Olivia Esqueda | M/V Kestrel | August 28th, 2024 | 2:00pm

Today was an amazing day out on the water with the family of Bigg’s Killer Whales known as the T049A’s. We first started our tour off by traveling from San Juan Channel into New Channel, just north of Spieden Island, where we saw Bald Eagles, swimming Harbor Seals, and Mouflon Sheep grazing by the water. It wasn’t too long after that when we first spotted the Transient Orcas swimming around in the North Haro Strait. 

Soon after we arrived...

Lauren | M/V Kestrel | 9/19/2022 | 2:00 PM 

“The Boys,” “The Punks,” “The Brothers…” Bigg’s Killer Whales T060D “Onca” and T060E “Lynx” have many nicknames. Normally found traveling together, these sprouting boys are an industry wide favorite to observe. 18-year-old Onca born in 2004, and 14-year-old Lynx born in 2008 still have a lot of growing to do. Young males go through a stage known as sprouting, where their dorsal fin starts to shoot up and they begin to grow into the massive...

Lauren | M/V Kestrel | 9/3/2022 | 2:00 PM

Labor Day weekend is upon us, and Friday Harbor is looking just as crazy and beautiful as ever! Our 2:00 pm Adventure Tour was totally sold out. With 20 guests aboard, Captain Eric and I zipped out of Friday Harbor and took a left into San Juan Channel. Our first stop was to Green Point, which is the southeastern tip of the infamous Spieden or “Safari” Island. We viewed several Mouflon Sheep grazing on grass before heading over to Flattop Island. Flattop...

Elle | M/V Kestrel | July 15, 2022 | 2:00pm

We saw all sorts of wildlife on today’s adventure tour. We followed the interisland ferry route from Friday Harbor between Shaw Island and Lopez Island towards Orcas Island through Upright Channel and Harney Channel. This is where we came across two fifteen-year-old male Orca whales, T65A3 and T49A2 who have been perusing the Salish Sea together for the last few days. The boys even “mugged” our boat when they swam directly underneath us...

Elle | M/V Sea Lion | June 25, 2022 | 2:00PM

This Saturday, lead naturalist Laura, Captain Gabe and I were excited to get out on the water and see what we could see. Before we even left the dock, we saw two bald eagles, one adult and one juvenile circling above us. As we cruised out of Roche Harbor, we got a report from other members of the Pacific Whale Watch Association that there were Bigg’s Killer Whales near Friday Harbor. We found the orcas just south of Friday Harbor. The T65A...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | 06/19/2022 | 12:30 pm

From Saturna Island to Sanctuary Zones followed by a stop at Spieden, our Sunday was packed full of spectacular wildlife!

Shortly after our journey began, we slowed to view a bald eagle perched up high on a treetop. As we continued north, we cruised around White Rock to get a look at some hauled out harbor seals. Harbor seals are extremely important to our ecosystem here, as they make up 70% of our Bigg’s killer whale’s diet. We couldn’t...

Maxx K. | M/V Osprey | 05/19/2022 | 1:00pm

    We had a full boat of guests today on our 1:00 departure out of Friday Harbor, and let me tell you, it was a BEAUTIFUL day. I might even go so far as to say it was almost warm. Summer is officially on its wayspie and today was the perfect sampling. 

    We started up north through the San Juan Channel where we then rounded up and over the north side of Spieden Island. I’m obsessed with Spieden Island, not only because the non-native...

Maxx K. | M/V Sea Lion| 04/25/2022 | 1:30pm

    The day began with sun! 

Sea Lion took a left out of Friday Harbor today, up and around towards rumors of Bigg’s Killer Whales that had been spotted earlier in the morning traveling up San Juan Islands western shores. Now of course, these whales were going to remain rumors until we saw them ourselves. As we know, whales are crazy and they are absolutely wild. If they wanted to disappear, they absolutely could! 

    We were not...

Kelly| M/V Sea Lion | 3/26/22 | 12:30

We left the harbor with one firm whale report, a group of Biggs Killer whales by Sidney Island traveling north. The transient group was quickly heading out of our range, so we did our best to scurry out of the harbor and head their direction. It took us about an hour to arrive at their approximate location, but it was well worth the wait. We quicky discovered that there were multiple family groups traveling together:

T049A’s, T049B’s, T077D &...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | October 5, 2021 | 12:00 pm

It’s peak Humpback Whale watching season in the Salish Sea! Our Humpbacks are incredibly special because in the 1900’s, they were entirely whaled out of the area. Due to the increase in bait fish over the last couple of decades, more Humpbacks are returning each summer season. Females that return occasionally bring their calves back with them, teaching those young cetaceans that the Salish Sea is a viable feeding ground. With this...