humpback whale

Today the Sea Hawk left the dock with great news! Captain Jim had reports of both a Humpback whale and some transient killer whales in the San Juan Island region. Our passengers were excited to see some wildlife so we headed Southeast into Haro Strait where we got some fantastic looks at "Big Mama," a whale that has been spending time in the Salish Sea over the past few weeks. When Humpbacks initiate a deep dive (known as a "sounding") they typically raise their tail, or...

Today we left Roche Harbor with no whale reports in the area.  We traveled up through John's Pass in route to Boundary Pass in hopes of coming across some whales.  During our search we came across a few bald eagle pairs in flight as well as some harbor seals and harbor porpoise.  We received a report of two humpback whales, and mother and calf pair, a few miles north of Waldron Island.  We changed course and headed in that direction.  We got to see some great looks at the...

I saw the first splash from a quarter mile away; a great backwards leap that sent water twenty feet in the air. Hoping for some repetition I crossed my fingers as we motored closer to the scene, deep in the middle of the Strait of Georgia. We'd finally made it to J Pod.

Many people don't realize why whales breach. Be they Killer Whales or Humpbacks, breach we may not know the meaning of every individual action, but we do know these are social displays meant to send a...

When a Captain decides to take the Sea Lion up North into Boundary Pass and beyond, I'm always hopeful. We left with reports of a Humpback near East Point on Saturna Island, which is what we aimed for leaving the dock. We got to see a lot more.

Meandering up North our guests were treated to Steller Sea Lions, Bald Eagles, and a lot of Harbor Porpoise en-route to where other companies are currently watching the Humpback. When we arrived on scene, we quickly determined...

Departing Roche Harbor Captain Mike, the guests, and I headed towards Spieden Island.  As is common for this time of year, we did not have any whale reports when leaving the dock, but this did not dampen our spirits!  After enjoying the green hill side and many hoofed animals, we received a call on the radio that a humpback had been spotted! Big Mama, a local female humpback was swimming in Haro Strait headed north.  We were able to watch and enjoy her surfacing slowly...

With November right around the corner, we cannot believe how fast this season went!  Not only was it a wonderful summer full of sun, but we had record high orca whale sightings!  This past season we had ample time to enjoy J,K, and L pod in their summer hunting grounds in the Salish Sea.  Many of these days were spent on the west side of San Juan Island, a favorite spot for the salmon eating Southern Resident Killer Whales.  On days that the SRKWs (Southern Resident...

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...

It's technically winter here-- although all this sunshine would make anyone doubt it-- and although it's not prime whale season here in the Salish Sea, they've been popping up everywhere!

This week a humpback was spotted off the southern tip of Whidbey Island, a gray whale spotted near Camano Island and a small pod of four orcas were spotted in the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca (south of Vancouver Island).