Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | August 18th, 2026 | 2:00pm
We left Friday Harbor with absolutely beautiful weather on this tour. We turned North out of town and moved up San Juan Channel. We began by scanning the South shoreline of Spieden Island for wildlife, and were rewarded with so many Deer and Mouflon Sheep sightings! There were also a few Harbor Seals hauled out on the shoreline. From there we continued Northwest and wrapped around Stuart Island. We then encountered a family of six Bigg's Killer Whales! This family is known as the T49As, and are led by their 40 year old mother "Nan". She was joined by her five youngest offspring. I always adore viewing this family, and they absolutely love spending time here in the San Juan Islands! We watched them in glassy water conditions for multiple breath cycles. There was little to no boat traffic in the area, and we were able to hear so many of their breaths each time they came up to the surface! This is one of my favorite parts of whale watching. T49A3 "Nat" was an especially loud breather. This male is only 15 years old but is already quite big, I suspect he may end up being one of the bigger whales in the population once he is done growing in a few years. We eventually said goodbye to these amazing creatures and moved South down John's Pass in search for more wildlife. We made a stop at Sentinel Rock to admire some Harbor Seals hauled out on the shoreline. This group included multiple small pups with their mothers. We also spotted several Harlequin Ducks swimming past these seals! I have not seen many of these at all lately, and I was excited to see them on this tour. After this we moved back down San Juan Channel and made one more stop at a kelp bed just off of Turn Rock. We spotted a Sea Otter rolling around in the water! This little guy has been loving this spot this season, and was right on the edge of the kelp which made for awesome viewing. We then left our furry new friend and returned to Friday Harbor and recapped a tour that was full of so many species!
The IDs and details of the six Killer Whales that we saw are as follows:
Bigg's Killer Whales (6):
T49A "Nan" (F) b. 1986
T49A3 "Nat" (M) b. 2011
T49A4 "Neptune" (M) b. 2014
T49A5 "Nebula" (F) b. 2017
T49A6 "Charlie ll" (M) b. 2022
T49A7 "Nimbus" (?) b. 2026
This group of passengers was full of amazing questions and enthusiasm. We thank them for choosing to spend their day 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/