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

Orcas off Lime Kiln Park

For today's trip we worked our way across Rosario Straits and around the southern part of Lopez Island. We stopped at Colville Island to watch 6 turkey vultures soaring over the island and two adult bald eagles perched on the ground. One bald eagle took flight and landed right next to his or her mate. Many harbor seals were hauled out on the rocks as we passed by slowly. Next we found orcas swimming north along the west side of San Juan Island, just south of Lime Kiln Park. We saw mostly J-pod orcas, but there was at least one L-pod orca swimming with them, L57, Faith. Soon after we arrived on the orca scene many of the orcas were approaching a big bull kelp forest near shore. We saw 6-7 orca spyhops within a few minutes right on the edge of the bull kelp forest. A few minutes later one of the orcas breached out of the water. Later as the orcas swam north of the park, J26, Mike, came over to give us a look. He appeared to be chasing salmon at one point with several changes of direction. Soon we joined Ruffles, J1, as he was swimming up ahead. Not long after we got close to Ruffles he turned completely around heading toward us and chasing a salmon at high speed. We continued to parallel view Ruffles and soon J19, Shachi, joined him. Just as we were waving goodbye to the orcas today Granny, J2, came out of nowhere it seemed and gave our passengers a great close up view. Everybody gasped as she came out of the water at close range because none of us expected her to be there. On the way back to the dock we chose a route through the inner San Juan Islands. We stopped once at Decatur Island to view the bald eagle's nest there with a chick still perched on the nest and one adult parent perched in a tree nearby. The Sun gradually worked its way out by the middle to end of our trip, and the weather conditions were nice all day long. Naturalist Bart Rulon

J16 Subpod Steal the Show All Day!!

Stay tuned to the whale report as Naturalist Kate Janes reports from on board the Island Explorer 3 as they enjoy Orcas under blue skies! "Rosario Strait lead us southward around Lopez Island and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca where we would later find a portion of J pod!! We first saw and visited with young Mike (J26) with his rapidly growing dorsal fin he is really hard to miss! Nearby his mother Slick (J16) was closely being followed by little J42, who is the youngest member of J pod being just over one year old! Slick's other offspring, Keet & Alki, remained in the vicinity milling about. All five whales showed off their ability to not only to hold their breath for long periods of time but also their capability to change direction quickly. We watched as they zigged and zagged coming off island only to cut back towards shore minutes later. After a great visit with this very active subpod we made our way towards Anacortes stopping by Swirl Rocks, Blind Island, and Castle Rock at the south end of Lopez Island. It was there we found Harbor Seals nursing their pups, Pigeon Guillemots, a Bald Eagle perched on the rocks and a Turkey Vulture soaring above us! When we returned to the Straits of Juan de Fuca for our evening trip the whales were almost exactly where we left them!! We met back up with Slick and her family. We found J42 quite some distance from mom exploring waters away from her subpod and then quickly porpoising back to her mothers & older brother Keets side!! We watched with excitement as she rolled about and then triumphantly breached!! Mike was farther south with sibling Alki and we watched as they turned and headed north for a period to meet back up with Slick, Keet & J42. Once all together the family continued southward. They swam in a close proximity to one another and then after one long respiration Mike, Alki and J42 reappeared nearby as if they were interested in a little people watching of their own!! After a great visit with Slick's family we caught up with Samish, Riptide, Hy'shqua & Suttles and our guests got to enjoy yet another family of J pod Orcas! We ended a beautiful day at the south end of Lopez Island enjoying one of the most spectacular passes the San Juan Islands has to offer!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Orca Whales Sighted from Island Explorer 3!

Click here to see the position of the Orca Whales from space and stay tuned to the Whale Report for an update on "Lots of Orca Whales!" from Naturalist Kate Janes! "The inner islands welcomed us as we entered through Thatcher Pass with a Bald Eagle perched high in a tree! The protected waters lead us pass Upright Head and south towards Cattle Pass where we entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca finding not only blue skies but also the Orca Whales! Just north of Eagle Point we met up with Blossom's (J11) subpod! Blossom lead Blackberry, Tsuchi & Mako northward up San Juan Island in tight formation! Trailing behind Spieden (J8) enjoyed a tasty salmon after an eventful chase! As we turned for home we received an unexpected visit from young Doublestuff who apparently wanted to do a little people watching of his own!! He circled the boat giving our guests multiple opportunities for some great photos above & below the water!! His white portions shone green as we watched him swim by!! We left the Orcas just north of False Bay as they continued northbound! We returned home wrapping around the south end of Lopez Island stopping to see Harbor Seals with their pups hauled out on the rocks, Black Oystercatchers, Common Sea Stars and Pigeon Guillemots surrounding Castle Rock! On our evening trip we returned to the inner islands which provided not only a scenic backdrop for our cruise but also great wildlife opportunities. On Blakely Island we found an Osprey perched atop a conifer tree overlooking a quite bay! This is considered a rare sighting since Bald Eagles dominate the islands making it difficult to be an Osprey living in the islands. As we ventured near Orcas Island we watched as our state ship the Lady Washington sailed our same waters! And nearby a pair of Marbled Murrelets swam in search of food!! We found some members of both J & L pod of Orcas between Morsby Island & South Pender Island! The whales gently rolled through the glass calm waters! We watched as the whales spyhopped, taillobes, cartwheeled,a whale even breached near the shoreline of South Pender Island and listened as the whales exhaled at a rate of 100 mph!! We made our way back through the inner islands as the sun was setting over the San Juans! Throughout the day we also saw Rhinoceros Auklets feeding, Pigeon Guillemots, Heereman's Gulls, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Harbor Porpoise, and 2 more Osprey as we returned on our evening trip on Orcas Island ending a picture perfect day!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Orca Whales in Sight!

