Whale Watching Reports from Island Adventures Whale Watching Tours in the San Juan Islands

Minke and Orca Whales on Today's Tour!

A little morning rain has cleared to sunshine and the Island Explorer 3 is on-scene with Orca Whales! In our search for the Orca Whales, our guests also got to see a Minke Whale! Stay tuned for an update from Naturalist Jami Nagel.

Orca Whales North of Saturna Island!

A breach during our afternoon trip!

Our adventure led us into Canadian waters today to show our guests Orca Whales! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for an update from Naturalist Bart Rulon! We started our morning trip heading north along the east side of Guemes Island. Soon we spotted several harbor seals hauled out on the shoreline of Jack Island. As we worked our way north we saw several harbor porpoises at a few different locations. Eventually we found about 6 transient orcas north of Saturna Island and west of Active Pass. When we first got on scene the orcas were lined up with one of the BC ferry boats behind them for a great photo opportunity! They all started out grouped closely together then the big male surprised us by going down for a long dive and coming up right next to us!! He gave us some great close up views. Soon the females angled over and came by for a closer look too. The water conditions were perfect for a boat trip this morning.

3:30 pm
The transient orcas from our morning trip swam too far out of our range to see them during our afternoon trip so we decided to look for our resident orca pods. We saw some pelagic cormorants on the channel markers in Guemes Channel. Crossing Rosario Straits we saw lots of Harbor Porpoise. We decided to cruise through the inner Islands in order to come out towards the north end of the San Juans. We saw lots more harbor porpoise along the way, and some were even porpoising in our wake behind the boat. As we slowed down through Pole Pass we saw a few pigeon guillemots, and two red-necked phalaropes! We had to cross into Canada again this afternoon to find orcas. We eventually found K and L pods on the west side of North Pender Island. They were all swimming north toward Active Pass. They were spread out from the middle to the shoreline, and at times it seemed like you could see orcas in all directions. Mega, L41, was the first big male we saw. Some of the orcas were breaching and spyhopping in different locations. It was hard to know where to look because they were everywhere it seemed. One orca breached right in front of us twice in a row!! Next Faith, L57 made a change of direction and swam back toward us for a while. Brother and sister, Cappuccino, K21, and Raggedy, K40 swam by us and we parallel viewed them for about 15 minutes as they gave us great looks. Then out of nowhere Spock, K20 surfaced right next to us!! We had the engines shut down as she passed us by, then little Comet, K38, came by us following after mom. What a fantastic evening with the orcas. We had a long run out to get them but it was well worth it. The water was like a calm lake out there too. Naturalist Bart Rulon

Orca Whales Sighted Near Salmon Bank

This great photo of a breaching Minke Whale was taken from the Island Explorer 3 by Passenger Dennis Fung.

Captain Carl reported that our guests are watching lots of Orca Whales, and a Minke Whale too, with a little fog! Stay tuned for an update on a great whale show, and the crazy August weather, from Naturalist Kate Janes! "Our day started under blue skies as we navigated into Guemes Channel! The fog began to set in as we entered into Rosario Strait heading southward towards the Strait of Juan de Fuca! The fog made for a dramatic setting as Rhinoceros Auklets fished, Heerman's Gulls flew by and were found perched atop floating logs and Harbor Seals swam in the frigid 48 degree water! Then at Salmon Bank a Minke Whale appeared out of what appeared to be nowhere! We watched as it surfaced 3 times before continuing on to find the Orcas of the Southern Residents! We found the SUPER POD (all 3 pods) at the south end of Haro Strait milling about the international border between Canadian & American waters! We watched as a large group played about taillobing, backdiving, cartwheeling and spyhopping during our visit! There was even a young one that was really enjoying itself doing backdive after backdive seemingly showing off its moves! Eventually we had to leave returning to the south end of Lopez Island where our guests enjoyed the lifted fog exposing the surrounding islands! The afternoon started with a brief period of showers that lasted until we entered into the inner islands via Thatcher Pass, then it was all blue skies! We navigated the inner islands visiting with a pair of soaring Turkey Vultures, swimming Harbor Seals, and a close encounter with a mature Bald Eagle that passed overhead! We found the Super Pod of Southern Resident Orcas heading north along side Stuart Island! Calypso was the first whale our guests saw as she made her way up the shoreline as the Turn Point Lighthouse came into view! We pulled into the middle of Haro Strait and found Samish, Riptide, Princess Angeline, Suttles, and Matia rolling about close to the surface! Their milling/rolling behavior carried on for quite sometime as they ventured closer to the starboard side of the boat!! Our guests got great looks as the whales lingered just under the water making their white portions appear almost green!! We stayed with the whales until they started towards Swanson Channel entering into the Canadian Gulf Islands! We watched as their exhalations caught the sun causing them to appear golden in the waning light!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Playful Transient Orcas Today!

We started our trip out today cruising north through Rosario Straits. We Slowed down at Pointer Island and saw several harbor seals hauled out on the island. Within a few minutes we also saw a bald eagle perched on a marker nearby. The crew searched hard for our three resident orca pods all the way up to Point Roberts, but we couldn't find them. We weren't alone because none of the other boats could find the residents this morning either. So we headed south toward Patos Island to look at some transient orcas just north of the east point of Saturna and Tumbo Islands. As soon as we got on scene with the orcas we saw several of them breaching!! As we got closer they all went down for a long dive, and then suddenly one of the big males broke the silence with a huge breach right in front of us! Two males were swimming together, and another group of 6-8 females and calves were swimming close together nearby. We decided to follow the two males closely as they swam side by side with the other group nearby in the background. One of the males cartwheeled twice, and both of them did several taillobs. At one point one of the males was taillobbing upside down at the same time that the other was tailslapping right side up. Soon the larger group of females started porpoising at high speeds, then they slowed down and we saw two breaches and a cartwheel! Next our two males surfaced several times close by and one of them was arching his belly up into the air and raising his tail flukes at the end of the maneuver. He did this three times! Just before we said goodbye to the orcas one of the males raised his tail flukes high into the air as if to wave goodbye to us. On the way back to the dock we saw harbor porpoises on two different occasions. We had a long trip today, but patience paid off as everybody was happy to get such a great show of transient orcas out of it. Naturalist Bart Rulon

Transient Orca Whales Sighted by Island Explorer 3!

We headed well to the north today to show our guests Orca Whales! Captain Michael said they saw some very active whales! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for an update on today's tour from Naturalist Bart Rulon!

