bald eagle

What an incredible afternoon with K Pod! The Seahawk left Roche Harbor with positive reports of our Southern Resident killer whales. On our way to the whales we headed north out of Roche Harbor towards Battleship Island. As we rounded the north side of Henry Island we got some awesome views of both the amazing diving cormorants (medium-sized black birds with long necks , who nest on the cliffs at Kellett Bluff) as well as some beautiful bald eagles in our area. Bald...

Today Captain Jim and I took off on the ol' Seahawk with a boatload of excited and curious passengers from Kentucky to Alaska, sun in the sky, and wildlife on the brain. As we left Roche Harbor headed North, it didn't take us long to find what we were looking for: ORCAS!!

We caught up with the Southern Resident Killer Whale community just past Battleship rock (a bird sanctuary that was mistaken for an American warship by British troops during the Pig War) and watched...

Today was a great day to be on the 5 hour kayaking trip.  We started out the day seeing a plethora of seals hauling out together, even seeing some mother seals and their pups! We then came across several bald eagles.  Upon pulling up onto a beach for lunch we had a beautiful eagle sitting right above us.  Later on we came across some really cool purple ochre sea stars and a male harbor seal put on a display by causing some big splashes.  To end our day we finally got to...

Today we left Roche Harbor expecting to have to drive north for a bit before we got to any orcas. Instead, we drove for about 10 minutes, and were surprised to find the J19s right away! Traveling with them, was Onyx (L-87), which led us to believe that Granny (J2) was also somewhere in the area because she is his adoptive mother. Everyone was so excited to see the new baby in J19 clan, which belongs to J41 (Eclipse), one of 4 calves born to the southern resident...

It was a cool morning, and the reports that Capt. Gabe and I were hearing were that most of our nearby Southern Resident Orcas were on the south end of San Juan Island. But, one family group, the J-16's were headed east from Discovery Island in Canada! So we all headed out of Roche Harbor to meet up with one of my family groups. So, the Southern Resident Killer Whales that live here live in large groups called pods, and each of these three pods - J, K, and L - are made up...

Today was another perfect day here in Roche Harbor.  Blue skies and warm weather made for a pleasurable paddle around Henry Island.  During our lunch break we did some tidepooling to see the great diversity of life in the intertidal areas where we saw seastars, anemones, crabs, gobies, and all kinds of shellfish. On the water we saw lots of bald eagles, jellyfish, and seals.  A high point of the trip had to be a mother seal with her new pup coming within 10 yards of us...

Today Captain Gabe and I left the dock with warm weather, calm seas, a boat full of excited passengers and best of all, Whale Reports!! We headed North off the dock to find some wildlife. As we exited Mosquito Pass, we spotted a small pod of harbor porpoise so we decided to watch them slip in and out of the calm water. Harbor porpoise are the smallest cetacean (whales, dolphins and porpoises) found in the Salish Sea, and were at one point the most abundant. They spend...

What can I say, J pod, with a capital J, has been seeming to love the west side of San Juan Island lately. The Southern Residents were booking it north from Hein Bank up Haro Strait. So Capt. Gabe and I went south on the Seahawk and met them about half way down (south) San Juan Island. We stayed parallel with the front runners of the pod as they moved north. Among this smaller J pod group was Granny (J-2), the OLDEST LIVING ORCA (that we know of)!!! It's estimated that...

Today Captain Pete and I left the dock on the Seahawk with a glorious sunny day, a boat full of curious and excited passengers, and plenty of whale reports from which to choose. Armed with our whale knowledge and eagerness to see wildlife, we headed North out of Roche Harbor. Right off the bat we were greeted in Mosquito Pass with a great blue heron taking off with its large, slow wingbeats as well as a bald eagle perched in a tree.

Heading out into Haro Strait towards...

We had a spectacular day paddling on the 5 hour tour around Henry Island!  From harbor seals to juvenile bald eagles, we saw the full scope of aquatic life the San Juan Islands have to offer.  We visited blood stars and mossy chitons on the reefs of Half Moon Bay and enjoyed a ride on the ebbing tide around Kellett Bluff.  We finished the day witnessing a full bob of harbor seals sunbathing on the rocks in Mosquito Pass.  Another splendid experience on the Salish Sea!

Kay...