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

Double Header!!

"This morning we found ourselves off the southwest side of San Juan Island in an area called Salmon Bank! It was at this underwater shelf that we found a very shy Minke Whale that gave our guests a couple of quick looks before giving us the slip! Two other boats even joined us shortly after finding the Minke and they weren't able to find this elusive whale!! We decided to venture out to Hein Bank and then head towards Smith & Minor Islands. There we found 3 more Bald Eagles bringing our total up to 9!! Our guests also enjoyed looks at 9 Black Oystercatchers, a few hauled-out Harbor Seals, one giant eagle nest on the beach, and a Tufted Puffin!!! Smith Island is only one of two islands in the area where Tufted Puffins nest. The afternoon lead us back into the Strait of Juan de Fuca but rather west towards Vancouver Island and the city of Victoria. There we found Pender, T14, a Transient Orca whale!! We watched in the low light of the sinking sun as he made his way slowly through the water. His over six foot tall dorsal fin cut through the water allowing our guests some great photo opportunities! After a great visit we turned for home and along the way we met back up with a Minke Whale at Salmon Bank! Could this have been the same Minke that gave us the slip earlier in the day? Maybe. Other wildlife highlights of the day included a Harbor Seal hauled-out in a balencing act on a floating log, Surf Scoters, Rhinoceros Auklets, Pigeon Guillemots, hundreds of Harbor Porpoise feeding in the tide rips, a Caspian Tern, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Pelagic & Double-crested Cormorants, and a couple of Common Murres. Throughout the day we enjoyed glass calm water conditions and views of Mount Baker & Mount Rainier against a backdrop of blue skies!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Minke Whale at Salmon Bank!! (6/27/2008)

A Double Blow (Minke Whale)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

An Easy Rising (Minke Whale)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"We weren't even off the dock and our guests witnessed a mature Bald Eagle being chased by a couple of Glaucous-winged Gulls!! Then just as we were departing the marina a Harbor Seal appeared!! Our journey today lead us south down Rosario Strait towards the southern shores of Lopez Island. As we neared Castle Rock we saw three more Bald Eagles (bringing our total to 6 just in the first hour)! We visited with some Pigeon Guillemots near their nesting grounds on Castle Rock and moments later gazed upon over twenty Harbor Seals hauled-out on Swirl Rocks! We made our way towards Salmon Bank and suddenly a Minke Whale appeared out of the depths!! All of our guests worked along side the crew to keep tabs of this very shy whale and we got some great looks!! It zigged and zagged feeding along the shelf at Salmon Bank undoubtedly feeding on the baitfish that congregate in its waters! We enjoyed a beautiful day in the Strait of Juan de Fuca as we spent the day in the presence of Mount Baker, the Olympic Mountains & Mount Rainier! We also visited with Common Murres, Rhinoceros Auklets, Bald Eagles, Pigeon Guillemots, Harbor Seals, & Harbor Porpoise!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Orca Whales in Sight!

The guests on board the Island Explorer 3 are watching K and J Pod Orca Whales! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for an update from Naturalist Bart Rulon and click on this link to see the

Island Explorer 3 from space! We had orcas in the ideal spot for leaving from Anacortes today. When we found them they were located between Lummi Island and Barnes and Clark Islands. They were heading south and pretty well spread out over several miles. First we saw members of K-pod Cappuccino, K21, Raggedy, K40, and Lobo, K26 were all swimming together. Next we saw Oreo, J22, Double Stuff, J34, and Cookie. Soon the K-pod trio started to gather in close with more members of K-pod as they swam south. As this group got closer one of the K-pod males (K21 or K26) breached for us three times!! Later we spotted Ruffles, J1, swimming with his mom, Granny, J2, all by themselves. We parallel viewed them for about 15 minutes as they surfaced side by side the whole way. The orcas were swimming south through Rosario Straits which was taking us gradually back toward Anacortes so it was the ideal situation allowing us optimal time with the orcas. After leaving Ruffles and Granny we headed back over to look at our K-pod whales again then Slick, J16, Mike, J26, and J42 showed up swimming in a tight knit group. J42 was coming high out of the water for us. After about 2 and a half hours of watching the orcas we decided to peel off to look for some other wildlife. We found some harbor seals off some rocks on the south east side of Cypress Island, Then we circumnavigated Strawberry Island to look at lots of pigeon guillemots in the water and a bald eagle in the trees. What a perfect day!! Naturalist Bart Rulon

6/25/08 J-pod, K-pod, and a Minke Whale Today

9:30 am trip

We started off with fog this morning. As we left the dock we had our first wildlife sighting with a bald eagle flying close by. We slowed down at Colville Island to look at a few harbor seals in the fog. Luckily the fog started to open up as we approached the south end of San Juan Island. We found J-pod swimming from San Juan Island toward Hein Bank. The first sub-pod we watched was Slick, J16, Mike, J26, Keet, J-33, Alki, J-36, and J-42. They were swimming at a steady pace for a long time then decided to turn around and swim back from where they came. Soon Blossom, J-11, Blackberry, J-27, Tsuchi, J-31, and Mako, J-39 came swimming in to join our first group. We saw a salmon jump clear out of the water, and the orcas were in hot pursuit. Within a few seconds one of the orcas did two spyhops. We said goodbye to J-pod in order to look for more whales. As we headed northeast we found a minke whale and Captain Carl lined him up perfectly with Mount Baker. It wasn't long before we found K-pod swimming quickly toward us and J-pod. We saw Cappuccino, K-21, first and he passed by closely for us to parallel view for a while. Next Sequim, K-12, and Rainshadow, K-37 swam by for a nice look. They all were moving pretty fast, and some were porpoising, probably to catch up with J-pod. What a great morning trip!! Naturalist Bart Rulon

