Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Bigg's Killer Whales (T100s & T124Ds)
Humpback Whale
Sea Lions
Harbor Seals
Tufted Puffins

September 6, 2025 | 10 AM and 3 PM Whale Watch

With patchy fog throughout the straits and word of whales to the west, we began our day with an inner island route. Not before stopping at Bird Rocks however! We visited with swimming Steller sea lions, dozens of hauled out harbor seals, glaucous winged gulls, Heermann’s gulls, a variety of cormorants, flowing bull kelp, and so many exposed invertebrates in the intertidal zone at this low tide.

We spied marbled murrelets outside of Lopez Pass and pigeon guillemots transitioning colors with the changing seasons. We wove our way through Lopez Pass and into the sound, turning north towards Upright Head. As we neared the Lopez ferry terminal, we got word from a friend of whales near Allan Island. We made a ninety degree turn for Peavine Pass and worked our way east towards Rosario Strait. We found three belted kingfishers in the pass, a welcome distraction amidst discussion of phytoplankton contributing to the emerald hue of our waters. We reached the whales as they were working their way through the waters that south of Williamson Rocks. It was two pods of Bigg’s killer whales: the T100s (minus T100E) and the T124Ds. These seven Bigg’s killer whales were in such a peaceful resting state. Little T124D4 “Dune” sticking close to Field’s side. As the only mature male in the mix, Laurel’s dorsal towered above the rest.

We left the whales to continue our wildlife search to the south. We slipped through the fog banks in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and made our way towards Smith Island. It was a bit surreal watching the island emerge from the fog. The sea was calm, the shallows around Smith blanketed with bull kelp. We worked the periphery and were delighted to find a sea otter and two tufted puffins! These puffins are truly in the midst of their transition phase between breeding and non-breeding plumage. They’d lost their yellow tufts, some of the white around their faces, and soon will drop the sheaths from their beaks. Our journey home was smooth sailing, gliding in and out of fog banks all the way home to Cap Sante Marina.

We enjoyed a double header this afternoon, starting the trip off with two incredible pods of Bigg’s killer whales (T100s & T124Ds) and ending it with humpback whale “Victory” CRC-16262. Fingerling trails of fog were creeping over Cypress Island as we turned up Bellingham Channel. Glassy water made sighting each harbor porpoise and rhinoceros auklet all that much easier, and we enjoyed these conditions all the way up to the Peapods where we met up with seven Bigg’s killer whales. Shortly after we arrived they transitioned into hunting mode, the group splitting in two to stalk harbor seals amidst the current lines. We believe they were successful multiple times during our encounter, and we have photo evidence from one attempt to prove our suspicions correct. They led us along the dramatic northern Orcas shoreline, pushing against some raging currents, Bonaparte gulls following their movements and picking up their leavings. The young whales also celebrated with some breaching and surface activity, such exciting behaviors to witness.

We left the orcas to continue their Orcas shoreline search, and turned south down Rosario Strait. We’d gotten some reports of a humpback feeding near McArthur Bank. Sure enough, amongst flocks of common murres, Victory was working the contours of McArthur. She wowed us with a couple of surprise close passes, her erratic swimming style remaining consistent throughout our encounter. The setting around us was like something out of a gallery, as the combined smoke and fog making the water blend with the sky and the layers of Olympic Mountains take on new depth. It was stunning, truly. On our return trip home, we stopped at Bird Rocks to see who we could find. Gulls, cormorants, black oyster catchers, a brown pelican, some sleepy Stellers sea lions and many harbor seals were all present. It was a wonderful end to a memorable afternoon!

-Sam