Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | July 28th, 2026 | 12:30pm
We left the dock full of excitement today as there was an exceptionally rare report of whales within our range. A group of 11 Transient Killer Whales were making their way North up Rosario Strait. Eight of those whales were from our Bigg's Killer Whale population here in the pacific northwest. This large of a group would have been extremely exciting regardless, but they were also accompanied by three CALIFORNIA (CA) TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES! These whales are very similar to our Bigg's population, but primarly reside much further down the west coast in California. Before these three entered last night, the last time a CA Transient Killer Whale was seen in the Salish Sea was in February of 2025 (per Orca Behavior Institute)! I personally had never seen a CA Transient before today and I couldn't believe how lucky we were to get to witness such a thing!
We pointed East out of Friday Harbor and went straight to this report. As we crossed Rosario Strait, we saw tall black dorsal fins close to shore a bit North of the Anacortes Ferry Terminal. We slowly approached and began viewing these whales as they made their way up the shoreline. The massive dorsal fins of T69E, T137A, and CA27C were especially breathtaking as they cut through the surface of the water. These whales were moving quite quickly with a strong flood tide, and it seemed like they were calmly enjoying the free ride that the tide was providing. We watched multiple whales log at the surface as the tide took them North, and we even saw multiple examples of moonwalking! This is when a whale surfaces backwards, and it is not very common at all. The two young calves in the T36 family (T36B4 & T36B1A) were also adorable throughout the entire encounter. These two are only about one and two years old, and are still coming up for breaths very close to their mothers sides. We watched these whales move past multiple docked boats and freighters, and eventually turn right and move East along the Anacortes peninsula. Eventually, we said goodbye to these 11 whales and began moving towards home. We made a few stops along the way to admire some Bald Eagles and a Sea Otter! These were two amazing bonuses after an already epic trip. We also were treated to a wide variety of bird species throughout the day, including Rhinoceros Auklets, Pelagic Cormorants, and a Great Blue Heron! We returned back to the dock and recapped an awesome trip. This was one of my favorite days of the entire season thus far!
The IDs and details of the 11 Killer Whales that we saw are as follows:
Bigg's Killer Whales (8):
T36 "Flapjack" (F) b. <1970
T36B "Tattertip" (F) b. 1998
T36B1 "Bhotia" (F) b. 2009
T36B1A "Maple" (F) b. 2025
T36B2 "Greenfelder" (F) b. 2013
T36B4 "Auk" (?) b. 2024
T69E "Kodiak" (M) b. 2004
T137A "Jack" (M) b. 2002
California Transient Killer Whales (3):
CA27 (Unnamed) (F) b. <1978
CA27C (Unnamed) (M) b. 1999
CA27F (Unnamed) (F) b. 2012
This group of passengers was full excitment and tons of amazing questions. 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/