Jordan | M/V Osprey | 08/20/2021 5:30pm

Everyone on board this evening was incredibly lucky as we were blessed with one of the best whale watches of the season to commemorate our last sunset tour of the season!

Captain Gabe, Olivia, Solan and I headed out to sea on m/v Osprey. As soon as we made it out of the harbor, one of the other captains from the Pacific Whale Watching Association (PWWA) let us know that they found orca whales! It turned out that there were whales just a few...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | August 14, 2021 | 5:30pm

With intense fires burning throughout the west coast, smoky skies are spreading hundreds of miles. Here in the Salish Sea, the burnt skies finally reached us. As we departed for our sunset tour, the amber haze made the islands feel like a new place. The golden reflection from the fiery sun glimmered off the water’s surface. Seeing such intense sunlight also meant good conditions to find the reported Bigg’s Killer Whales traveling...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | August 04, 2021 | 5:30pm

Each departure from the harbor, we set out to find as much wildlife as we can! We are in communication with other whale watchers and vessels on the water to ensure we can each create some of the best experiences the Salish sea has to offer. Though it can sometimes be a gamble choosing certain paths, our sunset trip did not disappoint! 

We decided to head north through San Juan channel in pursuit of some large black and white animals...

Jordan | M/V Osprey | 08/03/2021 5:30pm

What a beautiful day out on the water!

Naturalist Laura, Haleigh and I headed out of the harbor and headed north through San Juan Channel. We looked and looked for any signs of blows or fins when all of a sudden we hear guests shouting "blow!!" We look towards shore and sure enough there was a whale!

We slowly approached and watched as the massive whale surfaced. It was a Humpback Whale! Then, suddenly a second blow surfaced right next to the...

Jordan | M/V Osprey | 07/15/2021 5:30pm

This was one of the most Orca-tastic days ever!!

Captain Gabe, the crew and I headed out of Friday Harbor, towards Lopez Island and essentially found orca whales immediately!

A large group of at least 3 socializing transient killer whale pods led us up the channel, through the islands and up into East Sound of Orcas Island. Throughout this time, the group of Orcas separated, and we followed part of the group further into the harbor.

We...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | June 25, 2021 | 5:30pm

Tonight was a gorgeous, glassy evening on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. What normally is a body of rippling waves ended up being flat and silent, perfect for spotting wildlife! We journeyed south of Friday Harbor, down through San Juan Channel and into the Strait. With the perfect conditions on the water we saw a literal sea of birds! Hundreds of Rhinoceros Auklets, Common Murres, Glaucous-winged gulls, and Heerman’s gulls were scattered...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | June 24, 2021 | 5:30pm

I’ll likely say this throughout the summer -- sunsets are the absolute best time to be on the water. As we leave the dock and pass in and around the islands, everything around us is either sparkling or glowing. Tonight’s excursion lived up to the magic. 

Our beginning route led us eastbound on an inter-island expedition. We were following prior reports of a “T-Party” traveling through the San Juan Channel. Bigg’s Killer Whales are...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | June 9, 2021 | 5:30pm

Our Wednesday night sunset tour began with us racing north up San Juan Channel to catch the reported 8 Bigg’s Killer Whales before they crossed the US-Canadian Border. We witnessed this same group hours earlier at the Southern end of San Juan Island, and knew their travel pattern was taking them up along the West side of the island heading North. In the group, we saw T65A Mother (Female, 1986) with her calves T65A2 (Male, 2004), T65A3...

Laura | M/V Osprey | 6/4/2021| 12:30

It was a wonderful day out in the Salish Sea this afternoon!  We headed north through San Juan Channel and started looking for all the prey items of our Bigg’s killer whales, like seals, sea lions and harbor porpoises!  We searched through Spieden Channel and found some adorable harbor seals and bald eagles!  Spieden Island is a great place to check out our bald eagle population and look for some cool non-native animals that have been residing...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | August 21st, 2020 | 17:30

Leaving the dock, we were intensely paying attention to our radios, repeaters, and apps on the whereabouts of the Transient Orca we saw previously on the 13:00 trip. Since the whales can travel over a hundred miles in a day, we don’t ever expect what we see on one trip to be true for the next—but we REALLY wanted to see this family group of Bigg’s Killer Whales. We immediately started heading south (passing multiple Harbor Porpoise)...