Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Lauren Tschirhart | September 13th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 11:00 am

For the last several years, San Juan Safaris has partnered with Island Rec to get San Juan Island locals out on the water to see the beautiful wildlife that surrounds their home. Coincidentally, our tour today ended up completing a circumnavigation of San Juan Island… How fitting! 

The M/V Osprey departed Friday Harbor and headed south. We made a stop just south of Turn Rock to view some hauled our harbor seals and a sea otter! The...

Lauren Tschirhart | September 10th, 2026 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:30 pm

What’s going on with the T035A’s? There has been a lot of buzz with this family lately, as the family has expanded, but no one is quite sure who the new calf belongs to. Did T035A/ Lester have her fifth calf? Or did T035A/ Opal have her first? Regardless of who the little tyke belongs to, this baby was bringing all those aboard the M/V Sea Lion an immense amount of joy. 

Our Classic Whale Watch & Wildlife Tour departed Friday...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | Friday, September 11, 2026 | 2:00 PM

Today was an adventure tour on Kestrel to say the least! The Strait of Juan de Fuca is essentially the Salish Sea’s mouth into the greater Pacific Ocean running east to west between the Olympic peninsula and Vancouver Island, and I had never been as far west into the Strait before today. We also call this body of water the “whale highway,” as it’s a common entrance point for any marine mammal traveling along the PNW coast to change...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | September 12th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We curled over the top of San Juan Island on our search for whales and other wildlife. First stop of the day was at Spieden island, the largest privately owned island in the San Juan’s. On this island we found ALL three non-native animals that call it home-mouflon sheep, fallow deer and sika deer. We were even treated to a few of those lovable harbor seals (aka rock sausages) lounging along the shoreline. We next set our sights on Henry Island...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | September 11th, 2026 | 12:30pm

This tour left the dock with the gift of beautiful weather and water conditions which is always a great start. We turned right out of Friday Harbor and pointed South in San Juan Channel. We began by checking a nearby kelp bed that is sometimes frequented by a Sea Otter. This is a rare species to encounter in the inland waters of the Salish Sea, but luckily this little one has taken a liking to this specific spot. It ususually can be...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | September 9th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We left the harbor and pointed right into San Juan Channel, staying steading south as we cruised into Cattle Pass. This narrow pass is an exceptionally rich food zone. As the water flows through at high speeds, it stirs up nutrients from the bottom of the ocean floor. As the nutrients flow upward, they mix with the sun- producing an abundance of phytoplankton. In this hotspot near Goose Island, we watched the cormorants both flying overhead and...

Lauren Tschirhart | September 7th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 1:30 pm

Two of our favorite families were sighted close to the harbor today, so we couldn’t wait to get out on the water! The T049A’s were sighted just north of San Juan Channel in Boundary Pass, so we decided to follow up on that report first. As we made our way into Boundary, the T049A’s cruised right past White Rock, a known harbor seal haul out sight. We saw some splashing around and it seemed like they may have grabbed a seal, but we...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | September 8th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We departed Friday Harbor with haste, wasting not a moment as we set our sights far north into the Canadian gulf islands. Thankfully, the weather was nearly perfect, sunny skies and calm water accompanied us our entire journey. Guest’s and crew alike enjoyed the cool breeze as we made our way up San Juan Channel and eventually across the border. 

We began to slow our speed as we approached a group of Killer whales along Salt Spring island’s...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | September 6th, 2026 | 12:30pm

This was an exciting day for our crew, as an uncommon report of Bigg's Killer Whales popped up near Friday Harbor in the morning. The reason for it being uncommon was not because of the type of whales, but because of the individuals themselves. T65 "Whidbey" and T63 "Chainsaw" had made a rare appearance to the inner San Juan Islands and were making their way down San Juan Channel. Whidbey is one of the older living females in the...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | Sunday, September 6, 2026 | 2:00 PM

Every day here in the Salish Sea brings different repertoires of wildlife, in fact, every single hour on the water is different. This afternoon, our boat saw the same group of 11 Bigg’s Killer Whales, the T049As and T035As; however, they were ten miles further north, even deeper into Canadian waters. Today’s adventure tour surely lived up to its name, and those adventure suits came in handy during our nearly 70 mile round-trip!

Kestrel...