Our guests are watching J-Pod Orca Whales on the morning tour! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details on all the wildlife we saw today on both of our tours from Naturalist Jami Nagel!

(An interesting note for 2008 - Orca Whale sightings at Lime Kiln Park on San Juan Island are down by 50% this year. Researchers have stated that there are more Salmon in Rosario Strait, very close to Anacortes, than there are in Haro Strait which is close to San Juan Island. We have sighted Orca Whales very close to Anacortes in Rosario Strait the last 4 out of 5 days.)

"Our course took us through the inner Islands on our 9:30 am tour for a scenic ride. Our passengers were treated to many seabirds and several bald eagles. We caught up with 2 subpods of J-pod just off False Bay, San Juan Island. They were milling with no real direction. We did get to enjoy some playfulness by the J42 the youngest member of J-pod. We also had some great looks at Mike, J42's oldest brother. As we headed toward Anacortes we enjoyed one of my most favorite spots in the island, the south end of Lopez. We tucked in between Castle rock and were treated to several harbor seals hauled out with their pups nursing! There were many pairs of Pigeon Guillemots fishing in the calm water.

On our 3:30 trip we didn't have to go far! We headed up Rosario and found the rest of J-pod foraging at the north end of Cypress Island. Our guests got to enjoy several breaches, spyhops and even an impressive cartwheel. We spent some time with the elders of J-pod Granny J2 (the matriarch) and her son Ruffles J1 (the oldest male in the southern resident). We were also treated to a guest appearance by Faith L57 who was spending much time with J-pod females (J-pod females don't mate with male of their own pod they mate with males from K and L pods)! We also enjoyed harbor seals fishing the flood tide, many seabirds, great blue heron and a bald eagle!-Naturalist Jami Nagel

Orca Whales Sighted From Island Explorer 3!

K40, Raggedy breaching during our 9:30am trip.

A breach during our 3:30pm trip

Captain Carl called in to report that the Island Explorer 3 is on-scene with the Orca Whales! We headed well north on the morning tour toward Canada but we showed our guests whales! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details from Naturalist Bart Rulon and click here to see where the Orca Whales are from space! We started out our trip this morning with lots of wildlife sightings a few minutes from the dock. A Great Blue Heron was stalking the shoreline on Fidalgo Island as we left Cap Sante Marina. Then we spotted a bald eagle perched in a tree just around the corner and several pigeon guillemots in the water. We drove north along the east side of Guemes Island and saw four more bald eagles perched in the trees or flying. On the south end of Guemes we also saw two Columbian black-tailed deer near the edge of the rocks and some harbor seals hauled out on the rocks. As the trip went along we ended up seeing a total of 9 bald eagles today. As we continued north in Rosario Straits we saw some harbor porpoise. In the Strait of Georgia we watched a flock of glaucous-winged gulls and then to my surprise a long-tailed Jaeger flew right by us!! Long-tailed jeagers are a really rare sighting for this area. We went as far north as Point Roberts today to find the orcas. The first orca we found was K40, Raggedy. She was in a playful mood and came out of the water for us on several occasions including two big breaches. Soon K21, Cappuccino, swam over to join Raggedy. The brother and sister swam very close together for a long time and we watched these two orcas for most of our trip. Just before we left the scene we watch another K-pod subpod swim by. This group was very playful showing some breaches, porpoising, and one calf even porpoised upside down!! Naturalist Bart Rulon

