Abby | M/V Sea Lion | April 10th, 2026 | 12:30pm
Yet another sunny spring day here in Friday Harbor! We had gorgeous weather for the entirety of our trip. We headed south in San Juan Channel and made our first stop at Whale Rocks where we are often able to view Steller’s Sea Lions. There were quite a few hauled out on the rocky shore, and several swimming in the water as well. We turned east and cruised along the southern end of Lopez Island, known as Iceberg Point. As we neared Rosario Strait, on the eastern side of Lopez Island, we turned north heading toward Allan and Burrows Island. We had a report of Bigg’s Killer Whales! These individuals were identified as the T090’s.
T090/Eagle — female, born in 1980
T090B/Piglet — male, born in 2006
T090C/Tigger — female, born in 2010
T090D/Kanga — female, born in 2017
They kept us on our toes during our trip today! We had to keep scanning on each deep dive they took as they kept surfacing further ahead of us. Suddenly, they surfaced on our port side, which certainly was a change in their behavior. After another deep dive, they were on our starboard side, making us do the whale shuffle! Yet again, after another deep dive they surfaced at our port! All this change in behavior and direction are great indicators of what could be happening under the water. We also were able to see some big splashes and tail slaps. It was not long until we saw more bird activity on the water’s surface. This is what we call a bait ball. Birds flying and being super active at the surface and diving towards the water. We usually view this kind of bird behavior and surface activity from the Bigg’s Killer Whales after a hunt! Those birds are picking off bits of the killer whale’s prey floating to the surface. We had incredible views of their natural behavior today! We traveled interisland on our way back towards Friday Harbor and had stunning views of the Salish Sea’s beauty!
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/