Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

December 26, 2013 - Sunset over Friday Harbor

We've said it a hundred times, but this fall & winter have been spectacular for whale & wildlife reports. This is the time of year where our Southern Resident Orcas broaden their travel territory greatly, and spend more time in the South Puget Sound. Christmas Day was no different, and we received early reports of J & K pods near Seattle. They swung past Shilshole Harbor & Marina & Discovery Park and mostly did the "Seattle Shuffle."...

Both our Southern Resident killer whales and Transient killer whales were sighted several times in the past few days. Our Resident (fish-eating) Orcas have been in and out of South Puget Sound, giving our friends in the Seattle area a great opportunity to see Orcas in the wild right in their neck of the woods. Check out these photos with west Seattle in the background. Very cool! And again this morning (as I write this!), we have reports of killer whales near Bainbridge & Vashon...

Lots of sightings this past week. First, we had a surprise killer whale report from yesterday December 18, 2013. A very lucky family traveling to San Juan Island visited the Lime Kiln Lighthouse on the west side of the island with hope of seeing large marine wildlife. Our last report of Southern Resident Orcas on the west side of San Juan Island happened in the middle of the night on December 14 when members of K pod were heard vocalizing on the hydrophone. Southern Resident promptly...

Photography by Mark Gardner

One of the most fantastic things about living in a small community is our holiday spirit. If you think San Juan Island is charming, comfortable, and cozy in the summer month, just wait until you experience Friday Harbor during the holiday season. It’s wonderful. We’ve got some great holiday specials and events coming up in the next few weeks and want to share our infections island holiday spirit with you! Here is a sampling of what’s happening on...

Surprise! After pulling a disappearing act for about three weeks, Southern Resident Orcas appeared on the west side of San Juan Island Thanksgiving day! Monika Wieland, a great local photographer & naturalist here on San Juan Island, captured great photos of J, K, and L pods traveling within a few feet of shore at the Lime Kiln Lighthouse. Check out her photos here.

The same Southern Resident Orcas disappeared again for day on Friday November 29th. Hmmm. Where could they be? After...

We have been so lucky the last week with the beautiful late autumn northwest weather! Historically, this time of the year can be the most stormiest, rainiest, and windiest. This was the weather about 10 days ago that brought us lots of snow in the mountains. Our snow sport friends are really happy!

Our weather about 10 days ago.

And now check out the weather that we are experiencing right now. Couldn't be anymore perfect!

Sunny November Weather

We've also had lots of killer...

SJS Naturalists Heather with Emily and Mom

San Juan Safaris takes a lot of pride in giving back to the community, and working with organizations such as the Family Umbrella Group, Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, and Wounded Warrior Project. This summer, we were very much honored to host Emily and her family on a Whale Watch & Wildlife Tour made possible by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Our San Juan Safaris naturalist Heather wrote a guest column featured in the Journal of...

We've had surprisingly many different killer whale reports (for November, anyways!) this past weekend. Five transient (mammal-hunting) Orcas were sighted in Satellite Channel, near Salt Spring Island in the Gulf Islands north of San Juan Island. These killer whales were later identified as the T034A, T034A1, and T038A family group.

Like our Southern Resident Orcas, transient Orcas also are identified by the alpha-numeric system, starting with "T" for transient. Transient Orcas are...

It's been fairly quiet for whale and wildlife reports in the Puget Sound the last few days. Our Southern Resident Community of Killer Whales visited South Puget Sound (think Seattle area!) many times the previous two weeks. However, we haven't had a SRKW report in about five days or so. Not surprising though!  During late autumn and winter, the Resident Orcas occasionally travel between the outer coast, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and South Puget Sound. Our Resident Orcas will...

Breaching humpback whale outside Friday Harbor, WA June 2013. Photo by Kevin Culmback.

More than any other season, 2013 proved to be an incredible year for humpback whale encounters in the Salish Sea. Encountering humpback and killer whales during the same tour became the norm! A few lucky passengers even experienced the "Whale Trifecta;" encountering killer whales, humpbacks, and minke whales (another small balleen whale) during one Whale Watch & Wildlife Tour.

Why, though, are we...