Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Bigg's killer Whales (T109As and T124Ds)
Harbor Seals
Sea Lion
Bald Eagle
Great Blue Heron

August 16, 2025 | 9 AM, 1 PM, and 5 PM Whale Watch

What an amazing, orca-filled day we had! Our iconic black-and-whites were the stars of the show on all three of our tours, and we got to spend time with both the T109As led by matriarch Frio and the T124Ds led by matriarch Field!

With no reports this morning, we headed out and curved down south to search McArthur Bank and Salmon Bank for minkes or humpbacks. On our way down into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we passed by Colville Island where we spotted lots of harbor seals hauled out on the rocks. As we were finishing up searching Salmon, we got word of some mystery orcas near Frost Island. Scooting back up Rosario Strait, we got to work helping out in the search for these whales. Soon enough, we got eyes on six black dorsal fins grouped up tight together and hugging the shoreline of Center Island. Being one of the first boats on scene, it was up to us to ID them. We worked hard to get our initial ID shots as we got acquainted with this family. One sprouter male was present as well as a juvenile and a little calf, which reminded me of the T109As. I still wanted a good eyepatch ID to confirm it though. And just as I mumbled that wish to our captain, one of these whales gave us a beautiful spyhop. Talk about good timing! With this photo, we were able to easily confirm that this individual was 13 year old T109A4 Garrett, which allowed us to confirm that we were in fact on scene with the lovely T109As. This family typically favors more northern areas further up into British Columbia, so it's always such a treat to get to spend time with them. We hung with this fam as they made their way slowly south in Lopez Sound. Little T109A7 even gave us an adorable little half breach while messing around with their older siblings.

After departing, we checked out some cormorants, harbor seals, and a great blue heron on Rim Island, then spent some time at bird rocks and spotted more harbor seals and some sea lions swimming around in the flowing bull kelp forests. After a successful morning, we cruised back into Guemes Channel and headed for Cap Sante.

This afternoon, new reports of different whales were flooding in. Eager to investigate, we headed up the east side of Guemes Island and pointed for Vendovi Island. Here, we came across a small family of Bigg's Killer Whales, the T124Ds. T124D Field led her family around Vendovi-- literally. The group did at least three circumnavigations, terrorizing the horrified harbor seals clinging to the rocks of the shoreline. These seals watched with wide eyes as Field and her three calves cruised by, their jet black dorsal fins and pristine white exhalations the work of a harbor seals greatest nightmare. During their extended tour of Vendovi, this group swam in a tight knit social formation. We got to see a few glimpses of the white of their bellies as they twisted and danced around each other below the surface, and also got to see a spy hop from 11 year old T124D1 Salish.

After our visit with this group, we cruised further north to check our some harbor seals and cormorants on Viti Rocks. After our small intermission, we hopped back down to Vendovi where the 124Ds had taken to messing around with some crab pots that were soaking close to shore. We watched as they investigated the floats and lines, rolling around on the surface and pulling the lines with their mouths so the crab floats bobbed and wobbled. What a sight! We can only wonder what Field and her family were thinking as they conducted their thorough crab pot investigation. With our time running out, we scooted back to the dock after a perfect afternoon.

This evening we jetted back out to the T124Ds, who hadn't moved much since the afternoon and were bouncing around just east of Sinclair. It took us several minutes to get these whales dialed in because they didn't appear to have a clear travel direction in mind. It seemed that T124D Field, the mother and matriarch of this group, couldn't quite pick a dedicated direction to swim. These whales made slow loops all around Viti rocks, then at one point closely circumnavigated the small island, spooking all of the harbor seals on shore.

During our visit with this small family, we also got great looks at a bald eagle being endlessly harassed by a flock of glaucous-winged gulls on Viti Rocks. The eagle did not seem pleased with the unwanted attention, and the gulls certainly weren't pleased to be sharing space with this skilled and dangerous raptor.

For our grand Finale, we watched Field finally choose to begin traveling up the west side of Lummi Island, her kiddos following behind her. As this group continued north, we cruised off scene and headed back south towards home. It was an absolutely lovely evening and we hope to see the 124Ds again soon!

Amy

Are killer whales a target species for you? While killer whales are not guaranteed on our signature whale watch trips, they are guaranteed on our extended range tour coming up on August 19th! Join us out on the water for 10-12 hours looking for anything and everything we can, including our iconic Bigg's orcas. We've only got 8 spots available on this epic adventure-- reserve your space today!