Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Sea Otter
Bald Eagles
Harbor Seals
Steller Sea Lions
Harbor Porpoises

May 4, 2025 | 10 AM Whale Watch

What a gorgeous spring day for cruising through the Salish Sea. We turned north up Bellingham Channel, admiring the rugged coastlines of Cypress Island while spying harbor porpoises and surf scooters in the current lines. A bald eagle watched us from the treetops, its golden eyes focused on the movement of the water below. We continued north, passing Clark Island, Matia Island, then pushing off to Alden Bank. The seas were rolling out in the Strait of Georgia, so we tucked into Boundary Pass and hopped over to Skipjack. The sculpted sandstone here was stunning and madronas lined the cliffs above. A couple of harbor seals were hauled out while eagles soared overhead. We stopped at White Rock next, where dozens of harbor seals were gathered and a lone eagle was perched at the peak.

We continued down San Juan Channel, past Yellow Island and Friday Harbor, then south through Cattle Pass. We stopped at Whale Rocks to visit with dozens of Steller sea lions! The group was bustling with activity today. Across Salmon Bank, down towards Hein Bank, then east to McArthur Bank. We searched these upwelling zones carefully, looking for any sign of larger cetaceans. We cut north into Rosario Strait, stopping at Bird Rocks where we encountered so many species! Nesting double crested cormorants, chatty black oyster catchers, whistling pigeon guillemots, many harbor seals, several Steller bulls, and a sea otter wrapped up in kelp! We also watched a bald eagle circle high above the island before diving down and sending all the birds scattering. The chaos that ensued with the arrival of this aerial predator was incredible to watch. Meanwhile, our furry friend slept peacefully in the kelp below. Sadly, no whales were found today. Whales are wild animals and although we had quite the search, they eluded us today. We still enjoyed the sunshine and wildlife highlights along the way, we're looking forward to our upcoming trip on Wednesday. What we see varies every day so we

-Naturalist Sam