Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Kelly Klein | M/V Kestrel | June 30th, 2026 | 2pm

Overcast sky no more! The sun was out and the sky was bright blue as we left Friday Harbor and pointed north up San Juan Channel. We made two quick pit stops for a lone Steller Sea Lion and a Bald Eagle near Friday Harbor Labs. As we made our turn into Presidents Channel, exhales sprung up in the distance! A group of 4 Biggs Killer whales identified as the T65A's made up of: 

• T065B/Chunk — female, born in 1993
  • T065B1/Birdsall — male, born in 2011
  • T06...

Olivia Esqueda | June 30th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30pm

Today was truly an exciting day out on the water as we set out from Friday Harbor, following up on potential shore reports. We headed north through San Juan Channel, curving through the Wasp Islands, and extending our search northwest into New Channel which rests north of Spieden Island. Continuing west/ southwest, we dipped into the north Haro Strait around Henry Island and started seeing orca exhales outside of Mosquito Pass. 

We were the...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | June 29th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We left Friday Harbor feeling very hopeful this day, as there was a great report not too far South. We started travelling down San Juan Channel, briefly stopping for a look at some huge Steller Sea Lions on a small group of islands called Whale Rocks. The report was that 11 Bigg's Killer Whales consisting of individuals from four different matrilines were moving West below Lopez Island. It first appeared that they would continue moving West...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Sea Lion | June 28th, 2026 | 5:30pm

This tour left the dock a few minutes early, which worked out perfectly because two Killer Whales had just passed by Friday Harbor! We left the dock with the sun shining and had a short ten minutes transit down San Juan Channel. We entered Griffin Bay which resides on the East shore of San Juan Island and were met with a lovely sight, two huge black dorsal fins! These fins belonged to a pair of presumed brothers; T128 "Flotsam" and T125A...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | June 28th, 2026 | 2:00 pm

Today was truly a killer whale adventure tour! Before leaving the dock, we had many different reports of whales in our area but we didn’t know just how many we would end up able to see. Since every hour is different on the water, we decided to head out towards some exciting reports in Rosario Strait and then see what was going on once we got out there. On our way there, we slowed down near Lopez Island ferry dock because there were Bigg’s...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | June 27th, 2026 | 5:30 pm 

Tonight was a magical evening in glassy waters watching killer whales, what a dream! We departed Friday Harbor and went north to follow up on a few reports near Spieden and the surrounding boundary waters, and were not disappointed in what we found! We cruised past Spieden and continued towards Flattop where we soon saw some black dorsal fins along the rocky shoreline. I was excited to find the T49A family traveling here, a group I haven’t...

Lauren Tschirhart | June 27th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30 pm

Today was a perfect example of how quickly things can change while out on the water. We left the dock, took a right out of Friday Harbor and headed south. As we made our way through Cattle Pass we stopped at Goose Island to view a ton of hauled out harbor seals. We got great views at a slew of pelagic cormorants, glaucous-winged gulls and double-crested cormorants before making our way west in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We passed by...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | June 26th, 2026 | 2:00 pm 

The population of Bigg’s (Transient) killer whales in the Salish Sea is growing exponentially every year; sometimes you must only travel 15 minutes before spotting their blows!

After going north up San Juan Channel from Friday Harbor, we hung out with the T049A matriline of Bigg’s killer whales, including the following individuals:

T49A "Nan" (F) b. 1986

• T49A3 "Nat" (M) b. 2011
• T49A4 "Neptune" (M) b. 2014
• T49A5 "Nebula" (F) b. 2017
• T49A6 "Charlie ll" (...

Olivia Esqueda | June 24th, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00pm

Today’s Adventure Tour spoiled us despite the distance; we had calm seas and even a warm wind hitting our faces! Heading north through San Juan Channel, we passed heaps of Harbor Porpoise-literally everywhere! We consistently saw these small cetaceans our entire route up through Canada. Dipping through Navy Channel, we eventually threaded the needle in Georgeson Pass and entered the Strait of Georgia. Looking directly at Vancouver, B.C, we...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | June 26th, 2026 | 12:30pm

This tour left the dock in calm conditions, with the occasional light rainfall for a few minutes at a time; a very "PNW" type of afternoon! We thankfully had a very short transit to our first group of whales though, and the rain stopped just as we arrived! The T49As were moving East through Cayou Channel, so we chose to wrap around the bottom of Shaw Island and meet up with them on the other side of it. We timed this perfectly and were...