Levi Vandebunte | M/V Sea Lion | August 8th, 2026 | 5:30pm
This tour left from Friday Harbor and decided to head East through the inner islands. We quickly were surrounded by many bird species including Rhinoceros Auklets, Common Murres, and Cormorants. We turned South and began moving down Lopez Sound towards a whale report. We exited the bottom of Lopez Sound and cruised to the bottom of Rosario Strait. The whales were just beginning to wrap around the bottom of Lopez Island and move North up Rosario. We had timed this perfectly, as they were just moving out of choppy conditions and into much calmer water when we arrived! As we approached, we saw two massive spouts shoot into the air. It was a mother and calf Humpback Whale pair! The mother had been identified as BCX0870 "Scoop" and she was with her new 2026 calf. This was my first time ever seeing "Scoop", and she has quite an interesting history. She was first seen in Hawaii in 1999, making her one of the older Humpbacks that visit these waters to feed each summer. She also somehow has had a calf for two straight years! She was seen with a calf last year in 2025, and seemingly has another one this year in 2026. This is extremely unusual for Humpbacks, as two years is normally the quickest turnaround we see between offspring. My only thought is that maybe she was very much on the early side of pregnancies in 2025, and is quite a bit late in terms of this year. This was certainly a surprise when I came across this info! Another thing about "Scoop" is that she's absolutely HUGE. I have no doubt that she is one of the bigger Humpbacks that I've ever seen. We watched "Scoop" and her calf move North for about an hour. They were doing short dives, with the calf surfacing for breaths a bit more often than it's mother. "Scoop" even treated us to a massive dive where she fully showed her flukes/tail fin in the air. Everybody cheered when this happened as we got a better idea of how big this whale really was. Shortly after that we departed and began moving back towards home. We made a quick stop to admire a few Harbor Seals on a nearby large rock, then pointed back West. We watched a gorgeous sunset on the way home, and eventually docked back at Friday Harbor and said our goodbyes.
The IDs and details of the two Humpback whales that we saw are as follows:
- BCX0870 "Scoop" (F) First Seen in 1999
- 2026 Calf of "Scoop"
This group of passengers were a joy to be out on the water with. We want to thank them for choosing to spend their evening with us here at San Juan Safaris!!!
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/