Resident Orca Superpod and Transients

9:30 am
We started our morning off by cruising through the inner San Juan Islands. The weather started off cloudy with a little rain, but as we moved our way through the islands things improved until we eventually had sunshine and blue skies. We found an orca superpod just west of Speiden Island. As soon as we arrived on scene with the orcas we saw action with several orcas breaching, a few doing tail slaps and one spyhopped at close range. The orcas were grouped up pretty closely together. This first group we watched included J-pod and L-pod orcas. Other orcas were spread out behind us and out to the west. All the orcas were swimming toward Stuart Island, and eventually many of them swam right against Stuart's rocky shoreline. They continued to be very active along the shore breaching often, cartwheeling, tailslapping, and spyhopping. 4 year old, Comet, K38 was swimming alone close to us for several minutes and then later mom, Spock, K20, came over to join the youngster. Spock swam right behind our boat giving us all a great look. Other orcas we saw included J1, Ruffles, L57, Faith, K21, Cappuccino, K26, Lobo, and many others. The scenery was beautiful as the orcas swam right next to shore up to the Tern Point lighthouse. We said goodbye to the orcas as they reached the point. On the way back to the dock we cruised close to Speiden Island and saw great views of the mouflon sheep, sika deer, and fallow deer. A large group of big rams were resting out in the open for everyone to see. We also got a good look at several harbor seals hauled out on the rocks in this area.

3:30pm
Our second trip started out with a bald eagle flying along the shoreline on Fidalgo Island. The superpod we saw on our first trip swam north this afternoon heading up to the Frazier River so we decided to look for some transient orcas that were closer to home. We drove through the inner San Juan Islands again and came out at the top of San Juan Island. We found the group of about 8 transient orcas swimming north in Haro Strait just west of Andrews Bay. There were several females, one calf, and a big male that looked like a teenager. The orcas surfaced many times and occasionally changed directions while we parallel viewed them. Our passengers got many good looks at all the orcas in this transient pod. On our way back to the dock we spotted a bald eagle circling over Battleship Island, and eventually he landed on one of the trees there. Conditions were calm as we cruised back through the San Juan Islands to the dock to end a great day of whale watching. Naturalist Bart Rulon

J, K & L Pods in the Strait of Juan de Fuca!

"Our adventure started in Rosario Strait as we headed southward we found Heerman's Gulls, Glaucous-winged Gulls, and Rhinoceros Auklets involved in a cooperative feeding act on bait fish at they congregated at the surface! The Pigeon Guillemots were even out with their young of the year showing off their two different plumage's! Colville Island provide our guests looks at hauled out Harbor Seals while the Strait of Juan de Fuca would later reveal just how Harbor Seals swim! It was near Eagle Point that we found the Orcas of the Southern Resident Community! All 3 pods were presents and were spread out over 5 miles even spilling over into Haro Strait! The first whale our guests encountered was Mega (L41)! This 31 year old male swam effortlessly through the water showing off his over six foot tall dorsal fin! Shortly after Nugget, Lapis and little L109 milled about in the waters near the boat! It was a morning for the youngsters for Lea had a lot to handle with her youngster K42, who was showing off its new moves! Little K42, born this spring, was backdiving and taillobing close to mom! The youngster wasn't the only one having fun we watched as whales breached, spyhopped, taillobed and even cartwheeled!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

A Minke Monday! - Monday, August 25, 2008

"Rosario Strait lead us into the vast waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca! As we began our search for whales our guests encountered hundreds of Common Murres diving to incredible depths (up to 590 feet)! With the young murres in tow the rafts of birds created a patchwork of black & white at the surface of the water! Peering down into the water enormous Lion's Mane Jellies contracted in the water making their way slowly through its depths! Reaching Hein Bank the bird activity only increased with a frenzy of activity scattered around the bank as they fed on bait fish just under the surface! Watching the Glaucous-winged Gulls, Heerman's Gulls, and Rhinoceros Auklets paid off for a very hungry Minke Whale all of a sudden went crashing through the congregation of birds sending them flying!! After that grand display we found ourselves then playing the patience game as the whale became comfortable with us and we watched for patterns in its swimming! Being rather elusive we waited and watched as it continued to quickly break the surface! Then in one grand finale the Minke appeared just as it first did, breaking with speed through a bait ball sending the birds to the sky! The afternoon brought us back into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and lead us to Smith & Minor Islands! As we drew closer to Minor Island it became quite apparent that we weren't the only visitors to the island! Sitting high above the other shore birds sat 3 Brown Pelicans!! Hauled out near the waters edge were over 50 Harbor Seals! We looked on Minor Island taking in all the activity and even checked out a Bald Eagles nest that had been built on its sandy shore! We then ventured southward towards Smith Island where 3 Tufted Puffins were swimming!! There is a small breeding population of these little sea parrots that nest on Smith Island! After a great visit with these beautiful birds we ventured back north towards Lawson Reef where a Minke Whale appeared!! We watched diligently searching for the whale through the small swell that started to develop! It surfaced a couple more times then a tug and tow entered into the Lawson Reef area! After the tug departed the Minke was no where to be seen. We ventured into calm waters where we found a Great Blue Heron flying along Young Island. We as a company pride ourselves on showing our guests whales and since many of ours guests didn't see the very elusive Minke Whale all of our guests will get another opportunity to join us whale watching again for life until they see a whale! We guarantee whales (Gray, Humpbacks, Minkes and/or Orcas) and love sharing our passion for whales and the other wildlife in the area!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Curious Whales! - Friday, August 22, 2008

"Our morning started on the back side of Guemes Island as we entered into the Strait of Georgia! Watching Harbor Porpoise feeding in the tide rips and Pigeon Guillemots diving into the depths of the glassy water we entered into Rosario Strait heading south towards the Strait of Juan de Fuca! Our journey lead us to Hein Bank where we found 2 feeding Minke Whales enjoying a brunch of bait fish! We watched the birds as the smaller Minke Whale sent a tidal wave through the middle dispersing the birds all at once!! Among the birds that were sent flying were Common Murres, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Rhinoceros Auklets & Heerman's Gulls! It wasn't too long before the smaller of the two Minke Whales became quite comfortable with our presence and gave our guests an up close look as it swam right along our starboard side!! We watched as the two very hungry whales fed! Soon we found ourselves having to leave the friendly Minke Whales and returned towards the dock by the south end of Lopez Island! We stopped at the pass between Lopez Island & Castle Rock where we found a half a dozen Turkey Vultures, a Bald Eagle perched atop a rocky ledge took flight over our boat, Harbor Seals were soaking up the sun on rocky outcroppings, while pairs of Marbled Murrletts swam nearby!! The afternoon brought us back along the north side of Guemes Island where we continued up the Strait of Georgia! The strait produced hundreds of Harbor Porpoise gently rolling through its water, scavenging Harbor Seals swimming about, Common Murres, Rhinoceros Auklets and Pigeon Guillemots as we continued our journey north towards Point Roberts! Just south of the peninsula we found members of J & L pods milling around its shores! We received a special surprise from Princess Angeline (J17) as she passed close by not once but twice as we sat with engines off as the whales all began milling about quickly changing their course! Princess Angeline's daughters, Polaris (J28) & Tahlequah (J35) weren't far from their mom! Polaris seemed to be playing nanny from Eclipse (J41) as her mother Shachi (J19) watched nearby! We left as the sun continued sinking lower in the sky watching Ruffles (J1) enormous dorsal fin rise & fall in the water!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Minke and Orca Whales Sighted Today!

