San Juan Island sea kayak and whale watch company: whale update

San Juan Island wildlife update for Tuesday, February 9th:

Six new births within the Southern Resident Orcas brings the total number to 88. That's quite a rise from the previous few years, and scientists are eagerly awaiting more research to determine whether this rise will continue, or if it is a fluke. More detailed information can be found at either www.orcanetwork.org or www.whalemuseum.org.

Meanwhile, here's a picture of the newest calf born right around New Year's Day!

Photo by Jeff Hogan - NOAA permit #781182400.

San Juan Island sea kayak tour

San Juan Island sea kayak tour wildlife update for February 6th:

I paddled out for my first trip of the season today, and what a day! The weather was perfect and the wildlife certainly on display. There were so many different kinds of winter birds-- scoters, mergasers, buffleheads, cormorants, bald eagles, kingfishers, guillemots, auklets and more. The highlight of the trip for me was when two harbor porpoise surfaced behind our boats a few times. They seemed to be feeding, but moved off before we could get some really good looks.

All in all, a great start to the 2010 season, and I look forward to paddling again soon.

Sea kayak tours in November! (San Juan Island, WA)

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for Monday, November 2nd.

Today I paddled out for a few hours with a lovely local couple who were celebrating their wedding anniversary. We started out under gray skies and were quickly paddling in the rain. Although it was November, and thus well after the tourist season was over, it was beautiful.

We identified all sorts of birds today, from the Harlequin duck's defined white markings to the soft gray spots of the Bonaparte's Gull in winter plumage. There were grebes, guilemots and cormorants diving for fish, gulls wheeling in the sky and four bald eagle's maintaining their watch.

The water was quiet, so it was a nice chance to slip out and see what most people miss in winter.

San Juan Island sea kayak tour sees orca whales

San Juan Island sea kayak tour wildlife update for September 5th:

I paddled out today amid strong winds, and was really surprised and pleased to see some resident orca whales! We saw some of J pod traveling down the Haro Strait (we were able to confirm the identity of the whales with the help of our whale watch boat). Although July and August are the best months to see the resident orca whales, they spend time in this area year round, and so can be seen at any time.

Whale watch tour sees a very active J pod!

San Juan Island whale watch wildlife update for Saturday, August 29th:

Captain Nancy and naturalist Margo just returned from a very happy whale watch tour. They reported seeing a very spread out group of southern resident orca whales-- specifically, J pod. They saw a few breaches, pedunkle throws (cartwheel-like behaviors) and lots more activity. Margo says she got some great looks at siblings Blackberry (J-27), Mako (J-39) and Tsuchi (J-31)!

The weather is beautiful down here in the harbor, and it was a great trip for all on board!!

Orca whales spotted on 3 hour sea kayak tour on San Juan Island

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for August 27th:

Today I paddled out of Roche Harbor on a 3 hour tour and we spotted orca (killer) whales! Thanks to our whale watch boat I received the whale report before leaving the harbor, but was not sure if we would be able to see the whales as they were already headed north in the Haro Strait. We paddled out to the kelp forest off Henry Island and as we were eating some seaweed, looking for seals and listening for eagles we saw some killer whales! There were quite a few whales visible, so I knew they were resident killer whales (which congregate in large numbers)

They were members of the southern resident orca community and were headed north at a brisk pace but we saw lots of large, dark dorsal fins slipping in and out of the water. Although the whales were out in the strait, it was a pleasant surprised to see them on our short tour!

After we saw the whales we headed down south a ways and looked for some swimming harbor seals and a bald eagle or two. The real highlight of the trip came on our way back when I was paddling alongside Kevin and his young son Ryan and a harbor seal pup decided to come check us out. It popped up alongside our boats, just inches away from Ryan! It swam to their rudder, popped up underneath the paddles and swam belly up under my boat. I could even hear its claws click on the underside of my kayak as it went underneath. This is the time of year when the weaned seal pups are starting to investigate their surroundings on their own, so I was excited to see it upclose!

Harbor Seals swim by San Juan Island sea kayak tour

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for Friday August 29th:

Yesterday I paddled out on a 3 hour sea kayak tour with guests from Idaho. The water level was so high that most haul out rocks were covered so I wasn't sure we'd see any harbor seals but as we paddled down the west side of Henry Island we were suddenly surrounded by harbor seals. 6 or 7 of them surfaced all around us, curious and calm but wary too. One large adult repeatedly surfaced eating a HUGE fish. With each appearance a little more of the fish disappeared! At one point a little pup came over to investigate us and surfaced both between our boats and alongside my bow. It was neat to see the little one, but I was glad it kept its distance.

It was a gorgeous, calm day out on the west side and there were few boats to be seen or heard. Simply lovely.

Sea Kayaking Family Tour San Juan Island--August 24th

This morning on our 3-hour family sea kayak tour we had a veritable feast of native wildlife! Apparently the animals were hungry, because we saw ochre sea stars eating barnacles, harbor seals eating fish, as well as a sighting of a bald eagle catching a fish! One of the kayaks had a baby seal pup come up and stare at the paddlers, from less than a paddle's reach away from the boat! Beautiful paddling weather today, no wind and warm!

Don C

Sea Kayaking San Juan Island August 22

Excellent Weather for kayaking today from our Roche Harbor Hub. First day in several there were no Killer Whale sightings by our sea kayak tours. Flat calm waters, and lots of wildlife in the normal locations. Guides today were Noelle, Kaitlyn, Don, Joe, and Blake. All reported smooth waters, blue skies, and lots of critters. Noelle reported seeing a rare Stellar Sea Lion near the Kelp Forest off McCracken point. More updates to follow.

Whale Watching San Juan Island - Captain's Log

Whale Watching Update for 8/21. Captain Brian P and Noelle were fortunate that two groups of our Southern Resident Community were in the vicinity. Our vessel Sea Hawk observed J-Pod in the morning not far from the harbor, and then K-pod and J-pod joined in the afternoon. Once the two groups joined, there were lots of percussives (breaching, lob tailing), and lots of milling and socializing. Good viewing all afternoon. Both sightings today were withing 5 miles of our home port.
Lots of other great wildlife, including Harbor seals, Harbor porpoise, and Dalls Porpoise.

Check in for more whale observations.