3:30 pm trip

Our second trip today started out just like the first one with a bald eagle flying near the dock. We chose a route through the inner San Juan Islands today. The weather was beautiful and the islands were scenic. We saw several bald eagles as we went along. J-pod and K-pod were swimming north from Henry Island toward Turn Point. J-pod was in the lead and K-pod was trailing behind. We decided to take a look at K-pod since they were closer to us. K-pod was very lively this afternoon. We started to see some breaching, cartwheels, tail-slaps, and a few spy hops. We got to see lots of different whale behaviors today. At one point Captain Carl lined up Mount Baker with the passing orcas. He told everybody he was going to push the breach button as they passed in front of Mount Baker and walla, two breaches in a row right in front of Mount Baker. What a great photo opportunity. The breaching continued with other members of K-pod going airborne. The newest member of K-pod seemed to be practicing his or her breach technique with breach after breach after breach in a row. We did get to see close up views of Cappuccino, K-21, Spock, K-20, and Lobo K-26. On the way back we motored slowly along Speiden Island and saw close up views of the Mouflon Sheep, Fallow deer, and two bald eagles perched on the rocks. We had a very entertaining trip this afternoon. Naturalist Bart Rulon

Signs of Summer

The Smallest Orca (K42)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Getting Air

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Towards the West (Mega L41)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"This morning we found ourselves taking an inner island cruise towards Spieden Island. It was just south of Stuart Island when we found the Orcas of J & K pod spread throughout the waters of Haro Strait! Our guests enjoyed a great visit with Lea (K14) & the newest member of the Southern Residents, K42! We also visited with Sequim (K12), Rainshadow (K37), & Blackberry (J27)! We witnessed taillobes, cartwheels, spyhopping, breaching & even a couple of Orcas fishing! In the evening we headed south towards the southern end of Lopez Island and out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Just before arriving on scene with a portion of L pod a Minke Whale appeared for a quick visit! We just love doubleheaders (this is when we see two species of whales on one trip)! The Orcas were just becoming more active and grouping up when we began seeing their exhalations! We first visited with Mega (L41) & his sister Matia (L77). We also saw Mystery (L85), Skanna (L79), & his mother Spirit (L22). We watched as the whales came rising high out of the water above the waves! Our guests throughout the day also enjoyed a huge Bald Eagle's nest, Harbor Porpoise, Pigeon Guillemots, Harbor Seals, Rhinoceros Auklets, Bald Eagles, and Turkey Vultures!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Monday, June 23rd, 2008

"We started our journey in Rosario Strait where a Minke Whale made a surprise visit, then disappeared after a couple of quick looks! We continued north in search of whales. At Peapod Rocks we visited with Harbor Seals & a mature Bald Eagle perched atop the rocks! As we headed north through the Strait of Georgia we received word that 2 of the 3 Southern Resident pods of Orcas were seen headed west. That left L pod unaccounted for. We continued our search and as we ventured south we discovered 4 Brown Pelicans on Bird Rocks! During the afternoon we headed south in hopes to find L pod. It was later confirmed that all 3 pods had headed west. On occasion the Orcas of J, K, & L pods will head west towards the Pacific for a day or two and then return to the San Juan Islands. We do guarantee whales and all of our guests today will enjoy another opportunity to join us again for free to see whales! Even though some of our guests saw the Minke Whale, we pride ourselves in a quality trip where our guests get great looks at whales! We did however see Harbor Porpoise, Bald Eagles, Pigeon Guillemots, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Harbor Seals, Rhinoceros Auklets & 3 Peregrine Falcons!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Orca Whales in Sight!

The Island Explorer 3 is on-scene with the Orca Whales! We headed well to the north today to show our guests Whales! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for updates from Naturalist Jami Nagel and click on this link to see the position of the Island Explorer 3 from space! "Coming out of the marina on our 9:30am trip we had our first wildlife encounter, a California Sealion, not as frequently seen in the Island in the summer!! We headed north and found 4 bald eagles on the eastside of Guemes Island. The whales took us almost to Point Roberts today. We were just south of Point Roberts watching members of K-pod as they slowly moved south in the Strait of Georgia. We had some great looks at the new K-pod baby, mom Lea, big brother Lobo and Yoda! We were treated to an amazing breach by mom Leah.
Off the dock for our 3:30 trip we headed north again the whales still coming south toward us! We ended up just north of Lummi Island. When we got on seen the whale went crazy! Their were atleast 20 breaches in the first 30 mins we were on seen! We had members of K and J pod. They were very active with not just breaches but spyhops and taillobs too! Our evening guests also got to see the new K-pod calf as she swam along side mom Lea. We also had a look at Cappuccino K21 who has really grown, his dorsal fin is atleast 6 ft tall! We also saw several harbor seals checking us out as we watched the whales and harbor porpoise! Bald eagles, rhinocerus auklets and pigeon guillemots were present on both our trips as well." -Naturalist Jami Nagel

Whale Watching Report

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Double Header!!

Friday, June 27, 2008

Minke Whale at Salmon Bank!! (6/27/2008)

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Orca Whales in Sight!

6/25/08 J-pod, K-pod, and a Minke Whale Today

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Signs of Summer

Monday, June 23, 2008

Monday, June 23rd, 2008

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Orca Whales in Sight!

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