Lauren Tschirhart | June 27th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30 pm
Today was a perfect example of how quickly things can change while out on the water. We left the dock, took a right out of Friday Harbor and headed south. As we made our way through Cattle Pass we stopped at Goose Island to view a ton of hauled out harbor seals. We got great views at a slew of pelagic cormorants, glaucous-winged gulls and double-crested cormorants before making our way west in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We passed by Cattle Point lighthouse and made our way up the west side of San Juan Island, aimed for Lime Kiln Lighthouse. We were following up on a report of a humpback whale just off the coast of the westside preserve. We made our way on scene with this individual, who was identified as BCX1800/ Gretzy. This whale was moving quickly up the westside, the tide pushing them northbound. We watched as this humpback surfaced several times, consistently bringing its large tail fluke out of the water, which was a real treat. We eventually departed this whale and headed for Spieden Island, viewing some Mouflon Sheep as well as a bald eagle feasting on a deer carcass. We were just about to head for home when we got word that a group of killer whales had just been found off the west side of San Juan Island. These orcas must have been trailing right behind us behind us all day! We eagerly turned around and headed for the report. These whales ended up going through Mosquito Pass and into Roche Harbor, so we had to make yet another U-Turn and head back around Henry Island! After what seemed like a wild goose chase, we finally got eyes on these whales. I was able to identify them at the T049A’s, a group of 6 Bigg’s Killer Whales. The matriarch, T049A/ Nan has a couple of tiny notches on the trailing edge of her dorsal fin which helps us ID her! While these whales were exiting Roche Harbor we got incredible looks at T049A6/ Nimbus as this little calf was porpoising all around us! The term “porpoising” means a whale leaping out of the water, but just above the water's surface. It’s not a full breach, but more of a glide or coast just above the water's edge. We couldn’t stay long, as we were already almost out of tour time, but we couldn’t have felt luckier seeing surprise orcas at the end of our trip!
Want more information about the Pacific Whale Watch Association? See https://www.pacificwhalewatchassociation.com/
Want to see more photos from our trips? Visit our SmugMug page at: https://sanjuansafaris.smugmug.com/