Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | September 18th, 2026 | 2:00pm
We left the dock and headed North, eventually wrapping around the top of San Juan Island and entering Haro Strait. This is the large body of water just to the West of San Juan. We were following up on a report of Bigg's Killer Whales, and it wasn't long before we spotted them! It ended up being a family known as the T65Bs. This family of four whales is led by their mother/matriarch "Chunk" who is 33 years old. Chunk travels with her three sons, "Birdsall, "Nettle", and "Rook". Their ages are 15, 7, and 3. Birdsall at 15 years old has started growing and sprouting his huge male dorsal fin. He is the biggest 15 year old that I've ever seen, and I think he will end up being absolutely huge once he's done growing in a few years. The fin is already easily five feet tall, but will likely reach six feet tall eventually. Nettle and Rook are both a bit smaller still, and have several more years until they begin growing like their older brother. The whales were moving South down Haro Strait. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we were getting awesome looks at them. Suddenly, Birdsall leaped out of the water and into the air! I was talking to a guest so I missed most of it, but as I turned I saw the absolutely massive splash from the huge whale breaching! I later saw the breach on a guest's cell phone and was blown away. We then saw them swim through a large kelp bed. Chunk and the two younger boys did not stop or show any behaviors, but Birdsall began playing! He surfaced twice with a ton of kelp draped over his dorsal fin. He also rolled at the surface a couple of times and even showed his tail-fin (flukes) to us. He was feeling much more silly than his family! We stayed for a bit longer before eventually saying goodbye to this family and cruising down into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The water down here was absolutely glassy and felt like a lake. This is not always the case, so days like this are very special! We wrapped around the bottom of San Juan Island and entered Cattle Pass which is just next to Cattle Point Lighthouse. We made a stop to admire several dozen Steller Sea Lions that were hauled out on some nearby rocks. This is the largest Sea Lion species in the world, and their size always takes my breath away. We even saw one jump into the water, which I rarely ever witness! From there we continued North up San Juan Channel, and returned home to Friday Harbor. What an awesome afternoon spent circumnavigating San Juan Island, and spending time with one of my favorite families of Bigg's Killer Whales!
The IDs and details of the four total whales that we saw are as follows:
Bigg's Killer Whales (4):
T65B "Chunk" (F) b. 1993
T65B1 "Birdsall" (M) b. 2011
T65B2 "Nettle" (M) b. 2019
T65B3 "Rook" (M) b. 2023
This group of passengers was a joy to be out on the water with. We thank them for choosing to spend their day with San Juan Safaris!
Wanting 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/