Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | July 10th, 2026 | 12:30pm
This tour had almost immediate excitement. We left Friday Harbor and turned North. About one minute later we spotted a bald eagle standing near the shoreline of San Juan Island. It appeared that it had something in it's talons, but we could not yet tell what it was. Suddenly, the eagle flew off while still holding the prey. We could now clearly see that it had the limp body of a black fox kit in it's talons! We were shocked by this, as nobody on our crew had every seen this on a whale watch tour before. While it was sad to see that the young fox had met it's fate, it was a great insight to how vast this ecosystem is and how so many different species have their solidified places positions on the food chain. After watching the bald eagle land on a branch and begin eating the kill, we spotted another eagle perched nearby. These two birds were likely mates, as they usually stay close to each other. We left the pair of eagles and began our trek Northwest in search of whales.
Our transit took us deep into Canadian waters, North of Sidney, British Columbia. We peaked around the corner of Portland Island and were delighted to see six black dorsal fins cutting through the water! As we got closer we were so happy to see one of our absolute favorite Bigg's Killer Whale families, the T49As! This family is led by mother/matriarch "Nan". She is known for being an exceptional mother, and has given birth to seven calves in her 40 years of life. The youngest one named "Nimbus" was born just earlier this year, and was so adorable! This calf is very energetic every time I see it, and on this day it was almost fully coming out of the water with every breath. We spent some quality time with these whales and got some great looks, but eventually had to say goodbye and begin our international voyage back home. Along the way, we made a quick stop to admire some Harbor Seals that were hauled out on some rocks. We spotted multiple baby pups within the group! Pupping season is in full swing, and we are seeing some on the majority of our tours currently! After that, we arrived back to Friday Harbor and ended a great day on the water.
The IDs and details of the six whales that we saw are as follows:
T49A "Nan" (F) b. 1986
T49A3 "Nat" (M) b. 2011
T49A4 "Neptune" (M) b. 2014
T49A5 "Nebula" (F) b. 2017
T49A6 "Charlie ll" (M) b. 2022
T49A7 "Nimbus" (?) b. 2026
We had such a great time with this group of passengers and thank them for choosing to spend their day with us here at San Juan Safaris!!!
Wanting to see more photos from our trips? Visit our SmugMug page at: https://sanjuansafaris.smugmug.com/
More information about the Pacific Whale Watch Association: https://www.pacificwhalewatchassociation.com/