Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | August 25th, 2026 | 12:30pm
The weather and water conditions were beautiful on this day which made for a great trip from the start. We turned left out of Friday Harbor and pointed North up San Juan Channel. We then wrapped around the top of San Juan Island and entered Spieden Channel. It didn't take long to spot a family of six Bigg's Killer Whales swimming through the glassy water. It was the T49As! This family is adored in this region and is made up by a mother and her five youngest offspring. Their 40 year old mother is named "Nan" and is known for being an exceptionally good mom. All seven whales that she has given birth to are still alive and well to this day. Her two oldest sons have moved out of the family, but her five youngest are still by her side each and every day. Her oldest offspring that was present is a 15 year old male named "Nat". He has begun sprouting his massive dorsal fin, which is noticeably larger than all of the other whales in the family. This group also has a calf that was born just earlier this year named "Nimbus" who is one of the most adorable calves that I've ever seen in this population. We spent some awesome time with this family while watching them move West through Spieden Channel. We even got to turn our engines off at one point and hear them breathe which is one of my favorite parts of viewing these animals. Eventually we departed and moved further West into Haro Strait which is the large body of water to the West of San Juan Island. There had been reports of some more Bigg's Killer Whales in the area earlier that afternoon, and conditions were perfect for spotting. We began seeing Sidney Island in the distance and we began searching the water for any sign of black dorsal fins. I suddenly spotted a fin in the distance moving South. It was clearly an adult male as the dorsal fin was quite a bit larger than any that we saw in the T49As. Suddenly, another huge fin popped up nearby. It was the T60 brothers "Onca" and "Lynx"! These 22 and 18 year old males are a part of the T60 family, but dispersed and moved out from the group around 2022. Since then these two have been inseparable, only ever being seen right by each other's sides. These are two of my favorite whales so I was super excited to say hello! We got a few looks at these two huge boys before eventually turning around and pointing back towards home. Along the way, we stopped briefly to check out a Harbor Seal that was resting in a small kelp bed. This may have been the cutest seal that I've ever seen. It was slightly wrapped up in the kelp, likely to keep itself from floating away! With so many marine mammal eating Killer Whales in the area, I hope that this little one stayed safely afloat for the rest of the afternoon! As we neared home, we spotted not one but two Bald Eagles resting in the tree line of San Juan Island. From there, we returned to the dock and recapped an awesome day out on the Salish Sea.
The IDs and details of the eight Killer Whales that we saw are as follows:
Bigg's Killer Whales (8):
T49A "Nan" (F) b. 1986
T49A3 "Nat" (M) b. 2011
T49A4 "Neptune" (M) b. 2014
T49A5 "Nebula" (F) b. 2017
T49A6 "Charlie ll" (M) b. 2022
T49A7 "Nimbus" (?) b. 2026
T60D "Onca" (M) b. 2004
T60E "Lynx" (M) b. 2008
This group of passengers was a joy to be out on the water with. We thank them for joining us this afternoon!
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/