Whale Watching Report

The Island Explorer 3 is on-scene with the Orca Whales in Thatcher Pass, near Decatur Island! Stay tuned for a whale report from Naturalist Kate Janes!

Little Ones (L110 & L109)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"What a beautiful summer day! Both trips today enjoyed orca whales in our backyard! This morning we looked up Rosario Strait and there in the water were the orcas of L pod!! We enjoyed Mega (L41) as he swam with a large group of females, juveniles & calves! Among the group was Nugget (L55) & her newest calf L109, who has just turned a year!! Moonlight (L83) was traveling right along side Nugget, with little L110! Maybe the young ones were enjoying a little "play date"! Glass calm waters followed us to the south end of Lopez Island as our guests enjoyed a Bald Eagle's nest and a mature Bald Eagle perched on the rocks! Just as we rounded Castle Rock we found ourselves back with the whales! Our evening trip headed north, where we found the orca whales of J pod just off Point Lawrence! We arrive on scene to find Faith (L57) enjoying the company of a J pod female! Mating can occur any time of the year, however the orcas do not mate inside their pod. Females of J pod will mate with males of either L or K pod! We later caught up with Samith (J14), Riptide (J30), Spieden (J8)& Ruffles (J1). The pod was really spread out from the shores of Orcas Island to the shores of Barnes Island! Our guests also enjoyed 8 Bald Eagles, Pigeon Guillemots, Harbor Seals, Rhinoceros Auklets, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Pelagic & Double-crested Cormorants!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

The Island Explorer 3 is on-scene with J-Pod and L-Pod is heading toward them! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details from Naturalist Kate Janes!

Sneeking A Peek (Mega L41)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"Blue skies welcomed us into the San Juan Islands and we navigated our way through the inner islands towards whales! Our first stop was just outside Thatcher Pass for a few hauled-out Harbor Seals nestled near a few perched Pigeon Guillemots! Our journey toward the whales lead us through Cattle Pass and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca! We found the orcas of J & L pod in a lively reunion just north and west of False Bay!! The mixing of the two pods resulted in a multitude of behaviors. Our guests witnessed spyhopping, breaching, taillobing, cartwheeling, belly rolls and upside down taillobes!! We got great looks at Mega (L41), Mike (J26), Polaris & her mother Princess Angeline! After a great visit with these amazing cetaceans we enjoyed the company of the blue skies all the way back to the dock! Our guests also visited with Turkey Vultures, Bald Eagles, Rhinoceros Auklets, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Pelagic & Double-crested Cormorants!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

A cloudy morning turned into sunshine and Orca Whales in the Salish Sea! Stay tuned for a report on today's tour from Naturalist Bart Rulon! We chose a path going through the inner San Juan Islands today because we had reports of J-pod swimming north off of Stuart Island. We needed to make some time so we didn't make any stops as we headed north. We did however see a few bald eagles, pigeon guillemots, turkey vultures, and pelagic cormorants along the way. When we finally found J-pod they were swimming along the south end of Saturna Island. One of the first orcas we saw breached for us! J-pod was spread out but in small groups looking for fish. Granny, J2, and Spieden, J8, two of the oldest members of J-pod, were swimming side by side for several minutes. We had many elementary school children on the boat today who had adopted Ruffles, J1, through the adopt an orca program at the Whale Museum. So we were sure to check out Ruffles as he swam alone in front of all the other orcas. He drew lots of cheers from the kids every time he surfaced. Later we repositioned to watch several orcas pass by. One breached for us, then another swam at high speed, probably chasing a salmon, with her dorsal fin slicing quickly through the water's surface. A few minutes later we watched as Oreo, J22, Double Stuff, J34, Cookie, J38, Polaris, J28, and others swam side by side. We said goodbye to the whales as they reached the eastern end of Saturna Island. On the way back home we made a stop at Peapod Rocks to watch many harbor seals hauled out on the rocks there. It was a great day! Naturalist - Bart Rulon

We headed north today with a report of J-pod up near East Point headed north. We knew timing was important so we managed to made it off the dock 15 minutes early. As we worked our way up we saw several bald eagles and harbor porpoises. By the time we reached the north end of Lummi island we realized that J-pod was moving north way too fast and they were too far away for us to reach them so we changed our plans. We turned around and motored south to look for whales . At Peapod Rocks we found lots of harbor seals hauled out on the rocks. We planned to work our way toward Salmon bank but we found three minke whales near the southeast corner of Lopez Island before we could get that far. Our first close up viewing of a minke whale was a breach! Then we saw several lunge feedings. We watched this first minke whale for a while then we moved south to watch a second one that Mark spotted. This minke was active too showing several lunge feedings and close encounters and a breach! We also spotted a third minke whale in the distance. Knowing we could come back and find these whales again we peeled off and looked at Castle Rock and Colville Island for more variety. Was saw two bald eagles, one each on the south end of Lopez Island and Colville Island. Next we looked for our minke whales again and we maneged to find all three of them not far from where we left them. All the breaching and lunge feeding made for a great minke whale day today! Naturalist - Bart Rulon

"Today we traveled into the Strait of Juan de Fuca where we found the elusive "stinky" Minke Whale just south of Salmon Bank!! Captain Michael did a fantastic job at maneuvering the Island Explorer 3 so that our guests wouldn't have to smell its foul breath!! The Minke demonstrated its key to avoidance by its zig-zagging unpredictable nature. After a series of short respiration's the Minke would take its long dive and then reappear on the other side of the boat heading in a totally different direction! We had a great visit with the Minke, some feeding Rhinoceros Auklets, & a Pacific Loon using the water as its own person runway before heading for Cattle Pass! Once in the protected waters of the inner islands we made a stop to visit a Bald Eagle's nest! Our guests also enjoyed Dall's Porpoise, Harbor Porpoise, Pigeon Guillemots, Harbor Seals, Glaucous-winged Gulls, & Cormorants!" - Naturalist Kate Janes