Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Three Gray Whales
Bigg's Killer Whales (T65As)
Harbor Seals
Steller Sea Lions
Bald Eagles
Sea Otter
Puffins!

May 10, 2025 | 10 AM and 3 PM Whale Watch

It was a beautiful day to be on the search for marine life, and we encountered three gray whales and Bigg's killer whales!

We stopped at Bird Rocks on both trips, which was bustling with life. Pigeon guillemots crash landing, nesting double crested cormorants, flocked Brant’s cormorants, chatty black oyster catchers, sleepy harbor seals, grumpy Steller sea lions and a lone floating sea otter napping amongst the seals! Bird Rocks is always worth a stop! We made it just north of Doe Bay when we met up with the whales, two grays traveling side by side. They led us towards shore where they may have tried some feeding, then continued up the Orcas Island shoreline and around Point Lawrence. The setting was spectacular, truly one of the most beautiful and iconic Pacific Northwest backdrops for today’s photos. One of the grays we quickly IDed as CRC-2557, the other remains a mystery for the time being.

East towards Lummi Island, we stopped at a channel marker to marvel at the antics of several Steller sea lions vying for position on the buoy. We were stoked to find a third gray whale today! This one we believe is newer to the area, so will be sending photos off to researchers to verify. When cruising past the Vendovi shoreline, we saw a mature bald eagle, then slowed again for a sea-star-dotted stretch of coastline along Guemes Island.

With new reports coming in from the south by the time we left the dock this afternoon, we angled south in hopes of catching up with a pod of Bigg's killer whales! This took us through the remarkable calm waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, past Smith & Minor and down towards Protection Island. It was a stunning cruise, with the snow-capped peaks of the Olympics just visible through the clouds. We met up with the T65A family of Bigg's killer whales just west of Protection Island. They were spread out and transitioning into a hunting mode. Artemis, Callisto and Elli were sticking close together while Ooxjaa and Amir were on the periphery, their towering dorsal fins slicing through the water. Amir led us over to Protection Island where black oyster catchers were calling, harlequin ducks were gathered, rhinoceros auklets were catching dinner and a gorgeous pair of tufted puffins were enjoying a date night. Meanwhile, harbor seals were on high alert as Amir worked the shallows.

On the cruise south, we had also stopped at Partridge Bank to visit with a navigational marker covered in Steller sea lions. Watching them shove each other off the marker is always entertaining, and hearing their vocals ring across the water makes for a full sensory experience. Our cruise home was relatively smooth sailing, and we made it back to the marina in time to catch a rainbow above Skagit Valley. We're looking forward to our Mother's Day whale watch tomorrow!

- Naturalist Sam