Another day of fun just off the dock here in the San Juans! We took a left out of Friday Harbor and headed north up San Juan Channel. Our first stop was Flathead Island, a protected nature preserve here in the San Juans where we often see a variety of pelagic birds, pinnipeds and intertidal species from the shoreline. During our shuffle along the banks we observed a bald eagle perched atop a tree, its iconic white head contrasted beautifully against the green tree tops. The bald...

Elle | M/V Osprey | June 23, 2022 |12:30PM

Today we had a beautiful day out on the Salish Sea. It was sunny and warm with calm seas and very little wind. We started the day with reports of a family of Bigg’s killer whales just north of John’s Pass in the San Juan Channel. We arrived at the family, which we later identified as the T123s, just off of Stuart Island and cruised alongside Sydney (T123), Stanley (T123A), Lucky (T123C), and Darcy (T123D), as they headed northwest together...

The only Monday blues for today’s tour was the gorgeous blue sky over San Juan Island. We started off the day hearing chatter of sightings down South, so we headed out of Friday Harbor in search of whales. Before getting too far, a Steller sea lion surprised our guests by appearing close to the boat, giving us a great start to our wildlife tour. This surprise encounter was closely followed up with a harbor seal haul-out not too far away, creating a great opportunity to compare two of...

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...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | 6.18.2022 | 12:30 PM

It was my first day back to work after a week-long vacation and I had whales on my mind. I truly miss them when I’m gone, and I felt especially eager to show our guests all the San Juans has to offer. As M/V Osprey left the dock, we got word that Bigg’s killer whale family the T123s were in the area. The T123s are “frequent flyers,” or should I say swimmers, here in the Salish Sea. They are one of the families I’ve seen the most thus far...

Maxx K. | M/V Osprey | 06/17/2022 | 12:30pm

    Traveling inter-island is always a great time. It’s fun to wind the vessel through all the nooks and crannies that partition one island from the next. Each passing typically guarantees many glimpses of eagles and pelagic birds along the rocky shorelines. Furthermore, there’s always plenty of harbor seals hoisted out of the water and away from the looming threat of Bigg’s killer whales. 

    The crew was ecstatic even before boarding as...

June 16th, 2022

Abby Dahl

12:30pm Osprey

Gabe, Maxx, Helena and I took to the water as we wrestled the current coming out of Friday Harbor. Bald eagles sat perched in the tree tops at Friday Harbor Labs, and the water shimmered an emerald green. We stopped at Flattop Island on our cruise north, rumors of humpback whales in almost the same place we left them the day before; same individuals too.

We took photos and watched the harbor seals roll around the rocky shoreline, many of them...

June 14, 2022

Abby Dahl

12:30pm Osprey

We took off out of the harbor, rumors of two humpback whales to the north. We zipped through San Juan Channel towards Boundary Pass, harbor seals and harbor porpoise ducking under the water in the distance. It was a clear day, visibility several miles in all directions.

Once we turned into the Strait of Georgia, we saw the humpbacks, identified as:

Divot (Female, born in 2003 to “Big Mama”)

Orion (Juvenile, birth year unknown)

As we watched them...

June 13th, 2022

Abby Dahl

12:30pm Osprey

It was a windy day in the harbor. After departing the dock and spotting multiple bald eagles along the Friday Harbor Labs treeline, we made our way north through San Juan Channel. We passed Spieden Island and turned west pas Roche Harbor at the northern tip of San Juan Island. There were reports of a humpback whale traveling in an unpredictable pattern through Haro Strait. The whale hadn’t been seen in 45 minutes, so our trip turned into a...

June 11th, 2022

Abby Dahl

12:30pm Osprey

We zipped out of the harbor at 12:30pm, an earlier sighting of Biggs killer whales rattling our brains. We took to the south, through San Juan Channel, harbor porpoises bobbing parallel to our vessel all the way to Cattle Point. We made a beeline for the report of killer whales which were traveling parallel to the western shore of Whidbey Island.

When we saw whales in the distance, guests rushed to the railing, jaws dropping for those who were...