Lauren | M/V Kestrel | Monday, May 26, 2025 | 2:00 PM
Passengers aboard the M/V Kestrel had a Memorial Day they won’t soon forget! We had an adventure filled with two different cetacean species, tons of harbor seals and several bald eagles. Our tour began with a cruise north in San Juan Channel, heading for White Rock off the coast of Waldron Island. White Rock is one of the best places in the San Juan Islands to view harbor seals. After getting great looks at our pinniped friends, we zoomed north-west across Boundary Pass.
Earlier in the day there were reports of three Humpback Whales heading north in Haro Strait. Captain Eric predicted they would be somewhere north of Stuart Island by now. As we made our way across Boundary, intensely scanning for a sign of these humpbacks, we got a call from a fellow Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) vessel. They had found those whales right off the coast of North Pender Island. We caught up with these three humpbacks as they continued north in Swanson Channel. Due to photo-identification, we were able to learn that the whales we were watching are known as “Strike,” “Crenel,” and “Cerulean.” Humpbacks can be individually identified by the pattern found on the bottom of their tail flukes. We got a gorgeous glimpse of the whales as they surfaced in a tight line, fluking one after the other. We figured that was the perfect way to end our encounter and headed back into search mode.
As we made our way through Active Pass we were greeted by two bald eagles flying over our vessel at close range. Next, we cruised south-east in the Strait of Georgia, making our way towards Rosario Strait. Once in Rosario we caught up with members of the T100’s and T124D’s. These two Bigg’s Killer Whale matrilines were zigging and zagging all over the place. They were split up into several small groups, changing direction with every surfacing! It was hard to know where to look. We waved goodbye to these seven whales and thanked them for an epic holiday!