Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Kelly | July 10th, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 10:00 am On this mornings adventure tour the only whale report to investigate was deep in the Canadian gulf islands, so we wasted no time heading that direction. Pointing north up San Juan Channel and eventually into the bigger body of water known as Boundary Pass, quickly slipping over the border and into Canadian water. After navigating into the gulf islands we began to slow the boat and watched as 6 distinct dorsal fins rise from the water. This family...

Olivia Esqueda | July 9th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30pm

 

Today ended up being a bit breezy out on the water, but still so sunny and beautiful with incredible cloud formations around the islands, making it an aesthetic boat ride through the San Juan Islands. We headed north through San Juan Channel, passing Flattop Island and finding our way over to White Rock where there was a haul out of Harbor Seals. There were so many color morphs in this group, ranging from all black, all white, yellow, and...

Aly Liu | M/V Osprey | July 8, 2026 | 12:30 pm 

Just moments after leaving the dock at Friday Harbor, a 15-foot blow was seen in the helm off of Canoe Island. Then, a tail fluke descended beneath the Salish Sea. Not only is this fluke beautiful, but it also allows us to match the unique coloration pattern to our photo-identification system; hello humpback whale “Kiarra Kelly” (BCX2473)! This baleen whale is relatively young (first seen in 2022) and is named “Kiarra Kelly” (BCX2473), traveling...

Lauren Tschirhart | July 7th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30 pm

Our Classic Whale Watch & Wildlife Tour today completed a full circumnavigation of Orcas Island. We departed Friday Harbor and headed north in San Juan Channel. We made our way in between Jones and Orcas Island and then cruised into President’s Channel. While boating through President’s we got great looks at several harbor porpoise surfacing on the port side of our vessel. We made our way into Rosario Strait and were heading for Barnes...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | July 5th, 2026 | 2:00pm

This tour had a rather short transit to whales, as the T100s that our morning tour saw were still circling Flattop Island hours later! This shoreline is packed with Harbor Seals, so it is likely that these three Killer Whales had multiple meals in that area throughout the day. Right after we arrived, the family veer off of the shoreline and began heading South down San Juan Channel. We got a couple of amazing looks as they made their way...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | July 5th, 2026 | 10:00am

We left the dock in search mode on this beautiful morning. We travelled North up San Juan Channel, and began by checking out Spieden Island which resides just above San Juan. This island has a wild history that resulted in multiple foreign species calling it home. We got some really cool looks at some Mouflon Sheep that were right at the water's edge! While this was happening, we also spotted a Bald Eagle perched in a tree above us. Just as...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | July 4th, 2026 | 10:00am

This tour had some unknowns while leaving the dock. There weren't many reports out there yet, but we were prepared to search. We initially had planned on heading East and searching some area in Rosario Strait, but just minutes after leaving the dock we received a rumor of Killer Whales to the Northwest. The report was quite vague, and from somebody on land, which means we would likely have to search once getting to the area. We decided to...

Lauren Tschirhart | July 5th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30 pm

Our Sunday Classic Whale Watch & Wildlife Tour was spent watching the T100’s in the teal blue waters of Boundary Pass. We first made our way north in San Juan Channel, cruising towards Waldron Island. We got word that a group of three orca whales were spotted near White Rock. It seems like the T100’s have been spotted in the waters around Waldron Island more days than not these past few weeks. We slowly made our way on scene and watched...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | July 4, 2026 | 2:00 pm 

We left the dock at Friday Harbor and followed the perimeter of San Juan Island north into Haro Strait, following reports of killer whales hanging around Saanich Inlet in Canada. Captain Brian and I used our magic powers to ask these whales to head east into Haro Strait rather than our opposite direction, and we were indeed successful. The bumpy (and fun) transit across Haro was worth it, as we were able to spend time with a matriline of six Bigg’s...

Lauren Tschirhart | July 4th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30 pm

Happy 250th Birthday America! We ironically spent our 4th of July watching whales in British Columbia! The aroma of hot dogs and bbq filled the air as we departed Friday Harbor Marina. The holiday vibes were high from the start, as the first thing we spotted after entering San Juan Channel was a bald eagle. The bald eagle is the National Bird of the United States of America! How fitting. Did you know that Ben Franklin originally wanted...