Written by Alison
Sea Otter and Whales ...
July 23, 2026 PM – Today we started with a stop to see our somewhat rare visitor to ...
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July 9, 2026 AM – What a day! We got off to a great start finding a sea otter all wrapped up in the bull kelp just south of Friday Harbor. Just a few hundred yards away, we found harbor seals hauled out on the rocks and a bald eagle perched in a tree. From there, we headed north to look for exotic game animals on Spieden Island. We found some mouflon sheep grazing on the grassy slopes. We knew we had whales nearby, so we also got to spend a little time cruising between the Cactus Islands. There we found a bald eagle feeding on something red and stringy. Several other eagles swooped in to try and get a bite. As we continued on, we found several harbor seals swimming around in the kelp. The lighting was beautiful, and we found the cutest mom pup pair swimming around together. Next, we headed east towards Waldron Island and encountered 6 members of the T46B matriline. This family has been extremely productive with the matriarch recently giving birth to her 7th surviving calf and her 3 oldest daughters all having calves of their own. It appears that in the past 1-2 weeks, another of her daughters with a calf has dispersed and taken her 7-year-old sister with her. Today we had 28-year-old T46B named Raksha with her 18-year-old daughter, Akela, 13-year-old son Quiver, 3-year-old calf, Tala, 5-month-old calf Pi, and 3-year-old granddaughter Takaya! The whales were zigging and zagging, then grouped up and swam along the Waldron shoreline. Wow, what a day!
Photographer and Naturalist: Alison Engle – Instagram: @AlisonEngleArt – Website: www.AlisonEngle.com – Instagram: @WesternPrinceWildlife – Facebook: Western Prince Whale Watching Adventures
July 23, 2026 PM – Today we started with a stop to see our somewhat rare visitor to ...
July 23, 2026 AM – This afternoon we started with a stop to see our new visitor to t ...
July 16, 2026 AM – Soon after leaving the dock, we got word of a group of Bigg’s K ...
July 9 , 2026 PM – We headed out on a sunny afternoon. We had a report of whales, bu ...
July 2, 2026 PM – We headed south on the afternoon trip. Our first stop was to check ...
July 2, 2026 AM – It was a bit wet out there today, but the wildlife did not seem to ...
June 25, 2026 PM – We headed south on a gray rainy day, little did we know we would ...
June 25, 2026 AM – We had a blustery day with a chance of rain but everyone was game ...
July 5, 2026– Everyday is a great day here in the San Juan Islands, and today certainly ...
July 4, 2026– We departed a bustling Friday Harbor this morning and were greeted by an e ...
July 3, 2026– We started off a productive trip with a trip to Turn Reef, where we found ...
June 29, 2026– This Monday morning trip was filled to the brim with excitement! We left ...
June 28, 2026– Our morning tour started off heading south down San Juan Channel. We made ...
June 21, 2026– We’re going to Disneyland Point! We start our day traveling north up Sa ...
June 20, 2026– The summer sun is shining here in the San Juans! A report of killer whale ...
June 19, 2026– Lucky whale summer prevails! We started our morning travelling south down ...
June 15, 2026– This morning, a report of whales out east took us all the way out to Rosa ...
June 8, 2026– The June gloom settled in on this morning’s trip, but made for some ...
June 18, 2026 PM – Today was a “Triple Play!” Three species of whales in one tri ...
June 18, 2026 – We had sunshine today and a bit of wind coming out of the north. Whe ...
June 13, 2026 – It was another picture-perfect day! The mountains were out and the s ...
June 7, 2026 – We had a blast this Sunday with tons of wildlife here in the Salish Sea. ...
July 11, 2026 PM – Well some days you have to go 20 miles to see whales and some day ...
July 11, 2026 AM – Well it was a picture perfect day! We headed south and checked ou ...
June 4, 2026 PM – We left the dock and headed north up San Juan Channel. Our first s ...
June 4, 2026 AM – The skies were gray, and there was a bit of wind as we left the do ...
May 28, 2026 – We left the dock and headed south. We had some great spotters on boar ...
June 5, 2026– A rainy day here in the islands! This trip took us the furthest south I ha ...
June 2, 2026– We had a beautiful day on the Salish Sea today! Our trip spanned over 51 m ...
May 21, 2026 – We headed out with a possible report of Orcas off the NE side of Orca ...
May 14, 2026 – We had a bit of wind today and scattered showers which added to our s ...
May 26, 2026 – We had an action-packed trip with three different species of whales! ...
May 22, 2026 – When we first got on scene with this group of Bigg’s Killer Whales, ...
May 19, 2026 – We did a full circumnavigation of Lopez Island today! We started off ...
May 12, 2026 – We left the dock with a report of some Bigg’s Killer Whales traveli ...
May 24, 2026– The sun is back in the San Juan Islands! We had a lovely morning out on th ...
May 23, 2026– We had a very immersive experience out on the water today! It was quite ov ...
May 18, 2026– The spring season is in full swing! We were lucky to stay relatively close ...
May 17, 2026– Another beautiful day on the water! Captain Bethany took us down south and ...
May 16, 2026– Today was another very special day on the water! The wildlife stayed quite ...
May 7, 2026 – When we left the dock we had a report of a group of ~12 whales to the ...
May 10, 2026– Lucky girl summer is in full swing! We left the harbor and had a very shor ...
