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A couple more beautiful days on the water here in the San Juans! Last evening, on our sunset tour as Capt. Craig had hoped for, we were treated to a superpod. The Orcas of J, K, L pods had all convened in Haro Strait. There were whales spread out in small groups generally heading north when we arrived on scene. They did an 'about face' and in large groups moved south till they all had met in 2 large groups. Our guests were in awe as we watched this mass of Orcas all swimming...

In these vast, life rich inland waters you just never know what you are going to happen upon. Even when it is an orca. One of our fellow whale watch companies was off looking for minke whales when, lo and behold, there were orcas around. The first reports were of transient orcas. These mammal eating orcas look just like our fish eating residents, with just a few small morphological differences and a vastly different diet.

Capt. Nancy gave the guests on the MV Sea Lion the run-down as...

Our sunset trip was amazing last night. We traveled around the south end of San Juan Island toward the Lime Kiln State Park. K-pod had been sighted near the light house. As soon as we arrived we were able to identify K-11.

We shut off our engine and put our hydrophone in the water. The next couple of minutes were astounding. K-pod was being particularly vocal. It is currently understood that orcas use echolocation for communication, navigation and hunting.

The process of echolocation...

The Orcas returned and were within reach today! Our guests were so pleased and excited to learn that today was their lucky day! The killer whales from J & K pods, along with a few L pod members had made their way south from the Fraser River down Rosario Strait to the southwest end of San Juan Island. The black, sleek dorsal fins of the Orcas' really contrasted with the calm, flat gray morning we had. They were very spread out, milling, feeding from inshore near False Bay out several...

Not all black and white creatures are created the same, as well we know. No one would mistake a zebra for an orca. But someone might mistake a Dall's porpoise for an orca. Especially if the orca is expected and the Dall's porpoise is not.

That was not exactly what happened tonight, but it was a surprise none the less. Capt. Denny and I knew we would probably not see orcas, unless we were to happen upon some transients. The last thing we anticipated though, was to see Dall's porpoises...

Days like today reaffirm why I love my job - as if working out on the water, viewing amazing wildlife, and talking to all sorts of interesting people is a job that needs any reaffirmation - but anyway ... Captain Craig, Naturalist Kathy, a boat full of enthusiastic guests, and I left Friday Harbor aboard the MV Sea Lion and headed back in the direction many people had just come from - travelling, that is, the same route the ferry takes to get to us here on San Juan Island. The...

Wow! Yesterday (Saturday) was unreal! We were out on a morning tour in Canadian Waters viewing Orcas from J & K pods! It was a stunning morning on the water...a little fog to the south, otherwise clear skies & calm seas all around the islands. Both J & K pods were heading south from the Gulf Islands on their routine swim following salmon through these waters. We had great views as groups of whale would surface to breathe...and we could hear the blows (hot moist air) being...

They say that there is a first time for everything and I believe it. While our orcas do not sing the way that humpback whales do, they can certainly make some beautiful sounds. Of course, they also make some rather strange sounds that resemble razzes.

This was an evening of magic, courtesy of our Southern Resident Killer Whales. As the whole J pod family plus some tumbled and rolled along through the waters, we could identify one individual after another. The calves waved their...

It was an evening to behold and luckily we were there. Most, if not all, of L Pod passed by the MV Sea Lion tonight and with the number of animals that we saw there must have been some of K Pod as well. Capt. Nancy caught us up with the whale watch fleet just south of Turn Point on Stuart Island. We floated in the golden evening light as group after family group of orcas passed by us. There was Mega and Skana, all of their siblings and mothers and Gaia with his new dorsal fin...

What a diversity of wildlife today, birds, seals and orcas. Just north of Lopez Island we saw a mature bald eagle (with a white head and tail) and a great blue heron about 10 feet away. Then we headed further south and saw some very large black dorsal fins. We knew right away that we were looking at some mature male orcas. We were then able to determine that we were looking at L-pod based on the saddle patches.

L-pod is the largest pod of the Southern Resident Community of orcas...