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

Resident Orca Whales Spotted!

Our guests aboard the Island Explorer 3 are on their way to see our resident Orca whales! The report from our spotter says, "There are lots and lots of whales!" Stay tuned to the Whale Report to hear from our Naturalist Kate!

Boy Time (Cappuccino & Blackberry)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Last Goodbye

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Ferry + Orcas + Mount Baker = a perfect Washington photo

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"It was yet another brilliant September day and a wonderful way to end a fantastic month!! Under the blue sky we found Common Loons sitting outside the marina, a Great Blue Heron atop the breakwater and as we rounded Cap Sante Point the beautiful Mount Baker came into view! The Island Explorer 3 made its way southward down Rosario Strait where a mystical fog bank engulfed the boat! Stopping off at Minor Island located in the Strait of Juan de Fuca we found 20 or so Harbor Seals hauled out on its sandy shoreline, 2 Brown Pelicans, numerous Glaucous-winged Gulls, and Cormorants!! The fog broke as we approached the Keystone Ferry Terminal located mid-Whidbey Island exposing the heavily eroded western shores! It wasn't long after the fog lifted that lots of dorsal fins and exhalations came into view!! We had found a SUPER POD!! All 3 pods of the Southern Residents Orcas were moving northward- towards us!! Riptide (J30) was traveling alongside Granny (J2), who at 97 years old had the youngster at her flukes! We also saw Ruffles (J1), swimming with Princess Angeline, Polaris, and Skagit (a K pod female) all swimming closely grouped up! Over 80 whales could be seen from mid-channel clear to the shoreline! The whales were sure active as they breached, did repeated taillobes, spyhopps, bellyrolls, backdives and porpoising! We saw it all and with some very curious whales we had some close encounters! Little Rainshadow changed direction quickly, seemingly curious about our guests on the bow!! Later we saw Ruffles and Blackberry in persuit of Skagit attempting to win her affections!! What a day! Lots of whales, calm water, and blue skies made this day picture perfect! Thanks to Captain Carl we got the quintescential Washington photo with Orcas in the foreground, the Keystone/Port Townsend Ferry in frame with Mount Baker in the background! It didn't end there, for after leaving the whales we found a Northern Elephant Seal eating a Salmon at the surface!! Also seen today were hundreds of Harbor Porpoise, Common Murres, Rhinoceros Auklets and Bonapart's Gulls!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Four Minke Whales Spotted Today.

The weather conditions couldn't have been more ideal than they were today. It was sunny and the water was like glass everywhere. That made for lots of wildlife sightings today. In Rosario Straits we could see harbor porpoises all over the place. We slowed down at Colville Island to look at a bunch of harbor seals hauled out on the rocks there, and a bald eagle was perched on the national wildlife refuge sign there too. Shortly after we got back up to speed we spotted a Steller sea lion in the water. We circled around to look at him and captain Carl spotted our first mike whale of the day close by. This whale was coming up slowly with his rostrum coming completely out of the water each time he surfaced. We watched this whale for a while and he gave us several good views before we continued our journey westward. There was plenty of bird activity at the surface and it wasn't long before I spotted another mike whale amongst the birds. We watched this whale for a while before moving on. Another ten minutes went by and Carl spotted another mike whale out at the other side of Hein Bank. This one seemed to be the biggest whale of the day. On our way back toward Lopez Island we spotted a fourth minke whale at Salmon Bank! At Lopez Island we cruised close by Swirl Rocks to look at another bald eagle perched on the top of the island, and we also saw a great blue heron hunting on the bull kelp. At Castle Island we slowed down and watched 6 harbor seals hanging out on the rocks at close range, and we saw a belted kingfisher flying around too. All four of the minke whales gave us a good show today. The weather and all the other wildlife was like icing on the cake.
Naturalist Bart Rulon

September 27th, 2008

The Island Explorer 3 headed toward the south end of Lopez Island under beautiful, sunny skies on glass calm water! A great surprise starting out was to see a Brown Pelican gliding just inches over the water. We soon came upon two Minke Whales and watched them hunt for fish! One was very large, about 22 feet, and friendly so our guests got to see some great close passes made by the whale. Captain Carl continued cruising toward Hein Bank to find 3-4 more Minke Whales!! Our guests also got to see Common Murres, Cormorants (Pelagic and Double Crested), Heerman's Gulls, Marbled Murrelets, Bald Eagles, and Pigeon Guillemots!

Naturalist Vicki Kirkland

Dall's Porpoise Pretend to be the Southern Resident Orcas!!

