Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | May 27th, 2026 | 2:00 pm
Before leaving the harbor we had word of a few different reports in our area, so we set off north to see where we would end up for the day. First, we made our way to Spieden where I was eager to check out the dead stellar sea lion that has been on the edge of the island for days… This was an exciting opportunity to see many bald eagles (adult and juvenile) and vultures up close, and to think about our ecosystem as a whole. Before we began traveling north towards a report of some killer whales, we spotted an exhalation of a humpback whale in the northern part of the Haro Strait! We stayed with this whale for a few breath cycles, getting to see its back and a few almost fluking dives as it was going down to feed. We followed this individual as it swam north since we wanted to continue this way anyways, and soon we were far enough away that we could pick up speed and continue in our search for other whales.
We stopped to see some harbor seals on the north side of Spieden, which was a perfect intro to talk about our Bigg’s Killer Whales since they love to eat these seals. Not too far away was a group of these killer whales, and we made our way across the Canadian border along Saturna to view these animals. This was a very exciting day for me, since these whales were identified as the T123s and 124A4s. The T123s are one of my favorite matrilines and I had not gotten to see them yet this season! T123A Stanley always stands out among any group, and it was wonderful seeing this familiar dorsal again. They were traveling with the smaller (and younger) trio of the 124A4s, a matriline I had not seen yet at all, and the group was making their way slowly along the island. As they neared the Java Islands off of Saturna, suddenly they picked up speed and cruised through the shallows between the small islands. This burst of speed and change in direction indicated that maybe these whales were getting into some hunting! It is likely that they were going after a seal that had been hiding in the shallows and kelp, and they continued speeding along and splashing around a bit. Once they slowed down, we saw them begin some circling and could assume that they were prey sharing. It is always amazing how efficient and powerful these whales are as hunters! We made our way out of the area once the activity with over, and enjoyed our sunny ride back to Friday Harbor.