Kelly Klein | M/V Kestrel | June 30th, 2026 | 2pm
Overcast sky no more! The sun was out and the sky was bright blue as we left Friday Harbor and pointed north up San Juan Channel. We made two quick pit stops for a lone Steller Sea Lion and a Bald Eagle near Friday Harbor Labs. As we made our turn into Presidents Channel, exhales sprung up in the distance! A group of 4 Biggs Killer whales identified as the T65A's made up of:
- T065B/Chunk — female, born in 1993
- T065B1/Birdsall — male, born in 2011
- T065B2/Nettle/Corvis — male, born in 2019
- T065B3/Rook — male, born in 2023
We watched this family as they zig zagged their way down the channel, always surfacing side by side. The youngster T65B3 "Rook" lingering a bit at the surface in a behavior known as logging. T65b1 "Birdsall" with is massive nearly 6ft fin towering over the rest of the family. We next set our sights for White Rock, a known wildlife hotspot. Today, it was absolutely teaming with harbor seals! We even noticed a couple small pups in the mix! The very first of the season! Just when we thought the wildlife spotting had come to an end..... another orca was spotted! this time a lone male known as:
- T49a2 "Noah"
We watched as his impressive full 6ft fin arose with a delicate grace, cutting the flat calm water with ease. To end our tour we made a one last stop at Spieden Island and watched a rather unusual scene... a heard of male Mouflon Sheep racing down the cliffside to investigate a recently washed up pile of bull kelp. How Curious! This is a behavior I've never seen before. A couple even appeared to have a few nibbles of the kelp, perhaps a they've heard bull kelp is a excellent source of dietary fiber.....