Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Bigg's killer whales (T35As, T36As, T49As, T65s, T100s, T77s, T65A3)
Steller sea lions
Harbor seals
Harbor porpoise
Lots of birds!

August 19, 2026 | 10 AM and 3 PM Whale Watch

10 AM

What a morning! It's been a long time since the crew witnessed such a massive and active gathering of Bigg's killer whales—a true T-Party in every sense of the term. There were several groups of whales spread out over half a mile in the placid waters of the Strait of Georgia. There was synchronized porpoising, breaches, tail slaps, cartwheels and a little sea snake or two. It was delightful seeing how the whales found their peers. The teenage boys were off in one group, while the calves played close together, and the toddlers found their peers too. Every now and then the towering 6-foot fins of Chainsaw and Laurel would surface on the perimeter of the social group of moms and juveniles. It was honestly hard to know where to look at times, with a suspected 24 orcas in the mix!

This was the payoff to a long search up the backside of Guemes, past Clark Island to Alden Bank, between Matia and Sucia Islands, and down President Channel. We were nearing Point Disney when word from our friends came in of Bigg's to the north. Just in time! We made a U-turn and angled for Point Roberts. Along the way we'd visited with Steller sea lions on a navigational marker, spied harbor porpoises dorsal fins, flocks of pigeon guillemots and bird mills full of gulls.

Below is a list of all the whales suspected to be present. * Indicates whales verified via photos from our encounter. The rest listed were likely in the mix too, just not captured clearly or in the distant group we didn't get photos of.

T-Party of 24 Bigg's Killer Whales!

T35As

- T35 Lester*

- T35A1 Opal*

- T35A1A (July 2026 Calf)*

- T35A2 Topaz*

- T35A3 Garnet*

- T35A4 Agate*

T36As

- T36A Leland

- T36A1 Tierna*

-T36A1A Drift*

-T36A2 Kailas*

-T36A2A Rogue*

-T36A3 Storm

-T36A5 Squall

T49As

- T49A Nan*

- T49A3 Nat*

- T49A4 Neptune*

- T49A5 Nebula*

- T49A6 Charlie II

- T49A7 Nimbus (Spring 2026 calf)*

T65s

- T65 Whidbey*

- T63 Chainsaw*

T100s

- T100 Hutchins

- T100C Laurel*

- T100F Estrella

Sam

3 PM

This afternoon calm seas led us down to Williamson rocks, where we spotted harbor seals, pigeon guillemots, black turnstones, cormorants, and glaucous winged gull chicks testing their flight feathers— so cute!

Continuing to the south we pushed to Admiralty Inlet, where we met up with the T77s! This family of four Biggs killer whales has been split for the majority of the summer, and it was so nice to see them reunited again! While matriarch T77 Asja spent the summer with her daughter T77D Alcyon, her two boys T77C Neftali and T77E Misneach had themselves a brotherly vacation, venturing off on their own. This is fairly typical for these siblings. A few summers ago, Neftali took his sister Alcyon out for a side quest too!

And adventurous minds think alike, because also in the mix was fellow family deserter… the infamous T65A3 Amira! Amira and the rest of his siblings—save his littlest sister Callisto— have been taking solo adventures away from their own mom for years. This summer, Amira has been jumping from pod to pod and enjoying some time away from his mom and siblings. Perhaps he's been inspired by his younger brother Indy, who has been more or less permanently fragmented from the 65As for years. It only makes sense Amira would choose to keep company with whales that share his family’s unique dynamic. It was also adorable to see Misneach swimming right along side Amira, probably getting some guy time. During this encounter we also spotted a rhinoceros auklet passing close by the boat with a silvery fish hanging from its bill!

After visiting with these whales we jetted up to Deception Pass and got to cross under the bridge! While here, we spotted more harbor seals, several great blue herons, a few pigeon guillemots, and lots of belted king fishers darting along the coastline. Such a stunning stop before we continued up Rosario and back towards home!

Amy