Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Aly Liu | M/V Sea Lion | Sunday, August 9, 2026 | 5:30 pm 

Cruising through the San Juans during golden hour during the summer isn’t exactly a terrible experience. Especially when there are killer whales. The opportunity to spend time with these animals in the evening is a special experience, as the Salish Sea is quieting down and the evergreen trees blanketing the islands are a glimmering golden orange. 

We usually say that our first looks are never our best looks as approaching a wildlife scene...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | August 10th, 2026 | 2:00pm

This day was a little breezy, and was a bit cooler than the past few had been. It almost felt a little bit like fall, which I personally love for whale watching! We pointed North out of town and moved up San Juan Channel, the wrapped around the top of the island and entered Haro Strait. This is the huge body of water directly West of San Juan Island. We moved down Haro for a few minutes before encountering the absolutely massive black...

Kelly | M/V Osprey | August 10th, 2026 | 1:30pm

We began our journey north in San Jaun Channel, cruising quickly into Spieden Channel and enjoying fantastic looks at both Mount Baker and Turtleback Mountain along the way. We cruised over the top of San Juan Island, eventually making our way into a bigger body of water known as the Haro Strait. As we approached the Canadian border we began to spot exhales in the distance, two adult male orcas known as:

• T060D/Onca — male, born in 2004
• T060E/Lynx —...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | August 9th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We left the dock with reports of several families of Bigg's Killer Whales moving South towards the San Juan Islands. We pointed North out of Friday Harbor and began our transit to hopefully see them. We made one stop on the way up to admire White Rock which on this day featured tons of Harbor Seals, Cormorants, and Glaucous-Winged Gulls. We then continued North and wrapped around the East Point of Saturna Island. After making the turn we...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Sea Lion | August 8th, 2026 | 5:30pm 

This tour left from Friday Harbor and decided to head East through the inner islands. We quickly were surrounded by many bird species including Rhinoceros Auklets, Common Murres, and Cormorants. We turned South and began moving down Lopez Sound towards a whale report. We exited the bottom of Lopez Sound and cruised to the bottom of Rosario Strait. The whales were just beginning to wrap around the bottom of Lopez Island and move North up...

Aly Liu | M/V Osprey | Friday, August 7, 2026 | 12:30 pm 

Today’s classic wildlife tour was full of large splashes, killer whale bellies, and even some...lustful displays. We followed reports east out of Friday Harbor between Shaw and Lopez Islands and through Peavine Pass to Rosario Strait. As we arrived on scene, Captain Gabe told the boat to quickly look outside, as he spotted large splashes off the bow. From these initial looks, we wondered if these two Bigg’s killer whale siblings, Neftali...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | August 8th, 2026 | 12:30 pm

We had such an exciting (and surprising!) find in the Juan de Fuca this afternoon! When we left the harbor, there were only some rumors of whale sightings in our regions that no vessels had been able to find so we began by heading south. Since we are part of the PWWA, we coordinated with other vessels in our network to figure out where to join in on the scanning in the hopes of finding whales. Luckily, conditions in the south had improved...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel| Thursday, August 6, 2026 | 2:00 pm 

I hope everyone wore their sunscreen on today’s adventure tour, as it was a beautiful, warm day out on the water. Kestrel, our speediest vessel, cruised north through San Juan Channel towards reports near Saturna Island, and that natural windy A/C sure felt good! As we welcomed our passengers to Canada as we entered Boundary Pass, seven dorsal fins officially greeted us as well. It was seven Bigg’s killer whales!! 

• T036/Flapjack — female...

Kelly | M/V Osprey | August 6th, 2026 | 12:30pm

Hot hot summer day here in the San Juan’s! It felt amazing as the boat picked up speed and cooled us all off with a gentle ocean breeze. We took a left turn out of Friday Harbor and pointed north in San Jan Channel, setting our sights for a whale report off Stuart Island. Slipping into Spieden Channel and catching looks at non-native Mouflon sheep, harbor seals and bald eagles close to the shoreline. A we approached Stuart Islands scenic Turn Point...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | August 5th, 2026 | 2:00 pm

 Today’s adventure tour brought us to one of my favorite areas to find whales in… all the way in Saanich Inlet in Vancouver Island! When we departed Friday Harbor, we had some reports of Bigg’s Killer Whales near Salt Spring Island and other rumors in the Gulf Islands. We decided to get out as fast as we could to that area, so we zoomed up San Juan Channel and took the north side of Stuart Island as we continued northwest. Along the way, we...