Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

(6/22/17 - Sea Lion 1:30pm Departure)

We left Friday Harbor with a great group of guests who seemed genuinely excited to learn about the wildlife that we were going to see.  We left our dock heading up San Juan Channel, through Haro Strait and into Canadian waters.  As we were traveling we got a few great looks at some harbor seals who popped their heads up near the boat.  We also saw about four bald eagles in flight over Spieden Island.  We made it into the Canadian Gulf Islands...

(6/21/17 - Kittiwake 10:00 am & 2:00 pm Departure)

On M/V Kittiwake we had two private charters for the day, both wonderful trips!  Our first trip was with Skagit Valley College and our second trip was with a family visiting the San Juan’s for their annual family vacation.  Both trips we saw the T75B’s and the T77’s, with a total of about 7 whales between the two families.  On our earlier departure the whales were first spotted under the deception pass bridge, which was very exciting...

[6/20/17 ~ Sea Lion 1:30 Departure]

Yesterday was a record-breaking day for me aboard the M/V Sea Lion. I've been pretty far north before, close enough to see the skyscrapers of greater Vancouver, but yesterday I was lucky enough to go even further north into the Strait of Georgia. Lead by a report of two familiar humpback whales in the Strait of Georgia, and no whales closer by, Captain Gabe took us full speed up to the water northeast of Galiano Island. 

Thankfully, the day was...

Lauren Fritz, Naturalist, M/V Sea Lion, 6/20/17, 1:30 pm & 5:30 pm tours

Anyone who's around me long enough has fallen victim to my ramblings about how amazing humpback whales are. I spend a significant portion of my year with these whales down in Maui, one of their main breeding grounds, so it's very exciting to see them up here in one of their feeding grounds as well! It's difficult not to marvel over the amazing migration of 2,500-3,000 miles that these whales make every year -...

[2017/06/19 ~ M/V Kestrel, 1000 and 1400 departures]

It was humpback mania in the Salish Sea today. Not only did the M/V Kestrel see four different humpbacks, but our other vessels also humpbacks! Altogether, we estimate that San Juan Safaris saw six different humpbacks today. That may not sound like much, but the Salish Sea is home to a relatively small population of humpbacks, estimated at 45 individuals last year. So, really, we saw 11% of our humpback whale population today. That...

(06/18/2017 -Kestrel 2:00 pm Departure)

Today was a true Pacific Northwest day here in the San Juan Islands, with light rain and fog throughout the entire day.  We headed South towards reports of transient killer whales.  On our way to the whale report we stopped by the whale rocks to see some Steller’s sea lions.  Many of these huge animals were hauled out on the rocks while a few were playing in the water nearby.  While we watched the sea lions we got a report two humpback whales...

Today was super misty as we motored out of the harbor. We couldn’t see very far ahead as the wooded islands, water, and clouds all melded into one. We headed south through Cattle Pass and out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We first encountered a small group of Harbor Porpoise off of Hein Bank (a shallow area  that is a great feeding area for so many of the marine mammals that inhabit our waters) The group of Harbor porpoises quickly passed us as the followed a small group of fish...

[6/17/17- M/V Kestrel- 2:00PM] It was a day to remember out on the Salish Sea! We departed Friday Harbor from San Juan Island on M/V Kestrel, a high-adventure zodiac-style boat. And holy smokes, within 15 minutes we were already upon some transient killer whales! Snuggled between San Juan Island and Lopez Island were the T65’s, a small family group that has been hanging around the San Juan Islands frequently. They were calmly traveling in a tight-knit group, breathing together in...

(06/17/2017 -Sea lion 01:30 pm Departure)

Today we left Friday Harbor only needing to travel about 10 minutes before reaching our first pod of whales! We first encounter a group of transient, or mammal eating orcas, on the Eastern side of San Juan Island.  These whales were specifically the T36A’s as well at the T65B’s.  These two families were seen traveling together throughout the entire day today and we were lucky enough to see them complete a kill and engage in some social...

[06/16/2017 – M/V Kestrel – 02:00pm]

The whale watching has been great lately! We are entering what local naturalists are calling the “new normal.” The diversity of our ecosystem is shifting, and we are seeing that reflected most notably in our local orca populations. With a drop in our local salmon population we are seeing less and less of our Southern Resident killer whales in our inland waterways. Traditionally we expect to see members of J, K & L Pods from about May through...