Lauren | M/V Osprey | Friday, July 11th, 2025 | 12:30 PM
Today was one of those rare days where we were on scene with whales within the first 10 minutes of our tour! During our whale watch and wildlife tours, if we can get there and back within four hours, and the seas are cooperating, we will go anywhere in the Salish Sea. We have seen whales in every inch of this ecosystem, we are almost never viewing whales in the same place day after day. Every whale encounter is unique, you truly never know what you’re going to witness, and that’s what makes watching wildlife so awe inspiring! The M/V Osprey took a left out of Friday Harbor and we were almost instantly greeted by a group of four Bigg’s Killer Whales. This family of whales are known as the T077’s and are made up of:
- T077/Asja — (F) ≤ 1981
- T077C / Neftali — (M) 2006
- T077D / Alcyon — (F) 2009
- T077E/ Misneach — (?) 2016
We watched as this group slowly made their way up San Juan Channel. These whales were in fast transit mode, staying very directionally north. The T077’s eventually led us over to Spieden Island, where we peeled off and decided to go look for some wildlife. We cruised northwest up the coast of former Safari Island, looking at tons of beautiful mouflon sheep, some hauled out harbor seals and even a couple of bald eagles. We then got word from another captain that we should come check out Sentinel Rock as there was a “bald eagle convention” taking place. Sentinel Rock is one of the best places in the islands to view harbor seals, so we already planned to head there to view them. Once we arrived, we got great looks at a large group of harbor seals, but what really stole the show was watching three bald eagles fight over a salmon! These eagles were circling each other trying to steal the salmon from one another. Watching bald eagles rip their prey apart with their giant talons in quite an impressive sight. The bald eagle convention definitely did not disappoint.