Written by Bethany
on May 04, 2022

Spring Whale Watching Season in the San Juan Islands

Spring Whale Watching Season in the San Juan Islands

After the past few years of pandemic uncertainty, we are back and excited to see what this new year of adventures brings. We are officially a month into the new 2022 Whale Watching Season and wow, what a month it has been! We’ve already had several incredible encounters with a variety of species that call the Salish Sea home!

This season, we are running tours aboard the Western Explorer II, our custom, open-air, zodiac-style boat. We depart every day from Friday Harbor, a beautiful town in the San Juan Islands, just north of Seattle. The Western Explorer II is fast, maneuverable and comfortable, which provides the perfect combination for the best trips out on the water. Already this season, we’ve had encounters with multiple families of marine mammal-eating killer whales (Bigg’s Killer Whales), humpback whales, gray whales, eagles, stellar sea lions and several other animals! Here’s a brief summary of some of the exciting trips we’ve already had in the past month!

April Sightings

Our very first whale watching trip of the season, we spent a beautiful afternoon with one of our favorite families of Bigg’s killer whales, the T123s. This family of four is made up of mom T123 “Sydney” and her three children, including a local favorite, T123A “Stanley”. Naturalist Katie captured some beautiful shots of the family and “Stanley” as they traveled along.

T123 “Stanley”

T123 “Sydney” and T123D “Darcy”

On April 6th, we had another afternoon with multiple families of Bigg’s killer whales, the T86A’s and part of the T124As. Also, the oldest known male in this population, T87 “Harbeson”, was on the outskirts of the group but came by for a nice pass before we left. He is estimated to be 60 years old! We finished off that trip with a great look at some Stellar Sea Lions hauled out on the rocks! Naturalist Alison took some photos showing off “Harbeson’s” unique dorsal fin and the sea lions checking out our boat!

T87 “Harbeson”

A few days later, we were able to spend some time with another group of mammal-eating killer whales! This group was T65B “Hecate” and her two off-spring, as well as their next potential meal, an adult Stellar Sea Lion! Naturalist Katie got some great photos of the killer whale’s attack on the sea lion that capture how intense this encounter was!

Later in April, we got to spend some time with a Gray Whale! These filter-feeding whales often stop in Washington during the spring to feed before continuing their migration north to Alaska. Naturalist Alison captured some amazing photos that show off the Gray Whale’s unique skin pattern and barnacles that live on them.

Finally, at the end of April, we spotted our first returning humpback whales of the season! Our lucky guests of the day were treated to several looks at two humpbacks, BCX1068 “Split Fluke” and CRC-19171 “Olympus” in the Strait of Georgia. “Split Fluke” even did several tail lobs in a row! Naturalist Bethany managed to photograph both of the humpbacks together and “Split Fluke” displaying the iconic split in her tail that she was named for!

Our first month on the water has been action-packed and the season is just getting started! Now is a great time to plan a trip to visit us! Feel free to email or call us with any questions about your next booking with Western Prince Whale and Wildlife Tours.

Email: inquire@orcawhalewatch.com

Phone: 360-378-5315

 

Written by Bethany
on May 04, 2022

Spring Whale Watching Season in the San Juan Islands

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