Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | March 7th, 2026 | 12:30pm
First tour of the 2026 season! I was beyond thrilled to get back out on the water and explore the Salish Sea. This time of year is considered to be our shoulder season, not because the whales aren't here, but because they are harder to find. We work within the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA), a large network of other whale watch companies and local research groups. In March, we have significantly less eyes on the water, therefore less reports to investigate. Today, we left the harbor with approximately 0 whales reports. Due to weather occurring south, we started our journey north up San Juan Channel.
First wildlife stop was at Green Point on Spieden island, a hotspot for Steller Sealions. You can spot these massive pinnipeds here year-round, but they are most densely concentrated in the fall-spring. A group of at least 30 Sea lions were lounging on the rocky shore line, mostly napping, some swimming in the bull kelp forest just off shore. The hungry Steller's are drawn to this hotspot for the shelter and food this kelp forest provides, drawing in a wide variety of fish species and other sea creatures that are on the menu. We departed the sea lions and wasted no time continuing north, whales had been sighted deep into the Canadian Gulf Islands! We hastily crossed the boarder in Boundary Pass and weaved into the belly of the gulf island chain. Slowing our speed down to the regulated 7 knots or less, we approached the killer whale family at a half mile. We spotted the family off the south western side of Galiano Island. This family of three was identified as the T18's including:
- T019/Nootka/Mooyah — female, born before1965 (mom)
- T019B/Galiano — male, born in 1995 (named after the island we found them next to!)
- T019C/Spouter — male, born in 2001
Shockingly, this is the same family of killer whales we spotted on our very first tour last year! (Read about it here: https://www.sanjuansafaris.com/whale-reports/first-tour-season-brings-surprise-whales ) Coincidence? Or is there a seasonal pattern to this family's travel habits? Going off first hand observations alone, it does seem that some of our Bigg's family groups do have seasonal travel traditions, showing up roughly around the same time here in the San Juan's year after year. The T18's (named after Nootka's mother T18, the deceased former matriarch of the family), are one of my favorite families. Each individual is easy to identify. The matriarch, T19 Nootka, has a significantly shorter fin than her two grown boys. T19B Galiano, has a distinctive curl in the upper half of his fin, and T19C Spouter, has a skinny tall fin with a notch in the upper half. We watched this family of three swim into and through Active Pass, an absolutely gorgeous narrow winding pass between Galiano and Mayne Island. Moving through the pass we were treated to views of not only orcas, but a pair of bald eagles and harbor seals resting along Mayne's shoreline. It was truly magical and a perfect start to the 2026 season!