Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Lauren Tschirhart | August 4th, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 pm

From a sea otter at Turn Rock, to mating harbor porpoise in Salmon Bank, to a Great Blue Heron at Shark Reef… Today’s Adventure Tour was filled with incredible wildlife sightings! Our trip began by heading south in San Juan Channel and cruising over to the kelp beds of Turn Rock. There we spotted an adorable sea otter grooming itself while rolling around in the kelp forest. We didn’t stay with this otter long, as Captain Vaun and I...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | August 4th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We were able to leave the dock a few minutes early today, which is always a nice start. We turned right out of Friday Harbor and began moving South down San Juan Channel. We made an early stop at a nearby kelp bed to watch an adorable Sea Otter that likes to spend time there. He is not always there, but today he was right at the edge of the kelp, with some wrapped around his stomach to keep from floating away in the currents. I always...

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

Every day, every trip, and even every hour is different out there on the water, as our Captain Gabe loves to say. This morning M/V Ketrel went south down San Juan Channel, but this afternoon, we cruised the opposite direction after reports of two entirely different families of Bigg’s killer whales. Just north of President’s Channel, the massive dorsal fins of T037A2/Inky (male, born in 2009) and his mother T037A/Volker (female, born in...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | Sunday, August 2, 2026 | 10:00 am

Today we got a closer look at what we mean when we say that the Salish Sea is one of the most biologically productive bodies of water in the world. At Goose Rock south of Friday Harbor, double-crested and pelagic cormorants welcomed us to Cattle Pass. Moments later, we said hello to the Steller sea lions at Whale Rocks. From there, we followed reports south into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where we joined a spread out family of four Bigg’s...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | August 3rd, 2026 | 1:30pm

This trip had it's first wildlife sighting before we had even untied our lines from the dock. An adorable mother/pup pair of Harbor Seals swam just past us after our passengers had boarded. This certainly started the day off on the right foot! We left the dock with beautiful weather on this tour which is always a plus. We travelled South down San Juan Channel, and our first stop was at a small island called Goose Island. We got great looks...

Kelly | M/V Kestrel | August 3rd, 2026 | 2pm

We made our way down San Juan Channel and into Cattle Pass, stopping for a quick look at Steller sea lions as we entered the Strait of Juan De Fuca. As we crossed the channel, we enjoyed views of various sea birds in the flat calm water. We began to slow the boat as we approached Hein Bank, a known hotspot for bait fish. We scanned here for wildlife that might be opportunistically feeding. In the distance, a long grey body appeared, followed by a...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | August 2nd, 2026 | 12:30pm

We were gifted absolutely perfect weather on this day, as well as extremely calm seas. This was a great start to the trip as we cruised North up San Juan Channel. We made an early stop at White Rock to view some adorable Harbor Seals that were hauled out and resting. From there we continued a bit further North in the area of Waldron Island towards a newly developing report of whales. As we were approaching, we were so excited to spot two...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | Friday, July 31, 2026 | 2:00 pm 

Today was certainly among my top 3 favorite tours of the season so far. Let me tell you why.

The first stop of the day at Goose Rock in Cattle Pass did not disappoint; the rock was blanketed in pelagic and double-crested cormorants towards the top, and rock sausages (Harbor seals) on the bottom, all with Cattle Point Lighthouse in the backdrop.

Then, M/V Kestrel headed southeast towards Smith Island to reports of four Bigg’s killer whales...

Kelly | M/V Osprey | July 31th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We wasted no time traveling south through Cattle Pass and into the Strait of Juan De Fuca. Following a whale report by Smith Island, we began to slow our speed to under 7 knots as we approached the island from a half mile. This island lies in the middle of the strait surrounded by nothing else but water for miles around its perimeter. It has lately been quite the hotspot for Biggs killer whales, and in particular the family we watched today...

Lauren Tschirhart | July 28th, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 pm 

We had some out-of-town visitors in the Salish Sea today! Members of the CA027 matriline (aka the T135’s) were found traveling with a group of Coastal Transients. All in all, we witnessed 11 killer whales, from four different matrilines, enjoying the waters of Fidalgo Bay. Seeing California Transients in the San Juan Islands is a pretty rare occurrence. There is only one species of killer whale, but they are divided into different...