Lauren Tschirhart | September 7th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 1:30 pm

Two of our favorite families were sighted close to the harbor today, so we couldn’t wait to get out on the water! The T049A’s were sighted just north of San Juan Channel in Boundary Pass, so we decided to follow up on that report first. As we made our way into Boundary, the T049A’s cruised right past White Rock, a known harbor seal haul out sight. We saw some splashing around and it seemed like they may have grabbed a seal, but we...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | September 6th, 2026 | 12:30pm

This was an exciting day for our crew, as an uncommon report of Bigg's Killer Whales popped up near Friday Harbor in the morning. The reason for it being uncommon was not because of the type of whales, but because of the individuals themselves. T65 "Whidbey" and T63 "Chainsaw" had made a rare appearance to the inner San Juan Islands and were making their way down San Juan Channel. Whidbey is one of the older living females in the...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | Sunday, September 6, 2026 | 10:00 AM 

Little did I know this morning when I crawled out of bed that I was about to spend the morning with 15 whales, let alone perhaps the most iconic Bigg’s killer whale of the Salish Sea.

We usually start the trip with an introduction to the marine mammals of the San Juans, but this morning, there was no time for this, as four toothed whales were visible from the naked eye before even exiting the harbor. I failed at keeping my cool upon...

Aly Liu | M/V Osprey | Saturday, September, 5 2026 | 12:30 pm 

Beautiful weather plus one of my favorite families of killer whales plus a personal Minke whale milestone...what a fantastic day out on the water.

We headed east from Friday Harbor through Upright Channel. The ferry terminal on Lopez Island suddenly became visible, along with three large exhalations…it was three Bigg’s killer whales! And, not just any killer whales, but one of the most beloved families here in the Salish Sea. Galiano...

Olivia Esqueda | September 4th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30pm

What an extra fun day out on the water! We left the harbor and immediately came across one of our favorite Transient Orcas- T065A3 traveling along the Shaw Island shoreline. This adventurous male was weaving between the Wasp Islands and through Spring Passage, until we slowly departed in search of other wildlife. 

T065A3/Amir(a) — male, born in 2007

After traveling across the northern part of San Juan Channel and entering New Channel, we...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | September 3rd, 2026 | 12:30pm

We left the dock and turned South on this tour, pointing straight at a distant report of Bigg's Killer Whales. They were quite a ways away when we left, but they were luckily moving towards us. We were hoping that would continue and cut down our travel time. Along the way we did a drive-by of Whale Rocks which is near the bottom of San Juan Island. There were several dozen Steller Sea Lions hauled out on these rocks, many of which were...

Lauren Tschirhart | August 31st, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30 pm

Today we softly said goodbye to Summer. It’s the last day of August and the Burr months are right around the corner. This time of year is always sad knowing our season is winding down, but one thing that is absolutely not winding down is the whale action! We departed Friday Harbor with news that a T-Party had formed near Salmon Bank in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This party was made up of T036/ Flapjack and the T036B’s, T137A/ Jack...

Olivia Esqueda | September 1st, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30pm

What an adventure we had today out in the Salish Sea finding whales. The weather this week is reminding us that the summer season is transitioning into fall, as the wind and rain are starting to pick up. This didn’t stop us from heading north through the islands in search of whales and other wildlife, though! 

Weaving between the Wasp Islands, up Spring Passage and into President’s Channel, we found ourselves by the outer islands, which...

Aly Liu | M/V Osprey | Sunday, August 30, 2026 | 12:30 pm 

Today was quite the cozy day aboard Osprey; town has begun to slow down after peak summer season, and the gray skies and winds allude to fall just around the corner. 

With reports of whales over in Rosario Strait, we made our way northeast from Friday Harbor, weaving between Shaw and Lopez Island. After weaving through Obstruction Island and Blakely Island, we found a haulout of harbor seals at Peapod Rocks! These 250-300 pound rock...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | August 28th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We were blessed with very fortunate whale reports on this day, as there were multiple Bigg's Killer Whale families moving down San Juan Channel as we left the dock! The two families were the T100s and T101s. The matriarchs/mothers of these two families are T100 "Hutchins" and T101 "Reef". Years after these two whales were discovered several decades ago, it was actually presumed that T101 was the mother of T100, so this was a sort of...