Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | July 19th, 2025 | 2:00 PM

Soon after returning from our morning trip, we were back on the water and ready to search for more wildlife. Not much had changed regarding new whale reports in our travel range, so we decided to travel north once again. We transited past the south side of Spieden Island, and eventually found some harbor seals resting along the shoreline. There were multiple seal pups, and it was amazing seeing them in this brief time with their moms before...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | July 19th, 2025 | 10:00 AM

I always love our morning adventure trips as we get to help start the first round of searching for the day. When we departed Friday Harbor, there had been one vague report of whales seen in Spieden Channel a few hours earlier. After coordinating with other vessels in our network, we decided to head for Spieden Channel planning to continue west into Haro Strait. We reached Spieden, and traveled along the coast searching for other wildlife...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | July 18th, 2025 | 12:30 PM

Today’s afternoon began with some light rain and gloomy conditions, but nothing could stop us from having another beautiful day on the water! I was very excited when I heard there were reports of some familiar whales not too far from us up San Juan Channel, so we left Friday Harbor heading in that direction. We scanned along the coastlines as we passed Shaw and then Orcas Island, and reached President’s Channel. Soon enough we began to reach...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | July 17th, 2025 | 12:30 PM

We have been loving these hot summer days on the water, and it’s always exciting to get to spend time with some whales! We departed Friday Harbor with reports of whales to the east in Rosario Strait, so we began traveling that direction. The interisland route is always a beautiful cruise, and the perfect place to search for wildlife along the many coastlines. We routed through the scenic Obstruction Pass before finally reaching the larger...

Lauren | M/V Kestrel | Tuesday, July 15th, 2025 | 2:00 PM

The M/V Kestrel cruised out of Friday Harbor, the water was flat calm and it was 75° and sunny. We headed south. Our first stop was to Deadmans on the southeast coast of Lopez Island to view two bald eagles sitting on top of a rock. This bald eagle encounter was quite special, because we got the unique opportunity to view both an adult and a juvenile bald eagle sitting right next to one another. Bald eagles do not get that signature white...

Lauren | M/V Kestrel | Saturday, July 12th, 2025 | 2:00 PM

Today was pure insanity. In the waterways between Boundary Pass and south Strait of Georgia there were three unique Bigg’s Killer Whale sightings, all only a few miles from one another. The M/V Kestrel was spoiled for choice, but ultimately we decided to catch up with the whales that were furthest away, in hopes we could view them before they got out of range. We zoomed north in San Juan Channel, eventually cruising northeast into...

Logan Stecker | Kestrel |16th of July 2025 | 1400

Today was a great day for seals! So many pups being as cute as possible all throughout our voyage. And as hoped for, a great day for whales as well!

Stop 1: Spieden Island 

Driving along Spieden, we located multiple Bald Eagles near a large nest in an isolated patch of trees near the shore. This barren island has been shaped by winter stores making the south shore a yellow grassland with a few rugged trees. At the end of this island, we stopped...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | Friday, July 11th, 2025 | 12:30 PM

Today was one of those rare days where we were on scene with whales within the first 10 minutes of our tour! During our whale watch and wildlife tours, if we can get there and back within four hours, and the seas are cooperating, we will go anywhere in the Salish Sea. We have seen whales in every inch of this ecosystem, we are almost never viewing whales in the same place day after day. Every whale encounter is unique, you truly never know...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | July 14th, 2025 | 2:00 PM

While every day is orca day for us, today was officially World Orca Day and we had the best time with some Bigg’s/Transient Orcas this afternoon! When we left the dock, the closest reported sighting was far north in Active Pass heading towards the Strait of Georgia, so we decided to quickly head in that direction. We made a brief stop to view some harbor seals in San Juan Channel, and then continued into Canadian Waters. We cruised through...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | July 13th, 2025 | 12:30 PM

The whales were a bit further away today, but they definitely made the trek worth it! When we left the dock, we had reports of Bigg’s Killer Whales pretty far south in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Since these were the closest sightings at this point, we decided to head straight that way for our best chance of catching up with them. We viewed harbor seals along San Juan Channel, got beautiful views of Cattle Point Lighthouse, and began...