Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | October 25th, 2026 | 12:30 pm

Today was full of surprises as we searched around the Salish Sea for all sorts of wildlife. By the time we were leaving the dock, there were no reports in our area yet so we joined the search heading north. Outside the harbor we spotted a Stellar Sea Lion swimming along the shoreline, which turned out to be an excellent omen for the rest of our day! We explored up San Juan Channel and along some of the Wasp Islands, before turning more...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | October 24th, 2026 | 12:30 pm

What started as a rainy fall day on San Juan Island ended up as a trip full of wildlife around the Salish Sea! We left Friday Harbor with a report of Bigg’s Killer Whales pretty far to the southeast, so we headed in that direction with hopes we could reach them or find other whales along the way. We trekked south across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and luckily we got out of the rain even as we reached Cattle Pass. Despite the cloudy...

Lauren Tschirhart | October 22nd, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 1:30 pm

It was a perfect October day here in the Salish Sea. The sky was low lit and cloudly, but there were unbelievable pockets of sunshine cascading over the Olympic Peninsula. The M/V Osprey departed Friday Harbor and headed south. Our first stop was to Turn Rock to get a glimpse of a sea otter rolling around in the kelp bed. Next we headed towards Cattle Pass, in awe of the picturesque Cattle Point Lighthouse, which had sun beams dancing...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Sea Lion | October 17th, 2026 | 12:30pm

This day had some windy conditions early in the morning, but they calmed down nicely for us just as our tour left the dock. We pointed North and travelled up San Juan Channel. We then wrapped around the top of Stuart Island and continued Northwest over the boarder and into Canadian waters. Shortly after this becoming an international tour, we arrived on scene with two Humpback Whales! The Eastern Pacific Humpback population is...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Sea Lion | October 16th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We left the dock on this tour and pointed South down San Juan Channel. It was stunningly beautiful weather, especially for mid October! We travelled into the Strait of Juan de Fuca towards a report of Bigg's Killer Whales. We admired wonderful views of Mount Baker and Cattle Point Lighthouse on our way there. We even got an awesome look at a Harbor Porpoise! Not long after that we arrived on scene with a family of six Bigg's Killer...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | October 15th, 2026 | 1:30 pm

As we move further into the Fall season, we are enjoying so many beautiful sunny days full of wildlife. We left the harbor to head north, seeing some clear views of Mount Baker to the east but also some dense fog. As we made our way further north, we soon were surrounded by the fog and enjoyed the spooky October setting looking out at the San Juan Island shoreline as well as further obscured islands. We spotted our first bald eagle of the...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | October 11th, 2026 | 12:30 pm

Today’s journey brought us all the way to Victoria, where we found a Humpback Whale! We departed the dock heading south with plans to head towards Vancouver Island after hearing a few rumors of whale reports in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We took our time scanning along San Juan Channel, finding a sea otter south of Turn Island. We meandered past Goose Island, aiming for Whale Rocks to see the many Stellar’s Sea Lions hauled out. From...

Olivia Esqueda | Manager of Naturalists and Vessel Operations | October 15th, 2026 | 

Boating around in the Salish Sea means you are traveling around in some of the richest waters in the entire world.  An abundance of nutrients finds their way into this large inland sea and consistently gets stirred up filling these waters with a wealth of phytoplankton, which in turn supports the base of the extremely diverse trophic scale [organisms occupying the food chain]. This inland sea stretches north...

Kelly | October 13th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 1:30 pm

With nothing but an expired humpback whale sighting to follow up on, we slipped out of Friday Harbor and into San Juan Channel on this gorgeously moody autumn afternoon. Cruising quickly up the channel, eventually slowing around two large bait balls just off White Rock. Bait balls are tight concentrations of small schooling fish that attract a frenzy flock of gulls and other sea birds. We shut the engine off and waited for any signs of other...

Kelly | October 9th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30 pm

The weather is most certainly turning here in Friday Harbor! There was a slight chill in the air as we departed on the M/V Osprey. We took a left into San Juan Channel and began our search for whales and other wildlife. As we made our way up the channel, we noticed those distinct stubby black dorsal fins began to spout from the water erratically. Of course, belonging to harbor porpoise AKA our squirrels of the sea. We made our first official stop...