Whale Watching Naturalists
Our San Juan Whale Watching trips are not only an exciting way to see whales and other marine life in their natural habitats but are also educational. Onboard trained Naturalists are there to give you information about the various marine animals you may see as well as the environment in which they live. Our Naturalists are experienced with backgrounds in biology and zoology and are very familiar with the Puget Sound.
What the Naturalists cover
All of our Naturalists have an individual approach to the topics that they discuss depending on their own specialized backgrounds. Here are some examples of topics and what you may see:
- Information about the Southern Resident orcas (also known as killer whales) which visit our area from about May through October as they feed on migrating salmon. These whales are the most intensively studied population in the world. We can identify individual orcas, some of the females are over 90 years old. There are up to five generations of whales in these "pods" or family groups and they stay with their mother's pod their entire lives. We describe the various behaviors demonstrated by the whales as well as natural history about their diet, and factors affecting their long-term survival, as these whales are listed as Endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act.
- Other species of cetaceans (a group that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises) we might see on our wildlife search are transient orcas, grey whales, minke whales, humpback whales, Dall's porpoises, harbor porpoises and occasionally pacific white-sided dolphins.
- Seals and sea lions are frequently sighted including the harbor seal, California sea lion, Steller sea lion. We also occasionally see a Northern elephant seal.
- Many bird species are sighted including bald eagles, osprey, many species of diving sea birds, and the occasional peregrine falcon. We search for huge eagle's nests along the shorelines of the islands- the San Juan Islands is home to the largest population of nesting bald eagles outside of Alaska.
- Conservation efforts and the importance of respecting our natural surroundings.
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