"Our day started on one incredible note!! We not only had a couple of Harbor Seals biding for the same rock to haul out on, right outside the marina, but we also have a mature Bald Eagle peering down at us from atop Cap Sante Point!! This all happened within minutes of departing the dock!! Entering into Rosario Strait we found some very surface active Harbor Porpoise, a handful of Marbled Murreletts swimming side-by-side, and an entire colony of Double-crested Cormorants on Birds Rocks!! The Island Explorer 3 ventured into the shallow waters near Colville Island where we found another Bald Eagle, this time perched on top of wildlife refuge sign posted on its shores!! Just below a few Harbor Seals were warming up on the rocky outcroppings, while up on the island we saw 12 Turkey Vultures just sitting and over 30 flying off in the distance over Lopez Island!! As we made our way through the Strait of Juan de Fuca a group of Dall's Porpoise bombarded the boat- seemingly having a great time bow riding as we cruised at 13 knots!! Some of our guests even got sprayed as they surfaced for a quick exhalation!! They carried on playing alongside the boat for at least 10 minutes leading us right to the Orca Whales!!! We first encountered Blackberry (J27) cruising southward before he turned back for a closer inspection of the boat!! We watched as this young 17 year old male worked for a salmon before having some fun with his smaller relative the Dall's Porpoise who decided to try "bow riding" on his rostrum!! A very rare sight!!! The one Dall's Porpoise hung out with Blackberry before trying out another whale before returning again! It wasn't long before Blackberry's attention was diverted from the porpoise to a female Orca!! Their quick direction and behavior change took us off guard and with our engines off we watched as they broke the surface right off our stern in some x-rated activity!! They lingered under the surface close enough we could see their white portions as their bodies fused under the water!! Witnessing the creation of possibly the next generation of Orcas is something quite special!! Our adventure wasn't over we had some great looks at Ruffles (J1) as he gracefully surfaced and a female with her calf even ventured over for a close encounter!! WHAT A DAY!!! After saying our goodbye's to the Orcas we took the scenic route through the inner islands!!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

J and L pod orcas in Boundary Pass

We started our journey today with a bald eagle sighting right off the bat outside Cap Sante Marina. We decided to work our way through the inner San Juan Islands, and north to get the best chance to find whales today. Our resident pods were found heading southwest in Boundary Pass. We arrived on the scene and orcas seemed to be everywhere. They were spread out over several miles. We saw mostly J-pod, and L-pod orcas, but other boats on scene also saw K-pod orcas too. The first big group of orcas we paralleled included Ruffles, J1, Granny, J2, Blackberry, J27, Polaris, J28, and others. One orca did a big cartwheel from that group! Soon we could see orcas in all directions. We saw a steady stream of orca breaches during our entire visit! Toward the end our our time with the orcas we had the engines shut down and a group came in behind us chasing fish at the surface. Mystery L85 sliced through the water after a fish, then he changed directions and swam over to us, giving all our passengers great views of his big dorsal fin. Other wildlife we spotted today included harbor porpoises, harbor seals, rhinoceros auklets, Canada geese, turkey vultures, pelagic cormorants, double-crested cormorants, Brandt's cormorants, a belted kingfisher, and a common loon. It was a great day! Naturalist Bart Rulon

J-Pod Sighted This Morning!

The Island Explorer 3 is headed into the Salish Sea to see Orca Whales! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details on today's adventure from Naturalist Bart Rulon. 2:15PM update: Captain Carl just called in to report that the Island Explorer 3 is on-scene with a Superpod! Yes, indeed, a superpod of J, K and L pod orcas came in from way out west today. They were grouped up in several small and large groups when we arrived. We mostly saw L-pod and J-pod orcas from our location. The group we spent the most amount of time with included Saanich, L74, Skana, L79, Solstice, L89, and a couple of unidentified females. on many occasions they all surfaced at the same time, making for some great photo opportunities. As the orcas got closer and closer to the San Juan Island shoreline they all started to spread out and look for fish. One orca did a cartwheel, and another, young orca breached five times in a row in the distance! It was harder to keep track of the orcas as they spread out to do some fishing, but Saanich surprised us all by swimming right over to us. Captain Carl shut down the engines, and Saanich proceeded to swim right under our bow pulpit. Passengers on the bow were all amazed! They were able to look right down on this big male orca! Other orcas we saw included Blackberry, J27, Ruffles, J1, Flash, L73and many more. On our way back to the dock we cruised through the inner San Juan Islands and saw two big steller sea lions in Cattle Pass. Other wildlife sightings today included all three species of cormorants, harbor porpoises, harbor seals, common loons, common murres, marbled murrelets, and rhinoceros auklets. We had some rain but it didn't keep the wildlife away!! Naturalist Bart Rulon

Minke Whale in an Unexpected Location!!

"A beautiful broken blue sky welcomed us into Guemes Channel as puffy white clouds dotted the sky! Once in the channel we found a Common Loon, Harbor Porpoise, juvenile Pigeon Guillemots and a number of Pelagic Cormorants perched on a channel marker! The Island Explorer 3 made its way into the protected waters of the inner islands through Thatcher Pass! In the calm water we found Washington State Ferries coming and going from the 4 island ports in the San Juans, Harbor Seals swimming along side the boat, Marbled Murreletts swimming side-by-side, and a huge Great Blue Heron flying! As we turned into San Juan Channel first mate Michael found a Minke Whale swimming the shoreline of Shaw Island! It took us a few minutes to determine what the Minke Whale was doing and where he planning on going! When he resurfaced he was mid-channel heading towards San Juan Island!! As we repositioned the whale surfaced multiple times showing off its sickled shaped dorsal fin! Once across the channel it seemed that the whale began to get comfortable with our presence as it gave us some great close passes and became consistently very surface active! In the glow of the sun the whales exhalation was illuminated before quickly disappearing! Soon after spending some quality time with the friendly Minke we departed heading past Turn Island and southward towards Cattle Pass! Across from the Cattle Point Lighthouse we found about 12 Steller Sea Lions hauled out on Whale Rocks! One big male even showed our guests how to enter gracefully into the water, as he backed in slowly!! One of our final stops was at the south end of Lopez Island where we found a mature Bald Eagle perched on Swirl Rocks and Harbor Seals hauled out!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Transient Orca Whales Near Race Rocks!

