Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | July 5th, 2026 | 10:00am

We left the dock in search mode on this beautiful morning. We travelled North up San Juan Channel, and began by checking out Spieden Island which resides just above San Juan. This island has a wild history that resulted in multiple foreign species calling it home. We got some really cool looks at some Mouflon Sheep that were right at the water's edge! While this was happening, we also spotted a Bald Eagle perched in a tree above us. Just as...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | July 4th, 2026 | 10:00am

This tour had some unknowns while leaving the dock. There weren't many reports out there yet, but we were prepared to search. We initially had planned on heading East and searching some area in Rosario Strait, but just minutes after leaving the dock we received a rumor of Killer Whales to the Northwest. The report was quite vague, and from somebody on land, which means we would likely have to search once getting to the area. We decided to...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | July 4, 2026 | 2:00 pm 

We left the dock at Friday Harbor and followed the perimeter of San Juan Island north into Haro Strait, following reports of killer whales hanging around Saanich Inlet in Canada. Captain Brian and I used our magic powers to ask these whales to head east into Haro Strait rather than our opposite direction, and we were indeed successful. The bumpy (and fun) transit across Haro was worth it, as we were able to spend time with a matriline of six Bigg’s...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | July 3rd, 2026 | 2:00 pm

Today’s afternoon Kestrel trip was excited to get out on the water after a successful morning search. Since getting on the dock, another family of Bigg’s Killer Whales had been picked up in our area and were not too far from the harbor so we began heading towards that report. We traveled between Shaw and Lopez before slowing our speed… This group of killer whales was traveling west, heading between Shaw and Orcas Islands. I was happy to see...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | July 3rd, 2026 | 10:00 am 

Captain Brian and I had an amazing adventure filled day on our Kestrel tours… So many whales to see in the Salish Sea! For our morning trip, we were part of the first group of boats out so we joined the search for whales as we left the dock. There had been a few whale rumors in the region, including some killer whales seen from the early morning ferry that some of our passengers were on before our trip! No one had found those whales again...

Lauren Tschirhart | July 2nd, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 pm

Today was feeling more like January than July. It was cold, and it was rainy but the wildlife made our wet and wild journey beyond worth it. We saw so many cool things on our tour today! Our trip began by departing Friday Harbor and cruising south towards Cattle Pass. We stopped at Whale Rocks to observe a large group of Steller Sea Lions before continuing southeast around the bottom of Lopez Island. Next we slowed down to view a humpback...

Lauren Tschirhart | July 1st, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 pm

Today was a particularly exciting whale watch for me as I got to see two of my very special whale friends for the first time this season! I have been working for San Juan Safaris since the summer of 2021, so at this point I really do consider these apex predators my friends… even if they literally have no idea that I exist. There are only a handful of adult male killer whales in the Bigg’s population that are considered to be independents...

Lauren Tschirhart | June 29th, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 pm

Our Adventure Tour today was about as epic as they come… and we never even left San Juan Channel. A group of 11 Bigg’s Killer Whales aka Transient Orcas had been picked up in the Strait of Juan de Fuca heading north towards Cattle Pass. Anytime we have members from 3 or more matrilines swimming together, we call that a T-Party (“T” stands for Transient, which is a specific eco-type of killer whale). Eco-types are like sub-species, but...

Kelly Klein | M/V Kestrel | June 30th, 2026 | 2pm

Overcast sky no more! The sun was out and the sky was bright blue as we left Friday Harbor and pointed north up San Juan Channel. We made two quick pit stops for a lone Steller Sea Lion and a Bald Eagle near Friday Harbor Labs. As we made our turn into Presidents Channel, exhales sprung up in the distance! A group of 4 Biggs Killer whales identified as the T65A's made up of: 

• T065B/Chunk — female, born in 1993
  • T065B1/Birdsall — male, born in 2011
  • T06...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | June 28th, 2026 | 2:00 pm

Today was truly a killer whale adventure tour! Before leaving the dock, we had many different reports of whales in our area but we didn’t know just how many we would end up able to see. Since every hour is different on the water, we decided to head out towards some exciting reports in Rosario Strait and then see what was going on once we got out there. On our way there, we slowed down near Lopez Island ferry dock because there were Bigg’s...