Logan Stecker | M/V Kestrel | July 21st 2025 | 2:00 pm
Today was a breathtaking and incredible day out on the water! Some of the luckiest moments I’ve experienced out here all in 3 hours.
With Humpbacks and Orcas in one outing it was already going to be a great trip… but with each encounter we got to witness interesting and inspiring behaviors that stood out among viewings.
With our Humpback friend, Monarch, we got to scene with only a little time before having to head south to find orcas that popped up near Friday Harbor. After watching a beautiful whale fluke descend after a set of breaths, we were preparing to turn back when BOOM! Monarch had jumped up and fully left the water vertically to crash down elegantly to the surface. This full breaching behavior occurs with humpbacks but in my experience is relatively rare in this area. Then to follow up that amazing goodbye, Monarch came up again for a chin slap with their head fully leaving the water to crash in. This was truly one of the most beloved memories of the season and such a wonderful surprise.
We zoomed on south to Cattle Point; a group of transient killer whales (T065Bs) were circling Goose Island right off the shore for seals. The cormorants, gulls, and oystercatchers were flying about and being quite vocal about the large dorsal fins coming up near them on the island and moving into the kelp forest. We watched the matriline (a groups of transient killer whales centered around a mother and her kids) catch and rip up a harbor seal to share the kills amongst the family. This beautiful example of hunting behavior was a cherry on top for our day! This behavior is amazing to watch in person and be a part of that moment. I feel like our boat really connected to these whales by sharing this experience. It is great to see how Transient killer whales succeed feeding off a prey at it carrying capacity (the highest population the ecosystem can sustain), and it makes me hopeful that we can restore chinook salmon to a healthy population in order to support the resident killer whales once again.
Another beautiful adventure on the water!