Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

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...

World Oceans Day at Cama Beach State Park, Camano Island

Saturday June 12 12:45 to 1:30 PM Cama Beach State Park, Camano Island, WA

Whale Song of Southern Resident Killer Whale The goal of this event is to educate, and encourage people in hopes of positively influencing them to change their habits for a cleaner healthier world.

Howard Garrett, renowned orca scientist and Susan Berta, (OrcaNetWork.org) will present a talk on on the history of research on orcas, the developing...

Today was the kind of day the whales inspired me to remember childhood ways (not too far buried for me, I must admit). Cartwheeling - when the orcas throw their back-end and tail out of the water and over their heads - seemed to be the activity of the day. The orcas performed this behavior for us over and over and over again! If we weren't rocking back and forth upon a boat (safety first!) the southern residents may have inspired me to do a cartwheel or two myself!

Captain Craig, the...

NOAA Confirms Presence of Subsea Oil Plumes in Gulf By:  Lea Winerman The federal government confirmed Tuesday that subsea clouds of dispersed oil have been found at least 40 miles from the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The finding, which confirms what some independent scientists first reported last month, has renewed concerns over the effects of the oil spill on deep-sea life. "NOAA is confirming the presence of very low concentrations of subsurface...