Whale Watching Report

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!