May 4, 2026– Spring is here in the San Juan Islands! We were lucky to enjoy some sun thi ...
May 2, 2026– Spring is in full swing here in the archipelago! This Saturday we were trea ...
April 30, 2026– We were lucky to have great conditions out on the water today! Our trip ...
April 28, 2026– On this trip, we went to the very end of range to meet up with the T46B ...
April 25, 2026 – We had a beautiful, warm spring day on the water. The perfect day f ...
April 18, 2026 – It is not every day that you get to see two different family groups ...
April 21, 2026 – Our trip took us north across the Canadian border to Moresby Island ...
April 17, 2026 – We had a very special trip today! We got to have an encounter with ...
April 16, 2026 – Spring is here in the Salish Sea, and we headed out to the Straits ...
April 12, 2026 – We did a very long run, but in the end, it was so worth it! Normal ...
April 9, 2026 – We headed out for another beautiful day in the Salish Sea and starte ...
April 7, 2026 – We decided to head east, through the inner islands, and had a fun op ...
April 2, 2026 – We headed north with reports of killer whales right off the dock and ...
March 29, 2026 – Well today we had a bit of rain and it was chilly out, so we bundle ...
March 28, 2026 – We headed north from Friday Harbor up to Green Point where we spott ...
March 27, 2026 – We had a gorgeous sunny day to go exploring. We left the dock and h ...
March 26, 2026 – It was a beautiful, sunny day, and we had killer whales right outsi ...
March 25, 2026 – Our first trip of the 2026 season was a blast! It started out with ...
September 25, 2025 – Today we knew was going to be a long run. We headed north up in ...
September 24, 2025 – What a special day today! We began our trip with humpback whale ...
September 16, 2025 – We had a very special encounter with the T75Bs today in Boundar ...
September 4, 2025 – We headed north with our first stop at Green Point on Spieden Is ...
September 10, 2025 – It’s been such a beautiful weather week, and we got the b ...
September 12, 2025 – We delayed our trip an hour due to heavy fog and we got really ...
September 11, 2025 – We had a report of Bigg’s killer whales moving north on t ...
September 10, 2025 – We had beautiful conditions as we cruised through the Canadian ...
September 7, 2025 – We had a wonderful encounter with the family of Bigg’s kil ...
September 1, 2025 – As we cruise into shoulder season, we’ve continued to have ...
September 3, 2025 – We decided to go south and checked out Whale Rocks where we spot ...
August 31, 2025 – We headed out with a report of a group of Bigg’s Killer Whales t ...
August 28, 2025 – We left the dock and headed north we made a quick stop right away ...
August 21, 2025 – We left the dock with several reports of animals in the area, and ...
August 27, 2025 – We began our trip with a bit of searching up through Presidents Ch ...
August 22, 2025 – It was a beautiful August day and conditions were flat and calm to ...
August 21, 2025 – We began our day with whale reports popping up all around the area ...
August 20, 2025 – August 20, 2025 – We started the day with killer whale repor ...
August 14, 2025 – We left the dock with a report of whales at the edge of our range ...
August 13, 2025 – Today we made the long journey up to Cowichan Bay towards a report ...
August 7, 2025 – We headed north on a nice sunny day. Our first stop was in the Cact ...
August 8, 2025 – Conditions were beautiful as we made our way north through San Juan ...
August 7, 2025 – We headed north around the top of San Juan Island and made a first ...
August 6, 2025 – We began our afternoon trip with reports of a couple groups of Bigg ...
July 31, 2025 – We knew that we were going to have a fairly long run if we wanted to ...
July 24, 2025 – We had a beautiful sunny and blustery day to head out. We had report ...
July 17, 2025 – We had a beautiful sunny day with not much wind to go exploring. Our ...
July 16, 2025 – We had beautiful conditions for our trip today, and that was much ap ...
July 13, 2025 – We headed south and out to the Strait of Juan De Fuca. Conditions we ...
July 17, 2025 – We left the dock today with a potential report of orca near Sucia ...
July 9, 2025 – Another day spent in the Salish Sea! We started our trip by heading n ...
July 10, 2025 – We headed north on a beautiful sunny afternoon. We made a quick stop ...
July 8, 2025 -Today we began our trip by cruising through the San Juan Islands towards a r ...
July 3, 2025 – We left the dock and headed north. We had fingers crossed that the fe ...
July 2, 2025 – We headed out for another beautiful day in the Salish Sea! We headed ...
June 29 2025 – We started out the trip by heading south down San Juan Channel. We st ...
June 26, 2025 – What a day! Who cares about a bit of drizzling rain when you have a ...
June 25, 2025 – We headed off today with a stop at Turn Island to look at some harbo ...
June 24, 2025- We began our trip with a report of Bigg’s killer whales at the far no ...
June 19, 2025 – We had a lovely warm sunny afternoon with flat calm seas to our nort ...
June 13, 2025 – We had a beautiful afternoon on the water. We headed toward the Disc ...
June 12, 2025 – We began our trip with some reports of a family of orca north near P ...
June 1, 2025 – Today’s weather conditions were perfect for a run to the west. We t ...
May 30, 2025 – We had a picturesque day on the water. We had overcast skies in the m ...
May 25, 2025 – We headed out into the Strait of Juan De Fuca for an encounter with a ...
May 9, 2025 – We headed north on a beautiful afternoon. We checked out some harbor s ...
May 18, 2025 – Another beautiful day in the Salish Sea! We checked out Spieden Islan ...
