Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | Thursday August 28th, 2025 | 2:00 pm
While our large network through the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) makes much of our daily searching easier, some days we do need to do more searching than others. When we left the dock, there were a few boats viewing some Bigg's Killer Whales near Saturna in Canadian waters. We zoomed north as fast as we could to reach the report, but soon after starting our trip all the other boats had to leave scene with the whales so we knew we would be on our own to reacquire them. We neared Pender Island with a last updated location from 30 minutes prior, and began scanning. Based on the information we had, Captain Vaun calculated how much they likely traveled if they had kept to their travel direction and speed heading northwest close to shore. We slowed down in the general zone we expected them and began scanning, but for a while there was nothing. As more time passed, we wondered if they had changed direction or picked up speed and disappeared, but suddenly a passenger thought they saw a blow! We moved a bit further northwest, and soon enough we began seeing more blows along the shoreline! From photo ID we knew this family was the T49As, a matriline we have seen quite a bit of over the last week. We caught up to them, and as soon as we fully got on scene they suddenly transitioned from slow travel to hunting action! We watched many splashes and tail lobs as they circled around one area, and then they moved a bit closer to us and passed at our stern. It was amazing to witness so many different behaviors, including a "moonwalk" from one individual who kept surfacing and moving backwards into the water. Once they moved further away and another boat arrived, we began to slowly leave the area.
After leaving the Bigg's, we traveled south into the Haro Strait to catch up with another boat that was viewing a humpback whale! Finding the humpback was a nice contrast to the killer whales since it was much more predictable at the surface, and this was the perfect way to really see the many differences between the species. After seeing a fluking dive, we identified this whale as an individual named "Strike". We watched Strike for a few more surfacings, and after getting one more partial fluking dive we had to move on and begin traveling back towards Friday Harbor. We cruised by Spieden Island and got looks at Moufflon Sheep, Sika Deer, Bald Eagles, and Harbor Seals, and eventually made our way back to the dock. This afternoon was such a rewarding trip, full of so many different wildlife encounters!