Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Lauren Tschirhart | July 26th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30 pm

Whales are wild animals, so sightings of them are never guaranteed. With that being said, we see whales on approximately 90% of our tours during peak season. Peak season is considered the months of May through September. This is because during the summer months our sightings network is the strongest and we also have an increase in migratory baleen whale species like Humpback Whales, Gray Whales and Minke Whales. Orcas are a non migratory...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | July 28th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We left the dock full of excitement today as there was an exceptionally rare report of whales within our range. A group of 11 Transient Killer Whales were making their way North up Rosario Strait. Eight of those whales were from our Bigg's Killer Whale population here in the pacific northwest. This large of a group would have been extremely exciting regardless, but they were also accompanied by three CALIFORNIA (CA) TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES...

Lauren Tschirhart | July 24th, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 pm

Our 2:00 pm Adventure Tour began by cruising south towards Turn Rock to see if we could spot our otter friend. There has been a sea otter hanging out in one of the kelp forests just outside of Friday Harbor for most of the summer. This otter was indeed all cozied up, wrapped in the kelp bed at Turn Rock. We got great looks at this cute critter, and also noticed a bald eagle perched on the top of a green navigational marker. Next we...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | July 27th, 2026 | 2:00 pm

Humpbacks, Killer Whales, Seals, Sea Lions, Porpoise, and a Sea Otter in one afternoon… Wow! It’s always amazing when we get to see any of the marine mammal species in our ecosystem, but extra special when we see most of them in one trip! We knew of a few whale reports before leaving the harbor, so we began heading towards the one furthest away from us with the plan to work backwards from there. Kestrel’s speed gives us so many opportunities...

Lauren Tschirhart | July 24th, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 10:00 am 

Bigg’s Killer Whale matriline the T100’s is a family that frequents the inter-islands of the Salish Sea. For whatever reason, they have been spending an insane amount of time in Boundary Pass this summer. There is clearly something appealing about the waters around Waldron Island. Boundary Pass is the large body of water just south of Saturna Island. There are several different channels and passageways that intersect at Boundary...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | July 27th, 2026 | 1:30pm

We left the dock and pointed North out of Friday Harbor on this trip. We travelled up San Juan Channel and turned Northeast into Presidents Channel. We saw quite a few Harbor Porpoise on our way up! This is an excellent area to see them, and there was no shortage today. We continued on our way as we had a whale report a bit North of here to catch up to. Eventually we arrived to Sucia Island and just beyond that was a family of Bigg's Killer...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Sea Lion | July 26th, 2026 | 5:30pm 

This tour left Roche Harbor in slightly foggy conditions, as some rainfall had just lightened up before we left the dock. I personally am a huge fan of viewing whales in conditions like these, so I was super excited to get out there! We left the harbor and turned East. We almost immediately were surprised by two Steller Sea Lions swimming past us! I do not often see this species in this part of the Salish Sea, so this was a treat. From...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | July 26th, 2026 | 10:00 am

I’ve been looking forward to a fun adventure into Active Pass for some time, and the rain today really made our trip extra exciting. When we departed this morning, there were not many reports yet in our region so we joined the search for whales. We made a stop at Turn Rock outside Friday Harbor to search for the otter, and while no otter this time there were harbor seals and a bald eagle! From here we continued on to the north, planning to...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | July 25th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We ventured South down San Juan Channel on this trip, and were immediately greeted by an adorable Sea Otter just minutes in! He was swimming around the outside of a kelp bed just off of Turn Island. As we were arriving, he swam into the kelp and began wrapping himself in it so that he wouldn't float away. We then watched him roll around for several minutes as he groomed himself. Sea Otters are obsessive over keeping their fur clean, as it...

Aly Liu | M/V Osprey | Friday, July 24, 2026 | 12:30 pm 

Our crew got M/V Osprey off the dock at Friday Harbor at 12:30pm this afternoon. After heading north up San Juan Channel, we waved hello to a small group of Harbor porpoise gracefully raising their chocolate-chip shaped dorsal fins above the surface of the water. Shortly after exiting President’s Channel, Captain Gabe announced that he spotted three black dorsal fins in the distance just west from Patos Island. Here are the IDs, names...