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Breathtaking Wildlife Day From Friday Harbor, San Juan Island

We departed Friday Harbor under clear, sunny, 60-ish degree skies.
Right off the bat, near Shaw Island, Captain Craig found 2 CALIFORNIA Sea Lions hanging out on a bright red buoy. It is not that frequent that we see the California sea lions around here. Off we went heading north. 

Since there have been several transient orca whale sightings in Canadian waters as of late, we felt this was our best chance at whales. A...

Excited by an early morning report that a large number of Orcas had been sighted off Cattle Point on San Juan Island, we could not wait to get out on the water at noon. Heading north in San Juan Channel, our first stop was at Yellow Island to check out a healthy number of Harbor Seals hauled out on the rocks.  Next stop, Green Point at Speiden Island, where more than a few mammoth Stellar Sea Lions dove and rolled on all sides of the boat. Several Harbor Porpoises surfaced long...

We will be going out on Saturday the 14th and Sunday the 15 again at 12 noon. Saturday is already almost full and Sunday still has space. Call now 800 450 6858 or use our online secure reservation system.  

     Yesterday Transients Orcas, today Residents Orcas! Traveling all the way to Mouat Point off North Pender Island, Canada, we caught up with members of J and K pod. Although the Orcas kept us on the move, we paused long enough to see foraging, plenty of tail-slapping, a slow-motion spy-hop by Sekiu (K-22), and an excellent full-body breach! It was also a treat to clearly hear vocalizations on our hydrophone.

     A stop at Green Point on Speiden Island on the way home gave us a...

The Invisible Shoreline

Do not miss this FREE move "As we wlak along the shoreline we re surronded by things that we can not see.

Lopez Village WA April 24 7:00 - 8:30

Orcas Island Senior Center WA 7:00 - 8:30

Friday Harbor WA Mullis Center April 26 7:00 - 8:30

Sponsored by: Stewardship Network of the San Juans, Still Hope Productions, Sea Grant Washington & Puget Sound Starts Here.

     Exciting first day on the water! Not only were we rewarded with an unseasonably gorgeous, sunny day, but, after 1 ½ hours of getting to the whales (this is very unusual, usually we travel about 30 to 45 minutes), we caught up with approximately 7 Transients traveling in Swainson Channel, just off Salt Spring Island, and with Ganges Harbor in sight. Since transients tend to travel in very small groups, 3 – 5, our sighting today was exceptional.  Also exceptional was the fact that...

It is suppose to be spring now. Pictured here are 2 oyster catchers on the south end of San Juan Island take a few days ago. Looks like they might be pairing up.

It has gradually been getting colder. But this morning, 26 degrees at 8:00 AM? Brrrrrrrrrrr.

The fences, bushes and grass all had frost glittering on them as I drove into town.

Attached is a photo of San Juan Valley - just had to stop and snap the fog sitting on the ground with the sun shining on a barn.

No orca whale reports today, BUT as we pulled out of Friday Harbor the Captain received word of a humpback whale by Halibut Island, Canada. It took us nearly an hour to get to the location but there it was – a beautiful humpback whale. It looked as though it was feeding the entire time we were with it – almost ½ an hour. When it dove down, one could see many of the ‘knuckles’ on it’s back.  Two of the many dives it waved it tail gently before disappearing into the water...

  Today with beautiful weather the two Kenmore Air sea planes touched down at the dock and we were there waiting to take the guests for a wildlife tour.  The group included people from Denmark, Sweden and Japan.

We went down the east side of San Juan Island stopping a few times to view birds and harbor seals. We had a good look at a mature bald eagle, solo, at the top of a tree. As we neared the southern-most tip of the island, we stopped (turned off the engine) and sat to watch...