Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | July 21st, 2026 | 12:30 pm
After two days of no killer whales sighted in the region, today was our lucky day! We set out of Friday Harbor in search mode, scanning for any signs of whales and wildlife along San Juan Channel, peering up President’s Channel and among the Wasp Islands before turning west into Spieden Channel. We continued into the Haro Strait and made our way south towards a report of whales heading north. After a quick stop to see a bald eagle, we kept going past Henry Island. Soon enough we saw some PWWA vessels in the distance, and saw black dorsal fins at the surface. This trio of Bigg’s Killer Whales was quite familiar to me, the T100s had returned to the San Juans! It had been over a week since I’d last seen this family, so I was stoked to see them again. They were slowly travelling up the shoreline, and eventually pointed towards the south part of Henry Island. We got beautiful looks at them gliding through the smooth waters. They began to head into the bay, so we stayed further out as to not pin them in the area and patiently waited to see what they would do. They split up a few times as they meandered around, and eventually came back together as they exited the bay. We wondered if they were looking around for a snack? They continued traveling incredibly close to the shoreline, I even spotted some kelp dragging along T100C Laurel’s dorsal fin. These were probably our best looks at them with the beautiful shoreline behind them. After a few more looks, we began to depart the area and watched them in the distance as we reached our half mile distance away to pick up speed. The T100s have quickly become one of my favorite families out here; what a fun surprise to find them back once again!
We continued north to keep searching for other wildlife on the way home, spotting another bald eagle and some harbor seals on Battleship. Eventually we returned to Friday Harbor, awaiting our next encounter with the T100s…
Want 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/