Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | July 21st, 2026 | 2:00pm

We headed North on this absolutely beautiful afternoon. It was the warmest day that we've had here in a few weeks, and the sun was shining with almost no clouds in the sky. The wind felt amazing on our faces once we picked up speed. We began this trip with a quick stop at White Rock, which is a small island that is often a popular Harbor Seal haul out location. We spotted dozens of them basking in the sun near the edge of the water. We even...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | July 21st, 2026 | 12:30 pm

After two days of no killer whales sighted in the region, today was our lucky day! We set out of Friday Harbor in search mode, scanning for any signs of whales and wildlife along San Juan Channel, peering up President’s Channel and among the Wasp Islands before turning west into Spieden Channel. We continued into the Haro Strait and made our way south towards a report of whales heading north. After a quick stop to see a bald eagle, we kept...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | July 20th, 2026 | 1:30 pm

Today’s classic tour took us through many different channels and pathways in our search for whales, including into Canada! We began by heading north and searching along Spieden Channel and the upper Haro. Our first seal stop was along Sentinel Rock, where we saw some seal pups resting with their mothers on the shoreline. These pups only stay with mom for about 6 weeks, so this is a critical time for them to learn and put on weight. We...

Kelly | M/V Kestrel | July 20th, 2026 | 2pm 

We turned left into San Juan Channel and made our way to White Rock, first enjoying looks at our ever so lovable harbor seals. Currently, we are in the middle of pupping season, and after close inspection we noticed many adorable pups lounging next to mom! Investigating a whale report, we turned northwest and made our way across the Canadian border and eventually next to South Pender Island. Two tall exhales arose from the surface! A pair of humpback...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | July 19th, 2026 | 10:00am

We left the dock with no whale reports yet at 10am, but this is not abnormal for morning trips. Each and every day is a clean reset when it comes to sightings, and the morning tours usually have some searching to do to find whales. We went Northwest to search. We started by wrapping around the top of Spieden Island where we spotted a Bald Eagle flying just over us. We then made a stop at Sentinel Rock to view some Harbor Seals, and saw...

Aly Liu | M/V Osprey | Sunday, July 19, 2026 | 12:30 pm 

On today’s classic tour aboard M/V Osprey, we received reports of a rather uncommon scene here in the Salish Sea; four humpback whales were spotted in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, widely known as a “whale highway” connecting the greater Pacific Ocean and the Salish Sea. The San Juans are primarily a summer snacking ground for these baleen whales amidst a nearly 3000 mile migration, so social aggregations are quite rare. We headed south down...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | Saturday, July 18, 2026 | 2:00 PM

Minutes after returning home from the first adventure tour of the day, Captain Vaun and I executed what’s called a “turn and burn,” embarking on adventure #2 with a fresh group of whale enthusiasts. Though we had seen killer whales on our first trip, we truly did not know what to expect the second time around, as every single hour out on the water is different. The Bigg’s killer whales we left earlier had already traveled 15 miles across...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | Saturday, July 18, 2026 | 10:00 AM 

Sometimes being one of the first boats out on the water provides you with the opportunity to be the boat to find whales out in the Salish Sea. Today was one of those days. M/V Kestrel departing Friday Harbor and headed north up San Juan Channel, stopping to float and scan for wildlife in several channels.

We were cruising at full speed around the northeast corner of Stuart Island, headed towards a wildlife hotspot in Canadian waters, when...

Aly Liu | M/V Osprey | Thursday, July 16, 2026 | 12:30 pm 

M/V Osprey departed the hazy fog swallowing Friday Harbor on July 16 with heavy hearts; between Smith Island and Minor Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a member of the Pacific Whale Watch Association reported the stranding of a killer whale that morning, raising concerns across our team. The individual was identified as T065B2, a seven-year old male Bigg’s killer whale known as Nettle.

We were soon distracted by a sea otter just...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | July 18th, 2026 | 12:30pm

On this day we turned North out of Friday Harbor and wrapped around the top of San Juan Island. We crossed Haro Strait and entered Canadian waters near Sidney Island and D'Arcy Island. Not long after we slowed down, we spotted black dorsal fins cutting through the water. It was the T109As! This family of six Bigg's Killer Whales is led by the mother/matriarch "Runaway" and five of her kiddos. Her eldest son "Garrett" is of the age where his...