Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

I saw the first splash from a quarter mile away; a great backwards leap that sent water twenty feet in the air. Hoping for some repetition I crossed my fingers as we motored closer to the scene, deep in the middle of the Strait of Georgia. We'd finally made it to J Pod.

Many people don't realize why whales breach. Be they Killer Whales or Humpbacks, breach we may not know the meaning of every individual action, but we do know these are social displays meant to send a message. J...

One of my favorite things about Humpback Whales is that they are far less illusive and hard to track down than Killer Whales. Particularly this time of year the Southern Resident pods are farther afield in search of Salmon but some Transients tend to stay near shore year-round hunting marine mammals. The challenge is finding them, in their small groups, is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Thankfully Humpacks are a little different, 40 ton, 50 plus foot long needles, with 30...

Leaving Friday Harbor with reports of both Transient Killer Whales and Humpback Whales is always a great way to start a trip. Captain Brian took us North on the Sea Lion and we sped through Speiden Channel aimed for Moresby Island and the rest of the Gulf Islands of Canada. Many people don't realize that we in fact cruise into Canadian waters on a regular basis. Animals don't know our borders.

Starting a trip with Humpbacks is never a bad way to go and we had two to watch out in...

Any day on the water can be full of surprises and as we left the dock, intending to go find Humpback Whales, Captain Mike got word of two male Orcas in Rosario Strait. Humpbacks are wonderful creatures, but any chance to see black and whites shouldn't be taken for granted. So, we headed for the East side of the San Juans with high hopes.

When reports of lone or small groups of Orcas come in, they can often be Transients. Also named Bigg's Killer Whales, after the first researcher who...

A good day on the water is full of tough but ultimately great choices to make. Which whales to see? Southern Residents, Transients, maybe a Humpback Whale? Leaving port with Captain Mike at the helm, our weekend guests were excited for nature on the water.

Working our way North through President's Channel, we had the looming forested slopes of Turtleback to our Starboard and the slanting cliffs of Waldron to our left. It was another gorgeous day on the water, which Pacific...

Leaving Friday Harbor with reports of whales is always a great feeling and Captain Mike took us off the docks with good vibes for J Pod. We made a few stops along to the way, taking in Spieden's open slopes, Steller Sea Lions, and Harbor Seal lounging on the rocks, but we had a destination in mind. Before too long we caught up with Orca on Open Bay on the West side of San Juan Island.

Being early in the year, the Southern Resident Killer whales, which are largely hunting King...

Leaving the harbor with a full boat, Captain Mike took us North into San Juan Channel on a beautiful sunny day. We’d had no reports yet, but Naturalist Kevin and I were optimistic for a great day on the water. We weren’t disappointed.

We’d cruised around Yellow Island for some looks at the wildflowers and Harbor Seals lazing about and headed up to Flattop Island, when we stopped to check out a Bald Eagle. Seconds after, the bird stooped and crashed hard into the water after a...

The day was sunny, the guests were excited, and we had whales to see! Captain Mike and myself whisked our guests off for a day on the water that felt more June than April. With reports of J Pod on the Westside, we zipped North to catch up with them.

Knowing we had time to see these Residents Killer Whales, we worked our way there, stopping for a few Harbor Seals, Bald Eagles, and Steller Sea Lions around Spieden Island. As the largest privately owned island in the San Juans with no...

Captain Mike, Naturalist Emily, and myself took our guests out on the M/V Sea Lion for what turned turned out to be a stellar trip today. We had reports of members of J Pod in the Haro Strait, so we sped up and around the North end of San Juan Island there right from the Harbor. Not long after entering the open strait we had our first sighting!

L87, who travels with J2, was the first animal we saw. He popped up a few times in the Haro and we followed him South, his tall dorsal fin...

What a beautiful day on the water!  Guests aboard the M/V Sea Lion, along with Captain Mike, Naturalist Brendan, and I departed the dock in Friday Harbor with word of orcas near the south end of San Juan Island.  Naturalist Brendan was the first to spot these whales on his ferry commute from Shaw Island!

After viewing harbor seals hauled out on the rocks and Steller Sea Lions rafting in the water, we motored out towards the group of 8 transient orcas located near Hein Bank.  With...