May, 5, 2025 – We rarely get such glassy, calm waters like today! We headed north to ...
May 2, 2025 -Our trip started with a stop at White Rock to check out the harbor seals bask ...
April 13, 2025 – 11AM We headed out to an early report of some whales in Bellingham ...
April 12, 2025 – 11AM Today truly felt like the perfect spring morning. We started t ...
September 19, 2024 – We started our wildlife viewing at Spieden Island with a nice s ...
September 12, 2024 PM – It was a perfect afternoon for a trip out on the Western Exp ...
September 12, 2024 AM – We left the dock and headed south knowing we might have a bi ...
September 5, 2024 PM – It was fun to take off in a completely different direction an ...
September 5, 2024 – It was a classically beautiful day in the Salish Sea and we were ...
August 27, 2024 – We headed north towards a report of several families of Bigg’s K ...
August 29, 2024 PM – Well it is not every day that you can leave the dock and be wit ...
August 29, 2024 Am – Well this trip started with a King Fisher foraging in one of ou ...
August 22, 2024 PM – We headed south in great conditions – flat calm seas and ...
August 22, 2024 AM – Our first stop today was at Whale Rocks to see the dozens of St ...
August 23, 2024 – What a beautiful, foggy morning in the San Juan Islands! It was just e ...
August 19, 2024 – We had an incredible encounter with a group of Bigg’s Killer Whales ...
August 16, 2024 – With the overcast skies and the colder temperatures, it felt like ...
August 8, 2024 – PM – We left the dock knowing we had a long run if we were go ...
August 8, 2024 AM – We headed south with the hope of making it to a pod of Orcas tha ...
August 5, 2024 – Today’s trip was an exciting one! We headed out into the Salish S ...
August 4, 2024 – We had an incredibly rare sighting on today’s trip! We had a Gray ...
August 3, 2024 – We headed out on a beautiful day. We were really lucky to have a re ...
July 29, 2024 – It was a very typical late summer day with the morning starting out ...
July 28, 2024 – We started off this trip with a very quick look at a humpback whale in ...
August 1, 2024 PM – When we left the dock we had a report of a Humpback Whale way to ...
July 25, 2024 PM – Today we cruised north to our first stop at White Rock. We were e ...
July 25, 2024 AM – Today we cruised north with a pair of Bald Eagles flying over on ...
July 18, 2024 PM – When we left the dock we headed north. We had a bit of wind and i ...
July 18, 2024 AM – We left the dock and headed north. We had a rumor of whales up in ...
July 13, 2024 – It was a unique day in the San Juan Islands. We got an afternoon rep ...
July 10, 2024 – What a trip! We got off the dock and were just heading out of the ha ...
July 11, 2024 PM – Well some trips you have to travel an hour just to get to whales ...
July 11, 2024 AM – It was one of those days with flat calm waters sunny skies and a ...
July 8, 2024 – We ended up with a beautiful trip out to the Straits of Juan De Fuca to ...
July 5, 2024 – It was another beautiful day spent exploring the Salish Sea! We had p ...
July 4, 2024 PM – Today we lucked with having Orcas just outside of Friday Harbor! T ...
July 4, 2024 AM – We started our day at White Rock checking out the Harbor Seals, th ...
June 30, 2024 –We headed off towards Rosario Strait and followed up on a report of a gro ...
June 28, 2024 – It was such a beautiful day on the water and we decided to head north on ...
June 27, 2024 PM – When we left the dock the wind was starting to pick up. As we hea ...
June 27, 2024 AM – We left the dock and headed north on a nice gray overcast day. Ou ...
June 24, 2024 – We headed out of Friday Harbor to the south and did not get far before ...
June 23, 2024 – We started off the trip by checking out the Cactus Islands where we spo ...
June 21, 2024 – WHAT A DAY! Not only was the weather beautiful and sunny but we had an ...
June 18, 2024 – Today we got to see a family of “exotic” killer whales, the T23s ...
June 17, 2024 – We had a beautiful trip up to one of our favorite backdrops to watch wha ...
June 13, 2024 – PM It was a beautiful day with sunny skies and no wind! Yay! We ha ...
June 13, 2024 AM – It was a beautiful day! Sunny skies and no wind! Yay! Our one pos ...
June 13, 2024 – We had a gorgeous sunny day and an adventure to go on, so off we wen ...
May 29, 2024 – It was such a dramatic weather day, starting with rain in the harbor and ...
May 28, 2024 –Another day, another incredible encounter with the Bigg’s Killer Whale f ...
May 27, 2024 – We headed north into Canadian waters to check out the Java rocks and the ...
May 23, 2024 – We left the dock with a rumor of possible whales in Rosario Strait. W ...
May 24, 2024- It was a classic pacific northwest kind of day with gray clouds and intermit ...
May 19, 2024 – What a wonderful day! We had a fantastic encounter with the Bigg’s ...
May 8, 2024 – We were excited to leave the dock with a report of Orcas nearby. We ...
May 17, 2024 We had a lovely trip that took across the border to check out the Java rocks. ...
May 12, 2024 – We left Friday Harbor with a report of killer whales inner island in ...
May 10, 2024 – Today’s trip took us south out of Friday Harbor towards the open wa ...
May 3, 2024 – It is special when we have whales close to Friday Harbor and today, th ...
