July 31, 2025 – We’d been hearing an eagle chick calling for over a week at Brown Island. Today we saw it spotted by one of our passengers. Sailed over to Shaw Island passing a pair of harbor porpoise and viewed the coastline wing on wing finding another two bald eagles. Up through the Wasp Islands and Spring Pass to Flattop Island National Wildlife Refuge seeing two bald eagle chicks sitting above their nest, harbor seals with pups, and pigeon guillemots. We continued to the Cactus Islands and Spieden Island. A Canadian Coast Guard hover craft alarmingly drove right through the wildlife refuge in New Channel over the bull kelp forest doing 25-30 knots. After passing Green Pt we tacked our way down passed Mineral Pt before hugging the San Juan coastline back to Friday Harbor.
Bald eagle chicks in nest, Flattop Island
Bald eagle chick, Brown Island
Bald eagle chick practicing flight skills, Brown Island
Harbor porpoise
Adult bald eagle
Shaw Island coastline
View looking towards Spieden Channel from Wasp Islands
Harbor seal and great blue heron
Harbor seals, Low Island
Harbor seals, Low Island
View of Sentinel Island
Sailing through the islands
View of Spieden Island
Harbor seal moms and pups, Flattop Island
Harbor seal, Flattop Island
Harbor seals, Flattop Island
Flattop Island
Pigeon guillemots, Flattop Island
Flattop Island
Canadian Coast Guard hover craft racing through wildlife refuge
Pigeon guillemots, Cactus Islands
Harbor seal, Cactus Islands
Bald eagle
Route map 7/31/25