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What a great 4th of July! Friday Harbor is celebrating it's 100th Anniversary and we had a fabulous 4th of July parade to start the morning off! It was a hot sunny day....honestly I can't believe how warm it was...I almost could have jumped in our cool waters (temps in the low 50s) just to cool off! Well...maybe not.
Anyhow...once aboard the MV Sea Lion we were all comfortable with the cool air from the sea blowing in our face as we cruised around the south end of the island to...

L-Pod Orca Whales with Calf near False Bay

Today we traveled east out of Friday Harbor, then South and then up the west side… We got word that there were some resident orcas near False Bay on the west side of the island.

We encountered some of L-pod, the largest pod of the Southern Resident Killer Whales. We had some great views of L-pods new calf, L-112 and L-86, the mother. The calf is super cute.

We also had some great viewing time of other individuals from L-pod. After about an...

Thought I'd take a moment to share with you all a little about our trip last night (Thursday 7/2). It was one of those perfect evenings that we in the whale watching world dream about!

It was unbelievably calm...glassy seas, extremely clear skies and lots of whales! The Southern Residents (killer whales) had met up earlier in the day to form a superpod, and while I was not out on the 1pm trip I was happy to discover that all three pods (J, K, L) were all still together when we...

The whales were proving that they are the dominant marine species today. While we were rocking and rolling through the waves and being whipped by the wind, the orcas were effortlessly swimming along through the Canadian Gulf Islands. After we took the MV Sea Lion out of the dock today we headed for Turn Point on Stuart Island. The last orca report that we had had said that they were already past Lime Kiln and were headed North. At Haro Strait we gave way to a huge ocean-going...

Our sunset trip started out at about 5:30 PM and we headed south. The seas were glassy, super calm. We got word that the Orcas were near False Bay and heading up island. We rushed over there and immediately were able to identify J-1, “Ruffles”, we then saw granny, Riptide, Sachi and a few others.

We were so excited, J-pod twice in a row! It’s always so amazing to see Granny; she is estimated to be 98 years old and the matriarch of J-pod. She is also a movie star; her future...

Orcas!

J-pod on both of our trips! On our afternoon adventure we saw J-30, Riptide, along with other J-pod members.

Riptide was born in 1995 and is the eldest surviving offspring of J-14, Samish. He is maturing into an adult and is growing a very tall dorsal fin. We watched as he fished, very interesting, you can see how quickly he is capable of moving.

We also saw lots and lots of spy hopping; this is when they come up vertically with their head and portions of their pectoral fins...

"Here's my review -

We really had a good time. My wife and I took the whale watching tour on 26 June 2009. Nancy captained the boat and the naturalists were Jacqueline and ??. They were all very professional and knowledgable. They were also very patient and helpful with all the participants, even the smaller children. It was a very enjoyable experience. Be sure to take warm clothes!"

Thank you to Rick and his wife for joining us on another fabulous whale & wildlife trip...

Having heard a report that some members of the Southern Resident Community (the salmon-eating orcas) were spread out all down the west and south side of San Juan Island, we boarded the guests and cruised south down through San Juan Channel. The weather was warm, the sky was remarkably clear, and the water was calm. As we cruised through Cattle Pass the guests and naturalists gazed at a wonderful view of Mt Rainer (a mountain that we don't usually see from the San Juan Islands' waters...

What a day! There were Orca families zooming everywhere with breaches, tail slaps and spyhops galore. We saw auklets and harbor seals and even a bald eaglet in the nest with his parents standing guard in nearby trees. The sun was out and the waters were calm and our guests on the MV Kittiwake could not have been more fun.

Capt. Craig and I took a lively group of visitors through Friday Harbor and down the east side of San Juan Island. Just past Turn Island we stopped to see some...

Life is good as a naturalist these days. The Orcas are back in the islands and the summer is in full swing. With the 4th of July coming up, as well as Friday Harbor's centennial and the sesquicentennial of the Pig War there is no shortage of special events to fill those hours that can not be spent on the water. Luckily for our guests today, it was a day spent on the water and in the company of whales. And not just giant black and white dolphins, but real whales as well.

As we...