We searched for Orca Whales on our morning tour in the area where we thought they would be but they were elusive! We were able to show our guests Minke Whales, Sea Lions, and Bald Eagles! We continued our search on the 3:30PM departure and at the South end of Hein Bank, Orca Whales! With some rain and a little fog forming, we were still able to eventually find the Orca Whales and we are the only American boat on-scene! Stay tuned for a full report from Naturalist Jami Nagel. "We had 2 minke whales at Salmon Bank on our 9:30 am trip! We had some great looks several as one of the minke's feeding in a rather large bait ball amongst the birds!! We also had a great look at Swirl rocks of a bald eagle, several harbor seals, 2 black oystercatchers and 4 harlequin ducks.
We set out in search for whales on our 3:30 pm trip and ended with Transient orcas (the T100's) at Hein Bank! We had an amazing show with lots of surface activity. Lots of breaching, taillobbing and spyhopping! We also wittnessed a sprouter male smacking a common murre out of the water with his fluke! They appeared to be teaching one of the calfs how to hunt. The calf came up and grabbed the bird at one point. This was my best Transient orca sighting in all the years I've been watching whales!!!!!"-Naturalist Jami Nagel

Orca Whale Super Pod and Breaching Minkes!

The Island Explorer 3 is off the dock in search of whales! We're heading toward Haro Strait to check out an early morning report of Orca Whales in the area. Stay tuned to the Whale Report for updates on the whales and lots of other wildlife from Naturalist Kate Janes! "Entering into the Strait of Juan de Fuca through Rosario Strait we made a long run towards Constance Bank! Along the way our guests enjoyed an array of wildlife! At Castle Rock a Great Blue Heron fished from its nice spot ontop of Bull Kelp, a mature Bald Eagle few overhead, and a couple of Black Oystercatchers hopped about the rocks looking for their next meal! In the strait Harbor Porpoise swam among feeding Red-necked Phalaropes, deep diving Common Murres, and the low moving beautiful Lion's Mane Jellies that floated by! We welcomed K & a portion of L pod as they reentered the San Juan Islands! The whales were quite spread out in small subpods swimming steadily northward! We enjoyed the company of Splash (L67), Gaia (L78), Alexis (L12) and Cappuccino (K21) as we listened to their exhalations which carried upon the water! They all seemed to be on a mission to reunite with the rest of the Southern Residents that were further north within the San Juan Islands! The party started that evening even before getting on scene with the Orcas! At Salmon Bank a Minke Whale breached an outstanding 3 times- fully breaching tail & all out of the water! It left us all stunned! In Haro Strait we found the Super Pod that fully lived up to its name! All three pods (J, K, & L pods) were stretched out over a few miles! The whales were in high spirits as breaching, spyhopping, cartwheeling, and taillobing could be offshore as well as right along side San Juan Islands shoreline! Among some of the whales we saw included: Mega (L41), Ruffles (J1), Blackberry (J27) & Mike (J26)! Their exhalations appeared white as they swam in waters that appeared black due to the basalt shoreline!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

J & L pods today

9:30 Trip
We headed south today to search for whales. We stopped at Colville Island along the way to look at several harbor seals hauled out on the rocks there. As we traveled across Salmon Bank a minke whale surfaced right in front of the boat!! We turned around and let the Minke whale come up a few more times. Next we found the orcas near Eagle Point heading north. It was a mixture of L-pod and J-pod. We were watching the trailers in the group. They seemed to be looking for fish at times, but playful at other times. Early on we saw some cartwheels, and taillobs. Later as they moved north we saw a couple of great breaches. That's just what I was wanting to see! Just as I was pointing out one of the big L-pod males, L74, Saanich, another orca breached right next to him! On the way back home we slowed down to take another close up look at several harbor seals hauled out on Swirl Rocks, including one seal pup. We cruised near Castle rock and saw more seals, a great blue heron, and several purple sea stars. Just around the corner we watched several pairs of marbled murrelets. A research boat was out there and they had already counted 50 murrelets at the south end of Lopez Island. Then to finish off our trip with a bang, first mate Mark, spotted yet another minke whale in Rosario Straits! I think we need to start calling him "Minke Mark"! Naturalist Bart Rulon

3:30pm trip
The orcas that we saw earlier today moved north during the afternoon so we decided to start our trip traveling through the inner San Juan Islands to catch up with them. Along our way through the islands we saw a variety of wildlife including bald eagles, pigeon guillemots, rhinoceros auklets, turkey vultures, harbor seals, and harbor porpoises. As we slowed down to go through Pole Pass two black oystercatchers posed for us on the rocks at close range. We were getting close to the orcas by the time we reached Pender Island and we found a pod of Dall's Porpoise swimming quickly along. We found orcas just south of the entrance of Active Pass. It was a mixture of J pod and L pod orcas again. Early on DoubleStuf, J34, came in for a close up look. We also saw Polaris, J28, looking like she was chasing a salmon, Racer, L72, Fluke, L105, and Blackberry, J27, among others. We did see a couple of breaches in the early part of our trip! The orcas seemed to pick up speed as they approached Active Pass and they gradually moved in toward shore. By the time they reached the point most of them were porpoising right next to shore. We watched as they passed by and swam against the tide through Active Pass and we saw a couple of breaches off in the distance as we pulled away! On our way back to the dock the sunset was absolutely beautiful. There were just enough clouds to make the sky especially interesting. Naturalist Bart Rulon

L-pod

Our morning trip today wasn't a normal whale watching trip. We had a private charter that we took to Friday Harbor for some shopping in the middle of the day. Luckily, L-pod was in a spot where we could give these passengers a short look at whales on our way back to the dock in Anacortes. We found 20 - 30 L-pod orcas swimming close together in a resting group offshore from Iceberg Point. Mega, L41, Matia, L77, Calypso, L94, Racer, L72, Fluke, L105, and others were there including Marina, L47, and the new calf L111. We saws the new calf many times to our passengers delight.

3:30pm Trip
Our second trip started out with rain, and a weather forecast that didn't look ideal, but it turned for the better quickly. Conditions improved and we ended up with calm sea conditions and the rain stopped toward the second half of our trip. We cruised through the inner San Juan Islands to start with. Along the way we found harbor seals, a bald eagle, pigeon guillemots, and rhinoceros auklets. We came out through Cattle Pass and found L-pod orcas spread out offshore from Eagle Point, on San Juan Island. We spent a lot of time with Mega, L41, Matia, L77, and Calypso, L94 in the beginning. All the orcas were changing directions often and appeared to be pursuing salmon. Some groups were more playful and active than others. We gravitated toward the playful groups, and got to see lots of different behaviors including spyhops, breaches and tail slaps. We shut the engines down several times to watch and hear the orcas as they swam by. At one point a big rainbow appeared and we had some of the orcas swimming right in front of it for a great photo opportunity. At the end many L-pod members, including Mega, approached us at close range for a great finale with our engines shut down, calm seas, and the sun doing down, all at the same time. What started out looking like a difficult weather day turned out to be two very enjoyable whale watching trips. Naturalist Bart Rulon

