Whale Watching Report

The Island Explorer 3 found J-pod whales by Stuart Island and what a show! More to come from our naturalist.

We made our way through the inner islands on today's trip. We saw lots of eagles and some porpoise throughout the islands. As we made our way out of Spieden Channel, we found J-pod whales! The whales made their way toward the shoreline on Stuart Island. They were having a blast; there were cartwheels, tail lobs, breaches, spyhops and kelping! They must have been enjoying the gorgeous day! The whales I was able to identify were: Blackberry, Tsuchi, Mako, Polaris, J44, Princess Angeline, J46, Oreo, Cookie and Doublestuf. We spent a lot of time with the whales and even got a great parting breach right in front of the Turn Point Lighthouse! As we made our way back, we found two mother seals and two seal pups hauled out on Spieden Island as well as two bald eagles circling overhead! On Crane Island, we found an osprey sitting in its nest. It was an amazing day in the San Juan Islands, lots of wildlife and lots of sunshine!