Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | Friday, August 1st, 2025 | 5:30 PM

Sunset tours are my absolute favorite. There’s just something about the beauty of golden hour that can’t be beat. Today had been a rough one for the fleet, with very few whale reports in the region. The reports that did come in were mostly out of range for the Friday Harbor boats, but as we know with whale watching, things can change in an instant. Right before boarding the M/V Sea Lion we got word that the first killer whales of the day...

Logan Stecker | M/V Kestrel | August 4th 2025 | 2:00 pm

 What an amazing adventure today! Some great orca behavior was watched and some surprise wildlife popped up out of nowhere.

We started our day going straight over to Cypress Island to look for reported whales. We found a group of 3, including 2 large males, identified to be the T019s. Having not seen this group in the area for multiple months, this was quite exciting! We followed them around the island as they stayed close to shore...

Kelly | M/V Osprey | Monday, August 4th 2025 | 2 PM

We made our way swiftly across San Juan Channel and into Presidents Channel aboard the M/V Osprey. We had a confirmed whale sighting reported by a member of the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) toward the east. As we made our way past the Lopez ferry terminal and into the heart of the San Juan's, we spotted many jumping pink salmon! We know that pink salmon runs here every other year, but this is a particularly abundant season. Nearly...

Logan Stecker | M/V Kestrel | August 3rd 2025 | 2:00 pm

Today we had an amazing outing finding all sorts of wildlife in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

After a direct boat ride, we got to reported Killer Whales along the Whidbey naval air station. These whales were a group of 5, the T065As led by their mother Artemis. As we first got on scene, we were surrounded by a large group of Harbor Porpoise that we stopped for before we met up with one of the larger sons in the group seen alone. After a...

Logan Stecker | M/V Kestrel | August 3rd 2025 | 10:00 am

The morning searches were tough! This whole week it has been hard to find whales in the San Juans but today we succeeded! 

We started with a search North with little success. We did however enjoy time with many harbor porpoise and a seal north of Spieden Island. We then began a trip south alogn the West side of San Juan to follow new rumors of whales in the area.

Going deep in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we found 5 whales who were later...

Kelly | M/V Osprey | Friday, August 2nd 2025 | 12:30 PM

It has truly been Humpbackapolooza here in the Salish Sea and today was no expectation. We took a left out of Friday Harbor, made our way up San Juan Channel and eventually into New Channel. During our entire transit up to Canadian water we treated to endless looks at jumping pink salmon! We eventually made our way past the scenic Turn Point Lighthouse (the most northwest point in the entire continental united states!) and into Canadian...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | Thursday July 31st, 2025 | 2:00 pm

When the first sightings were reported for the day, I was not too surprised to hear that the T65Bs had been seen not too far from where we left them yesterday! It seems like this family enjoyed their time exploring the coast of Vancouver Island and continued all the way into the Saanich Inlet, so that was our destination when we left the dock. Captain Vaun and I had been to this inlet only once before, so we were excited to venture...

Kelly | M/V Kestrel | Friday, August 1st 2025 | 2 PM

Captain Sarah and I made our way north to investigate a whale report in Rosario Straight. We pointed north up San Juan Channel and into Presidents channel. Once at President channels northern mouth, we spotted the most pristine bald eagle sitting in a tree on Waldron Island. The stoic bird of prey was perfectly perched atop Waldron's most iconic tree, the one hanging over its most eastern point (local boaters know what I'm talkin bout!). We...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | Wednesday July 30th, 2025 | 12:30 pm

The T65Bs are definitely the Bigg’s Killer Whale family of the summer! We have seen them more often than any other family over the last few weeks especially, so today was a treat to get to spend another afternoon with them. We departed Friday Harbor hearing reports of this family in Canadian waters near Sidney Island, so we decided to head in that direction. Since the whales were moving further away, we enjoyed a quick stop to view...

Lauren | M/V Kestrel | Wednesday, July 23rd 2025 | 2:00 PM

Today’s tour was not for the easily squeamish. Several Bigg’s Killer Whales were out and about and they were hungry! Getting the opportunity to witness a predation event on a whale watching tour is rare, but seeing two on the same trip is almost unheard of. The M/V Kestrel departed Friday Harbor and headed north in San Juan Channel. Our first stop was to White Rock to get a glimpse of some harbor seals. July is one of the most exciting...