3:30pm
The orcas from this morning headed southwest from their earlier position so we chose a route through the inner San Juan Islands for the second trip. We spotted another bald eagle perched in a tree on Fidalgo Island to start off the trip. We spotted several more eagles throughout the San Juan Islands. We also spotted a couple of mother seals swimming around with their pups close by. As we got close to the orcas we spotted hundreds of harbor porpoises just west of Waldron Island. Northeast of Stuart Island is were we found K-pod orcas swimming southwest toward Turn Point. We watched Sequim, K12, Sekiu, K22, Rainshadow, and Tika all the way as they rounded the point. They were moving pretty fast until they hit the current at Turn Point. Along the west side of Stuart Island we moved up to watch a few other orcas. One orca breached for us twice. Soon we were in for a treat as we watched Lobo, K26, appearing to be babysitting the newest member of K-pod K42. the size difference was really obvious. The two swam side by side for a long time. The last orca we watched as we waved goodbye to K-pod was K21, Cappuccino. Along the way home we had several great viewings of Bald eagles perched in the trees lit up by the evening sunshine. Naturalist Bart Rulon

Orca Whales In Front of Anacortes!

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! "The start of the day was ideal, blue skies and calm water, however the icing was to find a portion of the J pod Orca Whales swimming south down Bellingham Channel!! We met up with Slick (J16), Mike (J26), Keet (J33), Alki (J36) and little J42 as they leisurely made their way towards Washington Park! We slowly made our way south and at the southern end of Cypress Island Mike breached!! This only lead to an outburst from little J42. For the next 20 minutes this spunky one year old spyhopped, backdove and breached appearing to try to outdo her older brother! We stayed with the whales until Burrows Island when we had to start heading home! That evening we headed south down Rosario Strait towards the south end of Lopez Island! Shortly after we found ourselves on scene with whales! They were still traveling at the same leisurely pace we enjoyed early on in the day! This time the whales were quite spread out, allowing us to visit with Mike as he cruised on the outskirts! As if she wanted to draw the attention away from Mike, little J42 began her antics yet again with a series of backdives and a spyhop! At Salmon Bank the whales grouped up and began porpoising spraying huge rooster tails behind them!! We left stopping off at Castle Rock for a glimpse of a perched mature Bald Eagle, a Harbor Seal & pup hauled out on the rock and another mother & pup swam nearby!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Whales, Whales Everywhere!!

"We wandered through the inner islands where we not only visited with Bald Eagles, a Great Blue Heron, Harbor Seals but also a few Common Sea Stars exposed due to the low tide! We rounded the western edge of Orcas Island heading north towards Patos! Just south of Mail Bay on Waldron Island an immature Bald Eagle was enjoying the sunshine perched high in a tree!! We caught up with portions of J & K pod just south of Point Roberts in the Strait of Georgia!! Shortly after arriving on scene the whale began porpoising at about 11 knots!! After a short sprint then slowed slightly then without warning Mike (J26) breached!! We also enjoyed the company of Sequim (K12) and her youngster Rainshadow (K37) as they gave our guests some great looks! With the great water conditions we were able to follow the whales "footprints"!! Our morning trip ended with a mature Bald Eagle perched by its nest on Guemes Island!! The afternoon sent us south into the Strait of Juan de Fuca where we found a different group of Southern Residents near Iceberg Point!! These whales were not only breach happy but we also enjoyed them spyhopping, a young male did a series of bellyrolls, taillobes and cartwheels! At one point watching from the stern we watched in awe as two whales breached almost in unison and in close proximity to one another!! This amazing feat was followed by a final breach by one of the two whales!! What an amazing way to end a spectacular day out in the San Juan Islands ! Our day also included visits with Rhinoceros Auklets, Pigeon Guillemots, Harbor Porpoise, Turkey Vultures, and the first Red-necked Phalarope of the season!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

A day full of breaches

One of many breaches today!!

Mike, J26, Breaching at close range!!

9:30 Trip
This morning we headed north since our orcas were last spotted up in Canada last night. Along the way we stopped at Peapod Rocks to look at a bunch of harbor seals hauled out on the rocks. A bald eagle was perched there and he took flight and landed again close by for a great photo opportunity on the landing. We spotted three harbor seal moms with pups on the rocks. Soon we found resident orcas just across the border on the south end of Saturna Island near Java Rocks. We saw members of all three pods today. L57, Faith was one of the first orcas we identified. These orcas were swimming within a few feet of shore and they were very active, with spyhops, breaches, and tail lobs. Faith breached for us three times!! Later K20, Spock, joined in on the fun breaching four times at close range. The orcas approached Java Rocks and many of them played in the kelp, and appeared to find some fish in there too, with all their changes of direction. Blackberry, J27, was one of the orcas that spent a lot of time near the kelp going back and forth. After Java Rocks many of these orcas started breaching again and again. What a show they put on for us this morning. Naturalist Bart Rulon

