Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Laura | M/V Kestrel | 7/20/2020 | 2:00pm

I must say, today was one of my favorite trips all season!  It was a gorgeous day on the water and the seas were so calm!  It felt so nice to have some warm breeze on such a hot day!  As we left the harbor there were reports of some Bigg’s killer whales close to home!  We made our way into the Rosario Strait and found orcas just 20 minutes after leaving our dock! 

Passengers scanned the shores and saw a cluster of tiny black dorsal fins as...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | July 20th, 2020 | 13:30

On what felt like the warmest day all summer (I wore shorts for the first time!) we left the dock with a Transient Orca report, which started us of with a boat full of excitement. Heading inner island through Upright Passage, we admired the Shaw and Lopez shorelines while spotting Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, and Bald Eagles. The sun was effortlessly radiating off the water as we caught astounding views of Mount Baker as she looked...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | July 19th, 2020 | 14:00 

This Adventure Trip on M/V Kestrel was so fun with Captain Brian and our guests! At the dock we had a few guests that were extra excited to be going out with us today which always makes it more exciting right away. We set out on our sunny venture by heading inner island towards Lummi Island. Upon arrival we spotted the same family group of Transient Orca that we saw yesterday, the T37A’s. At first sight, we saw TWO full body breaches...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | July 18th, 2020 | 17:30

We initially received word that the same family group of Transient Orca we saw on our 13:30 trip was traveling south away from the island. Trying to get off the dock quickly, we were humbly surprised that they turned INTO San Juan Channel!  We headed towards Shark Reef where we first caught word that they were hunting along the shoreline. Upon arrival, they happen to be on a long dive and ended up surfacing near Big Rock off Lopez...

Erick | M/V Kestrel | Saturday, July 18, 2020 | 2:00PM

It was another beautiful summer day here in the San Juan Islands! It was sunny, breezy, and beautiful blue skies everywhere you look. We could see Mt. Baker, the Olympic Mountains, and all the way down to Mt. Rainier! Capt. Brian and I took a full crew of guests out to look for whales and other wildlife. There were some early reports of some Orcas east of San Juan Island that were spotted near the ferry lane, so we headed that...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | July 18th, 2020 | 13:30

It was the most picture-perfect day on the water we have had yet. Immensely sunny, WARM, Mount Baker and Mount Rainier flawlessly in view, the Olympic Mountains defined on the horizon, and calm seas.  We traveled south gazing at Harbor Seals hauled out on Turn Island and watching Harbor Porpoise swim outside of Griffin Bay. Upon reaching the southern side of Lopez Island between Colville and Long Island, we caught out first glances at...

M/V Sea Lion | Friday July 17th  2020 | Naturalist Alexandria

Today was a beautiful day out on the water!  We left the dock knowing we had reports of Resident Orcas off the West Side of San Juan Island- and not just any resident orcas… J Pod!

As we left in M/V Sea Lion, Captain Pete and myself were eagerly looking forward to the trip ahead.  Any day where we have reports of whales is an exciting day, but when we have reports of Southern Resident Orcas off the West Side of San Juan...

Sarah | 07/17/2020 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00pm

What. A. Day. We had yet another amazing day on the water amongst members of the Southern Resident killer whale population. It was truly a dreamy day!

Captain Brian and I elected to head south out of Friday Harbor towards a recent report of orcas from our colleagues in the Pacific Whale Watch Association. All of the member companies of PWWA are obligated to share wildlife sightings with one another, enabling us to search a huge amount of...

Erick | M/V Sea Lion | Wednesday, July 15, 2020 | 1:30PM

            It is very much feeling like summer now. Capt. Pete and I took a group out on a beautiful, warm sunny day here in the San Juans. Now, it definitely was not hot especially once we got out on the water. We started going by going south through San Juan Channel and into Haro Strait. There had been a report of groups of orcas off the southwestern coast of San Juan Island. We soon saw blows a few miles offshore on False...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | JUly 14, 2020 | 13:30

Every moment of our trip was a picture-perfect day out on the water. From the minute we left the dock we were graced with sharp views of Mount Baker [volcano] towering over the islands, a full bodied Mount Rainier [volcano] greeting us in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, as well as the entirety of the Olympic Mountain Range silhouetting the South.

We took a sneak peek at some Harbor Seals hauled out near Turn Island before spotting Harbor...