Minke Whale Lives Up To Its Nickname Stinky Minke! - Tuesday, August 19, 2008

"Our adventure started in Guemes Channel as we passed channel markers, as known as cormorant condos, with Pelagic Cormorants perched on their nests within the marker! We continued southward down Rosario Strait watching as the Harbor Porpoise gently rolling through the water! To our delight we found a few pairs of Marbled Murreletts diving into the watery depths fishing! Also at Colville Island we found a mature Bald Eagle perched atop the National Wildlife Refuge sign, just beneath a Great Blue Heron sat fishing atop some Bull Kelp floating at the surface and 20 + Harbor Seals were found hauled out on the rocks! We continued on to Salmon Bank where we found our first Minke Whale feeding on the shallow bank! After a few great looks the elusive whale vanished! We then headed towards Hein Bank in hopes to find a second Minke Whale and did just that! This one, larger than the first, proved to be quite friendly giving our guests multiple close looks! The close looks also allowed our guests to actually smell its stinky breath!! The Minke zigged and zagged circling around Hein Bank among Rhinoceros Auklets, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Heerman's Gulls and Harbor Seals that were all hoping to grab a bite to eat along side the whale!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Minke Whale off Salmon Bank! - Monday, August 18, 2008

"We navigated southward down Rosario Strait meeting the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the south end of Lopez Island. We passed the scenic wonder that is the south end of Lopez Island where our eyes gazed upon Colville Island & Castle Rock where the wildlife was bountiful! Pairs of Marbled Murreletts swam, Harbor Seals rested on the rocks, a Great Blue Heron hunted atop a raft of Bull Kelp and Pigeon Guillemots cannon balled into the water creating quite a splash! We continued towards Swirl Rocks where a Bald Eagle was found perched high on the rock! Once at Salmon Bank we noticed an increase in bird activity indicating bait fish just underneath the water! Then all at once a Minke Whale appeared through the small swells that had began to build! It was on its deep dive when its severely arched back would allow our guests a great photo opportunity!! On its decent into a shallow dive it appeared as if the Minke Whale were surfing atop the waves!! After visiting with the Minke we ventured into Cattle Pass stopping at Whale Rocks to visit one smelly pinniped! A very large Steller Sea Lion lounged atop the rock just above its smaller cousin, the Harbor Seals! Venturing into the inner islands we navigated its calm waters finding Harbor Porpoise along the way! Outside Thatcher Pass we headed up Bellingham Channel towards Jack Island where we found a mature Bald Eagle and one huge nest! The afternoon lead us towards Castle Rock and after encountering a building storm we ventured back north up Rosario Strait! Hugging the eastern shoreline we got great looks at the Burrows Island Lighthouse and encountered many Harbor Porpoise feeding in the tide rips! Continueing northward we stopped at Peapod Rocks to visit with some hauled out Harbor Seals! The evening produced much wildlife, however our guests didn't see whales! They however will get another opportunity to see whales with us for free, it's our guarantee!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Minke and Orca Whales!

The Island Explorer 3 sighted Minke Whales on our morning search for whales in the Salish Sea and our afternoon tour took our guests into Canadian waters to see Transient Orca Whales! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details from Naturalist Jami Nagel on what we saw on both of the tours today! "Just after leaving the marina on our morning trip we had our first wildlife sighting, a blacktail deer with her fawn. We found ourselves at Hein Bank in the Strait of Juan de fuca. We found a Minke whale feeding. The seabirds where out in full force feeding on the bait fish and the Minke was right there to steal the bait fish from him. Our guests were treated to some great looks at the Minke lunging through the bait ball. On our return home we went around the south end of Lopez Island and took in the beautiful scenary their. Their were numerous harbor seal and a few pups hauled out as well as pigeon guillemonts fishing near Castle Rock. We also had 2 brown pelicans at Davidson Rocks feed on a bait ball!!
We headed north on our evening trip taking us into Canada! We had transient orcas just south of Active Pass. We were treated to an amazing show by the T100's. We had numerous breaches as well as taillobs. They were very active and playful not something we usually see out of transients. Usually transients are very stealthy and quiet, not this time it was awesome to see!!! We were also treated to a beautiful lightening storm just west of us over the Canadian Gulf Islands."

Super Pod in Our Backyard!! - Friday, August 15, 2008

"The morning started at the south end of Lopez Island with some special treats for our guests! As we passed through the waters separating Colville Island from Castle Rock we found at least 5 pairs of Marbled Murreletts!! We continued on towards Swirl Rock where we found a perched Bald Eagle sitting high above the Harbor Seals that were hauled out on rocks near the water! Passing back through Castle Rock we found exposed in the low tide a number of Common Sea Stars! We ventured back into Rosario Strait after showing our guests one of the most amazing areas in the San Juans and at Bird Rocks we found the Southern Resident Orca Whales heading southward! We watched as whales could be seen as far as the eye could see. A group of whales split with a portion swimming on both the east & west side of Bird Rocks! We watched as they swam close to its shoreline! We ventured towards mid-channel towards the leading subpod where we found Granny (J2), Ruffles (J1), & the rest of J pod swimming slowly towards Lawson Reef! They were all grouped up nearly synchronized as they surfaced over 20 dorsal fins appeared in a row- like a series of fence posts! Then without warning they began to disperse and eventually made the turn westward towards the south end of Lopez Island! We sat and watched as they crossed the channel while a subpod of about 10 whales followed right behind them! The evening brought us back to the south end of Lopez Island and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca! We found the Orcas just off Salmon Bank heading off shore when we arrived on scene! We watched as the whales breached, spyhopped, taillobed and cartwheeled in the glass calm waters! We even watched as one whale spyhopped 6 times! Our guests enjoyed great looks and heard their exhalations carry across the water as we shut off the engines while the whales began milling in the waters surrounding us! Mega (L41) even gave us a great look at his over six foot tall dorsal fin as he swam right along side our starboard side! Our evening ended at the south end of Lopez Island where yet another pair of Marbled Murreletts was seen! We passed through the waters between Lopez Island and Castle Rock and found hauled-out Harbor Seals, swimming Pigeon Guillemots, and a fishing Great Blue Heron standing on a raft on Bull Kelp! It was truly an amazing day!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Orca Whales Right Off Our Dock!

The Island Explorer 3 is on-scene with Transient Orca Whales, right in front of Anacortes! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details on today's adventure from Naturalist Kate Janes!! "It wasn't long after leaving the marina before we were on scene with Transient Orcas!! Finding the Orcas just outside of Burrows Pass closely grouped and heading out towards the center of Rosario Strait! We found T102 (a large Transient male) swimming among 6 other females and a couple of juveniles! They slowly made their way into the middle of the channel all the while bucking the tide! A youngster began getting quite playful with a curious spyhop, some taillobes and the most amazing head stand ever witnessed!! At one point during their longer dives they reappeared off our port side causing many on board to jump from the unexpected sound of their exhalation near the boat!! The whales finally made their way into the traffic lanes in Rosario Strait and we left to explore the surrounding islands! At Williamson Rocks we found Pigeon Guillemots, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Heerman's Gulls and hauled-out Harbor Seals enjoying the wildlife refuge! We navigated around Allan Island and then towards Burrows Island's east side! We found the Orcas not far from where we had left them as they continued their slow pursuit northward! Watching their ease upon which they move through the water surfacing slowly before sinking back into the frigid water! Our afternoon trip also enjoyed the company of T102's subpod in a completely different location within the islands! We found 2 of the 7 whales at the south east side of Lummi Island! They were quickly moving northward up island staying near the shoreline! Their white exhalations made for quite a dramatic show against the dark waters surrounding Lummi Island! We watched as the 2 became 4 as they met up with two smaller females just on the north side of Lummi Rocks! Every Harbor Seal swimming at the surface in close proximity to the Orcas had a look of concern on their face as they nervously glanced about them, attempting to keep track of the Orcas location! It seemed as if seal was not on their menu for their next meal. We continued to watch and wait to see if they were hungry! At the north end of Lummi Island the Orcas encountered Harbor Porpoise but alas they whales weren't in the mood for a meal! They were however in the mood for a visit for both T102 & a smaller female came to the boat for a closer look before continuing northward!! We returned back to the dock just a the sun was setting over the San Juans!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Superpod on both trips!

