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It was a whalestravaganza today on the water. Orcas from the north, orcas from the south and us in the middle of it all. East Point on Saturna Island was the meeting spot and the Strait of Georgia was the playground. I was hoping that we would see all of the whales get together, but I did not think that it would actually happen. It did though and Capt. Pete, Kathy and I were there on the M/V Sea Lion to see it. Our guests saw it too, so it was a stunning day all the way around.

After what appeared to be the start of fall and winter, we are now back to the September weather that we are all so fond of. September really is the best month to see the islands and today was a perfect example of that.

I welcomed a lovely group of guests onto the M/V Kittiwake this afternoon and we headed off on our tour. The orcas were at the south end and west side of San Juan Island today, so it was difficult to decide where to go. Capt. Bill did a fabulous job though, and after...

Leave it to wild animals to continually throw our conventional predictions about their behavior for a loop. Often I've heard myself and other naturalist speak of how the orcas "rarely pass through the San Juan Channel and prefer to travel and fish in the straits, like the Haro Strait." Well, the orcas have made me rethink this statement, at least for this summer. The orcas passing by Friday Harbor has become merely uncommon, and now no longer all that rare.

Today, for the third time...

Abundant wildlife in the area....but where are the whales? A question we were all asking today. With captains scouting the seas around the San Juans near and far and no sign of our Resident Orcas, we decided to give it a try to the south.

Dozens of Harbor Seals and around 10 male Stellar Sea Lions were hanging at Whale Rocks today. A few Stellars were splashing around waving their flippers while swimming through the kelp beds.

A couple of very active groups of birds swarming...

Well well well...today is more like the weather we expect for this time of year! After that little stormy spell the last 2 days we are back to calm seas and clearing skies.

On our 1pm tour today we saw a nice group of big, golden, Stellar Sea Lions both hauled out and swimming in the water just off Whale Rocks in Cattle Pass. Then around the south end up towards False Bay to meet the Resident Orcas who were spread out and moving rapidly north. This morning the Orcas were spotted in...

Not quite as lucky as yesterday, mother nature's 1st big storm of the fall season came through with strong winds, amazing clouds, and a few sprinkles. The wind kicked up some 5-8 foot seas in the Straits off the south end of San Juan Island...members of J & K pods of Orcas were in this area....a place we could not venture due to these tremendous seas.

With the whereabouts of L pod and any Transient Orcas unknown, we went to calm waters of the north on the lookout for sleek, black...

J pod surprised us today...those speed demons! The skies were clearing, the seas were calming and the Orcas were moving fast towards San Juan Island! A little positive thinking can go a long way (well maybe it was luck)....despite earlier morning reports of some 6 foot waves in the Straits and Orcas out of our range... by the time our 1pm trip rolled around the seas were settling and the whale report was promising! We met J1, J2 and many others as they crossed Haro Strait towards the...

Some days are just not like the others and sometimes the orcas do things that we just can not predict. Yesterday, members of K and L pods swam up San Juan Channel between San Juan and Lopez Islands. That was only the second time this season that they have done that, and we were there to see it. They made it all the way to Friday Harbor before they turned around and headed back south. It was a lovely, mostly clear day and with the orcas traveling in two large, close groups it was...

Well, I can't tell you what a treat it is to be headed off on a wildlife trip with no hope of seeing orcas and then you get "The Call". For the past two days we have motored up San Juan Channel, swung north around Flattop Island and then been alerted of another boat finding orcas. Yesterday it was transients in Canada, today it was residents at the south end of the island. Both days, we had already informed our guests of the bad news of no orcas, but of our intention to visit the...

The cloudy day today was more reminiscent of autumn, reminding us that fall is indeed fast approaching - but that didn't stop the whales or guests from enjoying the San Juan Islands in all their glory. But not to fear, I read a weather forecast calling for sunshine (at least during the day) tomorrow, meaning that summer doesn't seem to have left us just yet. What a fantastic summer it's been for whale watching this year and today was not exception!

Captain Craig, Naturalist Jaclyn...