Logan Stecker | M/V Kestrel | July 20th 2025 | 10:00 am

A great day exploring the San Juan Islands – today went North - South - and all over! 

Stop 1: Spieden Island

Going across the South side of Spieden, we spotted 4 Bald Eagles! These glorious birds have made a tremendous recovery after herbicide pollution (DDT) led to their endangered status in years past. Now they are doing well and, in this area, now they have the densest population in the lower 48 states at the San Juan Islands. We also got...

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...

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...

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...

Kelly | M/V Kestrel | Sunday, July 13th 2025 | 2:00 PM

So much commotion as we left the harbor aboard the M/V Kestrel today! The ferry was leaving its port along with sea planes both departing and arriving. A busy hot summer day here on San Juan Island! It was a nice change to suddenly be in quiet water heading south down San Juan Channel. Our first stop of the day was Goose Island! Per usual, this island was absolutely teaming with harbor seals, taking full advantage of low tide. After cruising...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | July 11th, 2025 | 2:00 PM

Captain Brian and I knew it was going to be an epic day on the water, but we couldn’t have predicted the trip we had! There were many different whale sightings in the region, so when we left the harbor we were excited to head towards some of those reports. We began traveling south, hoping to catch up to a report of two killer whales heading towards Salmon Bank. We zoomed through Cattle Pass and continued into the more open water, with...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | July 10th, 2025 | 2:00 PM 

When we left the dock, we started off with our original plan to head south to catch up with some whale reports. As we began traveling south in San Juan Channel, we quickly changed our course to the north as the whales we were planning to find were reported traveling much more quickly north from the west side of San Juan Island. We decided to head around the island that way to increase our chances of catching up, so the adventure began...