3:30pm Trip
We expected to be heading back out to find the same orcas we spotted this morning, but our plans changed when a Washington state ferry captain told us he spotted some orcas in Thatcher Pass a half an hour before we started our second trip. So we searched hard for orcas in Rosario Straits, and sure enough, we spotted them way off in the distance within ten minutes of looking. These orcas were spread out just east of Decatur Island heading south. Most of the orcas were members of J-pod and they were pretty active. We saw several breaches as we got on scene. We spent lots of time with Speiden, J8, Slick, J16, the youngest member of J-pod, J42, and J26, Mike. Mike breached for us once early on and then later as he approached our boat he breached three times in a row at close range. I was so excited that I was shaking as we watched him go airborne at such close range! We also got several close looks at Slick, J16, and her calf J42 swimming side by side. The orcas were taking us toward Deception Pass so after we had spent lots of time with them we decided to peel off to take a look at Williamson Rocks and Deception Pass. At Williamson Rocks we spotted a harbor seal eating a salmon at the surface, and later we noticed that her pup was swimming with her as she ate it. On the Way home we stopped by Burrows Island and saw two adult peregrine falcons near their nest cliff. What a fantastic day out on the water!! Naturalist Bart Rulon

Super Pod Slumbers!

Stuck in the Middle (Lobo K26, K42, & Sequim K12)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Peering on Patos

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"Leaving the marina today under blue skies we found at Cap Sante Point a Turkey Vulture soaring high above in search of food! Just as we entered Rosario Strait we encountered a fog bank that extended northward towards the Strait of Georgia. At Lawrence Point the fog lifted just in time to show our guests Peapod Rocks where we found a mature Bald Eagle seated just above lounging Harbor Seals! It was just off the shores of Matia Island where we found all three pods of Orca Whales grouped up in two separate groups in a resting pattern!! As we approached we could see exhalation after exhalation as they surfaced emitting their old air from their bowhole! It was quite a breathtaking sight. The group we choose consisted of both J & K pod whales. We quickly found Lobo (K26) and shortly after found his mom, Lea (K14), and the newest member of K pod, K42!! This youngster was sure showing off its new found ability to control its body by spyhopping to check us out!! The whales slowly began to wake up thanks to the antics of the youngsters of the group. We soon had multiple whales spyhopping and a young male began a series of backdives. After a great visit with the whales on the flat calm waters of the Strait of Georgia, we decided to take a side adventure to Sucia Island! Our guests were treated to a first for the crew as we navigated into a very popular Echo Bay then through the channel separating North & South Finger Islands! We watched and listened a Pigeon Guillemots swam near the sandstone cliffs!! We even saw a mother Harbor Seal nursing her young pup on its rocky shores!! The perfect ending to a perfect day was a perched Bald Eagle on the eastern edge of Guemes Island!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Orca Whales Sighted!

The Island Explorer 3 is heading to the Orca Whales! Two pods have been sighted today! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details on today's tour from Naturalist Kate Janes!

Crash Landing (Solstice L89)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Cutting H2O (Faith L57)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"It was yet another gorgeous day out in the San Juan Islands. We left the marina with an amazing view of Mount Baker that followed us on the rest of our adventure! Heading south down Rosario Strait we rounded the the south end of Lopez Island where we found a group of hauled out Harbor Seals on the rocks surrounding Colville Island!! It wasn't long, near Eagle Point, when we found all three Southern Resident Pods of Orca Whales!! The first whales we visited with represented all 3 pods oddly enough! Polaris, a 15 year old female of J pod, was "wrestling" around with Solstice, a 15 year old male of L pod, when Georgia, an older female of K pod, joined them! We will find out 17 months from now if Polaris will be a first time mom as a result of the activities from today! After a few rolls young Solstice breached twice giving our guests a great head on view of his body leaping from the water!! Not long after our visit with Solstice, Polaris & Georgia another whale joined us. Skana, the older brother of Solstice, seemed to be attempting to keep tabs on his mischievous younger brother! We watched as the whales began to turn and head north, still very spread out. We followed them north where we found the leaders, Ruffles (J1) and his mother Granny (J2) paving the way along the shores of Henry Island. Our guests enjoyed an inner island cruise back to Anacortes. Other wildlife we enjoyed throughout the day included a soaring Bald Eagle, Pigeon Guillemots, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Pelagic & Double-crested Cormorants!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Whale Watching Report

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Orcas off Lime Kiln Park

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

J16 Subpod Steal the Show All Day!!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Orca Whales Sighted from Island Explorer 3!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Orca Whales in Sight!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Orca Whales Sighted From Island Explorer 3!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Orca Whales In Front of Anacortes!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Whales, Whales Everywhere!!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

A day full of breaches

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Super Pod Slumbers!

Monday, July 14, 2008

Orca Whales Sighted!

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