Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | August 29th, 2024 | 12:30pm

We left the dock in Friday Harbor with high spirits and great energy for the day ahead of us! Our search led us to the north along San Juan Island, and after not too long we found ourselves nearing a report of Bigg’s Killer Whales! We approached the eastern side of Spieden Island and quickly saw a group of five whales coming right towards us! We got amazing looks at this family as they swam right by our boat multiple times, and we easily...

Kelly | M/V Kestrel | August 26th 2024 | 2PM

Aboard the M/V Kestrel on our 2pm Adventure tour, we left Friday Harbor with high spirits and turned left to zoom up San Juan Channel. We heard a rumored report of whales around Coal Island, just off shore from Sidney, BC. We quickly curved over the top of San Juan Island and made our way straight across the Canadian border. As we neared Coal Island the rain began, and quite frankly...it never stopped. This amount of participation is unusual for this...

Maxx K. | M/v Osprey | August 28th, 2024 | 12:20pm 

Bigg’s Killer whales have a typical range from SE Alaska, straight down the coasts of Washington and Oregon to Northern California. However, they don’t seem to follow a typical “migration” in the ways our Humpback visitors do. Different families seem to pass through at different times of year. Were still learning about how they move and with all the incredible data collection that happens in this region, we may begin to further understand...

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...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | August 27th, 2024 | 12:30pm

Today’s afternoon trip was certainly one to remember! We left Friday Harbor with an excited group of passengers and started our search for whales to the east. As we followed along the ferry route between the islands of Shaw, Lopez, and Blakely, we got some looks at a bald eagle and adorable harbor seals swimming through the channel. We maintained our course to the north east following up on some reports of whale activity, and as we rounded...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | August 26th, 2024 | 12:30pm

“Fogust” has been loud and proud this week in the San Juan Islands. We left foggy Friday Harbor and headed north in San Juan Channel. Our first stop came quick as we noticed a beautiful bald eagle perched on a tree right outside the harbor. We love seeing bald eagles out here as they serve as a reminder that there is hope for species that were once endangered. Bald eagles were de-listed from the endangered species list back in 2007, 35 years...

Kelly | M/V Kestrel | August 26th 2024 |10AM

We took a left outside Friday Harbor and pointed north up San Juan Channel. First stop, Flattop Island, one of our national wildlife refuges. Almost immediately we laid eyes on a group of harbor seals resting on the rocky shoreline. After cruising down the north side of the island for a few moments, we noticed a full grown bald eagle perched in the trees. 

Next stop, killer whales! We took a sharp left turn and cruised through Spiedan Channel to...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | August 26th, 2024 | 5:30PM

We left Roche harbor and cruised into Spieden channel on our 2nd to last sunset tour of the season. The weather had finally cleared from the the morning rain and the sun was peaking out from behind the clouds. We made our way to the northeast side of Spiedan island and quickly cruised through the Cactus Islands. In this small island cluster, we found a group or harbor seals and a pair of bald eagles perched in the evergreen trees. We then turned...

Lauren | M/V Kestrel | August 25th, 2024 | 2:00 pm

The morning fog had cleared, and we had firm whale reports in the region. We couldn’t ask for a more promising start to our 2:00 pm Kestrel tour. We left the dock and headed north in San Juan Channel. The original plan was to catch up with the Bigg’s Killer Whale family the T075B’s. While on transit to T075B/Pebbles and the gang, we got a report of a group of killer whales near Eastpoint. Curiosity got the best of Captain Eric and I, so to the...

Lauren | M/V Kestrel | August 25th, 2024 | 10:00 am

As our 10:00 am Kestrel tour rolled out of Friday Harbor and into foggy San Juan Channel, we decided to head south to follow up on some shore reports that came in earlier this morning. By the time we entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we could see blows in the distance. It was a pair of humpback whales! Most of the time we encounter humpbacks in the Salish Sea they’re solitary, so getting to see two swimming together was a treat. After getting...