May 2, 2024 – The search was on from the moment we left the dock. You just never kno ...
May 1, 2024 – Happy May Day and WOW was this trip one for the books. Not only was i ...
April 28, 2024 – It was quite the windy day but despite the challenging weather, we had ...
April 23, 2024 – What a day! In one trip, we had separate encounters with three diff ...
April 22, 2024 – Today we lots of sunshine and blustery winds. Our first stop was at ...
April 18, 2024 – We started the day with sightings of a couple of Bald Eagles soarin ...
Welcome to the pristine waters of the San Juan Islands, a haven for wildlife enthusiasts a ...
April 10, 2024 – We had a sunny and crisp afternoon on the water. We headed south in ...
April 4, 2024 We set out on a blustery day everyone was excited to see what the day would ...
We’ve been enjoying a classic spring in the Pacific Northwest here in the San Juan I ...
March 26, 2024 – Another beautiful day in the Salish Sea and an amazing encounter wi ...
Our first trip of the 2024 season and what a way to start it off! We had a beautiful trip ...
October 4, 2023 – We headed north to see what we could find. We knew that we had a ...
September 28, 2023 – We headed north with a report of 2 Humpbacks at the very edge o ...
September 27, 2023 – We had a spectacular afternoon with 2 different family groups o ...
September 24, 2023 – We headed out to the eastern part of the San Juans Islands to Rosa ...
September 23, 2023 – Today was a very special trip. We got to spend some time with a fam ...
September 17, 2023 – When we left our dock in Friday Harbor, fortunately, we had a repor ...
September 15, 2023 – We headed west of the San Juan Islands out towards Canada. We ende ...
September 13, 23023 – We had a long run ahead of us, but everyone was up for the rid ...
September 10, 2023 – We had a gorgeous day in Rosario Strait, filled with all sorts of ...
September 9, 2023 – We headed to the south from Friday Harbor down towards Cattle Pass ...
September 7, 2023 – On this day Naturalist Alison was a stowaway on the Western Expl ...
September 5, 2023 – It’s rare that we get whales right outside of Friday Harbor but t ...
September 4, 2023 – The conditions in the San Juan Islands were beautiful on this day. ...
September 3, 2023 – Today’s trip took us to the south part of the San Juan Islands, o ...
September 2, 2023 – What a special encounter we had today! We headed out of Friday Harb ...
August 28, 2023 – Today gave us Deja Vu because just one week ago, we were watching the ...
August 25, 2023 – What a trip! We ran over 30 miles to the north from Friday Harbor to ...
August 26, 2023 – We headed out from Friday Harbor with a report of some killer whales ...
August 23, 2023 – We had two beautiful encounters with two very different groups of Big ...
August 21, 2023 – Today, we got to see all six members of the same Bigg’s Killer Whal ...
August 20, 2023 – We had another beautiful day spent on the water in the San Juan Islan ...
August 19, 2023 – We headed out from Friday Harbor towards the western part of the San ...
August 18, 2023 – Today’s trip was packed full of amazing encounters! We had barely l ...
August 16, 2023 PM – We headed northwest into the Canadian Gulf islands with a repor ...
August 16, 2023 AM – It was a hot sunny day and we were all looking forward to being ...
August 13, 2023 AM – We had a two species whale trip! We started off out of Friday ...
August 9, 2023 PM – This afternoon we had a great encounter with a family of Bigg’ ...
August 9, 2023 AM – We left the dock and headed north. We had a possible report of ...
August 6, 2023 PM – We had a gorgeous trip out of Friday Harbor today. We headed to the ...
August 5, 2023 AM – We had quite the trip today! We got to head west of the San Juan Is ...
August 4, 2023 AM – We headed out of Friday Harbor towards the northern part of the San ...
August 2, 2023 PM – It was great to have a report of Bigg’s Killer Whales near the ...
August 2, 2023 AM – Well it is not every day that you encounter whales just a few mi ...
July 31, 2023 AM – As we were getting off the dock in Friday Harbor, we received a repo ...
July 30, 2023 AM – We had an amazing encounter with a group of Bigg’s Killer Whal ...
July 28, 2023 AM – It was another gorgeous day in the San Juan Islands. We headed out f ...
July 26, 2023 PM – We left the dock and headed north with a possible report of whale ...
July 26, 2023 AM – We left the dock and headed north with a possible sighting of wha ...
July 24, 2023 AM – We headed south of Friday Harbor today. It was a rare, cloudy day in ...
July 23, 2023 AM – It’s not every day that we have whales only 15 minutes from the do ...
July 22, 2023 AM – Today’s trip took us north of the San Juan Islands to the outer Ca ...
July 14, 2023 AM – Today we spent the morning with a group of Bigg’s Killer Whales kn ...
July 13, 2023 – We headed out from Friday Harbor to the north and checked out one of ou ...
July 12, 2023 PM – We headed north with with our first stop at the Cactus Islands. ...
July 12, 2023 AM – We headed north with the hope of catching up with The T65B’s. ...
July 11, 2023 – We had a wonderful trip with Naturalist Katie and Captain Ivan. We ...
July 10, 2023 – We had an amazing time out on the water with a group of Bigg’s Killer ...
July 9, 2023 – We headed out from Friday Harbor towards the northern part of the San Ju ...
July 5, 2023 PM – We left the dock and headed south. It was a gorgeous sunny day w ...
July 5, 2023 AM – Every day it is a fresh start, the search begins again. We decid ...
