Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | June 3rd, 2025 | 2:00 PM 

We had quite the adventure on our afternoon Adventure Whale Watch today, full of lots of wildlife and exploration! We began by heading north up San Juan Channel, and quickly found a group of harbor seals near Yellow Island. As we continued north, we soon saw a few boats near Saturna Island and ended up among a group of three Bigg’s Killer Whales. This turned out to be three members of the T100 matriline, and they were slowly traveling east...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | June 1st, 2025 | 12:30 pm 

Our first trip of the month set the standards high for June! We left Friday Harbor on our Classic Whale Watch today heading east along the ferry route. The interisland cruise gave us lots of opportunities to look close along the shorelines and spot for wildlife. We continued east for some time until we reached Rosario Strait and could see Anacortes in the distance. Soon enough, we saw a number of black dorsal fins at the surface in two...

Olivia Esqueda | May 28th, 2025 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00pm

What a fun day on Kestrel with Captain Vaun! We had a small group of folks, which always leads to more personal conversations and deeper storytelling when it comes to the area, the wildlife, and the history of the islands. We worked our way south through San Juan Channel, making a slow cruise past Goose Island to see many different bird species, including Pelagic Cormorants, Double Crested Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots, Canada Geese...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | May 31st, 2025 | 2:00 PM 

This afternoon’s Adventure Whale Watch left Friday Harbor in high spirits as the skies cleared and gave us a beautiful, sunny cruise up San Juan Channel. Our first stop was at White Rocks, where we saw two bald eagles and a number of harbor seals! We got great looks at the many varieties of colors of the seals, and even saw a few swimming in the water around the island. We then continued our travels north, past Waldron Island and towards...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | Wednesday, May 28, 2025 | 12:30 PM

The M/V Osprey departed Friday Harbor and headed towards Upright Channel. We had just got word that a group of killer whales were spotted near the Anacortes Ferry Terminal. We made our way east between Shaw and Lopez Island with crystal clear views of Mount Baker and The North Cascades in the distance. Once we made our way into Rosario Strait, we started to see other Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) vessels in the distance. The whales...

Kelly | M/V Kestrel| Tuesday, May 27th 2025 | 2pm

It's days like to today that truly feel like the Salish Sea is just teaming with marine life. We were treated to almost non-stop wildlife on today's Adventure Tour. We took a right out of Friday Harbor only to instantly have a guest point out a bald eagle on Turn Island. We quickly realized there were 3 bald eagles in the area, two adults and one juvenile.  One of the adults was right on the waters edge, picking away at a fish with his razor sharp...

Kelly | M/V Osprey| Monday, May 26th 2025 | 2pm

We took a left outside Friday harbor and were instantaneously treated to a look at a bald eagle sitting in the trees by Friday Harbor Labs. This area always seems to be a hotspot for these impressive raptors. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a nest close by, tucked away in the evergreens. We stopped for some quick looks at harbor seals lounging on the rocks next to Jones Island, always delighting us with there ever so elegant sausage bodies. 

Movi...

Lauren | M/V Kestrel | Saturday, May 24, 2025 | 2:00 PM

Our Adventure began with a cruise out of Friday Harbor, heading north in San Juan Channel. Our first stop was to White Rock to observe a slew of harbor seals. Harbor seals make up around 70% of the Coastal Bigg’s (or Transient) Killer Whales diet. These seals are extremely abundant in the Salish Sea, which is one reason why our Bigg’s Killer Whale sightings have been increasing over the past several years! Harbor seals are not only extremely...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | May 25th, 2025 | 2:00pm

Today’s 2pm Adventure Whale Watch headed out of Friday Harbor in search of whales under sunny skies. We began heading south in San Juan Channel, spotting harbor porpoises and a few harbor seals before making a quick stop at Goose Island to view cormorants and the Cattle Point Lighthouse. We continued south west through Cattle Pass towards the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and eventually saw a few other boats ahead of us among a group of Bigg’s...

Kelly | M/V Osprey| Sunday, May 25th 2025 | 12:30pm

The holiday weekend brought a full boat of guests aboard the M/V Osprey. We took a right out of Friday Harbor, made our way down San Juan Channel and eventually into the the Straight of Juan De Fuca. We had no time to waste, a group of 5 killer whales were spotted quite far from our current location. The drive out to orcas was absolutely gorgeous, clear skies, perfect weather and hardly any other boats around. Low hanging clouds hugged the...