Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Bigg's Killer Whales (T46Cs & T75Cs)
Harbor Seals
Steller Sea Lions
Harbor Porpoises

June 25, 2025 | 1 PM and 5 PM Whale Watch

Overcast skies guided us out of the marina this afternoon as we began our adventure. Cruising up the north side of Sinclair Island, we turned into the cone islands for a view of some harbor seals-- including the first mom pup pair I've seen this season!!-- hauled out in the intertidal zone. Continuing north, we met up with two families of Biggs's Killer Whales off Orcas Island. After getting some initial ID photos, we determined we were on scene with the T46Cs and the T75Cs. This group traveled in a tight knit swimming formation and moved slowly south. After getting some amazing looks and marveling at T46C1's massive dorsal fin breaking the surface, we decided to move on and continue the search. We found some sea lions resting on the red navigational marker off Sinclair Island and even slowed down for a large group of harbor porpoise, a species we don't usually get to spend too much time with. As we cruised back into the dock, the sun decided to peak out from behind the clouds... the perfect end to a perfect afternoon!

This evening, we began our search moving up the back of Guemes Island where we spotted a mature bald eagle as well as an immature bald eagle who had found a crab and was dragging it up onto the beach! Continuing on, we cruised north and met up with the same group of whales we were with this morning, the T46Cs and T75Cs! These two families were in quite the energetic mood this evening. As we pulled on scene we witnessed quite an array of surface activity including many breaches, tail slaps, pec slaps, upside down swimming, and miniature spy hops! We stayed with these two families for as long as we could, watching as they frolicked and swam together in a tight knit unit. As these whales continued north we stayed with them for as long as we could before deciding to peel off as we entered the strait of Georgia. Cruising back down south we made a quick slow down at Matia and Puffin Island, spotting an eagle’s nest high in the treetops. We finished off our day hanging with some sea lions on a marker north of Sinclair island before heading back into the dock to mark off an absolutely phenomenal evening exploring the Salish Sea!

-Amy