Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Today was a unique day. Most of the 23 people aboard the Sea Lion were part of a wedding party. The funny thing is, no one told me a couple was getting married on board. It was innocuously written in our reservation book. When I asked the pastor if he needed the space cleared of people for the...Read more

It was whales again today, but this time it was two humpbacks along the west side of San Juan Island. That makes three different whale species in two days spotted here in the San Juan Islands! Wow, what a cool place. It is exceptionally cool when you think about the fact that humpbacks are rare...Read more

#53 - Photo courtesy of Cascadia Research Collective Today we followed whales across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A vague report of a whale south of San Juan Island became a gray whale known as #53 (see photo above). On our way towards the area where he was said to be, one of our guests spotted...Read more

What do you do when there are no reports of whales? Which way do you go so that you are in the best position in case whales are spotted? How do you predict where whales are going to be? The answers are - wildlife tour, any way you want and you don't. The hardest part about being a Marine Naturalist...Read more

Many of the islands in the San Juans were named for the Spanish explorers who first recorded coming across them. Like those explorers, we felt gratified in circumnavigating our 15 by ten mile island that we call home. We left Friday Harbor and headed south. The water was smooth like a mirror and...Read more

This group of 27 flew up on Kenmore Air, spent about one hour looking around Friday Harbor then headed off to sea. They have a catered gourmet lunch and desert aboard and are all wearing their new San Juan Safaris T Shirts. They all work for Ferrero Roche Chocolates in the German office.Read more

L pod! Transients? L pod? Transients! It was a confusing day with orcas today. With L pod having been spotted the day before in Haro Strait, when orcas were first seen off the Southern end of San Juan Island everyone assumed it was the Residents again. The whale watch fleet was deployed, as were...Read more

PRESS RELEASE: By Jackie Wolf, IOSA Coordinator The recent oil rig disaster and subsequent endless flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico has once again raised the horrifying specter of a really big oil spill here in our own precious part of the world. Sitting as we do right in the middle of major...Read more