Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Kelly Klein | M/V Osprey | June 16th, 2026 | 12:30pm

The gentle breeze felt amazing as we left Friday Harbor and pointed north in San Juan Channel. Eventually we made our way west through Spieden Channel and into the Haro Strait. Two exhales erupted from the glassy calm water ahead. A pair of humpback whales identified as "Monarch" and "Yakima" were traveling side by side! We watched as they continuously surfaced, eventually throwing up their elegant tails to indicate a long deep dive. It's a bit...

Kelly Klein | M/V Sea lion | June 13th, 2026 | 12:30pm

The heat is here! We left Roche harbor as the sun was blazing, all of us on board appreciating the gentle breeze as the boat motored out of the harbor. We set our sights for Canadian water and made our way to Moresby Island. We soon spotted blows in the distance! 6 orcas identified as both the T124a’s and T86A’s including:

T086A/Eider — female, born in 1988

• T086A4/Akia — female, born in 2016

• T086A5/Siku — male, born in 2024

  T124A/Kittiwake —...

Lauren Tschirhart | June 13th, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 pm

Our Saturday Adventure Tour started strong after receiving a report from our sister vessel, the M/V Osprey that there was a humpback whale calf breaching right outside of Friday Harbor.

We hurried off the dock, immediately crossing San Juan Channel towards Lopez Island. Suddenly, I started seeing splashing at our 11 o’clock and I alerted our passengers to keep their eyes peeled. We watched as this baby launched itself out of the water as...

Aly Liu | M/V Osprey | June 14th, 2026 | 12:30 pm 

I hope everyone wore their sunscreen today, as it was a beautiful sunny day out on the water! M/V Osprey departed from Friday Harbor and took San Juan Channel northwards. We made a pit stop at a small island southwest of Waldron Island covered with rock sausages, AKA Harbor seals! 

After rounding the corner around Waldron, three blows were seen in the backdrop…it was three Bigg’s killer whales! Their movements were pretty variable today, so we...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | June 13th, 2026 | 12:30pm

This tour had just left Friday Harbor and was making the turn to head South when a passenger spotted something splashing around a few hundred yards to the left of us. Everyone moved to the side of the boat and watched the area, when suddenly a Humpback Whale launched straight up into the air! Seeing a Humpback breach is already rare in this region, but just two minutes into the trip??? That's unheard of! This jumping whale was a calf, and...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | June 12th, 2026 | 12:30 pm

This week has been full of so many fun encounters, and multiple species of whales all around San Juan Island! Today’s travels led us north in San Juan Channel towards a few reports near President’s Channel. As we entered President’s, we slowed down in the hopes of finding a Humpback whale, scanning all around for any exhalations, dorsals, or flukes. After a few minutes, we saw a blow in the distance ahead of us… and realized it was actually...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | June 12th, 2026 | 2:00 pm 

Our capital-A Awesome adventure on this beautiful Friday afternoon began north from Friday Harbor through San Juan Channel. It did not take long to spot two bright-white heads atop White Rock! These fully-grown bald eagles were accompanied by some rock sausages (Harbor seals) hauling out and raking in the rays.

Then, just around the corner of Waldron Island, we were greeted by a matriarch of a Bigg’s killer whale family and two of her children:

T10...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | June 11th, 2026 | 12:30 pm

The sun is back and summer is here! After some rainy days on the water, it was amazing to be out in perfect visibility and glassy waters. Even Mt. Rainier was out, and probably the most visible I had ever seen even though we are about 100 miles apart! After leaving the harbor, we spotted a sea otter swimming up the channel, but lost track as it disappeared beneath the surface… We planned to try to find it again on our way back. We traveled...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | June 8th, 2026 | 12:30 pm

Wind, waves, and a bit of rain joined us on our afternoon classic tour as we searched for whales in the Salish Sea today. We began by heading east, scanning the interisland route. Even though it’s cold in the wind, I love scanning for exhalations in the grey backdrop. We reached Rosario Strait and spotted the blow of a humpback a mile away ahead of us. While we had some killer whale reports we were making our way towards, this was a fun...

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

We left the dock feeling quite confident this afternoon, as it seemed like there were Bigg's Killer Whales all over the San Juan Islands! Plus, the weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! We began with a short transit to the top of San Juan Island to catch up with the T100s in Spieden Channel. This family is led by 47 year old matriarch "Hutchins". She was accompanied by her son "Laurel" and her youngest offspring "Estrella". Hutchins has two...