Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

It was another hot one today! Beautiful for seeing all kinds of wildlife. South of San Juan Island was our destination as we left Friday Harbor. Just outside, we stopped to view some harbor seals and pups hauled out on the rocky reef and a bald eagle in the tree tops. Further south, on whale rocks, there was a massive Steller sea lion sitting up, then five or six others swimming amongst the bull kelp.

Then, at salmon bank we spotted not only some harbor porpoise, but the slender...

We held off long enough, but it seems like summer finally made it's way to the San Juan Islands! Absolutely beautiful afternoon, super clear skies and super flat seas. We left Friday Harbor heading north with word of a humpback whale in the area. We spotted the distinct, 10 foot plus blow of a large humpback whale just off the west end of Stuart Island. It was traveling north east around Turn Point before making a b-line across the US boarder into Canadian waters. It surfaced two...

We headed north to Canadian waters today; calm waters and warm sun made for a wonderful boat ride.  As we approached Saturna Island, we saw the spray…the spray of the humpback whale.  We observed this marine mammal feeding in Boundary Pass (48°43.982N, 123°08.698W), and had the opportunity to watch the fluke dip into the water.  As this type of whale has baleen plates, it was likely feeding on krill or a variety of small schooling fish.  Several rhinoceros auklets were around, hoping...

Tons of whale action today; three Minke Whales and even a Humpback!!! (Salmon Bank, 48°25.01N 122°59.19W)

Humpbacks typically don’t come this far inland, to San Juan Island, so it was a great treat! These whales couldn’t be more graceful raising their fluke entirely out of the water and slowly diving down without a splash. They are THE true mermaids of the sea.

On our way in we saw tons of other wildlife including Bald Eagles, Harbor Seals, Steller Sea Lions, and Harbor Porpoise.

Wha...

We were greeted with beautiful weather out on the water today: seas like glass, sunny, and clear. Perfect for spotting minke whales, and that’s just what we were looking for. Off the south end of San Juan Island, around Salmon Bank (48º24.977’N 122º 57.291’ W), we came across at least three or four minke whales. Two of which were traveling right next to each other! Baleen whales typically travel individually in feeding grounds, so seeing two, twenty-five foot whales surface one after...

Another Minke Whale southeast of Lopez Island, a couple miles offshore, Rosario Strait (48°21.55’N 122°48.78’W).

Captain Mike, also known as "Minke Mike", was the first to spot him and soon after, the fleet moved in. This whale seemed a bit distant at first, luring us into the strait, but eventually turned around and gave us some play, coming up between boats and surfacing multiple times. Patience is key :)

On our way back, we took a nice scenic cruise around the southern tip of...

Just south of Salmon Bank, about 2-3 miles offshore of San Juan Island, we came across a Minke on a mission (48°22.9’ N, 122°55.9’W). This Minke was on the hunt, moving from bait ball to bait ball, no fish left behind. After only a few minutes of watching him, it became almost predictable as to where he would pop up next; just look for the birds man!! Between dining episodes, the whale would immediately pick up its’ pace surfacing multiple times toward the next meal in...

We had calm seas and a bright sunny day, perfect for wildlife watching! We departed Friday Harbor heading south, stopping to view harbor seals in the water and hauled out, as well as a bald eagle perched high in the tree tops. There were more seals around Goose Island, plus cormorants, gulls, and a large stellar sea lion playing in the bull kelp. Then, around whale rocks we saw three massive male steller sea lions hauled out on the rocks. One even started growling! It was awesome to...

Today we met up with 7-8 members of J-Pod on the southwest side of Mayne Island (Canada) headed north for Active Pass (48°50.93’N, 123°20.55’W). They were resting, traveling in a tight-knit group, surfacing in unison for a few breaths, and then taking deep dives for a few moments. In this group we identified Blackberry (J27), Doublestuf (J34), and Princess Angeline (J17). We left them headed north around 3:30 PM in hopes of finding more whales south for our evening cruise.

Naturalist...

The bright and glorious sun was out for our wildlife tour this afternoon.  In addition to the warm sunshine, we enjoyed sights of Mt. Baker, seen through clouds off in the distance, and calm waters.  Right away we spotted harbor seals and two bald eagles on the northeast side of San Juan Island.  As we approached Whale Rock, three Northern Sea Lions (also known as Stellar Sea Lions) were observed.  Two females were hauled out on the rock and another was swimming around the kelp bed. ...