The Island Explorer 3 headed well to the west of Victoria, through some rain, with calm seas, to show our guests Orca Whales! Stay tuned for an update from Naturalist Kate Janes to hear about these Orca Whales and other wildlife (Lots of Stellar Sea Lions!) seen on today's adventure!

Transients in Canadian Water

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Guardian Steller at Race Rocks

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"Although our start to the day began in the Washington liquid sunshine it didn't keep the wildlife from coming out of the woodwork!! In the bay just outside of the marina we found 2 Common Loons and a Double-crested Cormorants fishing for baitfish! Entering into Guemes Channel we were fortunate to get a unique look at the BMW Oracle trimaran hauled out onto a barge, with its mast dismantled for easy relocation on a barge that will transport the racing boat to California! We continued our journey down Rosario Strait where we found a mature Bald Eagle perched proudly on the National Wildlife Refuge sign on Colville Island! How appropriate! We ventured further into the Strait of Juan de Fuca towards the city of Victoria! Our long journey was worth it when we found 5 Transient Orcas hugging the shoreline of Vancouver Island! They not only effortlessly made their way through the water by swam through narrow passages between small rocky islands! Their exhalations appeared white against the dark grey backdrop of the water! As we departed all 5 whales came together disappearing into the watery depths for a long deep dive! We did make a quick stop by the Race Rocks Lighthouse, since it isn't too often (typically once a year) we find ourselves this far west, where we took in the beautiful structure and over 30 Steller Sea Lions hauled out on its shoreline! There were even a number of Sea Lions that wrestled about in the frigid water near rafts of Bull Kelp floating atop the water! To top off a wonderful adventure we found a Minke Whale upon our return to Rosario Strait (making the trip a doubleheader!) and the grand finale of a rainbow appeared just as we entered into the marina!! Also seen on our journey included: Harbor Seals, Common Murres, Marbled Murreletts, Harbor Porpoise, Heereman's Gulls, and Glaucous-winged Gulls!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Transient Orca Whales At Hein Bank!

The T-30 group was sighted today by the Island Explorer 3! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details on our adventure from Naturalist Kate Janes!! "We hadn't even left the marina when we saw our first wildlife of our journey!! Just outside the breakwater 2 Common Loons were seen diving for their lunch as we continued towards the point! Alongside Cap Sante Point our guests enjoyed looks at a mature Bald Eagle perched high in a snag! The day progressively got better as we enjoyed a rare sighting of a Brown Pelican in Bellingham Channel, a swimming Steller's Sea Lion, 2 Black-tail Deer feeding on Boulder Island, Red-necked Grebes, 3 Great Blue Herons, over 20 Marbled Murreletts, hundreds of Common Murres, Western Grebes, Rhinoceros Auklets, Harbor & Dall's Porpoise quickly swimming through the icy water! We ventured through the glassy water of the Strait of Juan de Fuca towards Hein Bank where we found a group of Transient Orcas!! A group of 4 Orcas swam milling about changing directions frequently!! When we first arrived on scene the male was traveling in close proximity to a female and a small calf with one female traveling towards San Juan Island on her own! We watched their short respiration cycles as their exhalations lingered only moments before dissipating! Then on their long deep dive we watched guessing where they would next appear! Even on their deep dives they never seemed to travel too far from their last surfacing as they continued slowly making their way around Hein Bank! Our last visit with the Orcas gave us great looks after the 4 reunited swimming along our port side!! On our way back towards the dock we stopped at Castle Rock where we saw Harbor Seals hauled out on the rocks, Great Blue Herons, and even a Belted Kingfisher patrolling its rocky territory!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Orcas and minke whales today!

J2, Granny chasing a salmon.

Granny catches the salmon!

A close up of the salmon tail.

K42 and mom, K14, Lea.

Gray skies didn't dampen our spirits today. Resident orcas returned today and gave us a great show. Our wildlife viewing started out really well as we worked south through Rosario Straits. There we saw pelagic cormortants, double crested cormorants, harbor porpoises, rhinoceros auklets, common murrres, and red-necked phalaropes. At Colville Island we watched a bald eagle preening its tail feathers while it was perched on a national wildlife refuge sign. Lots of harbor seals were hauled out on the rocks on Colville Island too. Just as we pulled away from Colville Island we saw a big footprint appear right next to the boat. We slowed down hoping it would surface again to see what it was. A few minutes later a minke whale surfaced. It was the smallest minke whale I've ever seen out here. It surfaced many more times and gave us a few really close up looks before we said goodbye in order to look for the resident orcas. Soon we found our resident orcas just offshore from False Bay swimming southward. It was J and K pods mixed together but spread out over miles. They were actively feeding, and we saw several orcas swimming around in circles in hot pursuit of salmon. Granny, J2, chased down and caught a salmon (see photos), and Ruffles, J1 appeared to do the same. Other orcas we watched at close range included K12, Sequim, K37, Rainshadow, K22, Sekiu, and K26, Lobo, and K33, Tika. K37 breached for us once at close range, and K33 spyhopped right next to Ruffles! Just before we said goodbye to the orcas, captain Carl moved us in for some great views of Lea, K14, and her newest calf K42 (see photos). On the way back toward the dock we managed to find yet another minke whale at the south end of Lopez Island. This was definitely a larger mike whale than the first one we saw! What a great day! Naturalist Bart Rulon

J and K Pod Orca Whales and Minke Whales Too!

Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details on today's adventure from Naturalist Bart Rulon!

Transient Orcas Today

One of several breaches today!!

Two orcas wave goodbye to us!!

We had some good wildlife sightings as soon as we left the dock today. A great blue heron was perched on the breakwater of Cap Sante Marina, and he flew right over a common loon feeding in the water below. We decided to start our trip by cruising through the inner San Juan Islands today. At James Island we spotted a bald eagle perched on a tree. On our way through the San Juans we spotted several harbor seals on the rocks and in the water. As we entered Boundary Pass we saw lots and lots of harbor porpoises. It seemed like the porpoises were everywhere. We were in Canada by the time we caught up with 7 transient orcas just east of Active Pass. They had been steadily moving north, but they slowed down and started milling around in one spot just as we arrived on the scene. They were becoming very active and behaving as if they had just made a kill, but we couldn't tell for sure. During our visit with the orcas they spyhopped several times and did many breaches. Even the big male breached for us once. The male appeared to be courting a female as they swam alone most of the time as the rest of the pod played around about 75 yards away. The group of females and young was rolling around, spyhopping, tailslapping, and lunging out of the water on several occasions. We did see a lot of tail lobs today and just before we departed the scene two orcas held their tail flukes in the air at the same time as if to wave goodbye to us. It was a great transient orca show and the orcas didn't hardly move at all the whole time we were watching them. They just milled around in the same spot. On our way back to the dock we saw many more harbor porpoises, and we saw found a big Steller sea lion sitting proudly on a rock off of Sucia Island. The widllife sightings were great today, and the weather was perfect too!! Naturalist Bart Rulon

Witnessing History!

In the Stillness (T19B subpod)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Learning (tagging T19B)
Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"Exiting the marina this afternoon we found a lounging Harbor Seal teetering just barely out of the water on a small boulder! Rounding Cap Sante Point the beautiful Mount Baker came into view surrounded by a sea of blue sky!! It wasn't long before we saw exhalations of 4 Orcas making their way through our very own backyard moving northward up Rosario Strait! As we approached the Transient Orcas a small research vessel was seen nearby. Researchers from N.O.A.A. were partnering with Cascadia Research out of Olympia, WA working towards putting satellite transmitters the dorsal fins of Transient Orcas in order to better understand their movements throughout their 900 mile home range! We watched as the boat allowed the whales to feel comfortable with its presence! Just off the shores of Blakely Island after close to 30 minutes of us watching their "dance" play out it finally happened! As T19B surfaced just off their bow a very small transmitter went flying through the air and safely found its new home on his dorsal fin! The foursome ventured away from Blakely's shoreline before heading back towards Peavine Pass! After some great close encounters with the Transients we peeled away heading through Obstruction Pass! Along Orcas Islands shoreline we found Harbor Seals smartly hauled out on the rocks and a Great Blue Heron perched on some Bull Kelp! After a tour around Obstruction Island we met back up with the Orcas for one last goodbye before heading back out into Rosario Strait through Peavine Pass! One of our last stops on our journey was Peapod Rocks where we found over 50 Harbor Seals avoiding the Transient Orcas by sitting atop the rocks! Working the shoreline looking for a meal was a Black Oystercatcher looking for of course Oysters!! It was amazing not only having the beautiful day, Orcas in our backyard and the icing on the cake was watching only the second satellite transmitter for this study to be placed on a Transient Orca in this region!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Perfect Conditions and Whales Everywhere!!

Surprise Encounter! (Sekiu K2)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Orca & Dall's Porpoise! (Grace L2)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Seal in Kelp

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

The Grand Finale

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"Our wildlife excursion began as soon as we were off the dock with a Harbor Seal hauled out on a small rock outcropping! Watching the small penniped awkwardly maneuver atop the rock we continued towards Cap Sante Point where we saw 2 Great Blue Herons perched on its rocky shoreline! Our wildlife sightings continued into Guemes Channel with a juvenile Common Loon, Rhinoceros Auklets, Pelagic & Double-crested Cormorants in its waters as we ventured towards Thatcher Pass and the inner islands of the San Juans. Under blue skies and the brilliant warm sun we traveled towards Haro Strait and found the Orca Whales of the Southern Residents heading in a south eastern direction!! The first whales we encountered was Princess Angeline, Polaris and Tahlequah making quick movements, porpoising out of the water at high speeds! On the glass calm waters whales could be seen rising to the surface as far as the eye could see!! We gradually made our way through the "whale soup" when suddenly Sekiu (K22) appeared near the boat! She swam off our bow turning quickly while under the water to make yet another close appearance!! This allowed our guests to actually see her white portions from under the water! After this close encounter we revisited with Princess Angeline's family before finding Grace (L2) playing with Dall's Porpoise a sight that is extremely uncommon!! We watched as the porpoise seemed to be "bow riding", if you will, off Grace's rostrum!! The Dall's Porpoise rooster tails marked the location where Grace would reappear! We spent the next 20 minutes attempting to make our way out of the so called "whale soup", but it seemed that they weren't through visiting with us!! Eventually we did break away making our way towards the south end of Lopez Island. Just when our guests thought they had their last visit with the Orcas another 20 whales were spotted heading north up Bellingham Channel!!! Tightly grouped they traveled at a slow pace taillobing, spyhopping, backdiving and bellyrolling as our grand finale!! The wildlife escorted us back to the dock as a mature Bald Eagle flew close to our bow as we entered into the marina!! What a day! And to top it off the 3 youngsters that were born last summer received their names from the Whale Museum!! Little J42 was named Echo, L109 will be known as Takoda and the name Midnight was given to L110!!! " - Naturalist Kate Janes

