Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | September 11th, 2026 | 12:30pm

This tour left the dock with the gift of beautiful weather and water conditions which is always a great start. We turned right out of Friday Harbor and pointed South in San Juan Channel. We began by checking a nearby kelp bed that is sometimes frequented by a Sea Otter. This is a rare species to encounter in the inland waters of the Salish Sea, but luckily this little one has taken a liking to this specific spot. It ususually can be...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | September 9th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We left the harbor and pointed right into San Juan Channel, staying steading south as we cruised into Cattle Pass. This narrow pass is an exceptionally rich food zone. As the water flows through at high speeds, it stirs up nutrients from the bottom of the ocean floor. As the nutrients flow upward, they mix with the sun- producing an abundance of phytoplankton. In this hotspot near Goose Island, we watched the cormorants both flying overhead and...

Lauren Tschirhart | September 7th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 1:30 pm

Two of our favorite families were sighted close to the harbor today, so we couldn’t wait to get out on the water! The T049A’s were sighted just north of San Juan Channel in Boundary Pass, so we decided to follow up on that report first. As we made our way into Boundary, the T049A’s cruised right past White Rock, a known harbor seal haul out sight. We saw some splashing around and it seemed like they may have grabbed a seal, but we...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | September 8th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We departed Friday Harbor with haste, wasting not a moment as we set our sights far north into the Canadian gulf islands. Thankfully, the weather was nearly perfect, sunny skies and calm water accompanied us our entire journey. Guest’s and crew alike enjoyed the cool breeze as we made our way up San Juan Channel and eventually across the border. 

We began to slow our speed as we approached a group of Killer whales along Salt Spring island’s...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | September 6th, 2026 | 12:30pm

This was an exciting day for our crew, as an uncommon report of Bigg's Killer Whales popped up near Friday Harbor in the morning. The reason for it being uncommon was not because of the type of whales, but because of the individuals themselves. T65 "Whidbey" and T63 "Chainsaw" had made a rare appearance to the inner San Juan Islands and were making their way down San Juan Channel. Whidbey is one of the older living females in the...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | Sunday, September 6, 2026 | 2:00 PM

Every day here in the Salish Sea brings different repertoires of wildlife, in fact, every single hour on the water is different. This afternoon, our boat saw the same group of 11 Bigg’s Killer Whales, the T049As and T035As; however, they were ten miles further north, even deeper into Canadian waters. Today’s adventure tour surely lived up to its name, and those adventure suits came in handy during our nearly 70 mile round-trip!

Kestrel...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | Sunday, September 6, 2026 | 10:00 AM 

Little did I know this morning when I crawled out of bed that I was about to spend the morning with 15 whales, let alone perhaps the most iconic Bigg’s killer whale of the Salish Sea.

We usually start the trip with an introduction to the marine mammals of the San Juans, but this morning, there was no time for this, as four toothed whales were visible from the naked eye before even exiting the harbor. I failed at keeping my cool upon...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | September 5th, 2026 | 10:00 am and 2:00 pm

Two adventure tours today in the most beautiful conditions was pretty awesome! For our 10am trip, we left the dock in the direction of some whale rumors but didn’t know quite where the day would take us. It was an especially lucky morning since not too far up San Juan Channel we found that Bigg’s Killer Whale T65A3 Amir was travelling! He has been seen by himself recently, though he sometimes does travel with his mom and...

Aly Liu | M/V Osprey | Saturday, September, 5 2026 | 12:30 pm 

Beautiful weather plus one of my favorite families of killer whales plus a personal Minke whale milestone...what a fantastic day out on the water.

We headed east from Friday Harbor through Upright Channel. The ferry terminal on Lopez Island suddenly became visible, along with three large exhalations…it was three Bigg’s killer whales! And, not just any killer whales, but one of the most beloved families here in the Salish Sea. Galiano...

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

Our 2:00 pm Adventure Tour had an epic encounter with two different eco-types of killer whales today! Not only did we get to observe splashy social behavior from three different families of Bigg’s Killer Whales (a.k.a Transient Orcas) but we even got the rare opportunity to see Southern Resident Killer Whales as we motored back to Friday Harbor. 

The M/V Kestrel departed Friday Harbor and made our way south in San Juan Channel. We...