southern resident killer whales

The day was sunny, the guests were excited, and we had whales to see! Captain Mike and myself whisked our guests off for a day on the water that felt more June than April. With reports of J Pod on the Westside, we zipped North to catch up with them.

Knowing we had time to see these Residents Killer Whales, we worked our way there, stopping for a few Harbor Seals, Bald Eagles, and Steller Sea Lions around Spieden Island. As the largest privately owned island in the San...

Captain Mike, Naturalist Emily, and myself took our guests out on the M/V Sea Lion for what turned turned out to be a stellar trip today. We had reports of members of J Pod in the Haro Strait, so we sped up and around the North end of San Juan Island there right from the Harbor. Not long after entering the open strait we had our first sighting!

L87, who travels with J2, was the first animal we saw. He popped up a few times in the Haro and we followed him South, his tall...

Today Captain Nancy and I had yet another magical trip on the M/V Seahawk. We left the dock at noon with reports of all three resident killer whale pods to the south. The Southern Resident population consists of 79 individuals spread across three pods (J, K & L) and when all of the pods are together we call that a SUPERPOD! On the way to the southern end of San Juan Island we located a humpback whale. We were the first boat in the whale watching fleet with the whale and...

Today Captain Chris and I went on a whirlwind of a tour! With a report in hand of whales traveling south near the Anacortes ferry terminal we set out for a very determined tour. We left Roche Harbor heading south through both Spieden and San Juan Channels. We realized that we would not be able to see the orcas and make it back to Roche Harbor in the regular three hour window, so we consulted our group and they were very excited to go for a longer trip. Through Cattle Pass...

Yesterday we left Roche harbor for a 3:00 whale watch with the anticipation of a great day ahead of us.  We headed out towards Haro Strait and followed the reports of a large group of whales at around Turn Point.  We got a little North of Turn Point and saw a huge group traveling North through Boundary Pass.  The large group that we were seeing consisted of all of K pod and a portion of L pod as well.  Captain Chris and I estimated about 25-30 whales in the area.  They...

It was a little foggy as we left Roche harbor this morning at 11am but as we made our way to Stuart Island to where the resident whales of L pod were last spotted, the fog cleared and it was a beautiful day. Before we made it out to the orcas we spotted about 10 pacific white sided dolphins!!!! They are rarely seen in this location and we were so excited to see them! They were moving fast and were creating a large splash of what behind them, something that is known as a...

Today was sweet! It literally only took us 10 minutes to be on scene with whales. It was awesome, and had to be a record encounter. And even better it was a super pod! All 3 resident pods were in the area, that gave us a chance to see 80 whales. They were pretty active as well with many surfacings, spy hops, and breaches.

We also did a tour around some other San Juan Islands; Stuart, John, Cactus, and Spieden and saw countless bald eagles and harbor seals. Overall it was...

Spring has sprung in the Pacific North West and everyone is ready to get back on the water!  With our first Whale Watch and Wildlife Tour in two weeks time, we are all hoping for a great season.  Recent predictions concerning salmon runs should contribute to another wonderful summer.  Canada is predicting up to 72 million sockeye salmon to return to the Frasier River this summer, which is far higher than the typical 3-4 million.  Chinook and coho salmon are...

San Juan Island wildlife update for Wednesday, July 7th, 2010:

Don and Tim reported back that they saw our Southern Resident Killer Whales on this gorgeous sunny day! For many of their guests it was their first time seeing whales, and a not-necessarily-expected but certainly welcome surprise!

Friday Harbor, San Juan Island sea kayak tour wildlife update for July 4th:

Captain Brian wanted to report that two of our 5 hour sea kayak tours are currently with the Southern Resident Killer Whales (or SRKWs)! Our whale watch tour is also viewing whales on this busy 4th of July. What a great day!!