Orca Whales, Minke Whales, and More Orca Whales!

Today was a beautiful day to spend on the Island Explorer 3, cruising the Salish Sea! Our guests saw 3 types of whales on our tour today - Transient Orca Whales, Minke Whales, and Resident Orca Whales! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details from Naturalist Jami Nagel! "Wow, what an amazing day. We had beautiful conditions and a triple header!!! We started out of the marina with our first sightings; a mature bald eagle and 3 harbor seals hauled out just outside of the marina. We headed around the south end of Lopez where we encountered our first Minke whale. He was elusive just coming up a few times so we moved on. At Salmon bank we spotted another Minke whale and a group of 4 Transients that we later ID as the T19's. The headed into Cattle pass and then into San Juan channel where K-pod was coming down toward them. We were witness to something not scene before, we watched Transient (mammal eating) orcas (4 ind) heading quickly toward Resiendent (fish eating) orcas (19 ind. ). K-pod quickly turned around and started moving rather quickly in a Northerly direction. There were some speculations on why this was, one was that K-pod's only adult male orca Cappuccino K21 was not with the group or the second was that there was a very large group of harbor porpoise heading up the channel in the same direction as the whale and the Transients didn't care that the residents where there, they wanted those porpoise! It was an amazing sight!"-Jami Nagel, Naturalist

Orca Whales in Haro Strait Today!

The Island Explorer 3 was reserved for a wedding and private charter today (What a perfect day for that!) and our next tour will be Sunday, September 14th.

Orca Whales on Today's Adventure!!

J, K and L Pods Orca Whales were seen today by our guests on the Island Explorer 3! Naturalist Kate Janes will have all the details from our tour for you very soon - stay tuned!

Tail Flex

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Lion's Mane Jelly

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"This beautiful September afternoon started with 2 Harbor Seals hauled out on some rocks just outside the marina as we departed!! As we entered into Rosario Strait a fog bank set in, but lifted as we came to the entrance of Thatcher Pass! Just along side Blakely Island, a group of Harbor Seals were found hauled out on Pointer Island along side Double-crested Cormorants and Glaucous-winged Gulls! The inner islands welcomed us as we traveled under blue skies watching as the Washington State Ferries made their way throughout its channels! Our journey lead us into the Strait of Juan de Fuca via Cattle Pass! Shortly after we were able to see on the horizon the exhalations of Orcas!! To our delight we encountered a Super Pod (all 3 Southern Resident Pods- J, K, & L pods) making their way in a south eastern direction! The first large group of whales included Princess Angeline, Polaris, Oreo, Doublestuff, Cookie, Rhapsody, Mike, Slick, Keet, Alki, J42, Fluke, Racer, Sequim, and Rainshadow! It was a blur of dorsal fins gently rolling through the brilliant blue water! A small subpod trailed this larger group and with a slow down we were able to spend some time with Blossom and her offspring (Blackberry, Tsuchi, and Mako) as they bellyrolled, taillobes and lunged obviously having a whale of a time! As the whales passed along our port side we watched as their exhalations lingered and listened the sound of their old air passing through their blowhole made a breathtaking sound! We hating leaving, but we eventually started back towards the south end of Lopez Island where we found more Lion's Mane Jellies, Bull Kelp, Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murreletts, and a Belted Kingfisher along Castle Rock's shoreline!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Orca Whale Superpod In Sight!

One of many tailslaps today!

"Sunshine and lots of Orca Whales!" reports Captain Carl from the Island Explorer 3! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details on today's tour from Naturalist Bart Rulon! The trip today started out with a bald eagle sighting just as we left Cap Sante Marina. Our three resident orca pods finally returned to the Salish Sea today!! Knowing they were on there way in from the ocean we headed staight out west to catch them as they swam back into US waters. Along the way we saw a bunch of harbor seals at Colville Island, and hundreds of harbor porpoises and common murres in open water. The water conditions were about as ideal as could be for the second day in a row. It was so calm that you could see harbor porpoises surfacing for miles and miles. When we first arrived on scene with the orcas they were spread out over several miles just south of Victoria and east of Race Rocks. The first group we watched was Baba, L26, Crewser, L92, and Ballena, L90. One of them did a cartwheel to the side, creating a big splash. We could see orcas spread out all the way toward shore. Occasionally we would see a breach here and there in the distance. Next Racer, L72, and Fluke, L105 came in for a surprise visit. They swam right up next to us for some great close up viewing. Then out of nowhere it seemed a few more orcas showed up in front of them and one of them performed about 10-15 tailslaps in a row, all at close range. At the time it appeared like they were chasing some salmon around. Other orcas we saw included Cappuccino, K21, Skana, L79, and Blackberry, J27. We definitely had all three pods present. Captain Carl had us lined up perfectly for photos several times with the orcas right in front of Mount Baker! Even as we had to pull away from the orcas we kept coming across more and more of them since they were so spread out. Whale traffic is the best kind of traffic to get stuck in! On the way back we saw some Dall's porpoises and one more bald eagle to cap off another great September day! Naturalist Bart Rulon

