transient orcas

Many people come to visit the San Juan Islands in the summer time, our peak season runs from June through August. The summer in the Islands is absolutely beautiful, but many visitors overlook the spring and fall as a great time to visit! Why should you visit in our shoulder seasons? Glad you asked!

1) Wildlife is off the Charts

During the spring and fall we see a transition in our wildlife species as animals start to migrate to and from the islands. In the spring and...

This Monday was another spectacularly sunny day out on the Salish Sea. This inland sea connects the Pacific Ocean to the Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia via the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and in the middle of all these are the San Juan Islands. This near shore environment that is between many rivers and the open ocean creates a unique marine environment. The cold, nutrient-rich salt water of the North Pacific mix with cool fresh waters produced by the famous rains of...

This Saturday was pretty special.  Our crew had the honor of assisting in the memorial service of a long-time island resident. Our guests said their goodbyes on a beautiful sunny day in between the Olympic Mountains and the San Juan Islands. As the current gently pushed us along in between Lopez and San Juan and the service ended we had a hunch that there may be some Transient Orcas traveling in the thick fog bank sliding out of the Strait. Transient Orcas usually travel...

Yesterday did not seem as though its was going have such a magical outcome. We left the dock with no good report of orcas. Then, thirty minutes off the dock, Captain Mike pulled me into the wheelhouse to pass along the news: Orcas, and lots of them! I hurriedly passed the news along to guests as we cruised under sunny San Juan skies watching gulls and harbor porpoise flit past.

We continued North around East Point on Saturna Island in British Columbia and stopped to...

Individual orcas can be distinguished from one another by looking at preexisting  markings on their bodies. Though whales can be told apart by the markings on their cheeks or their eypatches, we primarily look at the saddlepatch, the grey marking behind the dorsal fin. Once those markings are recorded via photograph, alphanumeric (Letter-Number) codes are assigned to individuals. We have two populations of orcas in our waters, Residents, salmon-eaters, and Transients...

Yesterday the M/V Sea Lion headed out on the water for a private charter. I love being a part of hosting these private events, as we can totally taylor the trip for whatever the groups are most interested in. Yesterday our group wanted to find as much wildlife as we possibly could, and wildlife we found! We left Friday Harbor and motored north. At Spieden Island we encountered a lively group of Steller's sea lions, and a number of bald eagles. As we headed further north...

Today Captain Gabe, Brian and myself took out the Seahawk with a boat full of excited passengers and a clear blue sky looking for wildlife. We had no reports of whales when we left the dock so we began to head north to see what we could find when left to our own devices. Up near Spieden Island we encountered maybe 40 or 50 harbor seals both hauled out on an exposed reef as well as swimming around in the water. One inportant way to differentiate seals from sinilar animals...

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 a recent report of transients down towards salmon bank.  We headed out Mosquito Pass and headed South on the West side of San Juan Island.  Thankfully the transients were moving in our direction so we met them around False Bay.  We watched a large group of transients with a large male and 3 young juveniles including what looked to be like a very young calf.  The whales were heading North up the West side of San Juan Island at a very slow...

Today M/V Sea Hawk traveled a long way to see Transient Orcas. Captain Pete took myself and guests over to James Island, by Anacortes. We traveled through San Juan Channel and around the south end of Lopez in order to get there. Along the way guests were able to see Northern Sea Lions and Harbor Seals. When we first arrived the small group of transients were hunting harbor seals and traveling quickly! This group was easy to identify because of one male, Mr. Floppy Fin...