Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Bigg’s Killer Whale T-Party in the Strait of Juan de Fuca

Haleigh | M/V Kestrel | August 29, 2021 | 2:00 pm

Our afternoon Kestrel adventure was a real adventure through the rolling waves of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We departed in search of a reported “T-Party,” referring to a group of multiple Bigg’s Killer Whales traveling together. Each family group includes mom, who is the head matriarch, and each of her calves. Here are the attendees of this T-Party:

T18 (Female, 1955)

T18...

Abby | M/V Kestrel | 2pm | 8/28/2021

Captain Eric and I headed south again for our second trip of the day, word of two teenagers still hunting around the Chain Islets in between Discovery Island and Oak Bay in Canadian waters. We first stopped for a “rock sausage” extravaganza. There were harbor seals aplenty on our way through San Juan Channel, their big globular eyes watching us drift past their rocky haul-out site.

Once we crossed the glassy Strait of Juan De Fuca, we set eyes on...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion| August 28, 2021 | 2:00 pm

Our afternoon classic whale watching tour began heading south through San Juan Channel. We exited through Cattle Pass and followed the strikingly beautiful Olympic Mountain Range westward. Reports of Bigg’s Killer Whales around Victoria, B.C. meant it was a race against the clock to reach them. Luckily, these two whales decided to mill in the area rather than pushing further west towards the Pacific Ocean. 

We finally caught sight...

Abby | M/V Kestrel | 10am | 8/28/2021

Captain Eric and I zoomed out of the harbor, sighting reports coming from Victoria. As we zipped through the glassy Strait of Juan De Fuca, smiles beamed amidst the bright sun rays that started breaking through the morning clouds. There were already a few boats viewing the family (T041’s) that had been spotted in Canadian waters this morning, so we decided to make a pit stop at the Chain Islets in between Discovery Island and Oak Bay. Pelagic...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | August 21, 2021 | 12:30 pm

Today’s classic whale watching adventure led us on a beautiful ride through the islands. We began heading interisland, sandwiched between the lush Orcas Island and Lopez Island. Following a report of some killer whales near Anacortes, we knew we were in for a nice boat ride with a sweet surprise. 

Slowing down to move through Peavine Pass, we noticed harbor porpoises swimming through the rippling waters. We continued through the...

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...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 08/19/2021 2:00pm

So nice to get out on the boat!

Captain Pete and I grabbed our guests and headed out to sea. We heard whispers of something exciting happening over in Canada so we headed out to find out what the commotion was about.

We headed south and passed cattle point lighthouse as we rounded the southern point of San juan and headed west. Looking at a map, the Canadian border zig zags across the islands so the city of Victoria is actually south west of...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 08/16/2021 2:00pm

Nturalist Haleigh and I joined captain Pete on the boat with our excited guests and headed out to see what we could find around the Salish Sea.

We headed north and crossed the border into Canada. Here we found Orcas!! Beautifully swimming around off the coast of Pender Island, we watched in awe as they searched for any prey that could be hiding within the rocks. It felt like a whole different world as we appreciated being able to boat in...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | August 16, 2021 | 10:00 am

    What a spectacular whale adventure today! As we loaded up our trusty vessel the M/V Sea Lion we had a feeling we had some good whale sightings in store. We motored off to the south through the San Juan Channel before popping out through Cattle Pass on our way towards Victoria, BC. The tide was flooding through the bottleneck of the pass, causing some big chunky waves as we passed through. We swayed back and forth on the deck...

Haleigh | M/V Kestrel | August 15, 2021 | 2:00pm

As we loaded M/V Kestrel and shoved off there was excitement in the air - the search for whales had begun! We headed north towards Canadian waters, and although we expected choppy waters we had nothing but smooth sailing. The puffy white clouds reflected down in the glassy waters as we skimmed along in the zodiac.

We headed into the Strait of Georgia near Point Roberts, at the very tip of US waters. Then, in the distance, we saw a...