Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Humpback Whale: Raptor
Steller sea lions
Harbor seals
Common Murres
Active bird mills!

October 11, 2026 | 1 PM Whale Watch

We had the privilege of visiting one of the longest returning Salish Sea humpbacks today: "Raptor" CRC-16031. This experienced mother has been returning to the region since 2005, and has shown extraordinary loyalty to the Salish Sea feeding grounds. Middle Bank, where we encountered her, was teeming with activity. Active bird mills dotted the horizon, with thousands of gulls, cormorants, and alcids in the mix. This much activity signaled the density of the forage fish beneath the surface—the very prey humpbacks like Raptor seek out. It won't be long before these giants turn south for the breeding grounds, so we were thrilled to visit with Raptor before she leaves for the season. Where she's off to, no one knows! She has yet to be formally documented in any breeding ground.

We visited a couple of National Wildlife Refuges during our exploration. First was Bird Rocks, where a group of Steller bulls were basking in the afternoon sun. They were all quite impressive in size, truly dwarfing the harbor seals hauled out one island over. Cormorants and gulls covered the rocks, and bull kelp flowed beautifully just offshore. On our journey back east, we stopped at Castle Island. The calls of belted kingfishers echoed against the dramatic cliffs, and a little harbor seal spied up at us from amongst the kelp blades. By the time we made it back to Cap Sante, the northern winds had settled down a bit and Kulshan was nearly visible, only a cap of cloud cover remained.

- Sam