San Juan Islands

Naturalist Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | July 11th, 2020 | 12:00pm

It was my personal first trip on M/V Sea Hawk of the season and it definitely did not disappoint! We left Roche Harbor with gray skies, but our happy faces were no reflection of the weather, as everyone was already in good spirits as we traveled southwest through Mosquito Pass. We left the dock with potential whale rumors, which is always humbling on our retired fishing boat. Despite knowing there were potential...

April 27^th, 2017 marked the first official Marine Mammal Rescue Day in California! This year we wanted to commemorate the hard work of the San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network (SJCMMSN) operated by the Whale Museum and the SeaDoc Society under the guidance of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, a division of NOAA).

The Marine Mammal Stranding Network operates year-round throughout San Juan County to respond to calls of stranded animals, both live and...

Spyhopping Southern Resident Killer Whale off of Henry Island, WA

Sunday mornings, especially on holiday weekends, are my favorite times to be at Roche Harbor. The excitement in the air is palpable, usually the sun is shining in a bright blue sky, and we have the chance to welcome and host a group of very enthusiastic people.

This Labor Day weekend was no different. On our 11am departure we had a group of our Southern Resident Killer Whales reported off the Westside of...

Guess who’s back, back again? It’s not Slim Shady, but it is the largest species of Sea Lions in the world!! In the San Juan Islands there is an over-wintering population of Steller’s Sea Lions, aka Northern Sea Lions, aka Eumetopias jubatus. These sea lions inhabit the northern Pacific Rim Coast from Northern California to Northern Japan and are a unique feature to our area. They went through a steep decline in the ‘80s and 90’s for unknown reasons, but now their...

Calf surfaces just behind mother. This is often called eschelon swimming, when the baby is just being pulled in adults slip stream.

The M/V Seahawk had quite the adventure. Captain Gabe and I left the dock with no reports of orca whales, but literally two minutes off the dock… WHALES REPORTED ON THE RADIO! Our guests were all in a tizzy, as these reported individuals were some of our Resident, salmon-eating killer whales. This time of year is best to come see our...

Fall is approaching, but there is still a lot of summer here. Yesterday (Friday) Captain Gabe and I headed south along the west side of San Juan Island to search for the Southern Resident Killer Whales. They often are seen on this west side because their main food source, Chinook Salmon, travel along this coast as they make their way north to large river systems so they can spawn there and complete their life cycles. As we exited Mosquito Pass we saw some splashes and it...

Today we got geared up and headed out on a 5 hour kayaking trip out of Roche Harbor.  We started out by seeing lot's of harbor seals once we paddled to the Haro Strait.  Continuing south we had the opportunity to see a juvenile bald eagle as well as an adult hanging out in a 5 foot wide nest.  Not long after we were surprised by orcas appearing off our right hand side.  We got to spend about 15 minutes with the whales before they swam off and got looks as close as 50...

Eagles. Especially Bald Eagles, as our national symbol, our very majestic birds. They perch high up with their stoic stares, and gracefully swoop low with astounding speed. In the San Juan Islands, there is one of the largest concentrations of mated pairs of Bald Eagles in the country. The only places that surpass us are located in Alaska! It’s a fun game to play how many tiny white heads you can spot in the green backdrop of the islands as we boat by.

Adult Bald Eagle

Here in the San Juan Islands we are constantly surrounded by beautiful marine wildlife. Our waters are home to a wide diversity of marine mammals including four species of whales, two species of dolphins, two species of porpoises, two species of seals, two species of sea lions, and we also have the possibility of seeing two species of otters! With such a great array of species, we sometimes come across injured or dead wildlife on our tours or while wandering the islands...

The only way I have come to describe days like yesterday is “San Juan Special.” Those days that I am trying to explain the area to guests and the only thing I feel like I can say, “Do you see how beautiful this is?!”

You could have water skied on the mighty Haro Strait yesterday, and it was difficult to tell where the water ended and the sky began at the horizon. The whole strait felt still and it was a magical day to encounter some wildlife.

The M/V Seahawk left the...