pete and I left the dock in Friday Harbor and decided to point south through San Juan Channel towards Cattle Pass on the search for whales.

On the way out of Cattle Pass we decided to stop at Whale Rocks to take a peek at some Steller’s sea lions hauled out enjoying some of this late fall sunshine. These huge sea lions are the largest in the world, with males topping out at...

Sarah | 10/31/2019 | Happy Halloween! | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

The sun was shining, the water was glassy, and Captain Pete, our guests, and I set out from Friday Harbor this afternoon. With absolutely amazing water in the Salish Sea to spot all manner of wildlife we were certainly excited go out an explore!

We decided to head north towards Flattop Island. Recently we have had awesome luck up in around this National Wildlife Refuge looking for wildlife. Today was no different, we got...

M/V Sea Lion | Naturalist Alexandria | Wednesday, October 30, 2019

What a great day we had today!  It was probably one of the most perfect fall days!  We left the dock and were so excited to see what the day had in store for us.  We headed north up San Juan Channel and caught up with some Minke Whales off Flat Top island.  We had previously stopped there to check out some Harbor seals that were hanging out on the rocks, and had also seen an eagle fly by and land on the cliff just in...

Sarah | 10/29/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

On Tuesday we enjoyed an amazing day on the water with tons of wildlife and great weather. The chilly fall weather didn’t keep us from enjoying the magnificent Salish Sea Marine Ecosystem, we just bundled up!

We started the trip with a start at Flattop Island just north of San Juan Island. We got great looks at some harbor seals in the water around the rocky outcropping and even hauled out on the rocks. These are our most numerous marine...

Sarah | 10/28/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Today was a beautiful fall day in the San Juan Islands. We enjoyed sunny skies out on the water and smooth seas as we cruised through the islands.

We started the day heading north through San Juan Channel. In recent weeks we have had great sightings up and around the Canadian Gulf Islands due to the plentiful nutrients and food in the area. We made it to Flattop Island and got a chance to see some harbor seals as well as some bald eagles pe...

Laura C.| M/V Sea Lion | 10/27/2019 | 12:00pm

Today was a glorious day out on the water with Captain Sarah!  M/V Sea Lion headed north bound towards Active Pass with rumors in the atmosphere of Bigg’s killer whales!  We were all surprised of how many harbor porpoises were seen along the way!  As we passed Shaw Island, it was obvious how productive the waters were today with a plethora of wildlife to observe.  The swirling currents produced an abundance of phytoplankton for some small...

M/V Sea Lion | Naturalist Alexandria | Friday, October 18th, 2019

What a fantastic day we had out on the water today!  We started out our trip and we had a unconfirmed report of orcas north of us.  By the time everyone had boarded and we were leaving Friday Harbor a few other boats from our area had confirmed this sighting, and we were excited to head towards them!

Little did we know though that there were still more whales to be seen!  As we were leaving the harbor we saw a Humpback...

Sarah | 10/15/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

We had a lovely October day out on the water, with a bit of Pacific Northwest liquid sunshine falling from the sky and amazing wildlife in the waters surrounding the San Juan Islands, today was autumnal whale watching at its best.

Captain Erick and I left Friday Harbor with a group of wonderful guests. With no initial reports of whales in the area we had decided to leave the harbor and head south. We had no sooner started to pick up speed...

M/V Sea Lion| Sunday, October 13th, 2019 | Naturalist Alexandria

What a full day we had today!  With fall in full swing here on San Juan Island, it sure turned out to be the perfect fall day! The sunshine was out as we departed on our trip aboard M/V Sea Lion and we had already heard of a report of orcas in Rosario Strait!

We headed out of Friday Harbor and aimed towards that report.  On our way we were lucky enough to see some Harbor porpoise swimming by us, these critters are...