Lauren Tschirhart | September 23rd, 2026 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:30 pm
Today was a bad day to be an Alcidae in the Salish Sea. Our Classic Whale Watch and Wildlife Tour got to witness two year old T036B4/ Auk live up to his nickname! T036B4 was given the nickname “Auk” as his eyepatch resembles an auklet sitting on the surface of the water. Although I can see the resemblance, his behavior has created an entirely new meaning to his nickname. T036B4/ Auk and his one-year-old niece T036B1A/ Maple are two peas in a pod. These two calves are known for being super playful with one another, and today was no different.
The M/V Sea Lion departed Friday Harbor and headed south in San Juan Channel. We made our way through Cattle Pass and headed west along the border of the Haro Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We were following up on a report of a group of seven Bigg’s Killer Whales. The group was made up of T036, the T036B’s and T137A. The whales individual designations are as follows:
- - T036/ Flapjack — female, born before 1970
- - T036B/ Tattertip — female, born in 1998
- - T036B1/ Bhotia — female, born in 2009
- - T036B1A/ Maple — female, born in 2025
- - T036B2/ Greenfelder — female, born in 2013
- - T036B4/ Auk — born in 2024
- - T036B1/ Bhotia — female, born in 2009
- - T036B/ Tattertip — female, born in 1998
- - T137A/ Jack — male, born in 2002
This pairing of whales is extra exciting, because T137A/ Jack is presumed to be the grandson of T036/ Flapjack! Were we about to witness a family reunion? We got word from the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) vessels that were already on scene, that these whales had been actively hunting for quite some time… So we were excited to see what behaviors may lie ahead. As we were slowly approaching this group of whales we saw a big splash in the distance… One of them had breached!
Once officially on scene we were greeted to an insane amount of surface behaviors. We were seeing lots of tail slapping, splashing, and the whales rolling around one another. The highlight of the encounter was watching T036B4/ Auk backflip several times chasing after a Common Murre. Although not technically an auklet, Common Murres are a part of the broader bird family known as Alidaes, which auklets are also a part of. These whales were heading west towards Discovery Island, leading us further into Canada, so we decided to depart and headed north in the Haro Strait. We ended up doing a full circumnavigating of San Juan Island before making our way back to the dock. A bad day to be a bird.. But a good day to be aboard the M/V Sea Lion!
Want to see more photos from our trips? Visit our SmugMug page at: https://sanjuansafaris.smugmug.com/
More information about the Pacific Whale Watch Association: https://www.pacificwhalewatchassociation.com/