Transient Orcas and a Minke Whale

We had some great close up looks at these transient orcas today!!

The weather and sea conditions couldn't have been better than they were today. It was sunny and calm as a lake on the water everywhere we went. Our wildlife viewing got started before we even left the dock today. As our passengers entered the Island Explorer 3 a small family of three river otters jumped out of the water and on to the dock as everybody watched. Then a few minutes later as we cruised out of Cap Sante Marina we saw two common loons at close range. We worked our way around the south end of Lopez Island and slowed down to look at several harbor seals hauled out on the rocks in front of Colville Island. Soon after that we spotted a minke whale. We stopped to watch this whale as it surfaced several more times. Next we continued to cruise west toward Victoria. Along the way we saw hundreds of harbor porpoises, common murres, and gulls. At one point we spotted a Steller sea lion surfacing with a flock of gulls circling overhead! Just west of Victoria we arrived on scene with 5 transient orcas. T41, T109A, T109B and others were in this transient pod. They were all swimming closely together in a zigzag pattern. After our first viewing they went down for a longer dive. To our surprise they surfaced again right next to us. Everybody gasped as they came to the surface for air. They gave everyone superb views up close. We spent as much time as we could watching these transients as they surfaced for three or four more sequences before we had to say goodbye. We had traveled so far to find the orcas that we knew we would be arriving back late to the dock. I think everybody was happy to see the orcas though, since this group was the only group of orcas spotted all day. On our way back to the dock we saw many more harbor porpoises and even some Dall's porpoises. I'll take conditions like this any day of the week!! Naturalist Bart Rulon

A Show From a Small Minke Whale!

"Leaving the marina this afternoon our guests caught a glimpse of a mature Bald Eagle flying over Cap Sante Point as we exited! In Rosario Strait we not only found the BMW Oracle continuing its test trials amidst the San Juan Islands, but also the start of one of the best showings of Harbor Porpoise of the year! The porpoise were quickly swimming through the tide rips as we ventured past Bird Rocks where we saw a prominent nesting colony of Double-crested Cormorants perched atop its rocky shoreline! As we rounded Colville Island entering into the Strait of Juan de Fuca we saw Harbor Seals hauled out on its rocks!! The strait welcomed us into its glass calm waters under blue skies as we traveled towards Hein Bank. Arriving at the huge bank in the middle of this vast body of water we found a congregation of birds awaiting a meal of bait fish! Then suddenly out of the depths of the brilliant blue waters a small Minke Whale appeared!! We watched patiently as we waited for the Minke Whale to reappear! The time came when the Minke gave us some great profile passes showing off its small body (of the juvenile whale) and swept back dorsal fin! After looks as the whale gently rolled through the calm water, we eventually left heading back towards Salmon Bank! As we turned homeward we could see in the distance the trimaran BMW Oracle was screaming with sails up making good speed alongside Whidbey Island! Also seen on our adventure today were Common Murres, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Red-necked Phalaropes, Lion's Mane Jellies, Turkey Vultures, Bull Kelp, Heermann's Gulls, breaching Salmon, and a perched Bald Eagle in the marina upon our return!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Transient Orcas at the south end of Haro Strait!

"The beautiful September day started with a mature Bald Eagle perched in a conifer tree on the hillside of Cap Sante Point! Entering into Rosario Strait our guests were able to get a glimpse of the giant trimaran, the BMW Oracle, that was running sea trials in the light wind! We continued enjoying the blue skies while Harbor Porpoise and Harbor Seals swam in the surrounding waters! At the south end of Lopez Island we found pairs of Marbled Murreletts swimming side-by-side diving quickly upon our approach! The Strait of Juan de Fuca was glass calm and filled with Red-necked Phalaropes, Common Murres, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Lion's Mane Jellies, Rhinoceros Auklets, Heermann's Gulls, and hunting Harbor Seals! It was in Haro Strait that we found T20, a large Transient male Orca with a severe curvature toward the left side, was found traveling with a group of 3 females! When we first arrived on scene with the whales T20 was trailing behind the females at quite a distance!! Patiently we watched as they became comfortable with our presence before getting some great looks at T20 as he met up with the 3 females!! The group was nearly synchronized swimming as their exhalations lingered! Unfortunately our visit had to come to an end as we turned towards home port leaving the Transients to explore the vast Strait of Juan de Fuca under continued blue skies!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Humpback, Orca and Minke Whales Sighted by Island Explorer 3!

