Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Fall… The crisp sunny days, the approaching of scarf weather, and of course Pumpkin Spice everything… It is a gorgeous time of the year, and while coming to the San Juan Island any time of year is an absolute must, Autumn tends to be an especially gorgeous time of year out.  The trees begin changing color, quintessential overcast morning weather returns, and the days are still long enough to get out and enjoy!

Just because Autumn is approaching doesn’t mean there is any less to see...

[Sarah | 09/03/2018 | M/V Kestrel | 02:00pm]

Yesterday’s Adventure Whale Watch was a great reminder of why I love September so much out here in the San Juans. We had so much wildlife to look for and had great encounters with whales!

We started our afternoon heading north out of Friday Harbor through San Juan Channel. We pointed for a few wildlife hot spots at Green Point on Spieden Island and then around Sentinel Island. We found harbor porpoises, harbor seals, and even some bald...

M/V Sea Lion- 9/2 @ 1:30pm

Yesterday guests aboard M/V Sea Lion were treated to the trifecta!  As we were heading out Captain Gabe, Naturalist Erick and myself were all excited to hit the water!  It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, the smoke from the BC fires in weeks prior had since cleared, and it was a perfect day!  To top it off we even had reports of orcas in our range… and not just any orcas, they were Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs)!  As Captain Gabe shared this...

[Sarah | M/V Kestrel | 09/01/2018 | 10:00am & 02:00pm]

September is here!! My favorite month in the San Juan Islands!! Saturday’s tours on Kestrel did not disappoint, with great wildlife sightings on both tours.

10:00am Adventure Tour

On our morning departure we left the harbor and headed north towards an early report of orcas pushing north. As we crossed Boundary Pass we were treated to sweeping views before we crossed the border and entered the (equally beautiful) Canadian Gulf...

Guests aboard Kestrel along with Cpt. Mike and I were excited to get on the water with a report of transient orcas already moving East from us. About an hour travel time for us to get on scene with these whales, Mike and I were eager to get everyone on the boat and ready to pick up speed. 

As of earlier, the day had been calm and sunny but now the wind was starting to pick up and the clouds were starting to show up. On our way over to these whales, we crossed San Juan Channel to take...

Guests aboard M/V Sea Lion along with naturalist Rachel, Captain Pete and I were ready to get out on the water on this CLEAR and sunny August day! After two long weeks of wildfire smokes in our area and no visibility, it was a treat to get to see the mountain ranges in the distance. Already looking like a good day with a report from another boat who had Humpbacks south of Cattle Pass. After boarding the boat and familiarizing our guests with the natural history of the area, we left...

[Piper | 8/30/18 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30 PM]

Today, Captain Gabe, Naturalist Mariana and I boarded the Sea Lion with a great group of guests and headed north from Friday Harbor, all the way up into the Canadian waters of the Strait of Georgia. It took a little while to get there but it was so worth it because when we arrived, we found five families of Bigg’s killer whales, made up of 20 or so orcas, socializing and traveling south. These orcas were lobbing their tails and spy-hopping...

[Sarah | 08/22/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 01:30 Classic Tour]

On Wednesday Captain Pete, naturalist Mariana, and I ventured out on the Salish Sea under smoky conditions. Though we have had record smoke from the surrounding area’s wildfires and light wind conditions making the smoke hang over the islands, our wildlife sightings have been unaffected.

We left Friday Harbor and headed south through San Juan Channel, catching glimpses of harbor porpoise and seals as we cruised through the flat...

August 19- M/V Kestrel- 10:00 am

We left Friday Harbor and headed South West towards Canada where there was a report of some transient orcas.  On our way down to Victoria we got to see some harbor seals and some Steller’s sea lions.  Steller’s sea lions spend the majority of the summer on the coast or up in Alaska for their breeding season, but some have started to return!  We then went and saw a mother-son pair of transient orcas resting near Victoria.  We then got another report of...

August 24- M/V Kestrel- 10:00 am

We left the dock at Friday Harbor and East towards a report of a few transient orcas near Anacortes.  As we cruised along we kept an eye out for some other wildlife and came across some harbor porpoise and a bald eagle. We made it to the report of orcas on the North side of Cypress Island. It was the sibling pair of T65A3, who is 11 years old, and T65A4, who is 7 years old.  These two siblings have been hanging out on their own for a few days.  This...