Orcas porpoising on our afternoon trip!

We had another perfect day for whale watching today. It was calm, sunny, and hot. We started out our day searching for whales in Rosario Straits. We cruised north looking until we reached Point Lawrence on Orcas Island. At Peapod Rocks we watched a bald eagle and several harbor seals on the rocks. One seal mom with her pup were swimming close by. Next we turned south and headed toward Hein Bank. We got word about orcas coming in from the Pacific Ocean out near Port Angeles so we did our best to get out there as fast as possible. Along the way we spotted two minke whales near the south end of Hein Bank. When we finally reached the orcas we could see that it was obviously a superpod. Members of all three resident pods were present. Most of them were tightly grouped up in a HUGE resting group. A few other orcas were spread out closer to us and they appeared to be wide awake and looking for fish. Close by we saw Cappuccino, K21, his sister Raggedy, K40, Splash, L67, and Canuck, L7. Our group was the most active. K21 turned upside down and did several tail slaps at the surface. One of the others breached for us twice, and we saw about three spyhops. Captain Carl positioned us perfectly for a photo of Cappuccino swimming along with Mount Baker in the background. Soon the large resting group started to wake up and spread out just as we started to head back to the dock. We were late coming back, but I think everybody was happy that we saw orcas!!

3:30pm
For our afternoon trip we started by traveling through the inner San Juan Islands heading northwest. We saw several harbor seals in the water and some eagles in the trees as we went along. We reached the orca superpod at the west side of Stuart Island. Some orcas were grouped up pretty tightly and others were spread out. Faith, L57 was swimming with a bunch of J-pod members. We saw members of all three pods again on this trip. Some of the orcas that were spread out were pretty active. We saw many breaches today especially from the young calves. A group of 4-5 calves were all playing around with each other, breaching, splashing, and rolling around. All the orcas started to move in toward the shoreline of Stuart Island. We saw several orcas perform cartwheels near shore and many of them had bull kelp draped in their dorsal fins as they swam. Ruffles, J1, and Mike, J26, were in clear view as they swam near the shoreline. The lighting was beautiful for photography on the orcas. On our way back to the dock we cruised close to Speiden Island and saw many of the exotic animals feeding out in the open including the fallow deer, mouflon sheep, and sika deer. When we slowed down through Wasp passage we spotted the osprey nest and an osprey perched nearby. What a beautiful day for watching all three pods swimming together!! Naturalist Bart Rulon

We see the new L-pod calf on both trips today!!

The new L-pod calf, L111!

The new calf with mom L47, Marina.

The weather was perfect for whale watching today. Our morning trip started out with us heading south through Rosario Straits. As we cruised toward Hein Bank to look for whales we spotted two tufted puffins along the way!! Just as Captain Carl was circling around to take another look at them he got a call that a boat had spotted orcas over by Deception Pass. So we turned around and cruised over there quickly. We got on scene with the orcas just northeast of Deception Pass heading north. It was a portion of L-pod and they were split up into two groups. The first group we visited included Racer, L72, Fluke, L105, Nigel, L95, Nugget, L55, and Lapsis, L103, among others. They appeared to be in a resting mode because they were bunched up pretty closely together. The next group we visited included Marina, L47, and her brand new baby L111, who was born just yesterday!!! Many other L-pod orcas were also in this group. There movements seemed to be focused around the new calf. At one point L111 turned around and swam south and all the other orcas swam right back to get the little one pointed back in the right direction, heading north again. We got some great looks at L111. One orca, bringing up the rear, did multiple tail slaps in a row as he approached the group with the new calf. Next we peeled off to look at Bird Rocks where we saw some harbor seals, lots of cormorants, black oystercatchers and pigeon guillemots. As we pulled away we also spotted a bald eagle perched on a reef marker, watching two seals fighting below him in the water. Next we cruised over to watch the orcas again at Guemes Island. By then the two groups had merged into one larger group and they were still going up and down pretty close together. One orca spy-hopped for us. As we said goodbye to L-pod a bald eagle flew right out in front of us. For our afternoon trip we cruised north to find the same L-pod group at the north end of Lummi Island. In 8 years of doing this I've never seen any of the resident orcas swim northward in the Rosario Straits/Bellingham Channel area like they did today. It must have had something to do with the new calf. We had fantastic views of the L-pod group all bunched up together for the entire afternoon trip. We saw lots of the new calf again, and the lighting was fantastic on the orcas as the sun was going down. On the way back home we made a few stops to look at bald eagles and one bald eagle nest. What an exciting day for us and an exciting day for L-pod. Naturalist Bart Rulon

The New Calf s

New Calf in L Pod Confirmed! - Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Our guests are enjoying the company of some of the youngest members of the Southern Resident Orcas out near Cattle Pass! Stay tuned for the exciting news of L111 from Naturalist Kate Janes!

Just An Itch (Steller Sea Lion)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Fresh Catch (Nugget L55 with Salmon)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Two Mouth Fulls (Nugget L55 & Racer L72 both with Salmon in their mouths)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Curious Youngster (L109)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"We left port under blue skies and a quickly warming day! At the end of Guemes Channel we encountered fog that lingered with us until Cattle Pass when the hard working sun lifted the fog! As the fog lifted we began to see the black dorsal fins of Southern Resident Orcas!! When we came on scene with the whales they were inshore milling, then quickly they all began coming off shore. This back and forth between onshore & offshore continued as we sat and watched the "dance" which was unfolding before us! Marina (L47), Moonlight (L83), Muncher (L91) and little L110 broke away from the milling and began heading northward. This gave us a great opportunity to parallel the group giving our guests great photo opportunities! We left the whales as a majority of them were still milling out in the Strait of Juan de Fuca! As we ventured back towards Anacortes we found a small Minke Whale near Whale Rocks! How appropriate! We also found the first Steller Sea Lion of the year! Reminding us that September is just around the corner! The evening brought us back into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and as we entered we found 2 Brown Pelicans sitting on the water! This was only the start to a fantastic evening! As we grew closer to the Orca Whales news traveled over the radio that Marina (L47) had become a mother for the 6th time, having given birth to L111 in the last 24 hours!! Marina has not only had six calves but is also a grandmother to her eldest daughter, Moonlight (L83), who gave birth to her first calf L110 this time last year! We found a portion of L pod near Eagle Point milling about in a very playful and curious manor! Racer (L72) & Nugget (L55) appeared off our stern both with a salmon in each of their mouths!!! Then little L109 appeared closeby as we witnessed possible foodsharing between Racer, Nugget and the calf! Little L109 made a huge spyhopp off our stern exposing its salmon stained chin!! Playing about nearby was Fluke (L105), Racer's first born, who spyhopped 6 times!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Marina (L47), L111, Moonlight (L83), & Moonlight's calf L110

** It wasn't until further inspection of the photos taken from the morning trip that tucked in between Marina & Moonlight was a very small calf, L111!! In the photo you can barely see a very small dorsal fin wedged between its mother and older sister! Its birth was confirmed by our evening trip!