July 3, 2023 AM – What an incredible day on the water! We headed out from Friday Harbor ...
July 1, 2023 AM – We headed north out of the San Juan Islands and up towards a Canadian ...
June 30, 2023 AM – Today we headed out from Friday Harbor towards the north. We ran all ...
June 29, 2023 – We had an epic day aboard the Western Explorer II. We spotted a bal ...
June 28, 2023 PM – We had a beautiful sunny afternoon and were excited to see what t ...
June 28, 2023 AM – There was a bit of a chill in the air, but still a gorgeous sunny ...
June 25, 2023 AM – Today was an interesting one in the San Juan Islands. We started off ...
June 23, 2023 AM – We headed out from Friday Harbor towards the north where we then sto ...
June 22, 2023 PM – Today we got to see some “exotic” Bigg’s Killer Whales! We had ...
June 21, 2023 PM – We left the dock and headed east through the middle of the island ...
June 21, 2023 AM – We headed south on a nice but overcast day. We actually like da ...
June 20, 2023 PM – We headed off from Friday Harbor up towards Canada. We had a report ...
June 19, 2023 PM – We headed south of the San Juan Islands out into the Straits of Juan ...
June 18, 2023 AM – We headed out of Friday Harbor on a calm and cloudy day for another ...
June 17, 2023 AM – We had an action-packed trip out in the San Juan Islands today! We s ...
June 16, 2023 PM- We headed out for another day in the San Juan Islands and had a wonderf ...
June 14, 2023 PM – We headed north to see if we could catch up with the orcas that w ...
June 14, 2023 -We got really lucky today with a report of Orcas super close to Friday Harb ...
June 12, 2023 AM – We headed out for another beautiful day exploring the San Juan Islan ...
June 11, 2023 AM – We headed out of Friday Harbor with no reports of whales which is ty ...
June 10, 2023 AM – Today’s trip was a classic pacific northwest kind of day! Gray clo ...
We headed out on another beautiful day. Captain JB decided to go south first which put u ...
June 5, 2023 – We started out of Friday Harbor with a report of some killer whales on t ...
June 4, 2023 – We had a wonderful encounter with a male bigg’s killer whale known as ...
June 3, 2023 – Whales went under the deception pass bridge two days in a row! Unlike ye ...
May 31, 2023 PM – We left the dock and headed east. We had a report of a well known ...
June 2, 2023 – What a trip! We got to watch whales go through Deception Pass! This pass ...
June 1, 2023 – We headed off the dock in Friday Harbor early with a report of some anim ...
You’ve done all the appropriate research to plan your whale and wildlife excursion. ...
May 28, 2023 PM – What a day! We started out from Friday Harbor of a report of a grou ...
May 27, 2023 AM – Today we headed towards the northern part of the San Juan Islands. We ...
We have a unique history here in the San Juan Islands. There are many spots to enjoy educa ...
May 25, 2023 – It was one of the first really warm days this spring. We headed north ...
May 22, 2023 – On this trip, it was the rare occasion where we did not have to venture ...
May 21, 2023 – We headed out from Friday Harbor and headed towards a report of some anim ...
Getting to Friday Harbor is a beautiful journey in itself, whether you’re flying or taki ...
May 20, 2023 -Today we headed out from Friday Harbor on a very adventurous trip! It was fa ...
May 17, 2023 – We had a long run up to the north from the San Juan Islands today. ...
May 15, 2023 – We headed off from Friday Harbor in search of amazing wildlife! We starte ...
You’ve arrived on the Washington State Ferry in Friday Harbor and joined us on a wha ...
May 13, 2023 – What a fun trip! Before we even got up to speed to start our trip, Natura ...
It was the perfect kind of day with sunny skies, calm seas and incredible cloudscapes. W ...
May 7, 2023 AM – Today’s trip in the San Juan Islands was filled with exciting sightin ...
May 6, 2023 AM – We departed from Friday Harbor and fortunately already had a report of ...
If you’re thinking of joining one of our whale watching tours you might also be thin ...
May 1, 2023 – We headed out for another day on the water in the San Juan Islands sea ...
April 29, 2023 – We started off our trip by departing Friday Harbor and heading nort ...
April 27, 2023 – We left the dock in Friday Harbor with two possible sightings. Ca ...
May 3, 2023 – We left the dock at 3pm today. We were excited to be out a little la ...
We’ve been enjoying a classic spring in the Pacific Northwest here in the San Juan I ...
Whales can actually be found around the San Juan Islands year round. However, peak season ...
San Juan Island San Juan Island is a breathtakingly beautiful and serene place located in ...
May 29, 2022 – Incredible Bigg’s Killer Whale Encounter! This trip was an incredible o ...
We can’t believe that it is already the end of May already! The first two months of our ...
Whale Report: May 2-8 As we continue into May here in the San Juan Islands, spring has def ...
After the past few years of pandemic uncertainty, we are back and excited to see what this ...
September is one of our favorite months! After over a year of pandemic uncertainty, the We ...
Summer in the San Juan Islands is upon us and we’re gearing up for a great season at Wes ...
UPDATE 3/17/20: Well ….. As we said, the situation is evolving rapidly. We have reas ...
This is whale watching in the San Juan Islands at its best! An incredible encounter with B ...
It was a gorgeous day aboard the Western Prince II. We cruised south and visited with so ...
