Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Lauren Tschirhart | August 23rd, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 10:00 am 

Our morning tour aboard the M/V Kestrel was a huge success! Overall we got the opportunity to observe a total of 12 Bigg’s Killer Whales. The first group we spotted is known as the T099’s and they were traveling with T037A4/ Crinkle, an 11-year-old female. The T037A’s have been widely dispersed this summer, T037A/ Volker (mom) and T037A2/ Inky have been hanging out as a duo, but the rest of the kids have been off linking up and...

Lauren Tschirhart | August 22nd, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30 pm

Today was one of those special days where we were observing orcas not even 20 minutes into our trip! We got word that the T109A’s had been picked up in Upright Channel, which is the body of water between Shaw and Lopez Island. Many folks are familiar with this channel as it is part of the Washington State Ferry Route to get to Friday Harbor. The M/V Osprey departed the dock and headed to Turn Rock to view our sea otter friend. After...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | August 24th, 2026 | 2:00pm

This tour left the dock with a report of whales moving North. They were first picked up near Waldron Island and were pointed towards the Canadian boarder. On our way up there we made a stop at a nearby kelp bed to check out a Sea Otter that has been frequenting it lately. He was resting while wrapped in kelp. We got amazing looks at this little guy as we floated past with our engines shut off. We then headed North and made one more stop...

Lauren Tschirhart | August 21st, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30 pm

The San Juan Safaris Classic Whale Watch & Wildlife Tour spent the afternoon observing a family of five Bigg’s Killer Whales. This matriline is known at the T036A’s and is made up of: 

• - T036A/Leland — female, born in 1990
  • - T036A1/Tierna — female, born in 2005
    • - T036A1A/Drift — male, born in 2022
  • - T036A2/Kailas — female, born in 2012
    • - T036A2A/Rogue — born in 2025
  • - T036A3/Storm/Mike III — male, born in 2015
  • - T036A5/Squall — male, born in...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | August 23rd, 2026 | 12:30pm

Bigg's Killer Whales have been absolutely loving Waldron Island lately, and today was no exception. Shortly before we left the dock, a fellow PWWA member vessel spotted a family of these whales circling the island. They likely were looking for Harbor Seals, which Waldron has no shortage of along it's shores. We made the transit North out of Friday Harbor and arrived to Waldron Island to see six black dorsal fins cutting through the...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Sea Lion | August 22nd, 2026 | 5:30pm

As Summer slowly comes to an end, the sun is beginning to set earlier and earlier. Because of this, our Sunset Tours are not able to run into our Fall season. This trip just so happened to be our final Sunset Tour of the season! I absolutely love these tours, and was excited to be working this one to hopefully go out with a bang! We were fortunate enough to leave the dock with a whale report quite close by. A family of Bigg's Killer...

Kelly | M/V Kestrel | August 22nd, 2026 | 2pm

We left Friday Harbor and followed along the ferry route across the channel and into the heart of the San Juan’s. Taking a hard left we made our way into Eastsound and pointed steady north. Whales were reported deep into the sound, almost all the way to the town of Eastsound itself. We soon spotted a large dorsal fin in the distance! This was a pair of whales from the T37A’s identified as:

• T037A/Volker — female, born in 1994
• T037A2/Inky — male, born in...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | August 21st, 2026 | 2:00pm

This tour began with several different whale reports scattered around the San Juan Islands. We chose to point Northwest and head towards Waldron Island. The water was incredibly calm, and a bit of fog was moving in which made it feel like a very "pacific northwest" kind of whale watch. We arrived to the top of Waldron and slowly approached a group of five Bigg's Killer Whales. It was the T36As, and it was my first time seeing this family...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | August 21st, 2026 | 10:00am

On this particular morning, whale reports had been developing quite early in the morning. This was perfect for us, as we actually had options when we left the dock at 10am! We began by going strait into the inner islands and moving up West Sound, which is a body of water that juts up into the bottom of Orcas Island. We got to the top of West Sound and were welcomed with perfectly calm water and beautiful weather. We began watching the...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | Thursday, August 20, 2026 | 2:00 pm

Every day we depart the dock, we always have a plan; however, that plan often changes. Especially when you find a group of killer whales! After heading south down San Juan Channel, we turned the corner into Haro Strait, where we eventually spotted a massive sail-like dorsal fin cutting through the water, with several smaller fins present in spread out groups. It was a family of six Bigg’s killer whales known as the T109As hugging the...