Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Olivia Esqueda | March 15th, 2026 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:30pm

Today was my first trip on the water for the 2026 season, and what a fun time it was! We even had sunny weather with snow capped views of the Olympic and North Cascade Mountain ranges, including Mount Baker (aka Koma Kulshan- the closest volcano to the San Juan Islands).

We headed south out of Friday Harbor through San Juan Channel until we came across Goose Island, where there were not only heaps of birds (including Pelagic and Double...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | March 14th, 2026 | 12:30pm

All we had was a whale report very far away and a prayer! Captain Gabe and I, along with our 24 visitors aboard the M/V Sea lion, took a right out of Friday Harbor and wasted no time heading south. The report was currently out of our range, but we crossed our fingers that the whales would turn our direction and close the gap. As we dipped into the straight of Juan De Fuca, we couldn't help but ogle at the Olympic mountain range in the distance...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | March 13th, 2026 | 12:30pm

Light rain and the low hanging grey clouds kissing the evergreens made for a classic PNW backdrop as we left Friday Harbor and pointed south down San Juan Channel. All we had was a loose report of some type of whale coming out of Deception Pass, a long haul for the ole M/V Sea Lion, but with no other reports to investigate,  it was our best bet. We quickly departed Cattle Pass and made our way south east. Not too long after pointing that direction...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | March 8th, 2026 | 12:30pm

Truly an unprecedented winter day here in the San Juans. Not only was the weather near perfect- sunny skies and calm water, we also had a report of killer whales right in our backyard! A person on shore at Cattle Pass (the narrow passage between San Juan and Lopez Island) had spotted killer whales heading north into San Juan Channel. We turned the corner out of Friday Harbor aboard the M/V Sea Lion and pointed south toward the report. After...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | March 7th, 2026 | 12:30pm

     First tour of the 2026 season! I was beyond thrilled to get back out on the water and explore the Salish Sea. This time of year is considered to be our shoulder season, not because the whales aren't here, but because they are harder to find. We work within the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA), a large network of other whale watch companies and local research groups. In March, we have significantly less eyes on the water, therefore less...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | Thursday August 28th, 2025 | 2:00 pm

While our large network through the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) makes much of our daily searching easier, some days we do need to do more searching than others. When we left the dock, there were a few boats viewing some Bigg's Killer Whales near Saturna in Canadian waters. We zoomed north as fast as we could to reach the report, but soon after starting our trip all the other boats had to leave scene with the whales so...

Logan Stecker | M/V Kestrel | August 27th 2025 | 2:00 pm

What an amazing outing out on the water! Today we headed northbound to follow reports of Killer Whales near Saturna Island. On the way we stopped by White Rocks and learned more about Transient Killer Whale prey by observing dozens of seals hauled out on the rocks. Many of these seals were small and young having just come out of this year’s pupping season. Seals in this area have gotten to carrying capacity meaning that they are at the...

Logan Stecker | M/V Kestrel | August 30th 2025 | 10:00 am

Today was such beautiful weather and we got so lucky with our expedition for today.

We started our search north towards Spieden Island and as soon as we got there whales were sighted on the other side! Great timing! We made our way along to watch them and were greeted by the T075Bs! This family consists of the mother (Pebbles) and her children (Jasper, Rubble, Petra, and an unnamed newborn). This was an amazing experience as they started...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | Thursday, August 21st, 2025 | 12:30 pm 

The conditions for our afternoon trip were once again perfect as we set out of Friday Harbor in search of whales and other wildlife. We began traveling south in San Juan Channel with reports of whales near Salmon Bank, so we were able to stop by Goose Island to see many harbor seals and sea birds as we neared Cattle Point Lighthouse. We pushed on towards Salmon Bank, getting stunning views of the Mount Baker, the Olympic...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | Sunday August 17th, 2025 | 12:30 pm 

This week has been epic on the water with so much activity so close to San Juan Island. We left the harbor with reports to the east, so we began traveling interisland. We spotted lots of harbor seals, harbor porpoises, and TONS of jumping pink salmon along the way. We always love to see the biodiversity of our waters, especially when so many species surround us throughout the trip! We continued scanning the coastlines for wildlife...