steller sea lion

Jordan | September 3, 2018

The World's Second Most Wide Spread Mammal

Orca whales are one of the most magnificent animals in the world that have left people in awe for centuries! Not only have we heard the stories and the legends, but also countless confusing labels describing these animals. But what does it all mean?!

As we go through this life, we all hear terms thrown around describing these mysterious black and white creatures of the sea: orca whales, killer whales...

Despite intense yearning and best efforts, guests and crew aboard the M/V Sea Hawk were reminded that one can flip only so many whale tails before you’re certain to get a deadhead.  After a lucky run of tours over the past week, which included multiple whale species, the laws of statistics came bear, resulting in not one sighting of a cetacean today.

No matter, our guests could still be heard chattering and laughing from the Canadian shoreline as we plied the...

Guess who’s back, back again? It’s not Slim Shady, but it is the largest species of Sea Lions in the world!! In the San Juan Islands there is an over-wintering population of Steller’s Sea Lions, aka Northern Sea Lions, aka Eumetopias jubatus. These sea lions inhabit the northern Pacific Rim Coast from Northern California to Northern Japan and are a unique feature to our area. They went through a steep decline in the ‘80s and 90’s for unknown reasons, but now their...

Fall is approaching, but there is still a lot of summer here. Yesterday (Friday) Captain Gabe and I headed south along the west side of San Juan Island to search for the Southern Resident Killer Whales. They often are seen on this west side because their main food source, Chinook Salmon, travel along this coast as they make their way north to large river systems so they can spawn there and complete their life cycles. As we exited Mosquito Pass we saw some splashes and it...

Here in the San Juan Islands we are constantly surrounded by beautiful marine wildlife. Our waters are home to a wide diversity of marine mammals including four species of whales, two species of dolphins, two species of porpoises, two species of seals, two species of sea lions, and we also have the possibility of seeing two species of otters! With such a great array of species, we sometimes come across injured or dead wildlife on our tours or while wandering the islands...

We started out the day departing Roche Harbor with a small group of 3 guests, two from Ireland and one from the Dominican Republic.  It was an awesome opportunity to display the Pacific Northwest and all of it's natural beauty to guests visiting from so far away.  After about 45 minutes of paddling we got out to the Haro Strait where we were instantly greeted by many harbor seals.  Not 10 minutes later I heard some loud breathing and turned to notice a large tan head...

It’s cooled down a little bit here, getting closer to normal May weather. The sun was still out in full, bright force but air wasn’t so hot as it has been, but summer still feels like it is here a little early. Everything is opening on the island, more folks are starting to walk around enjoying the longer sunny days, and all the plants are so excited for the sunshine after a pretty grey winter. This sunny Saturday we had a choice to make, since there was no reports out...

Did you know that Humpback Whales have one of the longest migrations of any animal? Each year they spend their summers in polar regions and their winters in warmer climes closer to the equator. Imagine swimming from Alaska to Hawai’i then back again every year, almost every year of your life. Oh and you also don’t get to eat during your winter vacation in the tropics, there’s not really that much food and you’re worried about finding the perfect mate anyway. That what...

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...

I don’t know about you, but I love babies, and most of all I love orca babies! Especially when they spyhop and fluke and are extra chubby. First though I got to back up. This Saturday, the M/V Sea Lion received reports of killer whales off the west side of San Juan Island, heading north through Haro Strait. We set off with Capt. Mike, Naturalist Sarah, and myself to go find these big, black and white animals on another spectacularly beautiful, sunny, spring day.

As we...