We headed south for a report of a breaching humpback whale and were not disappointed! It ...
What a great day on the water! We traveled south for a report of a humpback whale and we ...
We went the extra distance on the Western Explorer II! We ventured north and spotted a h ...
We had a pretty amazing day on the Western Prince on 9/3. We ended up having 3 encounters ...
We start this foggy morning with a slow trip through Cattle Pass and out on to Salmon Bank ...
It was a beautiful day for a run to the North. We headed up towards Canada with the hope o ...
We had an amazing encounter with most of the members of J-Pod this morning. They were trav ...
We had a great trip today on the Western Prince II. We encountered both Orca and Humpback ...
What a memorable day on the Western Explorer II! We had a late afternoon report of marine ...
We had a beautiful, flat and calm journey out from San Juan Island on the Western Explorer ...
Today we watched the T65A’s, a family group of Bigg’s killer whales, hunting a harbor ...
We’ve been having spectacular sightings here at Western Prince, located right in the hea ...
As we headed north on glassy waters reports of three different groups of Bigg’s, marine ...
We had an epic day on the Western Explorer II! We left Friday Harbor with a report of mult ...
Wow! Today was a beautiful day of whale watching on the Western Explorer II! After heading ...
Report from the Western Explorer II: There were reports of animals within our range, but w ...
We encountered 2 different groups of Bigg’s also known as Transient marine mammal-eating ...
We had an exciting day out of Friday Harbor on the Western Explorer II. Not only did we se ...
We had a beautiful morning on the water with perfect conditions. After leaving the dock on ...
On this spectacular June morning, we headed out from Friday Harbor, through San Juan Chann ...
Today our tour took us north into Canadian water and Boundary Pass. An adult humpback whal ...
This lovely last day of May provided fantastic weather and….whales! We spent time wi ...
Gorgeous day with a big tidal exchange! We headed south on the search for whales and wildl ...
Friday Harbor, WA/USA – May 29, 2019 – Western Prince Whale Watching tha ...
2019 sightings start out strong! We are seeing Killer whales on nearly all our tours! Hope ...
Ready. Set. Whale!! We are very excited to start our 2019 season! Starting this Saturday, ...
Thank you for your help! For over a decade we have been committed to donating at least 5 ...
We are always excited to see what each new season will bring!!! Things have been ch ...
We had a spectacular day on the water. About ten minutes before we were set to leave the ...
We left the dock with a report of Orcas to the North. Captain Peter headed in that directi ...
Observing orcas under any circumstance is always special, but it’s a definite treat to w ...
It was truly an amazing day with non-stop action from start to finish. The Bald Eagle acti ...
Can you believe it’s nearing the end of May already!? Neither can we! But the weathe ...
Today was one of the rare days that we had a report of orcas before leaving the dock and o ...
Today was such a treat! We got to see one of the few gray whales that makes its way into ...
What a wonderfully sunny day at sea! We got a report of a humpback whale in Canadian wat ...
Today we were joined by middle schoolers from Lafayette, CO. These teens were eager to s ...
Wow! What a day. A series of fortuitous events led us to Orcas almost in our backyard. ...
When we left the dock on May 8th we did not know what the day would bring. We headed north ...
As whale watch enthusiasts it can be easy to forget the other creatures that live in our b ...
It’s finally starting to feel like spring in the San Juans! The weather was sunny wi ...
As our naturalists like to say, “any day on the water is a good day.” As a new natur ...
Our guests today joined us from as close as Seattle to as far away as Florida for a whale ...
Spieden Island was the highlight today. Wildlife galore, Steller Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, ...
Wow! It’s been an incredible spring so far since we started operating! Not every sin ...
We had our first trip of the season on the Western Prince II today! And wow, did we ever l ...
What an incredible whale watching season 2017 was! We look forward getting back out on t ...
Wow! Well, it’s been a super busy summer season for us! We are now rolling into fall ...
It was a day of non-stop wildlife, wild beauty and wild water on Tuesday. We headed sout ...
Sunshine, calm seas, Bald Eagles, Harbor Seals and Bigg’s Killer Whales…a perfect set ...
With a Humpback whale report to the north and lots of wind to the south, north we went! We ...
The enthusiasm expressed when we caught sight of the 2 humpback whales, known as BCX01057 ...
Our tour began with several sightings of Humpback whales south of San Juan Island. Off we ...
What a fantastic day with Bald Eagles, Steller sea lions, Harbor seals, and of course thos ...
Today was one for the history books! We left the dock in Friday Harbor to start our whale ...
It was fun to experience so much of what the Salish Sea has to offer in one afternoon. O ...
Our whale watch trip start with fantastic news even before we left the dock in Friday Harb ...
When we left the dock at Friday Harbor today we had no idea what an adventure we were abou ...
It was fun to experience so much of what the Salish Sea has to offer in one afternoon. W ...
What an amazing day on the water we had today with not one but TWO species of whale ...
Orca Awareness Month, started by long-time orca education and advocacy group Orca Network, ...
The day started with no whale reports, but that quickly changed! We got word that quite a ...
We survived the elements and a very long run to have this great encounter with the T124A2 ...
Today’s whale watching trip from Friday Harbor led us into Canadian waters where we had ...
A beautiful evening on the water. We hooked up with the T101’s along the Salt Spring Isl ...
From the Western Explorer: Celebrating Memorial Day weekend in style!!! As we left Friday ...
