Written by Alison
on Sep 08, 2026

T19s by Friday Harbor

T19s by Friday Harbor

August 13, 2026 AM – We did not have far to go for whales today. We made a quick stop to see our new visitor to the area this summer, a Sea Otter. It was rolling around at the surface, possibly grooming its thick fur. Next, we headed up north to Battleship Island, where we began our encounter with a family group of Bigg’s Killer Whales designated as the T19’s. The T19’s are well known in our area and always exciting to see, as it is Nootka, the 61-year-old mother, and her two massive sons, T19B – Galiano, who is now 31. His fin has a nick in it and leans to the left. Her youngest son is T19C – Spouter, who is now 25. They headed east in Spieden Channel, and while cruising along the shoreline of San Juan, Spouter surfaced right in front of a woman standing on the beach. It is a fun reference that gives you an idea of how big his dorsal fin is. After a bit, it was time to leave, and since we were close, we had some time to explore. Captain JB took us to the Cactus Islands. It was so beautiful, and we found a group of mouflon sheep on the Spieden Island shoreline, lots of harbor seals, and a pair of bald eagles. Oh, and I forgot to mention we saw several harbor porpoises and one Steller sea lion as well? Woo Hoo!

Photographer and Naturalist: Alison Engle – Instagram: @AlisonEngleArt – Website: www.AlisonEngle.com – Instagram: @WesternPrinceWildlife – Facebook: Western Prince Whale Watching Adventures

Written by Alison
on Sep 08, 2026

T19s by Friday Harbor

Latest Blog ...