Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | August 11, 2020 | 13:00

It was an exception treat this morning leaving the dock. We had reports of Bigg’s Killer Whales within our area that swam in quickly from Victoria early this morning. They moved up so far and fast, that leaving the dock they were milling near the south western part of San Juan Island. In order to give our passengers, the best possible opportunity to view Transient Orca, we decided to head straight for this family before they moved too...

Erick | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 PM | August 8, 2020

This afternoon the sun rally came out and the perfectly blue sky was reflected in the flat waters of the Salish Sea. Captain Brian and I headed out with a great group of passengers to go look for the local wildlife. We headed south through San Juan Channel and into the Strait of Juan De Fuca. We went just a little farther south than we had gone on our first trip and again we found the same Humpback Whale there. It was still feeding...

Erick | M/V Kestrel | 10:00 AM | August 8, 2020

There is a reason that we call August Fog-ust out here. This morning started out a little grey and foggy this morning. Captain Brian and I took a good group out as the fog banks sailed in and out of San Juan Channel. As we made our way south the clouds broke, and the sun started to come out as cloud scraped the Olympic Mountains in the distance. We made our first stop at Whale Rocks where we saw a few male Steller Sea Lions growling...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel | August 9th, 2020 | 14:00

Today’s Adventure Trip was quite a ride south, and it was a gorgeous one! We dipped down the San Juan Channel and stopped just south of Cattle Point in a shallow area called Salmon Bank. It was here that we spotted two Minke Whales feeding in the bait balls. We decided to shut down the engine to watch and listen as they fed in every direction of our vessel. This was a first Minke Whale encounter for a lot of passengers, and they got in...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | August 8th, 2020 | 17:30

Setting out on our sunset trip, Captain Pete and I decided to head south again in the direction of Hein Bank to follow up on a Humpback Whale rumor that was potentially traveling north in our direction. Being a long haul on our classic whale watching vessel, we decided to go straight there without stopping. Nearing the end of Salmon Bank, we came across a surprise Minke Whale lunge feeding off our port bow. We slowed down the boat and...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | August 8th, 2020 | 13:00

For our afternoon trip, we set out south through San Juan Channel in the direction of Hein Bank. Just outside Griffin Bay we spotted a sea lion whipping around an octopus, providing excitement right off the bat. Prior to emerging into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we made a stop at Whale Rocks to see not only Harbor Seals, but also those Steller’s Sea Lions! We are continuing to see the world’s largest sea lion return to our waters after...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel | August 7th, 2020 | 14:00

The Hail Mary works again! Captain Brian and I decided to take a chance and head far south on our afternoon adventure trip in an attempt to see Killer Whales between Whidbey and Camano Islands. This was a long shot as there was no coverage on the whales and we would have to find them ourselves, in addition to going far and pushing our time limits with the four-hour trip. We decided it was worth it to give it our all for our passengers...

Erick | M/V Kestrel | 2:00PM | August 8, 2020

It was another bright, beautiful, summer day out in the San Juan Islands! Captain Brian and I took a great group of guests out to look for some exciting wildlife in the Salish Sea! There was a report of some Bigg’s Orcas up near the outer islands! We headed up there through Presidents Channel and soon saw the group near Patos Island. It was the T18/T19s group that has been around for a few days now! This is a fascinating family. There...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | August 4th, 2020 | 17:30

After seeing the T018 family group of Bigg’s Killer Whales on our 13:00 trip, Captain Sarah and I were determined to see them before they moved out of range in order to provide our sunset passengers with the same opportunity. This meant a very quick dock talk and off we went heading north through San Juan Channel, crossing up President’s Channel, and aiming for Sucia Island. On the southeast side of Sucia, we saw the large dorsal fins...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | August 4th, 2020 | 13:00

Captain Sarah and I were jazzed that we were able to tell our passengers we were leaving the dock with reports of Transient Orca in our waters. We immediately aimed for the previously known location of these whales in hopes to give our guests the best possible chance of seeing them as we could. This led us to north Rosario Strait, passing a Bald Eagle perched in the pines, just northeast of Orcas Island near Barnes and Clark Islands.

W...