Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | September 12th, 2024 | 12:30pm

Our Thursday afternoon tour aboard the M/V Sea Lion started how we wish every tour would begin. Not only did we have reports of killer whales, but we had reports of multiple killer whale social gatherings. Not one, but two T-Partys had been found in Rosario Strait. A “T-Party” refers to a large group of Bigg’s AKA Transient (hence the “T”) killer whales. For a gathering to be a true T-Party, there must be members from at least three different...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | September 12th, 2024 | 2:00 pm

Today’s Adventure Whale Watch was an amazing, whale filled afternoon through the San Juan Islands. We had heard reports of multiple groups of Bigg’s Killer Whales in the area before leaving the dock, so we left Friday Harbor already excited for what we could find. We began by traveling interisland to the east, looping around Blakely Island to find our first group of whales. We got a quick look at a group of about four Bigg’s traveling...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | September 9th, 2024 | 12:30 pm

Today was a happy Monday aboard the M/V Sea Lion as we set out from Friday Harbor on our Classic Whale Watch. We had reports of a group of whales far in the north, so we headed in that direction up San Juan Channel to reach them. We traveled up the western side of Orcas Island, traveled a bit east, and then north between Sucia and Matia Islands. After a bit more travel north into the Strait of Georgia, we finally reached the scene of...

Maxx | M/V Kestrel | September 8th 2024 | 2:00pm

The T018s and T049s are the most frequent of flyers this summer, hands down. 

T019 “Nootkah” is a mother assumed to be born sometime before 1965. She travels with her sons, 29 year old T019B “Galiano” and T019C “Spouter,” born in 2001. 

They traveled with the T049As, led by mom “Nan” and accompanied by four of her youngest kids T049A3 “Nat,” A4 “Neptune,” A5 “Nebula,” and A6, little “Charlie II.”

The took long dives initially, surfacing in unison for...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | September 8th, 2024 | 12:30 pm

Our Sunday afternoon Classic Whale Watch left Friday Harbor already hearing reports of whales close by in San Juan Channel, so we wasted no time heading in that direction. We traveled south in the channel, but didn’t have to go too far before we reached a group of Bigg’s/Transient Killer Whales. As we approached this group of eight individuals, we realized there were actually two different matrilines traveling together making this a T...

Maxx | M/V Sea Lion | September 6th 2024 | 12:30pm

Today’s whale watch was nothing short of spectacular: two families of Bigg’s Killer Whales were actively making their way down the San Juan Channel as we began our tour so we made our way up to them in no time. Both the T018s and T049As have taken a liking to the region lately and are without a doubt my most frequently spotted whales of the 2024 season.

From our understanding, these families are unrelated, yet they traveled in this moment as one...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | September 2nd, 2024 | 12:30 pm

Our whale filled holiday weekend continued today with another great trip on the M/V Osprey! We left Friday Harbor with some reports of killer whales to the north, so that’s where we began our search. We took a left out of the harbor and headed up San Juan Channel towards Spieden Island. We stopped nearby Spieden to look at some adorable harbor seals hauled out on a small island, getting great looks at the many different colors of each...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | September 1st, 2024 | 2:00 pm

Our afternoon trip left Friday Harbor in great spirits, ready to search for more whales and wildlife! Based on the sightings of the morning trip, we had an idea of where we wanted to go, so we turned north up San Juan Channel towards Waldron Island. We got some great looks at some harbor seals along the way, which was the perfect prep for the killer whales we were nearing! We quickly caught up with the Bigg’s/Transient Killer Whales...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | September 1st, 2024 | 10:00 am

Today’s morning adventure whale watch started the month off with another great trip! As one of the first boats out on the water, we began our trip in full search mode with a few rumors to the north. We traveled up San Juan Channel, stopping to view a group of harbor seals hauled out on a small island and harbor porpoises swimming nearby. This is always a great sign of our productive ecosystem, and made us even more excited at the chance...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | August 30th, 2024 | 12:30pm

Today was another beautiful day to be out on the water searching for wildlife! We left Friday Harbor with some exciting reports ahead of us, so we began by heading east along the ferry route between Shaw and Lopez Islands. As we traveled along Decatur Island, we were happy to find the whales we had heard about earlier, which ended up being Bigg’s or Transient Killer Whales! This family of three turned out to be the familiar dorsals of the...