bald eagle

It was a little foggy as we left Roche harbor this morning at 11am but as we made our way to Stuart Island to where the resident whales of L pod were last spotted, the fog cleared and it was a beautiful day. Before we made it out to the orcas we spotted about 10 pacific white sided dolphins!!!! They are rarely seen in this location and we were so excited to see them! They were moving fast and were creating a large splash of what behind them, something that is known as a...

Today was another beautiful day here in the San Juan's.  Clear skies with great temperatures made for a pleasurable paddle.  The water chop did alter our route a little bit but did not impair on the fun and sight seeing.  We ended up paddling by English Camp and spotting several bald eagles.  We also had a seal decide to follow right behind our kayaks for about one hundred yards.  Also, we paddle by a mother seal with her pup that couldn't have been more than a couple...

We started out the tour by paddling from Roche Harbor through Mosquito Pass and out into the Haro Straight.  This is typically my favorite part of the paddle going from the narrow Mosquito Pass out into the openness of the Haro Straight. The conditions were perfect today, comfortable temperatures out on the water with glass-like water.  You couldn't ask for better weather!  We also had some close interactions with wildlife.  A momma seal was seen escorting her pup up the...

Starting off with low tide of -1.2 vertical ft, our morning tour had amazing access to a colorful display of red, green and brown seaweeds, purple Ochre sea stars and bright orange anemones. We also got to see lots of fuzzy harbor seals hauled out on high rocks in the kelp forest, and a juvenile bald eagle greeted us from a snag on our way back into Roche Harbor. Later, we saw two adult bald eagles holding high posts on the west side of Henry Island, accompanied by more...

What a picture perfect day we had!  Departing from County Park, we paddled south towards Lime Kiln State Park to drink in savory views of the Olympic Mountain Range with a dash of Mount Rainier on the horizon.  Turning our course north we rode on glassy water with the flooding tide as our conveyor belt, seeing circling bald eagles, purple ocher sea stars, and a few curious harbor seals.  The views of the Canadian coastal ranges shone as clear as they've ever appeared this...

Today was sweet! It literally only took us 10 minutes to be on scene with whales. It was awesome, and had to be a record encounter. And even better it was a super pod! All 3 resident pods were in the area, that gave us a chance to see 80 whales. They were pretty active as well with many surfacings, spy hops, and breaches.

We also did a tour around some other San Juan Islands; Stuart, John, Cactus, and Spieden and saw countless bald eagles and harbor seals. Overall it was...

Guides Jesse, Amy and Tyler just got back from a 5-hour kayak trip around Henry Island. Conditions were clear and beautiful- another great summer day in the San Juans! As they paddled, a baby harbor porpoise swam by; something new for all three guides. They also saw a purple sea urchin way up in the rocks which was unusual as urchins tend to be found down deeper underneath the water. Other wildlife such as jellyfish and bald eagles graced their trip. With temperatures...

Yesterday's whale watch trip started out unspectacularly- as we were leaving the dock the sky was overcast, with bits of drizzle here and there and we hadn't heard any news about whales in the area all morning. As a whale watch guest who has paid good money this uncertainty can be disheartening, but I assured all 8 of our passengers that sometimes while we are out we hear reports of whales from other boats and that sometimes we ourselves are the first ones to stumble...

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for Tuesday June 8th:

Yesterday I paddled out on our whale sanctuary 5 hour sea kayak tour. We left under blue skies but stiff breezes, and had a gorgeous day on the water. We saw and heard bald eagles, harbor seals, cormorants, black oystercatchers and more! We were down by lime kiln when we received reports that L pod was coming up island from the south, so all our fingers were tightly crossed and we waited in hope, but then the...

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for Sunday, June 6th:

Emily paddled out on her first 3 hour sea kayak tour of the season and what a way to start the summer! She saw a red fox on the beach, numerous harbor seals and eagles, lots of shore birds and our Southern Resident Killer Whales! Off the west side of Henry Island and moving north, she and her guests saw a few small groups at a time, from all 3 pods-- the SUPERPOD! J's, K's and L's were present and all slowly...