Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Yesterday we enjoyed yet another stunning July day on the water around San Juan Island.  Naturalist Erick, Captain Mike and I were excited to be able to share some of our famous, critically endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs) with our guests on the 1:30 departure from Friday Harbor. The water was glassy and as we cruised the air was just the right level of chilly over the water. It was a perfect day to watch some whales.

We were lucky enough to encounter some of L-pod...

Yesterday was amazing! The past few days the residents have come back into the Salish Sea and have been traveling up an down the islands foraging for salmon, and we hope they find plenty of them! A great place to find the Southern Residents in the islands is on the west side of San Juan Island which is part of the Haro Strait. The salmon migrate from the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Juan de Fuca and start to head north, most of them are heading towards the largest river around...

It's the magic of the San Juans - we know that every day is different out here cruising with San Juan Safaris. That's why we call it a safari - we never know what we're going to see, and it's always an adventure! M/V Kestrel cruised away from Friday Harbor with high hopes for a day full of exciting whale watching, and we were not disappointed. It was one of those days that took our breath away, each and every one of us in awe of how much diversity we are able to see out here in this...

It's not a pretty fact, but it's science: killer whales are among the world's most contaminated marine mammals. 

How is this possible? What toxins are the orcas dealing with? What are scientists looking at, and how can we help?

It comes down to PCB's, or polychlorinated biphenyls. These are a type of POP, "persistant organic pollutant," that first originated at the start of the last century and are commonly found in the Puget Sound. They were used for a good part of 70 years in...

Orcas – no secret – are amazing animals that constantly leave us in awe, with powerful cognitive abilities and massive brains that house extraordinary intelligence. Sometimes, we can’t help but feel an intense connection and sense of understanding with these amazing black and white mammals that swim through the waters of the Salish Sea. As highly social animals, they remain in very tight-knit family groups, learn constantly from each other, practice cooperative hunting and food...

There's definitely a fever of excitement rippling through the Salish Sea right now. J Pod is still hanging around! With sightings of these orcas few and far between this season, it's wonderful that these animals have been around for the past few days. Hopefully they've been finding plenty of salmon in the area - their wellbeing depends on it. 

M/V Sea Lion cruised away from Friday Harbor with warm, sunny skies above and sparkling green seas below. After pausing off of Turn Island to...

Yesterday, the skies cleared to reveal a wonderfully blue sky with wispy, white clouds. The last few days we have been lucky here. This year has been marked as a historically low salmon year, and for this reason we have not seen the Resident Orcas (whose main food source is salmon) very much in the Salish Sea. This past week J pod of the Residents Orcas has been in and around the islands hunting for salmon. On Sunday, we headed south to arrive on the southern side of the islands to...

We’re right in the peak of jellyfish season here in the Salish Sea, so we’re starting to see a few different varieties floating around all the way from Georgia Strait to the shallows of Friday Harbor. If you sit on the docks of the marina, you may see a water jelly or a moon jelly lazily working its way through the water. If you come out on a whale watch and wildlife tour, you’re almost guaranteed to get your fill of jellyfish watching as well, and the kiddos may find them even more...

Every day is a new mission at San Juan Safaris - some days we only have to travel 5 miles outside the harbor to see something interesting, and some days we have to travel all the way up to the Canadian Gulf Islands, to an unconfimed report of possible killer whales traveling away from us at a pretty good speed. Chasing rumors like this is exactly what some of us need to satisfy our adventurous spirit, so we took our chances and, with the approval from a charter of four willing...

The best part about whale watching with San Juan Safaris? Every single day is different out here! New routes between islands, amazing views of different types of wildlife around every channel...it always keeps us on our toes and it's what makes our whale watches more than just a boat trip. It's an adventure!

Yesterday we had an opportunity to head up north towards Cherry Point, near the town of White Rock in B.C., to view a pod of transient killer whales. It looked to be an...