san juan island

Today I paddled out of Roche Harbor on a 3 hour tour and we spotted orca (killer) whales! Thanks to our whale watch boat I received the whale report before leaving the harbor, but was not sure if we would be able to see the whales as they were already headed north in the Haro Strait. We paddled out to the kelp forest off Henry Island and as we were eating some seaweed, looking for seals and listening for eagles we saw some killer whales! There were quite a few...

On our last day of a 2 day sea kayaking trip, we managed to sneak in a group photo! It was wonderful to have a 'girl's only' trip.
Great weather, great food and most importantly, great company!

Photo credit: Peggy Howard

Whales were spotted along the southern and western sides of the island today, and one of our guides Tim reported back that he'd seen 6 or 7 individual orca whales during his 3 hour kayak tour. It's always exciting to see the whales, whether from a kayak or from our whale watching boat, but it isn't always possible during our 3 hour tour, so we're especially pleased that he and his guests were able to see them as well!

Whales Again!!! On our second Whale Watch tour for the day, Captain Brian, reported seeing our resident K-Pod. There are two types of killer whales seen our waters: Transients and Residents Orca whales. Transients diets consist of marine mammals while the residents are fish eating Orcas.

It was quite a show with lots of spy hopping, a behavior in which the Orca comes straight out of the water with its eyes above the surface before dropping back down.

Another...

Our Captain Brian returned from our 11am Whale Watch out of Roche Harbor with a report an uncommon sighting of Transient whales. They saw the very large male T-102, as well as T-100 and T-90. Transient are the marine mammal eating whales that you see on the Discovery Channel. Although they do frequent the San Juan Islands, their sporadic movements and elusive behavior make them a rare sighting. They were spotted near Halibut Island near Kelp Reef on the...

Today I paddled out under gorgeous skies with a small family, and we were on the hunt for wildlife! We've been seeing a great number of harbor seal pups lately, especially out on the west side, where there are a number of safe haul out spots for them. It was great to view them at a distance, and listen to their vocalizations, but even better to see them close up. As we were paddling near a forest of bull kelp, a mother seal and her pup surfaced just a few feet from...

This afternoon Noelle and I paddled out with a private tour from the Institute of Journalism and Natural Resources (IJNR). It was an absolutely gorgeous day out on the west side, and the temperature was hot enough to convince a few hardy souls to go swimming! While in a bed of bull kelp we saw a young harbor seal pup hauled out on top of a few stipes. The pup was totally relaxed, often yawning and lying turned away from us. This summer's pups have been making quite...

Today, during out 3 hour sea kayak tour, we were paddling on the south side of Posey Island and saw about six Black Oyster Catchers, beautiful birds with distinctive red and long beaks, chattering loudly and scouring the intertidal zone for food. Oyster Catchers are native to the San Juans and it is always exciting to see them in action.

Also due to the flood tide there were also a significant amount of Moon Jellies spotted near the shoreline of Henry Island. They...

Today was a pretty fantastic day all around-- gorgeous weather, active wildlife and calm water. As we rested in the bull kelp forest, we kept a sharp lookout for harbor seals, and were rewarded when a mother decided to haul herself out of the water and on top of the kelp just a few dozen feet from our boats. There she proceeded to get comfortable and nurse her pup!

Earlier that day we'd been resting in the same spot when an eagle flew down from its nest on...

It was another beautiful day on the west side, and my 3 hour sea kayak tour was pleased to see all sorts of wildlife out and about! Not only did I get my first glimpse of the year of an eaglet in a nest, but we also saw killer whales off in the distance! The whales were spread out in the Haro Strait, headed north. Although they were so far off that we could only just make out some dorsal fins and their exhalations, it was still awesome to see.