Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Abby | M/V Kestrel | May 17th, 2026 | 2:00pm

It was an incredible day to be on the water! Absolutely beautiful! We headed north in San Juan Channel, but did not have many reports, so we had our eyes peeled for anything. We continued traveling north until we reached White Rocks, near Waldron Island. We wanted to see if we could find some harbor seals. Sure enough, we saw many individuals hauled out just above the water line, and there was also some swimming in the water too! Not only did we see...

Abby | M/V Kestrel | May 16th, 2026 | 2:00pm

We started our trip today with two separate reports of Bigg's Killer Whales within our range. It wasn't long after getting out of Friday Harbor before we arrived on scene with the first group that was already identified as the T049A's. 

• T049A/Nan — female, born in 1986
  • T049A3/Nat — male, born in 2011
  • T049A4/Neptune — male, born in 2014
  • T049A5/Nebula — female, born in 2017
  • T049A6/Charlie II — male, born in 2022
  • T049A7*/Nimbus — born in 2026

We first arrived on...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | May 10th, 2026 | 2:00 pm

When we left the harbor, I had no idea that today’s trip would end up being one of my most memorable! We began by heading north in San Juan Channel, and quickly reached reports of the T49A Bigg’s Killer Whale matriline. We stopped for some quick looks, but continued on to search for some other reports we had heard about. Our search brought us into the outer islands near Patos, and we found a trio of Bigg’s from the T124A matriline; T124A, A6...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | May 19h, 2026 | 12:30 pm

 

The moment we leave the harbor we know the search for wildlife is on, and today did not disappoint! Before we had even really picked up speed rounding out of the harbor, naturalist Kelly spotted a sea lion thrashing around at the surface… It was eating an octopus! This was my first time seeing this action, and it was very exciting getting to see this type of predation. After getting some amazing closeups (check out sanjuansafaris.smugmug.com...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | May 15th, 2026 | 2:00 pm

 

Our adventure whale watch was full of wildlife from start to end! Before we left the harbor we saw a harbor seal swimming near our boat, and then after leaving the harbor we went to find a sea otter rolling around in some kelp! After that, we cruised north in San Juan Channel and soon caught up to a few boats off the coast of San Juan Island.. There was a humpback whale traveling close to shore, and we got a few looks as it surfaced. From...

Lauren Tschirhart | May 15th, 2026 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:30 pm

Our Classic Whale Watch & Wildlife Tour aboard the M/V Sea Lion started off strong as there were killer whales found just outside of the harbor. We took a left out of San Juan Channel and headed north. We cruised up the San Juan Island coastline and made our way near Reuben Tarte, where there was a group of seven Bigg’s killer whales. This group was made up of two different families, the T090s as well as the T0124A4’s. We watched as...

Lauren Tschirhart | May 11th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30 pm

Today was my first day back to work after spending a winter in Hawai’i, and what a welcome back it was! I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my sixth season here with San Juan Safaris. Our tour started with a behind the scenes debate on which way to go. We already knew of two different groups of Bigg’s killer whales in the area, one north of Friday Harbor, and one south. It’s always incredible when there are options before we even...

Olivia Ellman | May 14th, 2026 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:30pm We departed Friday Harbor today with hopes of sunshine and finding whales, and at least the whales came through for us! We traveled north up San Juan Channel, stopping at Green Point to see the Stellar's Sea Lions resting on the shoreline. Continuing into New Channel, we also viewed mouflon sheep along the hillside as well. We encountered some rain and winds, but nothing could deter us in our search. As we rounded the western side of...

Kelly Klein | May 13th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 1:30pm 

We took a left outside Friday Harbor and pointed north in San Juan Channel. Almost instantaneously, we were treated to a bald eagle sitting high in the evergreens as we cruised toward the nearest whale report. A quick 15 minute transit and we were on scene with 6 orcas identified as the T49a's, consisting of:

• 049A/Nan — female, born in 1986
• T049A3/Nat — male, born in 2011
• T049A4/Neptune — male, born in 2014
• T049A5/Nebula — female, born in 2017
• T049A6...

Olivia Esqueda | May 10th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 1:30pm 

 

This Sunday truly ended up being the most wonderful Mother’s Day Trip. The weather brightened up after a chilly week, and it was warm out there in San Juan Channel. And on top of that, we had Bigg’s Killer Whales found in San Juan Channel swimming towards Friday Harbor shortly before we left the dock. This meant we never had the chance to pick up speed before we came across them! 

The T049A’s have been hanging around a lot in the last few...