Orcas All Throughout the Islands! - Monday, August 11, 2008

The Island Explorer 3 is enjoying Orca Whales out in the San Juan Islands! Stay tuned for updates from Naturalist Kate Janes!

A Watery Playground

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Spieden's Curiosity (J8)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Synchronized Siblings (Cappuccino K21 & Raggedy K40)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"The south end of Lopez Island welcomed us into the Strait of Juan de Fuca! We neared Colville Island where we found a pair of Marbled Murreletts! These small endangered seabirds are a rare sighting in the San Juan Islands as we only have a few mated pairs in the area! Just north of False Bay we visited with a portion of L pod! Spirit and one of her sons, Skanna, were milling just off shore from San Juan Island. After some very long down times we watched as Skanna worked against the current! He slowly rolled through the water and eventually became more surface active giving our guests great looks as his exhalations bubbled from under the water! As we began to leave scene an orca began porpoising in towards shore and us!! We stopped watching as it met a boat wake and porpoised right through it!! Our journey lead us back to Lopez Island where in its shallow waters surrounding Castle Rock a Belted Kingfisher was found flying along its shoreline. We also found 12 Turkey Vultures soaring overhead and perched on the rock looking down at us! The afternoon took us northward up Bellingham Channel and into the Strait of Georgia! Just south of Point Roberts we found the rest of the Southern Resident Orca Whales! We found J, K and the rest of L Pod in the flat calm waters in the fading light of the day! We first visited with Granny, Ruffles & Spieden swimming slowly across the strait towards East Point! After a time without warning Spieden spyhopped!! Then moments later she spyhopped again! They continued on through a riptide as we watched Slick and her brood following right behind the elders of J pod! Little J42 began breaching and taillobing near her older brother Mike! We could see whales for miles as they all made their way in our direction! Our last visit was with Cappuccino (K21) and his sister Raggedy (K40)! We left as the whales continued towards East Point and the Canadian Gulf Islands!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Superpod!!

The Island Explorer 3 is on-scene with all three Orca Whale Pods!! Stay tuned for an update from Naturalist Jami Nagel and click here to see the location of the Orca Whales from space! "Our 9:30 am tour was treated to a Superpod this morning. We had to go the distance today end up just east of Race rocks. The whales were very active with lots of breaches and numerous spyhops! We had some great looks at Mega (L-pod) and also Ruffles. Ruffles gave us a great spyhop. We also had a bald eagle on swirl rocks and lots of harbor seals sprawled out on the rocks.

Our 3:30 trip we headed for the west side of San Juan Island were the whales were spread out at Lime Kiln north. After passing the lighthouse at Lime Kiln the whales were active. We were fortunate to see 2 whales mating just off the stern of the boat. As the whales headed north we were treated to some great porpoising (speed swimming, the whales can get up to speeds of 30 mph at short burst!!). We end the trip with a scenic ride through the inner island with a beautiful sunset."

A Grey Day and Very Active Orcas!!

Naturalist Kate Janes reports from on board the Island Explorer 3 as they spent the day with members of J pod Orcas out in the Strait of Juan de Fuca!! Stay tuned for the details of their adventures! "Our first major find of the day was a mature Bald Eagle perched on a sign posted on the shores of Colville Island! We were nearing the end of Lopez Island when two dark figured flew nearby, after a doubletake it was realized that the two figures were 2 Brown Pelicans in flight!! We followed their direction towards the south end of San Juan Island. It was just north of False Bay where we found members of J pod Orcas and Faith (L57)! In the grey of the day we watched Oreo's subpod playfully enjoying the day. Heading northward we found Slick and her offspring Mike, Keet, Alki and the newest member of J pod little J42, who will be receiving her second name mid-September! Upon our return to the dock we found Washington's state ship, The Lady Washington, in Padilla Bay with its companion ship the Hawaiian Chieftain in preparation for a mock battle! Our afternoon trip started with a literal bang! We entered Padilla Bay as the tall ships Lady Washington & the Hawaiian Chieftain were in the middle of their mock battle in Padilla Bay! Captain Carl lined up for quite a photo opportunity for our guests as we watched and listened to the canons blast in the nearby waters! Our first Bald Eagle of the trip was found on a sign on Colville Island! We arrived on scene with J pod and Faith (L57) just as the rain came! It drizzled for a time as we enjoyed the Orcas playing in the rain seeming to enjoy the shower! It wasn't long when the rain stopped making it all worth while as a rainbow appeared just above the playful Orcas lingering over Whidbey Island!! The glass calm waters, high spirited whales and a brilliant rainbow equals picture perfection! We left Oreo's subpod, Samish, Riptide, Blackberry, Faith just south of Hein Bank! What an end to an incredible day!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Orca Whales Sighted by Island Explorer 3!

Our guests are watching Orca Whales and lots of other wildlife too, from The Island Explorer 3! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details on today's tour from Naturalist Kate Janes and click here to see the location of the Orca Whales from space! "From the dock we ventured into the inner islands heading towards Cattle Pass at the south end of San Juan Island! Shortly after entering the Strait of Juan de Fuca we were enjoying the company of Orca Whales! We watched as a group of males milled close to the shoreline just north of False Bay. They without warning turned southbound and offshore at a very quick pace! The whales change of direction was a favorable one for us as we would ultimately need to head south on our return home. We paralleled the tightly formed group watching as their activity exploded into a series of breaches & taillobes!! This gave our guests fantastic looks and allowing them a glimpse of the Orca's athleticism!! We eventually had to leave the whales and return back to the dock! We stopped on our way back at the south end of Lopez Island, where we found a mature Bald Eagle perched on Colville Island high above hauled-out Harbor Seals! We started the afternoon trip enjoying a visit with a mature Bald Eagle on Cap Sante Pointe overlooking Anacortes! Guemes Channel delivered us into Rosario Strait that brought us to the door of the inner islands at Thatcher Pass. We made our way south down Upright Channel and back into the Strait of Juan de Fuca! We found the Orcas of J pod closely grouped involved in some playtime! We watched as their tight groupings broke up as individuals dispersed! Shortly after the dispersal Ruffles appeared in a flash of activity as he pursued a salmon off our port side!! Our guests watched in wonder as his over 6 ft. tall dorsal fin zigged and zagged rapidly through the water!! Other whales we enjoyed the company of included Blackberry, Polaris, Faith & Princess Angeline! We eventually left the whales returning to the inner islands where a Bald Eagle flew the boat on our port side while on the starboard side a Peregrine Falcon soared!! What a day!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Orca Whales in Haro Strait!

