Maxx K. | M/V Osprey | 06/26/2022 | 12:30pm

    Today was hotter than hades! No doubt about it, summer is officially here. 

    Osprey slowly put putted its way out of Friday Harbor, north through the San Juan Channel and around again into Presidents Channel. A family of Biggs Killer Whales known as the T036A’s had been picked up right outside Friday Harbor a few hours before and had already made it to Sucia Island, north west of Orcas. 

    The T036A’s were a new family to me, being...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | June 25, 2022 | 5:30 pm

Summer is finally here! We’re experiencing our first string of warm, sunny days now that the end of June is nearing and the whales were here for it, too! For today’s Classic Wildlife and Whale Watching tour, sunset edition, we left the dock to see the sun glowing on the water in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We detoured through Castle Island and McArdle Bay, a pristine inlet of steep cliffs, towering trees, and calm seas on the south end...

Another day of fun just off the dock here in the San Juans! We took a left out of Friday Harbor and headed north up San Juan Channel. Our first stop was Flathead Island, a protected nature preserve here in the San Juans where we often see a variety of pelagic birds, pinnipeds and intertidal species from the shoreline. During our shuffle along the banks we observed a bald eagle perched atop a tree, its iconic white head contrasted beautifully against the green tree tops. The bald...

Elle | M/V Osprey | June 23, 2022 |12:30PM

Today we had a beautiful day out on the Salish Sea. It was sunny and warm with calm seas and very little wind. We started the day with reports of a family of Bigg’s killer whales just north of John’s Pass in the San Juan Channel. We arrived at the family, which we later identified as the T123s, just off of Stuart Island and cruised alongside Sydney (T123), Stanley (T123A), Lucky (T123C), and Darcy (T123D), as they headed northwest together...

The only Monday blues for today’s tour was the gorgeous blue sky over San Juan Island. We started off the day hearing chatter of sightings down South, so we headed out of Friday Harbor in search of whales. Before getting too far, a Steller sea lion surprised our guests by appearing close to the boat, giving us a great start to our wildlife tour. This surprise encounter was closely followed up with a harbor seal haul-out not too far away, creating a great opportunity to compare two of...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | 06/19/2022 | 12:30 pm

From Saturna Island to Sanctuary Zones followed by a stop at Spieden, our Sunday was packed full of spectacular wildlife!

Shortly after our journey began, we slowed to view a bald eagle perched up high on a treetop. As we continued north, we cruised around White Rock to get a look at some hauled out harbor seals. Harbor seals are extremely important to our ecosystem here, as they make up 70% of our Bigg’s killer whale’s diet. We couldn’t...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | 6.18.2022 | 12:30 PM

It was my first day back to work after a week-long vacation and I had whales on my mind. I truly miss them when I’m gone, and I felt especially eager to show our guests all the San Juans has to offer. As M/V Osprey left the dock, we got word that Bigg’s killer whale family the T123s were in the area. The T123s are “frequent flyers,” or should I say swimmers, here in the Salish Sea. They are one of the families I’ve seen the most thus far...

Maxx K. | M/V Osprey | 06/17/2022 | 12:30pm

    Traveling inter-island is always a great time. It’s fun to wind the vessel through all the nooks and crannies that partition one island from the next. Each passing typically guarantees many glimpses of eagles and pelagic birds along the rocky shorelines. Furthermore, there’s always plenty of harbor seals hoisted out of the water and away from the looming threat of Bigg’s killer whales. 

    The crew was ecstatic even before boarding as...

June 16th, 2022

Abby Dahl

12:30pm Osprey

Gabe, Maxx, Helena and I took to the water as we wrestled the current coming out of Friday Harbor. Bald eagles sat perched in the tree tops at Friday Harbor Labs, and the water shimmered an emerald green. We stopped at Flattop Island on our cruise north, rumors of humpback whales in almost the same place we left them the day before; same individuals too.

We took photos and watched the harbor seals roll around the rocky shoreline, many of them...

June 14, 2022

Abby Dahl

12:30pm Osprey

We took off out of the harbor, rumors of two humpback whales to the north. We zipped through San Juan Channel towards Boundary Pass, harbor seals and harbor porpoise ducking under the water in the distance. It was a clear day, visibility several miles in all directions.

Once we turned into the Strait of Georgia, we saw the humpbacks, identified as:

Divot (Female, born in 2003 to “Big Mama”)

Orion (Juvenile, birth year unknown)

As we watched them...