Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Sea Lion | July 12th, 2026 | 5:30pm

This tour broke a personal record for me, which was the quickest transit to see whales all season. We quite literally left the dock, and within one minute saw Bigg's Killer Whales passing by Friday Harbor! The group was made up of two families, the T100s and T101s. Each family consists of three whales, a mother with two of her children. The T100s are led by mother/matriarch "Hutchins", and the T101s are led by mother/matriarch "Reef"...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | July 11th, 2026 | 2:00pm

We left the dock feeling very confident on this trip as their were plenty of whales within our range! We went North and wrapped around the top of San Juan Island before entering Haro Strait which is the large body of water off of the West side of the island. The water was extremely calm which was nice to see, as this area was a bit choppier and rough earlier in the day. There were 11 total Bigg's Killer Whales in this area at this time! We...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | July 12th, 2026 | 2:00 pm

Today was an especially great example of how every hour is different on the water. In our morning trip, we had watched a group of 6 Bigg’s Killer Whales, and in that time a few other families had also been found in our region. We departed the dock and headed towards Orcas Island where the family we had found earlier in Lopez Sound was now near Deer Harbor. We slowed our speed and soon were once again in the vicinity of one of the cutest...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | July 12th, 2026 | 10:00 am

As is usual with our morning adventure trips, our plan changed a few times as we joined the search for whales at 10:00. Before leaving the dock, Captain Brian was thinking we would start by searching south in San Juan Channel and then along the banks in the Juan de Fuca. However, once we were leaving the dock there were a few rumors of some whales in Canada so we began heading north with the plan to eventually search near Sidney. Once we...

Lauren Tschirhart | July 12th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30 pm

Our guests aboard the M/V Osprey got to spend the day observing a group of 6 “Bigg’s” or Transient Orcas. We got to hangout with members of the T046B’s, the specific individuals present during today’s encounter were: 

• T046B/Raksha — female, born in 1988
  • T046B2/Akela — female, born in 2008
    • T046B2B/Takaya — female, born in 2023
  • T046B4/Quiver — male, born in 2014
  • T046B7/Tala — (?) in 2023
  • T046B8/Pi — female, born in 2026

We watched as these whales...

Aly Liu | M/V Osprey | July 11, 2026 | 12:30 pm 

Have you ever attended a T-party? And I don’t mean your typical cup of oolong or earl grey, but rather Transient killer whales! 

We began our journey on the M/V Osprey this afternoon by traveling north up San Juan Channel and west through Spieden Channel, where we enjoyed looks of mouflon sheep on the south side of Spieden Island. Then, around the corner into Haro Strait, we came on scene to killer whale SOUP! Or, shall I say, a pot full of six T’s...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | July 11th, 2026 | 10:00am

We left the dock with our options wide open on this morning. There weren't any solid reports within our range yet, which meant that we were going to start out in search mode. We decided to head Northeast and check out an area that consists of several small islands such as Flattop and Waldron. These islands are full of Harbor Seals, so we frequently see Bigg's Killer Whales here while they circle the islands in search of a meal. We admired...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | July 10th, 2026 | 12:30pm

This tour had almost immediate excitement. We left Friday Harbor and turned North. About one minute later we spotted a bald eagle standing near the shoreline of San Juan Island. It appeared that it had something in it's talons, but we could not yet tell what it was. Suddenly, the eagle flew off while still holding the prey. We could now clearly see that it had the limp body of a black fox kit in it's talons! We were shocked by this, as...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | July 9, 2026 | 2:00 pm 

Here is a recap of the incredible adventure aboard Kestrel, our speediest vessel, this fine Thursday afternoon! We cruised north from Friday Harbor through President's Channel past the east side of Waldron Island. Faces quickly lit up as the captain slowed our vessel to under 7 knots, as we were indeed approaching a group of 6 Bigg’s (Transient) killer whales! Here are the IDs, names, genders, and birth years of the individuals present:

• T046B/Raksha ...

Lauren Tschirhart | July 8th, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 pm 

Our Wednesday Adventure Whale Watch and Wildlife Tour was filled with an abundance of different species. We got to see two different species of baleen whales, two species of pinnipeds as well as a variety of birds. Our first plan of action was to head in the direction of a humpback whale report. This humpback had been reported traveling east in Rosario Strait. A fellow Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) member informed us that the...