We got some great action as we headed out of Friday Harbor. A Steller Sea Lion had just ca ...
It was a day to remember! We departed Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. We got word that ...
May 16th was quite a special whale watching trip. I’ve been out in the islands for o ...
A little bit of rain could not take away from an exciting encounter with the T123s, a grou ...
Perfect wildlife viewing weather made for an incredible day! The sky was slightly overcast ...
It was a beautiful and flat calm day on the water. We headed north, seeing harbor porpoi ...
I love spending time on the water here in the San Juan Islands. Especially on days like to ...
It was a great northwest kind of day on the Western Prince. We were honored to see Biggs ...
April 11, 2017 It was a fabulous day on the Western Prince. We were so lucky to see Stelle ...
Today was a wonderful adventure out into the Salish Sea! It was sunny and just slightly wa ...
It was a little windy and bumpy but the sights of a pod of Killer whales amazed us all! We ...
I hate to admit it, but we have been super spoiled. Our luck with whale sightings has been ...
April 2, 2017: Today’s encounter with the T36As & T99s! Make sure you keep your ...
While each encounter we have with any wildlife is special, there are some moments that sti ...
Our first whale watching tour from Friday Harbor is scheduled for Saturday, March 4th and ...
We had a wonderful visit with a Humpback whale at Turn Point Lighthouse! It has been anoth ...
Such a treat! Not only did we get to spend time with Js and Ls, we got to see 2 Humpback w ...
We started out tour with a report of Bigg’s Killer whales (transient) up north into ...
On a beautiful September evening, we headed out to catch up with the T60’s. Beautifu ...
A stunning afternoon on the water with members from J and K Pods! We headed north into Bou ...
We left the dock with a report of one humpback up north. As we headed in that direction ...
Happy 1st day of fall!!! And what a perfect fall day it was. We left Friday Harbor heading ...
This afternoon we had a great encounter with a large number of Southern Resident Orcas, al ...
Wow—what a great trip we had on the Western Explorer…. Heading out west HOPING to fi ...
A nice day on the water! Here are shots from our trip with the T65As and Steller Sea Lions ...
The Southern Resident Killer Whales that we saw that day included L94 – Calypso, a 2 ...
Pictures include the Turn Point Lighthouse on Stuart Island with the Olympic Mountains in ...
We sure had an amazing encounter with those transients!! To get to see them meandering a ...
Some days just take your breath away. This mornings trip was no exception! We got to hang ...
I love spending time with the T65As and this day was no exception. Gorgeous lighting condi ...
That was a great day on the water with K Pod, and those really awesome Steller Sea Lions! ...
What a fantastic day we had with all those Transient Orcas in Rosario Channel. Especiall ...
Another exceptional day on the water today! What added to watching the Endangered Southern ...
Any day on the water with orcas is a good day in my book. The longer you are out on the wa ...
My goodness! Was this a pretty amazing encounter! We had multiple whale reports in the are ...
A beautiful morning on the water searching for whales! A Humpback whale was found that we ...
As promised, here are your photos from our trip around Speiden Island with the Transient O ...
Wow!! I’m still smiling from our encounter with Transients way up in the Strait of Geo ...
Very cool encounter with some of J and K pods. While watching a couple different groups of ...
The timing was perfect to check out the kids (harbor seals) in the pool. Approximately 2 ...
An awesome morning on the water with part of J and Kpod! The whales were being pretty acti ...
A beautiful morning on the water with Southern Resident Killer whales! We got to see a bit ...
Today was one of the hottest days of the year and what better way to spend the day then on ...
A beautiful day in the Salish sea with Southern Resident Killer whales! ...
We definitely don’t get many days like the one we had on the 22nd!!! Great seals and t ...
What a fantastic day we had out on the water. Harbor seals, Stellar Sea Lions and of cou ...
What an amazing day this was with K Pod!!! On behalf of Captain Dennis, Katie, and mysel ...
We left the dock quickly as we knew that the whales were heading away from us and into rou ...
Ever wonder how many whales are too many or what a Steller sea lions teeth look like? The ...
WOW! An incredible day with three species of cetaceans. We first got to see a Gray whale i ...
The Bigg’s encounters have been just amazing lately! We caught up with the T46’ ...
Another fantastic day in the Salish sea with a large group of Bigg’s Killer whales ( ...
A beautiful afternoon with Js and Ks! Fantastic conditions and foraging whales made for a ...
A fellow whale watch operator’s boat was having issues as they left the dock, so our ...
Such a fantastic day! We started out with a rumor of a few orcas inter-island near Friday ...
Wow….what a magical day. To be able to sit in flat calm water watching J Pod foraging ...
That was a great encounter with J Pod—getting to see them pass by the Turn Point Lightho ...
So great to see the T18/T19s with “Mr. Floppy Fin”. He’s still hanging around whic ...
That was a great encounter with the T75s. Getting to see them take a seal was amazing, a ...
What a fantastic day we had with the transients up in the Strait of Georgia. ...
Here are the highlights of my pictures from our trip with the T65As….we sure did have to ...
T19B Rocked my world today! Fabulous day on the Western Prince. We had a large group of T& ...
We left the dock knowing we had a group of Bigg’s Killer whales in the area, so to t ...
It was a very still and beautiful morning when we set out in search of whales. We went all ...
We were so fortunate that later in the afternoon J pod and part of L pod had moved just in ...
