Abby | M/V Osprey | April 8th, 2026 | 1:30pm
Another beautiful day on San Juan Island! Today we had a report of Bigg’s Killer Whales before we even left the dock. Luckily, they were staying in the same general area, so as we left the harbor we headed south towards Cattle Point. When we took the first turn out of the harbor we were greeted with a pair of Steller’s Sea Lions swimming. Wildlife can be found in so many places out here and we never know what we are going to find! We kept heading south in San Juan Channel and soon enough saw those exhales in the distance. This group was already identified as the T090’s.
T090/Eagle — female, born in 1980
T090B/Piglet — male, born in 2006
T090C/Tigger — female, born in 2010
T090D/Kanga — female, born in 2017
Piglet was the largest individual in this group as he is nearly fully grown. Everyone on board was stoked to see the size difference between him and his mom and sisters. They traveled north in San Juan Channel, and we had great views from our port, or left, side. It is always good to keep your head on a swivel out here because the next thing we knew, they are on our starboard, or right side! Everyone on board then went to the other side of the boat to find all four individuals quite spread out. We all had to work together to spot their dorsal fins and exhales because they totally switched up their direction on us. I love when everyone on board helps to spot them because it really makes for an interactive experience. We had a stop by Whale Rocks to see more Steller’s Sea Lions hauled out on the rocks. After getting great views, and stinky smells, we traveled back north through San Juan Channel and came across the killer whale family again! They were just outside of Friday Harbor, so it wasn’t long until we finished up our trip and got back to the dock.