The youngest member of the Transient orca pod we saw this morning.

Click here to see the location of the Orca Whales from our satellite system and stay tuned to the Whale Report for an update from Naturalist Bart Rulon! This morning we got word that some orcas were coming in from the south end of Vancouver Island heading east. Because of windy weather and foggy conditions to the south we decided to work our way toward the orcas by going through the inner San Juan Islands. That turned out to be the right decision because we had calm seas and no fog there. We also saw several bald eagles along the way, and some harbor seals too. Once we got out into Haro Strait the sea conditions had gotten a little better than we expected. We found the orcas just across the border in Canada between Vancouver Island and San Juan Island. It turns out these orcas were transients!! I was excited because these are the first transient orcas I've seen all year. It was T20 and the T90's. T20 is a big male and he was following the T90 group closely. The T90 group had one calf that appeared to be around 2-3 years old. They all gave us some great viewing as we parallel viewed them for about 45 minutes. The calf was coming high out of the water to clear the swells. Passengers were amazed at how large T20 was!! We took a different route back home around the south end of Lopez Island since the water conditions had improved.

3:30pm Trip
The Transient orcas we had on our morning trip kept moving north out of our range for the second trip so we planned to look for resident orcas. We went around the south end of Lopez Island and eventually found J-pod just offshore from Eagle Point on San Juan Island. They were spread out pretty well, and milling around. They were gradually working their way toward shore. Just as captain Michael was setting us up for some viewing with the sun behind our backs a flock of about ten brown pelicans flew right in front of our bow at very close range!! By then J-pod was grouping up a little more and we started seeing many of them surfacing at the same time. J16, Slick's, family was there including Mike, 26, Alki, J36, Keet J33, and J42. I also saw Polaris, J28, Shachi, J19, and Eclipse, J41. Other J-pod orcas were seen at a distance. They appeared to be doing some playing around and we did see one orca breach and another do a cartwheel!! After we said goodbye to J-pod we decided to take a different route home through the inner San Juan Islands entering at Cattle Pass. We stopped at the bald eagle's nest on Decatur Island and watched the Eaglet still in the nest waiting to take his first flight. His parents were perched on the northeastern point of Decatur. We pulled around the southwest side of James Island and looked at another adult bald eagle perched high on a snag there. That was a great way to end a great day. Naturalist Bart Rulon

Orca Whales Near South Lopez Island!

A big spyhop. It was one of many today!!

A J-pod orca syphop right next to Ruffles, J1

Just West of Rosario Strait, The Island Explorer 3 is on-scene with J-Pod! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for an update from Naturalist Bart Rulon and click here to see the location of the Orca Whales from space! We Didn't have to go far to find whales today. Within 30 minutes of leaving the dock we found J-pod orcas swimming in a tight resting group on the east side of James and Decatur Islands. Faith, L57, was also swimming with J-pod. They swam very close to the shore at James Island and to our surprise a bald eagle swooped down amongst the orcas as if to grab one of them!!! Perhaps the orcas must have spooked up a salmon too close to the surface. The eagle extended his talons as if to make the grab but pulled away just a few feet from the water's surface as the orcas were coming up. Soon J-pod started to spread out and several orcas started spyhopping over the span of 15 minutes. It looked like they were waking up. Next, we pulled away from the orcas for a while to look at some other wildlife. We checked out a pelagic cormorant nesting colony on Lopez Island and looked at a bald eagle near his nest on Decatur Island. We joined back up with J-pod at the south end of Lopez Island, and they were getting more and more lively. We saw several big spyhops, some orcas started porpoising, and at the end of our visit four different orcas breached several times in a row. On our way back we stopped at Swirl Rocks to look at several harbor seals hauled out on the rocks, and a pair of bald eagles were perched side by side on the top of the island. What an incredible day we had!!!!
Naturalist Bart Rulon

Sunshine and Orca Whales!

The Island Explorer 3 is on-scene with the Orca Whales! Check back for details on today's tour from Naturalist Kate Janes and click here to see the location of the Orca Whales from space! "The inner islands lead us today to the Southern Resident Orca Whales! Traveling between Decatur & Blakely Island we enjoyed a sunny ride past the Lopez Ferry terminal as Pigeon Guillemots played in the waters nearby. We navigated south down Upright Channel where we entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca at Cattle Pass. It was just south of False Bay where we found the Orcas of J pod! We spent our time visiting with Oreo's family & Blossom's children as they milled about just off the shores of San Juan Island! Tsuchi swam along our port side giving our guests great looks and an opportunity to listen to her exhalations! She lead us to Oreo, Doublstuff and Cookie who were just ahead! Right when we were about to head farther offshore to visit with Blackberry & Mako, the whales we were visiting with apparently had the same idea as they began heading in the same direction!! We eventually had to leave the Orcas and ventured home through the waters surrounding the south end of Lopez Island! It was at Castle Rock where we found playing Pigeon Guillemots, Harbor Seals, and a couple of Black-tail Deer grazing on Lopez Island! Our afternoon trip brought us back into the inner islands, but unlike our morning trip we made a stop near Friday Harbor! This stop wasn't for shopping but for Orcas!! We found a group of Transient Orcas (the kind that eat marine mammals) heading east along Shaw Island! Among the resting whales was T20, a large male with a dorsal fin standing over 6 feet tall! Our guests were in for a treat, which was definately a first for all of the crew, as we headed south into the Strait of Juan de Fuca leaving the Transients in Upright Channel as they milled in the riptide! Our guests enjoyed a double header consisting of both races of Orcas that occur in this area (Transients & Residents)!! We found members of J pod milling about just south of Eagle Point! The Residents where in quite a playful mood as Blackberry, Tsuchi & Mako rolled about doing bellyroll after bellyroll! It wasn't long before young Doublestuff joined in on their fun! Before we knew it we were surrounded as they circled the boat as if the whales wanted a closer look at us! We left the whales eventually as they began heading north towards False Bay! We turned south and returned to port through Rosario Strait!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

J & L pods on both trips today

We had perfect weather conditions for both of our trips today with calm seas and sunny skies. For our morning trip we cruised through the inner San Juan Islands to begin with. Along the way we spotted several bald eagles, harbor seals, turkey vultures, pigeon guillemots, and rhinoceros auklets. We went around the north end of San Juan Island and found J & L pods just north of Lime Kiln park. The first orcas we saw were Mike, J26, following around Baba, L26, and Ballena, L90. We got distracted by several planes flying in formation around and around over near Victoria. There must have been some sort of air show going on over there. In the distance we saw several breaches from young orcas. In the end we spotted Blackberry, J27, and we drove over to take a look at him. He gave us some great up close looks before we had to depart for the dock. In Rosario Straits we had a pleasant surprise, as the Lady Washington was sailing. Captain Al lined us up perfectly for photos of The tall ship with Mount Baker in the background. For our Afternoon trip we spotted a great blue heron stalking the shoreline and a bald eagle perched high on a rock within three minutes of the dock. In Rosario Straits we spotted several harbor porpoise and harbor seals. We were headed toward the area we left the orcas this morning, but along the way Captain Michael and first mate Mark spotted a minke whale at the same time. We watched this whale for three sequences of surfacing. Soon we found the orcas south of Lime Kiln Park. The first orca we came across was Faith, L57. He was changing directions often and it looked like he was chasing fish. Soon Baba, L26, and Ballena, L90 curved over and gave us a great close up look. Toward the end of our visit we spotted another lone male in the distance. We cruised over to take a look and found that it was Blackberry, J27, and he looked to be chasing fish with his quick direction changes. Mount Baker, the Olympic Mountains, and Mount Rainier were all visible in full view today. Naturalist Bart Rulon

Orca Whales Off Cypress Island!

