Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | August 18th, 2026 | 12:30 pm

Today’s classic tour was likely my favorite all month, and some of my favorite photos I’ve taken all season! The T49As have been seen all over the area these last weeks, so it was no surprise to hear that they were reported north of San Juan Island today. We set out of Friday Harbor in that general direction, stopping along Spieden to see some great looks at many moufflon sheep and a few harbor seals resting on the shoreline. We made it to...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | August 18th, 2026 | 2:00pm

We left Friday Harbor with absolutely beautiful weather on this tour. We turned North out of town and moved up San Juan Channel. We began by scanning the South shoreline of Spieden Island for wildlife, and were rewarded with so many Deer and Mouflon Sheep sightings! There were also a few Harbor Seals hauled out on the shoreline. From there we continued Northwest and wrapped around Stuart Island. We then encountered a family of six Bigg's...

Lauren Tschirhart | August 16th, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 pm

After the excitement of our 10:00 am tour, I could not wait to get back out on the water to see what the whales were up to. Our 2:00 pm Adventure Tour departed Friday Harbor and headed north in San Juan Channel. We cruised northwest through Spieden Channel, viewing an abundance of wildlife along the shoreline. We saw mouflon sheep, Steller Sea Lions, harbor seals and bald eagles. We then made our way into the Haro Strait, aimed towards...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | August 18th, 2026 | 9:00am

We left Roche Harbor with no whale reports in the area yet, which is very common for a tour this early. The beauty of the Salish Sea though is that there is always wildlife to be found if you search hard enough! We began by moving up Spieden Channel and wrapping around Stuart Island. We suddenly spotted two Steller Sea Lions swimming North through the water. This was quite surprising to me, as the Stellers that choose to stay in the...

Lauren Tschirhart | August 16th, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 10:00 am

The absolute adrenaline rush that the 10:00 am Adventure Tour was about to endure is something we did not expect when departing the dock. Our morning tour began like many of them do, with us not having a clue where the wind may take us. At this time of day, we do not often have any firm whale sightings. Although we may have a general idea of where the whales were left last night, orcas can swim over 150 miles in a day, so just because...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | August 16th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We left the dock with some distant reports of whales, but no firm plan for our trip yet. We began moving North into some waterways that had not been searched much yet. Just a few minutes after leaving Friday Harbor a fellow PWWA vessel spotted some dorsal fins near Saturna Island! The whales were moving South towards us, which was super convenient. We continued heading North to hopefully see these animals. We made one stop on our way at a...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | August 17th, 2026 | 1:30 pm

It is still in the thick of August, and we experienced my first good “Fog-ust” trip of the month as we journeyed south in San Juan Channel and passed through a layer of dense fog near Cattle Pass. We had a report of killer whales in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, so we pushed on and were rewarded with quite clear visibility once exiting the pass! Cattle Point Lighthouse and Goose Island looked a bit spooky in the fog, but we could still see...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | August 16th, 2026 | 5:30 pm

Sunsets are picturesque no matter what out here, but it’s especially special to see whales during this time! Our sunset tour departed Friday Harbor and traveled north up San Juan Channel. We had some exciting reports of Bigg’s Killer Whales in the Haro, so we wanted to get out to maximize our daylight time. Once we got through Spieden Channel we turned a bit south to follow along Henry Island. In the distance we began to see dorsal fins...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Sea Lion | August 15th, 2026 | 5:30pm

We left the dock feeling quite confident on this evening, as a legendary family of Bigg's Killer Whales were quite close to San Juan Island. They were coming down Eastsound near Orcas Island, and pointed towards us facing West. We had a short 20 minute ride to the whales from the dock, then were met with the beautiful sight of three black dorsal fins cutting through the water. It was the T19s, which is an adored family in this population...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | Saturday, August 15, 2026 | 2:00 pm

Today’s adventure tour began with reports of killer whales in an area of water I had never been before; Eastsound! This body of water is encompassed by Orcas Island; it almost felt like cruising through a lake, except it was salt water, and contained three marine mammal-eating killer whales:

• T019/Nootka/Mooyah — female, born before1965
  • T019B/Galiano — male, born in 1995
  • T019C/Spouter — male, born in 2001

After watching this matriarch with...