August 23, 2010

L pod returns

It has been a few days since we have seen L pod (or the Southern Residents in general) and we can only assume that means they have gone off in search of food in the Pacific, but today we were in luck! This afternoon reports came in that they were headed towards San Juan Island. As we headed off for...Read more

August 22, 2010

Minkes again!

We saw a minke whale on the west side of Waldron Island today! Although there weren't any reports of orcas, we still managed to see a lot of marine wildlife. We rarely see minke whales this many days in a row. They are solitary travelers and can hold their breathe for long periods. So when they...Read more

August 21, 2010

Whale Watching

Today, we actually saw whales as opposed to the black and white dolphins known as 'orcinus orca.' Whales and dolphins are classified according to two things; their size, with porpoise being the smallest, dolphins being mid sized and whales being the largest, with the Blue Whale being the largest...Read more

August 19, 2010

Singing in the Rain and Breaching in the Sun

I went out with an especially cheerful group of people who were 0ld friends with eachother. In 1992, they flew around the world in small planes, over Russia. Now they get together every year, and this year they got together in San Juan and chartered the Kittiwake. The name of their group was the...Read more

August 19, 2010

West Side Sunset

Last evening we headed towards the southern tip of San Juan where Cattle Point Lighthouse is located.  This is our last week of sunset tours and I'm really going to miss the way that lighthouse looks against a setting sun. That thought was interrupted when we spotted Stellar Sea Lions showing off...Read more

August 18, 2010

Fat Foraging Whales

It has been said by the locals that this is the largest run of Sockeye Salmon we've EVER had (at least in a lifetime). Everywhere you looked off the west side today, there were purseiners, fish jumping and orcas feeding. Fat and happy whales, they lolled about slowly, on long dives, taking their...Read more

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