What a special treat!! For only the second time in 10 years I got to see another Gray whal ...
We were very lucky to have whales close by today and 2 species no less! On the way down ...
We started our morning with no sightings, which turned into Bigg’s (transient) Kille ...
It was a fantastic morning on the Western Explorer with Captain JB at the helm! We started ...
Our second departure of the day took us down to the south end of San Juan Island. Most of ...
We started out our trip heading north and watching Harbor seals and their new pups at Sent ...
Today brought unexpected delights! We first caught up with at least 2 Minke whales that we ...
What a great day we had with the L22’s and L12’s, two subgroups from L-pod. My pictu ...
What an amazing trip with orcas fishing and spyhopping, followed by that tremendous encoun ...
What an amazing day we had with not only those active orca whales but also the amazing hum ...
We started out checking out the many seals sunbathing on Goose island. Also on Goose islan ...
Our afternoon took us to the south end of San Juan Island where we got to watch part of L ...
A beautiful morning encounter with some of Lpod! L85 “Mystery” and L89 “ ...
On our afternoon tour, we caught back up with some of Lpod who were still socializing on t ...
We had a fantastic tour this morning! We had lots of little groups from L pod on the sout ...
We started our tour on a lovely sunny morning! We heard some of J pod and L pod were movin ...
We met up with part of J-pod as they came around Turn Point and headed South. We had the ...
Timing as they say is everything. Today that was surely the case. There has been a large g ...
A day of surprises and special encounters close to home. On our first trip of the day, we ...
What’s a whale watching tour with Western Prince like? Check out our new video highl ...
What a fun adventure today! We saw some wonderful wildlife today in more flat calm conditi ...
What a wonderful trip!! We were very fortunate a Humpback whale was not far from Friday Ha ...
Beautiful conditions and lots of whales made for a fantastic Western Explorer trip! We wer ...
Another fantastic day on the water in the Salish Sea! We had an encounter with Bigg’ ...
Boiling reef was boiling yesterday afternoon. Crazy water – just lovin’ these ...
WOW WOW WOW!! While it’s always great out on the water every day, our trip on Tuesday ...
Such a wonderful adventure today! Our suits might have been dampened, but it was pretty ...
So cool to see L87 Onyx (the big guy in the photo below) hanging out with J2 Granny (105 y ...
We had a wonderful day out on the water with several groups of Bigg’s Killer whales, ...
Our day started off with a little drizzle and overcast skies with a report of orcas a bit ...
We left the dock knowing there were several groups of Killer whales spotted! What a terrif ...
What a great day we had with these two adult male Biggs (Transient) Killer Whales. They ...
It was a long and beautiful boat ride deep into Canadian waters…and it was more than wor ...
It was a spectacular day with an amazing encounter with “Biggs” Transient Killer Whale ...
What a wonderful day of whale watching in the San Juan Islands! We had the T75B’s an ...
There is nothing quite like leaving the dock here in Friday Harbor with absolutely no whal ...
I decided to ride along on my day off as I heard there were some whales in the area. Katie ...
We headed north from Friday Harbor into the Canadian Gulf Islands to catch up a family of ...
It was a beautiful day on the water with a group of Bigg’s (transient) Killer whales ...
To start off the day with no reports, and end up with an amazing “Biggs” Transient Kil ...
What a perfect day on the water, sunshine, calm waters and lots of wildlife! We got to enj ...
It was a pretty breezy day on the water in some spots, but we got word that 2 Humpbacks wh ...
Today we saw lots of wonderful wildlife including Harbor seals, Steller sea lions, Bald ea ...
Despite it being a bit windy in the San Juan Islands today, all our whale watching guests ...
WESTERN PRINCE WHALE & WILDLIFE TOURS EARNS 2016 TRIPADVISOR CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE ...
Here are some highlight photos from our whale watching tour on the Western Prince on Mond ...
What an incredible encounter we had today! There has been a large group of Bigg’s (t ...
We started our day with a report of Bigg’s (transient) Killer whales north of San Ju ...
It was such a beautiful day as we left the dock in Friday Harbor. We did not have any whal ...
Life in the Salish Sea is Humpback rich right now! A morning charter on the Western Pri ...
It was a beautiful Mother’s day with the J16’s and the other amazing wi ...
Another great day on the water with Captain Nancy! We enjoyed Steller Sea Lions hauled ou ...
A beautiful day on the water with a Humpback whale named “Big Momma” who broug ...
It started out as a beautiful sunny day in the San Juan Island with a brisk wind. No repor ...
We left the dock with a rumor of whales to the south of San Juan Island and headed that wa ...
What a delight to catch up with a larger group of Bigg’s Killer whales. (transients) ...
Today was EPIC! We took a bit of a gamble and headed south on a long run towards a group o ...
What a day!! Sunny, hot, whales and wildlife and it is only April!! Fun day with Katie, Pe ...
We left the dock trekking south towards a very far report of whales. If they kept coming o ...
We had a glassy calm encounter with the T49A’s and T123 family groups of transient ( ...
Our day started with an abundance of sunshine with hardly any wind. What a wonderful way t ...
This is one of the most asked questions that we get! There is a reason so many peop ...
We had reports of Killer whales in the area on the west side of San Juan Island and these ...
The fantastic spring weather in the San Juan Islands continues! With no reports of any wha ...
March is generally not when we expect to see Killer whales on a regular basis around the ...