Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

It has been a few days since I have visited the blogosphere, but that does not mean I have been sitting on my laurels doing nothing.  We are heavily into "The Season" now and I have been out seeing orcas on a daily basis.  Yesterday it was the afternoon trip on the M/V Kittiwake and then the sunset trip on the M/V Sea Lion.  Today it was the M/V Sea Lion again, this time with Casey and Capt. Mike.  Each day has been a different experience and a lovely time on the water.  When the...

As we say (and it's true) - every day that we see orcas is a great day. I mean, here in the majestic San Juan Islands every day - whether it be sunny, cloudy, rainy, whale-free, or otherwise - offers a new and exciting kind of beauty. This means that, really, every trip out on the water, whale free or not, is a great day! That being said, today was a REALLY GREAT day for whale watching.

The summer sun shone down on our faces, as a boatload of guests, Lauren, Captain Mike, and I...

Marine Biologist John Calambokidis showed a series of slides and some video and one listed what they found including "50 gallons of undigested contents, mostly algae but 3.2 lbs were "human debris, including plastic bag material, fabrics (including a leg of sweatpants), fishing line, golf ball, duct tape and a juice pouch.

15 oz of the total debris were plastic bag pieces alone." He said this indicated that the whale had clearly been feeding in the waters in and near Puget...

All of Dawn's photos from the Whale Watching & Wildlife Tour June 10, 2010 have been entered into our photo contest.

What better way to end a busy day shopping in Friday Harbor than on the calm waters of the Salish Sea?  Surrounded by marine wildlife in every direction, this evening's sunset tour was quiet the safari!  The adventure started with the misty blows of orca whales off Spieden Island.  As we approached them we were able to identify a few members of Jpod, including the impressive adult male "Ruffles", 100-year old "Granny", and "Blackberry".  They traveled in a large closely knit pod...

Another sunny day on the Sea Lion!  As we boarded the boat, we received news that orca whales were spotted north near Vancouver.  Communicating with the other whale watching vessels helped inform our crew that the whales were actually heading closer to us near Saturna Island.  The excitement on the boat stirred like the nutrients upwelling in the currents of the Salish Sea.

We spotted three members of our Southern Resident orca community when we arrived at Monarch Head.  There was a...

This is the warmest day of spring that we've had so far! It was a beautiful 80 degrees. I was lured into a sense of complacency and forgot to bring my jacket. No matter how warm it is on land, it is freezing on the water. We keep a large selection of blankets on board and the other naturalist had a jacket I could use.  The customers were also lured into a deceptive sense of warmth, and many were wearing flip flops and shorts. Couples huddled under blankets for warmth.

We had a minus...

It was an awesome day in the San Juan Islands today and we had a superb trip.  The orcas disappeared into the oceanic netherworld some time in the night, so we went off in search of bigger and better intrigues.  After motoring down San Juan Channel, around Goose and Long Islands and Whale Rocks, Capt. Mike took Casey, the guests and me on a whirlwind tour around San Juan Island.  We saw porpoises, eagles and sea birds.  There were beautiful islands, homes and waterways for us to...

Brown Pelicans are on my top 10 I love list.

Click here and see what is being done to help these oil soaked birds.

http://intbirdrescue.blogspot.com/

Wow! That's all I can say about today and that's all the customers could say too. People were so pleased as they were getting off the boat and enthusiastically shared their praise. What was so amazing about today? We saw breach after breach after breach.  Orcas breaching at the same time or one right after another in perfect harmony. When calves first learn to breach they often breach 18 times in a row. Since orcas spend 95% of their lives underwater, there is still much we don't...