Olivia Esqueda | April 23rd, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 11:00am
What a fun midday trip to kick off the end of the year with the Friday Harbor Sophomore class! Taking a break from their state testing, we had them out on our vessel for a field trip right on their home turf.
Traveling inter-island, we aimed for Eastsound (the middle of the horseshoe on Orcas Island) where we had an early morning report of the same whales we saw the day before all of way over by Victoria, B.C. On the way, we passed heaps of Harbor Porpoise swimming around in the big tidal exchange areas where converging currants came together.
All the way up into Eastsound, we finally spotted the two Bigg’s Killer Whales- T049A2 [Jude; male born in 2007] and T051 [Roswell; male born in 1981]. These transient orcas were the same two that got stuck in Barnes Lake in Alaska for six weeks. The adventurous, mammal-eating orcas are definitely curious, and we loved watching their 6ft tall dorsal fins skim the shorelines. Nearby, we even saw a small haul out of Harbor Seals (the number one food source for those orcas!)
We love moments when we can share this ecosystem with our community out on the water and already looking forward to the next time we can!
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/