A triple header!! Stay tuned to the Whale Report to hear all about the whales (including one very large Humpback, says Captain Carl!) and other wildlife seen on today's adventure from Naturalist Kate Janes!

Fluke Span (Humpback Whale)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Sounding Humpback

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Orca in Blue (Transient Orca)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"Our adventure started in Guemes Channel with great looks at a Rhinoceros Auklet swimming atop the water, Pelagic & Double-crested Cormorants that flew by the boat! As we entered into Rosario Strait we were greeted by the large 180 foot mast of the BMW Oracle trimaran that was built right in Anacortes! We turned south towards the Strait of Juan de Fuca watching at our stern as the large vessel began to lift its sails! Our journey continued as we entered through a small fog bank that lifted at the south end of Lopez Island! It was here that 2 Minke Whales appeared as they zigged and zagged in a feeding pattern! Our guests watched as they got great looks at the whales profile ease back into the water and their exhalations dissipating rather quickly! After watching the two whales feed we departed in search for our wildlife in the area! As we ventured further into the Strait of Juan de Fuca we watched Harbor Porpoise quickly swam through the water, hundreds of Common Murres traveled in search of food, Heereman's Gulls sat atop rafts of floating Bull Kelp, and Harbor Seals swam at the surface before disappearing into the watery depths! Near Constance Bank a light layer of fog set in which after a short time lifted revealing a HUGE Humpback Whale!! The first adult Humpback of the year measured over 50 feet in length!! Our guests watched as the massive whale made multiple surfacing and sounded on 3 different occasions, raising its over 15 foot wide fluke high into the air!! After some great looks at the giant we ventured just a mile to the east where we found Transient Orcas quickly making their way further into the San Juan Islands!! A large male, a female and a youngster where spread out moving through the glass calm water under blue skies making the perfect end to a uniquely special day with a triple header!! Its not everyday that in one trip we see 3 different species of whales!! What an amazing day!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Transient Orca in Our Midst!!

Pender's Surprise (T14)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

The Wary Harbor Seal

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"It was yet another beautiful day out in the Salish Sea as we departed this afternoon in search for whales! A slight fog layer set in just as we neared Burrow's Island Lighthouse creating a magical setting as we continued southward towards the Strait of Juan de Fuca! Scanning the horizon we found Harbor Porpoise quickly making their way through the water! Close to Salmon Bank we found a frenzy of gull activity surrounding 3 Harbor Seals! Taking a closer look we saw the silver scales of a Salmon hanging out of one of the seals mouth!! We slowed to watch the feeding frenzy and then continued our search for whales! It wasn't long before the tall dorsal fin of Pender (T14) came into view at the south end of Haro Strait! This large Transient male Orca was traveling solo today as he confidently swam towards Canadian water! We watched as he consistently surfaced 8-9 times before descending to his deeper longer dive! During one of his deep dives we waited and watched the port side awaiting his next surfacing when all of a sudden the sound of his exhalation was heard coming from the starboard side!! To our surprise Pender changed directions abruptly swimming right under the boat without our knowledge and surfaced off our starboard side!! We enjoyed this final look at the graceful giant before heading back towards the dock! Our guests not only enjoyed this huge male Orca Whale but also hundreds of Common Murres, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Rhinoceros Auklets, Lion's Mane Jellies, Bull Kelp, and 6 Great Blue Herons!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

T93 Returns to the Salish Sea!!

T93's Return!

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Transient Togetherness

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"We left the dock under blue skies on this beautiful September day! Entering into Rosario Strait we were welcomed by a large group of Double-crested Cormorants that took flight over the glassy calm water! As we rounded Lopez Island venturing into the Strait of Juan de Fuca fog cloaked the area as we continued towards Vancouver Island. The fog lifted as we approached Salmon Bank revealing blue skies and diverse wildlife in its waters! It appeared to be a sea of Common Murres as the juveniles swam along side their parents, diving to depths up to 590 ft!! Looking into the water giant red Lion's Mane Jellies floated by as Glaucous-winged Gulls, Heerman's Gulls, Harbor Seals, Rhinoceros Auklets, and Harbor Porpoise fed on bait fish!! We were within view of Victoria, B.C. when the tall dorsal fin of a large Transient Orca came into view! It turned out that the male was T93, who hadn't been seen in the area for 3 years!! Our passengers were excited to be part of welcoming this large male back into the San Juan Islands!! T93 displayed his agility and athleticism with his consistent speed and direction changed that occurred after a couple of his deep dives! It wasn't long that he set course just as a couple of females and a youngster quickly made their way towards T93 as he slowed to meet them! We watched as the foursome slowed, grouping up in a more relaxed pace as we departed. Our return to the dock was under blue skies and on calm waters!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Minke Whales Today!

One of 4 minke whale sightings today!

