Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Bigg's Killer Whales (T75Bs)
Harbor Seals
Steller Sea Lions
Brown Pelican

September 5, 2025 | 12 PM Whale Watch

The fog was slowly dissipating as we worked our way across Rosario Strait this morning. We slid through pockets of blue sky, using any opportunity to scan with binoculars we could get since a pod had been sighted off Washington Park much earlier that morning. We found no cetaceans here, but we did slow at Pointer Island to visit with many harbor seals lying atop the Fucus and both Heermann’s and Glaucous-winged gulls perched along the island.

Visibility fully cleared as we reached the inner islands. We spent time scanning coastlines for bird activity and current lines for mammals. This route took us past Upright Head, Point Caution and Turn Reef. We watched harbor porpoises work the tide lines and marveled at the bull kelp flowing around Turn Rock.

We met up with a beautiful pod of Bigg’s killer whales near southwest Shaw. It was the T75Bs, a family that has been spending a lot of time in the heart of the Salish Sea since the birth of their newest member. Little T75B5 was sticking close to Pebbles, working their way through the currents outside of Friday Harbor and then north up the coast to Point Caution. Their blows were beautifully illuminated in the afternoon light, and they wowed us with some spectacular looks.

We worked our way back to the east via Wasp Pass and Thatcher Pass, then tucked down to Bird Rocks for a final wildlife slowdown. Bird Rocks was teeming with life today! Gulls, cormorants, black turnstones, harlequin ducks and a brown pelican! We also found several large Steller sea lions here and many darling harbor seals. With that, we cruised home to Cap Sante, another wonderful adventure spent exploring the Salish Sea.

-Sam