Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Tuesday brought sunny skies and calm water.  We headed north from Friday Harbor with reports of whales in active pass as well as faint vocalizations around Lime Kiln.  We were trying to decide which way to start our search when we heard confirmed reports of J-Pod off Moresby Island.  As we slowly approached the area the whales came in to view.  The passengers on board were ecstatic!  The pod was spread out into smaller groups.  Some were in way close to shore, while another group of...

We left Friday Harbor with reports of a Minke Whale in Canadian waters.  Under sunny skies and over glassy water we headed west.  As we approached the area of the last sighting we slowed to a stop and shut down the engines.  The passengers spread out along the rails and kept their eyes on the water.  After fifteen minutes of scanning we saw the small whale surface about a quarter of a mile from the boat.

We watched it surface and saw that it was moving east.  We idled parallel at...

It was a beautiful, calm day...the kind of day you just want to drive all the way to Vancouver...but it was worth it.
We heard tale of transients past East Point headed toward the coal docks.  We decided to make an attempt.

By the time we made it to the coal docks there was no turning back, eventhough the whales we still headed NW at a steady clip of 7-10 knots.  Finally another boat came into view.  Then we saw huge splashes.  Finally we caught up to the pod, almost.  They were...

After a few days of overcast skies and strong winds we had a break in the weather!  With calm water and warm sun we headed out for our 1:30pm wildlife watch.  We were lucky enough to encounter some charismatic Bald Eagles right outside the harbor to start things off.  We then cruised up to East Pt. and found four Stellar Sea Lions hauled out on the rocks causing a ruckus.

Entering Haro Strait revealed more calm waters and our first Dall's Porpoise of the season!  There were a few...

What a beautiful day!  Our trip started out sunny and even a little bit warm.  We headed out of the harbor and up past Waldron toward East Point.  A passenger spotted a pair of bald eagles as soon as we were out of the slip and harbor seals were hauled out in full force along out trek up north.  Once we got to East Point we would see and hear a huge group of Stellar Sea Lions.  As we drew in closer we were treated to both Stellars and Harbor seals sharing the rock; although divided...

The season officially started last Saturday with some beautiful days and plentiful Harbor Seals and Stellar Sea lions.  But the real show was today aboard the M/V Sea Lion.  We had reports of J-pod out towards Victoria and heading West into the Strait of Juan De Fuca.  We boarded our passengers a little early and went for it.

The rain was coming down steadily but cleared as we approached Discovery Island.  Pretty soon the whales were up ahead.  Somewhere between 10 and 14 members of...

Photo of Spring Street Landing next to the ferry in Friday Harbor
April 22, 2011 at 4:30 PM

At 5:00 pm it is bright, sunny and warm - probably close to 60 degrees.
Saturday, April 23, tomorrow will be our first daily scheduled tour for the season. Still a few seats left.

Transient Orca Whales have been making a splash in the San Juan's this past week.
GET UP HERE!

http://seattle.cbslocal.com/guide/guide-to-the-san-juan-islands/#

It’s about two hours’ drive from Seattle to Anacortes, WA, the Washington State Ferry’s launch to the San Juan Islands. You can park your car and walk aboard, or you can drive on and take your car along with you. Taxis, shuttles, rental cars and bikes are available on the islands. Get to the ferry terminal an hour or more before your ferry’s scheduled departure. Weekends can get popular (and crowded) and you...

Nostrils of a Humpback whale by R. Daley March 2011 off Kona HI

This photo was just sent in to me by a friend who was vacationing in Kona Hawaii.

WOW. Have you ever looked into the nostrils of a Humpback? I have not.

Big thanks to RD.

Linking killer whale survival and prey abundance: food limitation in the oceans

This study came out by John K. B. Ford, Graeme M. Ellis, Peter F. Olesiuk and Kenneth C. Balcomb, all highly esteemed whale scientists.

Here is an except:  Resident killer whales are primarily salmonid predators that show strong selectivity for Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), probably because of this species' comparatively large size, high lipid content, and year-round...