Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | June 7th, 2025 | 2:00 PM
Kestrel departed Friday Harbor this afternoon in search of wildlife, and we certainly got what we hoped for! Today’s trip had the most species of marine mammals I have seen in a single trip, all under the most perfect weather conditions. We began by traveling south in San Juan Channel, stopping at Goose Island to see cormorants and admire Cattle Point Lighthouse. The skies were so clear today that we could also see Mt. Rainier in the distance!
We continued traveling south west until nearing the Canadian border and finding a mom and calf pair of Humpback Whales! While mom was on some deeper dives feeding, the calf spent more time at the surface. We got to watch the calf practice some fluking dives, and were in awe of the size of mom each time she surfaced nearby. After one last little baby dive, we slowly made our way out of the area and headed a little north towards a report of some Bigg’s Killer Whales! As we approached the area, we saw 6 individuals of the T36 matriline. They were a bit spread out, but we were able to see T36B1 Bhotia and her new 2025 baby T36B1A Maple. This was an especially exciting sighting as Maple was named by one of our own naturalists Lauren! We watched the family travel for some time, and could compare the many differences between baleen whales (humpbacks) and toothed whales (killer whales), especially since we saw a mom and calf for both types.
After some time, we slowly left our whales and traveled to the southern part of Lopez Island to see a Sea Otter! The otter was hanging out in the kelp, and we got adorable looks at it rolling around at the surface. As we traversed back west along Lopez, we saw a Harbor Seal and Stellar’s Sea Lions! This was another great opportunity to compare pinnipeds, and see up close some of the favorite foods of Bigg’s Killer Whales. We saw a number of Harbor Porpoises on our way back up San Juan Channel, rounding out our amazing Salish Sea wildlife safari!