The Orca Whales were sighted just east of Cypress Island, heading south through Bellingham Channel - that means another close pass, right in front of Anacortes! Today, the Island Explorer 3 was reserved for a private charter and is on Lake Washington, watching the Navy's Blue Angels and the Hydroplane races! She'll be back in Anacortes tonight and our next tour will be 9:30AM on Monday, August 4th!

Orca Whales At Hein Bank!

The Island Explorer 3 and her guests are on-scene with J-Pod and part of L-Pod! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details from Naturalist Jami Nagel and click here to see the location of the Orca Whales from space! "We headed out today on our 9:30 trip in search for whales. Captain Carl took us around the south end of Lopez Island were we found our first whale species. We found a young Minke whale feeding near the south end. We were able to see him surface several times and then we were off to our next whale species, Orcas!!! Today was a double-header!! We caught up with J-pod heading north at Hein Bank. As we arrived on scene we were just in time to watch several whales make their way through some kelp! The frolicked and played in the kelp as they pasted. We call this kelping:) We stayed with the J2 subpod which consists of Granny (J2), her granddaughter Samish and Samish's offspring; Riptide, Hy'shqa and Suttles. The youngsters were playing and wrestling around at the surface. Ruffles J1 was not far behind (Granny's son). On our return trip back were slowed down to enjoy the beauty of the Southend of Lopez and saw several harbor seals with their pups and pigeon guillemots all paired up.

For our 3:30 trip Captain Al took us through the inner Islands for some amazing scenary. The whales took us into the Canadian Gulf Islands where we watched J-pod slowly making their way north along Pender Island. We had the joy of watching the youngest member of J-pod, J42 (she should get her name this summer sometime) and her older sibling Alki frolicking at the surface as they slowing followed their older brother Mike. J42 showed off her porpoising abilities quite nicely for us as she raced back and forth between Mike and Alki. We also had some great looks at Blackberry and his little brother Mako as they trailed the rest of J-pod. On our way home back through the inner islands were had several harbor seal slashing around showing off for the ladies. We are in pupping season right now which coincides with breeding season for our harbor seals.

Orcas on the west side of San Juan Island

Blackberry, J27, Breaches during our morning trip!

9:30am
We started out our trip with lots of wildlife within the first 5 minutes. We had a bald eagle, a harbor seal mom with pup, pelagic cormorants, pigeon guillemots, and a belted kingfisher flew right in front of our bow. We got early word that orcas were spotted on the west side of San Juan Island. We headed in that direction and there was a fog bank we had to go through at the south end of Lopez Island. We did slow down to take a look at lots and lots of harbor seals hauled out on the rocks just off Colville Island. There were some seal pups mixed in with this group. We also spotted a pair of adult bald eagles perched on Colville Island. Soon their fledgling came flying in from above. He or she flew right in and started begging one of the adults for food. Before long that adult had enough of the begging and took flight just as we were pulling away. Luckily we broke out of the fog at the south end of San Juan Island near Salmon Bank, just as we found some J-pod orcas. They looked like they were chasing salmon around with lots of changes of direction. The first orca we watched fishing was Blackberry, J27. Then Oreo, J22, Cookie, J38, and DoubleStuf J34 entertained us as they swam in circles. At times it looked like they might be chasing salmon and at times it looked like they were just playing around. One of the three even spyhopped for us. The orcas swam north along the shore as we parallel viewed them along the way. We spent a lot of time watching Blackberry, and his sister, Tsuchi, J31 swimming along. Blackberry did one big breach at close range!! One young orca held his or her tail flukes up in the air as if to wave to us. That was a great way to say goodbye to J-pod this morning. Naturalist Bart Rulon

3:30pm
Just as we left the dock this afternoon we started out with an adult bald eagle perched high up on a rocky cliff on Fidalgo Island. Our orcas hadn't moved very far from their spot this morning so we took the same route around the south end of Lopez Island. The tide was coming up and we saw many harbor seals swimming around in the water. We finally found the orcas just north of Lime Kiln Park. L-pod orcas had come in from the west and joined up with J-pod. They were obviously happy to see each other because the orcas were very active. We got to see lots of breaches, spyhops, cartwheels, tail slaps, tail lobs, and just a whole lot of rolling around at the surface!! This was the most active I've seen the orcas so far this week. We saw too many J & L pod members to mention them all, but they included the adult males Faith, L57, and Ruffles, J1. We decided to take a return route through the inner San Juan Islands which were absolutely beautiful as the sun went down. We even managed to see more bald eagles as we cruised through the islands. The water was like a lake out there today to help make this whole day fantastic for watching wildlife. Naturalist Bart Rulon

Whale Watching Report

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Minke and Orca Whales on Today's Tour!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Orca Whales North of Saturna Island!

Friday, August 29, 2008

Orca Whales Sighted Near Salmon Bank

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Playful Transient Orcas Today!

Transient Orca Whales Sighted by Island Explorer 3!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Resident Orca Superpod and Transients

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

J, K & L Pods in the Strait of Juan de Fuca!

A Minke Monday! - Monday, August 25, 2008

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Curious Whales! - Friday, August 22, 2008

Minke and Orca Whales Sighted Today!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Orca Whale Super Pod and Breaching Minkes!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

J & L pods today

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

L-pod

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Minke Whale Lives Up To Its Nickname Stinky Minke! - Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Monday, August 18, 2008

Minke Whale off Salmon Bank! - Monday, August 18, 2008

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Minke and Orca Whales!

Super Pod in Our Backyard!! - Friday, August 15, 2008

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Orca Whales Right Off Our Dock!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Superpod on both trips!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

We see the new L-pod calf on both trips today!!

The New Calf s

New Calf in L Pod Confirmed! - Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Orcas All Throughout the Islands! - Monday, August 11, 2008

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Superpod!!

Saturday, August 9, 2008

A Grey Day and Very Active Orcas!!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Orca Whales Sighted by Island Explorer 3!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Orca Whales in Haro Strait!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Orca Whales Near South Lopez Island!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Sunshine and Orca Whales!

Monday, August 4, 2008

J & L pods on both trips today

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Orca Whales Off Cypress Island!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Orca Whales At Hein Bank!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Orcas on the west side of San Juan Island

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