Whale Watching Report

Spock (K20) Celebrates

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

The Face of Echo (J42)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

AM: " Happy 4th of July! What better way to celebrate our nations day of independence than out on the water with wildlife doing what they want to do when they have to! The ultimate freedom! Venturing south into the Strait of Juan de Fuca we found numerous Harbor Seals hauled out at Colville Island before finding J & K pod Orcas near Salmon Bank. Spread out over a few miles the whales were grouped up in their subpods but we also found some youngsters enjoying some time gallivanting without their mothers watchful eye! Among the whales we visited with was Blackberry (J27), Mike (J26), Scoter (K25), Riptide (J30), and Skagit (K13)- just to name a few! The whales seemed to be just as excited as we were to be out enjoying the holiday with wonderful weather as they spyhopped, breached, and taillobed! We even had a double spyhop by two baby orcas! At one point Slick (J16) swam right off our bow with her youngest, 2 year old, Echo (J42) in tow as young Doublestuff (J34) was having fun playing with the happy go lucky toddler! Our adventure didn't end their however we also found a very friendly Minke Whale that swam right under the boat and off our bow!"

Bucks on Battleship Island

Skana (L79) & Mt. Baker

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

PM: "Our evening trip lead us through the interior of the San Juans towards Haro Straits. As we navigated through the picturesque passages we received news that the Orcas were traveling very fast northbound farther into Canadian waters and beyond our range. Captain Michael worked feverishly pulling all the stops to get as much information on the whales and their direction. A phone call to a friend produced some great news. A portion of the whales had broken off and were heading south back into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It was up to us to find them and that's exactly what we did! We found Mega (L41), Alexis (L12) and Skana (L79) off doing their own thing in the glow of the evening! Alexis taillobed while our passengers got great looks of Skana and even heard the sound of his exhalation!" - Naturalist Kate Janes