Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Kelly | M/V Osprey | April 23rd, 2025 | 2pm

The gorgeous spring weather had everyone in a wonderful mood as we left Friday Harbor and took a left up San Juan Channel.  A quick stop at Sentinel Rock gave us wonderful looks at Harbor Seals, taking full advantage of the real estate that low tide provides. We continued west, quickly crossing over the border and entering Canadian water. Blows in the distance! A group of 8 killer whales were ahead, hugging the coast of Brethour Island. These whales...

Olivia Esqueda | April 21st, 2025 | M/V Osprey | 2:00pm 

What a fun day out on the water with Bigg’s Killer Whales! We headed north through San Juan Channel until we reached the area where San Juan Channel and Spieden Island meet. This is where we first spotted the T065B’s milling around the lush, nutrient filled waters. T065B [Chunk, female born in 1993] is a marine mammal eating orca traveling around with her three calves, T065B1 [Birdsall, male born in 2011], T065B2 [Nettle/Corvis, born in...

Kelly | M/V Osprey | April 19th, 2025 | 12:30pm

The sun began to peak out from behind the clouds just as we turned left out of Friday Harbor. Heading up San Juan Channel, past Flattop Island and into Boundary Pass we investigated a humpback whale report. After a moment of searching in the general area, the whale appeared! A small slinky humpback came up for a breath. His pattern was to come up for a couple quick breaths and then down on a long dive. These dives ranged from 5 to 11 minutes. One...

Olivia Esqueda | April 14th, 2025 | M/V Osprey | 2:00pm

We love sunny days with calm seas and whales nearby- which is exactly what this afternoon brought! We started off our trip heading north through San Juan Channel until we came upon Spieden Island. This privately owned island has the largest bloom of pink flowers (invasive and a part of the geranium family) that we have seen in years and, contrasted with the green shoreline and the mouflon sheep lambs prancing around, it engulfs the...

Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | Friday, April 11th | 12:30 pm 

Today’s Classic Whale Watch and Wildlife Tour was filled with diverse wildlife, seeing many different species during our 4-hour tour. Immediately as we exited Friday Harbor we were greeted by a group of foraging Dall’s Porpoise! Although not rare, we are not greeted by the presence of Dall’s all that often, making it an extra special tour every time we have an encounter. Dall’s Porpoise are often dubbed, the second coolest black and white...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | Wednesday, April 9th | 2:00 pm

Today was our first tour aboard the M/V Osprey, our largest vessel in the fleet. A fully booked tour on our largest vessel can mean only one thing… Summer is coming! We boarded our eager passengers and headed out of Friday Harbor. We had a report of an animal south of Lopez Island, but with the report being pretty far away, we had no time for prior stops. We cruised south in San Juan Channel and through Cattle Pass, taking looks at the Olympic...

Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | Monday, April 7th | 12:30 pm

Our Classic Whale Watch & Wildlife tour left the dock and headed north in San Juan Channel. Rain was in the forecast, so we prepared for a wet ride, but thus far the skies above looked clear. Our first stop was to the Cactus Islands to view some hauled-out harbor seals. We love seeing harbor seals out here. Their thriving population is a product of the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act. Before 1972, many pinnipeds were killed for their pelts...

Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | April, 5 2025 | 12:30 pm

The spring equinox is always welcomed here in the Pacific Northwest. The long winter nights spent dreaming of daylight, warmer days and clearer skies are suddenly behind us. This year, the equinox brought us something even dreamier than a season change, it brought us a baby whale. On March 20th, 2025 the T046B’s were seen travelling in eastern Juan de Fuca Strait with a new calf in tow. In every encounter, the calf was seen surfacing in the...

Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | March 29, 2025 | 12:30 pm

Our Saturday, March 29th Classic Whale Watch and Wildlife tour was a success before even leaving the dock. That’s because 10 minutes before our tour departed, killer whales were found right outside of Friday Harbor! We left the dock and alerted our guests that luck was on their side and instructed them to look for dorsal fins in the distance. Sure enough, not even 15 minutes into our trip we were on scene with 7 Bigg’s Killer Whales. The whales we...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | April 4th, 2025 | 12:30pm

Spring is here! The weather was absolutely perfect as we left Friday Harbor and turned left down San Juan Channel. As we made our way through Cattle Pass (the narrow passage between San Juan and Lopez Island) we admired the various wildlife around us. This area is extremely productive due to a process known as upwelling. Upwelling occurs when you have an uneven sea floor mixed with a strong current/tidal exchange. This creates a ramp effect...