bald eagle

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...

We were again treated to orcas close to San Juan Island. On the warmest day of the year so far and some of the best sunshine we’ve had in a while, we were definitely ready for another foray into the waters of the Salish Sea.

Again we had no reported whales in the area, but as we have seen in the past few days that does not mean that there are no whales around. We changed things up a bit and headed south, enjoying the scenery of the shorelines of both San Juan Island and...

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...

We woke up this morning and it felt like summer! The sun was shining, the sky was that special shade of San Juan blue, and there were reports of whales! We headed north out of the harbor skirting the shore of San Juan Island. There were so many bald eagles out and about today, pretty much everywhere we looked we could find one! I think our end count today on eagles was right around 29 individuals!

We headed out into the northern portion of Haro Strait to a pair of...

We are getting spoiled with these early season trips here on San Juan Island! Yesterday was one of those magical trips that we have spent all winter dreaming about. Captain Mike and I left Friday Harbor with a lively private charter group on the search for some wildlife! As it is still early season for seeing killer whales, I was cautiously optimistic on our chances of seeing whales, but thought if we did see orcas that they would most likely be some of our local Bigg’s...

Cruising in the San Juan Islands is a treat any time of the year, but it is those special clear sunny days in the spring and fall that make my heart sing. Yesterday we enjoyed a gorgeous early spring day viewing numerous bald eagles, harbor seals, porpoises, and Steller’s sea lions. We also had the chance to view some new baby mouflon sheep on the slopes of Spieden Island. Take a look below!

Harbor seals on a rock in the San Juan Islands

First mouflon lambs of the...

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...

More October wildlife magic to report!

After getting geared up and into our Kayaks on the dock at Roche Harbor, we headed out our normal route to enjoy an afternoon on the calmly rippling waters of the Salish Sea.

Even before we left the harbor we were in a position and mindset to better enjoy wildlife like the abundant and goofy pelagic cormorants and the harbor seals that were living up to their name.

As we headed out into Spieden Channel we had great views of all the...

Today I set up my kayak tour just like any other. We got geared up, talked a bit about safety and paddling, then got in the boat and hit the water.

As soon as we began paddling through Roche Harbor, however, I knew that this was going to be a great trip. We began to encounter cormorants and could see right through the crystal clear water to the bottom on the shores of San Juan and then Pearl Island.

Making our way out into Spieden Channel, we had great views of Vancouver...

Today the ol' Hawk had yet another whaley good adventure crewed by Captain Gabe and myself!
Love was in the air as we left the dock in Roche Harbor with an excited wedding party on board to head out and find some wildlife. Using celebratory luck to find marine mammals hasn't failed us yet, and today was no exception.

Minutes after leaving the harbor we had our first bit of excitement: a Humpback whale right in Spieden channel! We are seeing more and more of these thirty...