Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

              The last four days have been incredible for crew and guests on our Whale Watch and Wildlife Tours in the waters surrounding the San Juan Islands. Nearly every tour this September has encountered whales including humpbacks, a fin whale, both Transient (mammal-hunting) and our Resident fish-eating Orcas. We’ll have to double check the historical data, but this may be a September record for whales present in the Salish Sea in our 20 years in business.

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Today was one of those days that comes maybe but once a summer here in the Salish Sea, and Captain Mike, myself and some lucky passengers were fortunate enough to see some incredible examples of our local wildlife.

We left the dock at exactly noon (despite a slightly tardy naturalist) on the trusty Sea Lion and headed South out of Frdiay Harbor through the San Juan Channel. As soon as we left the harbor, the show began with sightings of some harbor seals and about six playful harbor...

Spring ended with a glorious day out on the water. After the fog rolled out, the sun shined through the clouds as the M/V Sea Lion headed north out of Friday Harbor. Captained by Mike, Naturalist Sarah and I led a full boat on what would be a wonderful day towards Canadian waters following reports of wildlife in the area.

We didn’t need to travel far- as soon as we turned into San Juan Channel dozens of harbor porpoise appeared, playing in the swirling waters. Dorsal fin after dorsal...

Today was a truly magical day aboard the M/V Sea Lion.

It started out as any other beautiful San Juan Island summer day. The sun was shining as Captain Mike turned the boat south east, headed towards Haro Strait. We encountered orcas on the south side of San Juan Island at False Bay and soon identified that we were traveling with members of L-pod and, sure enough, spotted L-91 (Muncher) and her new calf L-122. Our second sighting in two days!

Members of the Southern Resident killer...

Tonight we had a great encounter with some of our Southern Resident killer whales. After a great afternoon trip spent with the L54 matriline (L54 Ino, L108 Coho, L117 Keta, L84 Nyssa, and L88 Wavewalker) we were overjoyed to hear that a Superpod, or a gathering of all three of our Resident pods, was headed towards San Juan Island. Captain Brian and I left the dock for a two hour sunset charter with whales on the mind. We shot south out of Friday Harbor, meeting up with the whales...

Today was another Mike & Mike adventure on the Sea Lion! Captain Mike and I loaded up the boat with an awesome group of passengers eager to see wildlife. We were no less excited about getting out on the water, so we left Friday Harbor headed South through San Juan Channel. As we had both an incoming tide and a stiff southern wind, we were in for a bit of an adventure further South.

As we made our way through Cattle Pass, the narrow opening of the San Juan Channel between the southern...

I know fall hasn't officially started yet, but with a foggy morning and a cool sunny afternoon it's sure starting to feel like it. Capt. Mike, Naturalist Mike, and I headed out with calm seas and reports of whales. We headed north towards the outer islands in the direction of Spieden and Johns. Right around Spieden we started to see some very tall blows on the sunny horizon. The sun on the cold water created an optical illusion called the Fata Morgana which made it hard to make out...

What an incredible day out on the water! Today was Captain Pete's last day driving for us, and the Salish Sea made sure it was a special trip.

We loaded up the Sea Lion with excited passengers ready to see some of the unique wildlife and headed North out of Friday Harbor under a clear sky. We had heard some reports of orcas up in the Canadian Gulf islands and were excited to get up into whale country!

Along the way we checked out the islands and scenery of the San Juan Channel along...

Sunday, served up another San Juanderful day.

Capt. Pete, Alex, and I headed toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This is the major channel that connects the island to the North Pacific Ocean and all its glory. Lucky for us it was a calm day as we approached Middle Bank. This a shallower area in the strait where schools of fish love to gather due to the swirling currents that concentrate food in one place which is probably why when we got near we started to see some delightful dorsal...

Today under grey skies the M/V Sea Lion left Friday Harbor with positive reports of our local celebrities: the Southern Resident killer whales! Traveling south we encountered a number of very playful harbor seals and enjoyed the presence of some of our numerous seabirds. We also took a few minutes to stop at Whale Rocks in Cattle Pass to look at about a dozen Steller's sea lions sprawled on the rocks. These large pinnipeds are about the color of a perfectly roasted marshmallow and...