A single file line of common murres

For today's trip we headed south through Rosario Straits and around the south end of Lopez Island. In the straits we saw a big Steller sea lion splashing around with a flock of gulls following him. We came over for a look and the sea lion came up several more times slapping a salmon on the surface of the water as the gulls flew around waiting for a scap or two. As we hit Iceberg Point we found two minke whales offshore. The first Minke whale we saw was heading right for us and he surfaced several times right next to our boat giving everybody great looks at him! We watched this minke whale and another one swimming around in erratic directions for about an hour. Next we decided to cruise west to look for more whales. Along the way we spotted many harbor porpoises. There were thousands of birds out at Hein Bank, including common murres, glaucous-winged gulls, Heermann's gulls, and even red-necked phalaropes. One huge flock of gulls was working a bait ball. We were watching it closely for possible minke whales and sure enough one surfaced right in the middle of them! We saw that minke whale surface one more time, but we lost him after that. Next we worked our way east and found two Dall's porpoises. On our way back to Lopez Island we found yet another minke whale (possibly one of the whales we saw the first time). We slowed down near Castle Island and saw many pairs of marbled murrelets, several harbor seals hauled out on the rocks, a bald eagle, and a great blue heron. Naturalist Bart Rulon

Breach-happy Superpod!!

We had lots of playful activity with our superpod today!

We started out our trip cruising south to look for whales. At the south end of Lopez Island we spotted a couple of bald eagles, great blue herons, and some harbor porpoises. Soon Captain Carl got a call that orcas had been spotted north up near Point Roberts so we changed our direction and started heading north. As we entered Cattle Pass we spotted a big Steller Sea Lion cruising along in the current, giving us all a great view. We reached an orca superpod a few miles north of Patos Island. It was J, K and L pods cruising south, and they were breaching as we approached from a distance. Ruffles, J1, and several L-pod females were in the first group that swam close to us. As they got close one orca came flying out of the water doing a full cartwheel!! Orcas seemed to be everywhere in small groups spread out over a mile or two. Mike, J26, came in for a close up look. Every group seemed to be playful at one time or another doing breaches, spyhops, cartwheels, and tailslaps!! It was awesome. In one group three different orcas seemed to be having breaching contests one after another, after another! In another group a female orca did a really tall spyhop right in front of us at close range!! Words can't describe how much action we saw today because it seemed to be nonstop. Even when we were pulling away we had a double breach with two orcas breaching at exactly the same time!! What a great way to end a perfect day. Naturalist Bart Rulon

Island Explorer 3 On-Scene With 3 Orca Whale Pods!

Morning clouds turned to afternoon sunshine and made for a beautiful day on the Salish Sea, with the Orca Whales! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details on today's tour from Naturalist Kate Janes! "Our morning started at Pointer Island where we found hauled out Harbor Seals, a smorgasbord of gulls, Black Turnstones, a Black Oystercatcher and one huge Bald Eagle's nest on Blakely Island! We then navigated a scenic pass between Blakley & Armistage Island before heading into Thatcher Pass and the inner islands! Our journey took us through the heart of the San Juans where we found Pelagic & Double-crested Cormorants, more lounging Harbor Seals and Harbor Porpoise swimming in the tide rips!! As we entered into Haro Strait there was a buzz over the radio of whales heading north along San Juan Island, however is was hard to discern if it was a rumor or a Transient Pod of Orcas that broke away from a group that was traveling north. So with time on our side we decided to explore this southern option and did it pay off!! We found all 3 Southern Resident Pods of Orcas making their way northward and heading the groups was Ruffles (J1) as he confidently made his way north! How 80+ whales remained undetected for most of the morning is baffling, but it does happen since they are wild animals that can travel over 100 miles in a 24 hour period! Whales could be seen as far as the eye could see! Blackberry (J27) and a companion traveled right along the shoreline showcasing for our guests that even near the islands the water can be very deep (at that location over 700 ft deep!)! We also enjoyed time spent with Moonlight, her new firstborn L110, Tsuchi, Mega, Riptide, Lea, her youngest K42, Lobo & Yoda! We watched as the whales porpoised, taillobes, breached, cartwheeled, raced through the water in order to catch a salmon, and even pec slapped displaying an array of behaviors! We ended a picture perfect day that was filled with wonderful surprises at the south end of Lopez Island where Turkey Vultures soared overhead as we peered upon Harbor Seals, rafts of Bull Kelp, and a couple of feeding Great Blue Herons!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Whale Watching Report

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Resident Orca Whales Spotted!

Monday, September 29, 2008

Four Minke Whales Spotted Today.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

September 27th, 2008

Friday, September 26, 2008

Dall's Porpoise Pretend to be the Southern Resident Orcas!!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

J and L pod orcas in Boundary Pass

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

J-Pod Sighted This Morning!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Minke Whale in an Unexpected Location!!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Transient Orca Whales Near Race Rocks!

Friday, September 19, 2008

Transient Orca Whales At Hein Bank!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Orcas and minke whales today!

J and K Pod Orca Whales and Minke Whales Too!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Transient Orcas Today

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Witnessing History!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Perfect Conditions and Whales Everywhere!!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Orca Whales, Minke Whales, and More Orca Whales!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Orca Whales in Haro Strait Today!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Orca Whales on Today's Adventure!!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Orca Whale Superpod In Sight!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Transient Orcas and a Minke Whale

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

A Show From a Small Minke Whale!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Transient Orcas at the south end of Haro Strait!

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Humpback, Orca and Minke Whales Sighted by Island Explorer 3!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Transient Orca in Our Midst!!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

T93 Returns to the Salish Sea!!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Minke Whales Today!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Breach-happy Superpod!!

Monday, September 1, 2008

Island Explorer 3 On-Scene With 3 Orca Whale Pods!

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