Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Humpback Whale: "Aerie" CRC-17560
Steller Sea Lions
Mouflon Sheep
Common Murres
Harlequin Ducks

September 15, 2026 | 1 PM Whale Watch

We love serene September days out on the Salish Sea, and today was a beautiful example of why. Calm conditions persisted throughout our journey through Thatcher Pass, Cayou Pass, Pole Pass, and then Spieden Channel. We'd slowed a few times along the way, first at Pointer Island where cormorants, gulls, harlequin ducks and black turnstones were gathered. A sharp-eyed guest had also spotted black oystercatchers at this National Wildlife Refuge. We slowed again at Pole Pass to admire Pacific madrona trees along shore and the flowing bull kelp in the shallows.

As we worked our way south down Haro Strait, skirting the border, we spied blows on the horizon. "Aerie" (CRC-17560) was working their way north up the strait. Their gorgeous flukes lifted high on every dive and a constellation of cookie-cutter shark scars dotted their sides. The dramatic bluffs of Henry Island made for a gorgeous backdrop to the encounter, and the water was mirror-like. The calls of common murres punctuated the calm when Aerie was down deep; these calls were drowned out by the humpback's forceful exhalations with each surfacing.

All too soon, it was time to leave Aerie. We worked our way over to Spieden Island, where small groups of mouflon sheep were out and grazing and turkey vultures soared overhead. A pair of harlequin ducks swam past the bull kelp, while several Steller sea lions played within its blades. Our return journey east took us through Wasp Pass and back through Thatcher, with harbor porpoise sightings along the way.

Sam