Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Logan Stecker | M/V Kestrel | July 28th 2025 | 2:00 pm

Total we got to see most of the prey animals for transient killer whales in our area before getting to watch the whales themselves! 

It all started with a harbor seal floating around the dock before we left. This cutie was doing backflips and was even present at the dock when we returned.

Stop 1: Whale Rocks

We began our first wildlife viewing by observing many Steller’s Sea Lion on Whale Rocks. These giants were quite vocal to each other as...

Logan Stecker | M/V Kestrel | July 27th 2025 | 2:00 pm

This trip was quite a venture! We booked it all the way to Galiano Island to track down the only whales seen today in our area.

On scene we got thew chance to watch the T065Bs as they maneuvered along the shore and even approached and encircled a group of hauled our seal pups on a small offshore island. This group of Transient Killer Whales consists of a mother named Chunk and her 3 children. The origin of the mother’s name comes from a chuck...

Logan Stecker | M/V Kestrel | July 27th 2025 | 10:00 am

An exciting more of uncertain searching and beautiful calm waters. Every morning, we join in the lookout for whales along with other whale watching and research vessels.

Stop 1: White Rocks

Our first marine mammal friends we encountered were very cute seal pups along the shore of white rocks island. Their cute eyes glowed with fierce adorableness. The pupping season is currently happening with harbor seasons where via embryonic diapause the...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | July 26th, 2025 | 10:00 AM

When we left the harbor this morning, we had no idea where our morning adventure would take us. With only a brief shore report of killer whales from hours earlier, we began heading north towards the Gulf Islands of Canada. We traveled up San Juan Channel, west through New Channel, and made our way all the way to Turn Point on Stuart Island. As we scanned the boundary waters, we heard from a nearby boat that they had found a humpback whale...

Logan Stecker | M/V Kestrel | July 21st 2025 | 2:00 pm

Today was a breathtaking and incredible day out on the water! Some of the luckiest moments I’ve experienced out here all in 3 hours.

With Humpbacks and Orcas in one outing it was already going to be a great trip… but with each encounter we got to witness interesting and inspiring behaviors that stood out among viewings.

With our Humpback friend, Monarch, we got to scene with only a little time before having to head south to find orcas that...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | July 24th, 2025 | 12:30 PM

We had a boat full of determined passengers today as our search for whales brought us south across a rocky Strait of Juan de Fuca. The closest whale sightings when we left the dock were near Victoria, BC, so we began our trip heading south in San Juan Channel. We found some harbor seals and many sea birds near Goose Island, and the extreme low tides exposed a lot more land for the seals to haul out on. As we traveled through Cattle Pass, we...

Logan Stecker | M/V Kestrel | July 20th 2025 | 2:00 pm

A great day exploring the San Juan Islands – today we unintentionally circumnavigated the main set of large islands! 

Stop 1: Spieden Island

Taking the North side of Spieden we found multiple 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...

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 Osprey | July 22nd, 2025 | 12:30 PM

We didn’t have to travel very far today to find multiple species of whales! Our trip began by heading interisland between Shaw and Lopez Islands, and we quickly caught up with a group of Bigg’s Killer Whales! This familiar family was easy to identify as the T65Bs, and we got great looks at T65B Chunk’s distinct dorsal and her three kids. I am always amazed at how large her 14 year old son Birdsall is; as a sprouting male, he definitely still...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | Wednesday, July 16th, 2025 | 12:30 PM

When departing Friday Harbor, we have three route options to choose from. We can go north in San Juan Channel, we can go south in San Juan Channel or we can head east aiming for Upright Channel, the body of water between Lopez and Shaw. Most days we are aware of whale reports before leaving the dock, but today that was not the case. Every whale report we had heard of was too far out of our range. These are the days when whale watching...