Olivia Esqueda | July 9th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30pm
Today ended up being a bit breezy out on the water, but still so sunny and beautiful with incredible cloud formations around the islands, making it an aesthetic boat ride through the San Juan Islands. We headed north through San Juan Channel, passing Flattop Island and finding our way over to White Rock where there was a haul out of Harbor Seals. There were so many color morphs in this group, ranging from all black, all white, yellow, and that signature Oreo ice cream color! We even saw a mom nursing her pup reminding us that it is pupping season!
Continuing our search, we headed north through President’s Channel which sneaks between Waldron Island and Orcas Island, coming across a group of Bigg’s Killer Whales! This iconic family is known as the T046B’s. This matriline consisted of six family members:
T046B/ Raksha- female born in 1988
T046B2/ Akela- female born in 2008
T046B2B/ Takaya- female born in 2023
T046B4/ Quiver- male born in 2014
T046B7/ Tala- born in 2023
T046B8/ Pi- female born in 2026
We watched this family travel towards Patos Island and even captured photos with Mount Baker in the background peaking through the clouds! We had so many interactive kiddos on board today with phenomenal questions, it was obvious we needed to play our Galley Games where they could answer trivia from today’s tour and win a prize. This was the MOST fun! What a lovely July day in the Salish Sea!
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/