transient killer whales

Naturalist Olivia | M/V Sea Hawk | August 22nd, 2020 | 13:00

What a day on Sea Hawk! It was so refreshing to have a sunny, calm day out in the Salish Sea- did I mention it was warm? We left the dock with two options of Killer Whales in our waters [YAY!] and had to make a decision if we were heading north or heading south. After receiving word from colleagues in the Pacific Whale Watch Association, the family group far to the south had turned east out of range of our...

Erin | M/V Sea Hawk | 2:00 PM | Monday, August 19, 2019

What an incredible afternoon in the Salish Sea! Words can barely describe the experiences that we had, but I will attempt to document it! We left out of the north entrance of Roche Harbor and the sun was shining brightly! We were all excited for the potential of seeing some killer whales. Captain Sarah received word that there were some orcas south of us, so we headed east out of the harbor into Spieden Channel...

Laura C. | 7/16/2019 | M/V Sea Hawk | 12:00pm

It was a beautiful day aboard M/V Sea Hawk today!  The morning started out with exciting whale reports right off Henry Island, right around the corner from Roche Harbor!  As we made our way out to sea, we were pleasantly surprised by a female harbor seal with her pup in tow!  The glass calm water allowed guests to see their whole bodies underneath the water’s surface and they were simply adorable!  The tiny pup seemed to be...

Jordan | August 23, 2018 | M/V Sea Hawk | 2:00 trip

Today was lovely as blue skies peaked through the clouds. Captain Sarah and I headed out of Roche Harbor towards reports of whales up in Canada!

As we reached the west side of Spieden Island we spotted a harbor seal in the water eating a salmon! It was so fun to watch him fling the fish around, trying to tear it apart to eat as seagulls swooped into the area trying to take advantage of free food!

Then we traveled further...

[Saturday, 5/26/18 - M/V Seahawk - 3:00PM - Naturalist Erick]

This Memorial Day Weekend we got a little taste of summer. The sun was out it was a little bit warm for May and we have a lot of trips going out. On Saturday afternoon Captain Pete and I took Seahawk out with a great group of folks to go on another search of the Salish Sea for some interesting creatures. We first crossed Spieden Channel and scurried through the skinny Johns Pass and took looks out into...

[Naturalist Erick D., M/V Seahawk, 8/29/17, 2:00PM]

            The other day Captain Joe and I took a small lovely group aboard the M/V Seahawk. We went far but we got to a group of Transient Orcas swimming south in Rosario Strait. Today was pretty interesting because there were three different Transient Orca groups that had traveled almost the same exact route just at different times throughout the day. We saw one of the three groups just south of Lydia Reef in...

[Naturalist Erick D., M/V Seahawk, 7/31/17, 2:00PM]

Yesterday, Captain Joe and I took out a full group of guests from Roche Harbor aboard the M/V Seahawk. Again we were on the lookout for any adorable or exciting wildlife out there in the waters of the Salish Sea. We journeyed through the inner islands going in between the tight passages of the Wasp Islands and then between Orcas, Shaw and Lopez Islands. Eventually we made it into Rosario Strait on the eastern side of...

(7/27/17- M/V Seahawk- 2PM)

Today we left Roche Harbor with reports right inside our viewing area.  At times like these it is really up to the orcas as to whether or not we will see them, if they travel away from us then we are out of their range but if they travel towards us then we get the opportunity to see them.  Thankfully, the coin flipped in our favor today and we got the chance the hang out with a family of transient orcas. 

This specific family of orcas was the...