Abby | M/V Osprey | May 2nd, 2026 | 12:30pm
Summer feels like it is finally here! It was a beautiful day to be on the boat. We turned right out of Friday Harbor and started heading south in San Juan Channel. Our goal was to reach Whale Rocks which is off the shore of Cattle Point on San Juan Island. We weren't entirely sure where we wanted to go today, so we made the decision as we got closer to the report. Once we reached the south end of San Juan Island, we decided to turn right, heading southwest towards Middle Bank. We had a report of 10 Bigg's Killer Whales! This group of 10 was already identified as the T046B's and T049A1.
- T046B/Raksha — female, born in 1988
- T046B2/Akela — female, born in 2008
- T046B2B/Takaya — female, born in 2023
- T046B3/Sedna — female, born in 2011
- T046B3A/Munro — born in 2025
- T046B4/Quiver — male, born in 2014
- T046B6/Sol — female, born in 2019
- T046B7/Tala — born in 2023
- T046B8/Pi — born in 2026
- T046B2/Akela — female, born in 2008
- T049A1/Noah — male, born in 2001
During our time with this group, we had incredible views of surface activity. One of the individuals breached twice! There were quite a few moments where we observed tail slaps and cartwheels. It was certainly exciting to see this group exhibiting these behaviors today. The report that we had received informed us that this group had just hunted a Steller's Sea Lion, so during our time with them they must have been prey sharing underwater. There was a lot of baitball activity, where birds were flying around and diving into the water to catch the floating bits from the killer whale's meal. It is always neat to use the ecosystem as a whole - observing what is happening with bird activity above the water to get a better scene of the killer whale behavior beneath the water. We also had great views of the big male Noah! He was a bit further away from the other 9 individuals, but it is always incredible to see a big male! An incredible day with perfect weather and awesome whales!
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/