Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | May 19h, 2026 | 12:30 pm
The moment we leave the harbor we know the search for wildlife is on, and today did not disappoint! Before we had even really picked up speed rounding out of the harbor, naturalist Kelly spotted a sea lion thrashing around at the surface… It was eating an octopus! This was my first time seeing this action, and it was very exciting getting to see this type of predation. After getting some amazing closeups (check out sanjuansafaris.smugmug.com to see the photos!), the sea lion seemed to be finishing up and we continued on. We traveled north, setting our sights on some reports far in Canadian waters but scanning all around us as we went.
We searched through Spieden Channel, continued towards Stuart Island and crossed the Canadian border past Turn Point. Eventually, we made it all the way by Salt Spring Island and found a pair of large male Bigg’s Killer Whales! This is a well known pair, designated as T49A2 Jude and T51 Roswell. Despite their age gap (19 and 45 years old), this pair is commonly seen together and we pondered their friendship as we watched them slowly cruise along the shoreline. I had never seen Roswell before, so this was an extra exciting day for me! They passed close enough to our boat that we could hear their exhalations, and truly admire the beauty of these animals. After these great looks, it was time to begin our long journey back towards Friday Harbor. We stopped to view harbor seals near Spieden Island, and then got a lucky report of the T49As nearby! We veered offcourse for some quick looks at this family of 6, even getting to see the new baby of the family T49A7 Nimbus. This was an extra cool sighting since we got to see Jude earlier, the second oldest calf of T49A that does not travel with the rest of the family. We waved goodbye to the whales and continued our way to the harbor, ending our amazing day full of wildlife.