Western Prince Whale Watching

Western Prince Whale Watching We offer whale watching and wildlife tours in the San Juan Islands, north of Seattle, Washington. We http://orcawhalewatch.com
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We run whale watching and wildlife tours in the San Juan Islands, north of Seattle, Washington. We focus on offering high quality, intimate tours, guided by dedicated local naturalists.

June 12, 2025 – We began our trip with some reports of a family of orca north near Presidents Passage. We took a detour ...
07/02/2025

June 12, 2025 – We began our trip with some reports of a family of orca north near Presidents Passage. We took a detour around Spieden Island where we saw a bald eagle perched in a tree then went east towards Waldron. Here we found a family of Bigg’s killer whales known as the T123s. This family of 4 is made up of a mom and her four kids and they were changing directions frequently. We saw some signs that they may have been hunting or may have hunted successfully recently but we were not able to confirm exactly what it was. Overall it was a beautiful day on the water!

Check out the Whale Report Blog for this trip at https://orcawhalewatch.com/blog/killer-whales-in-president-channel/

Photographer and Naturalist: Alex Smit - Instagram
Photographer and Naturalist: Bethany Shimasaki – Instagram .with.Bethany – Website: www.bethshim.com
Western Prince Wildlife Adventures – Instagram: – Facebook: Western Prince Whale Watching

June 1, 2025 - June 1, 2025 - Today’s weather conditions were perfect for a run to the west. We traveled quite far from ...
07/01/2025

June 1, 2025 - June 1, 2025 - Today’s weather conditions were perfect for a run to the west. We traveled quite far from the San Juan Islands to spend time with a large group of Bigg’s Killer Whales in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There were a total of 16 whales spread out together, consisting of three different families: the T123s, the T73As, and the T46Bs. We started with a quick pass from T46B2 “Akela” and her newest calf, traveling with a large adult male T123A “Stanley”. Then we got to check out the T73As, a family of whales that don’t make an appearance often. T73A “Caddy” has a very interesting dorsal fin that resembles the cryptid Salish Sea serpent known as the Cadborosaurus. That is how he got his nickname. Finally, we had some beautiful looks at the majority of the T46B family group. This family has a lot of smaller, younger whales, including the newest member, T46B3A, who is only a few months old! On the way home, we have a very quick but exciting stop with humpback whale BCX1193 "Zig Zag" and her new calf!

Check out the Whale Report blog for this trip at https://orcawhalewatch.com/blog/humpback-mom-and-calf-and-orcas-to-the-west/

Photographer and Naturalist: Bethany Shimasaki – Instagram .with.Bethany – Website: www.bethshim.com

May 30, 2025 - We had a picturesque day on the water. We had overcast skies in the morning, which cleared out in the aft...
06/30/2025

May 30, 2025 - We had a picturesque day on the water. We had overcast skies in the morning, which cleared out in the afternoon to sunshine and calm water. We headed to a report of Bigg's Killer Whales in the area coming down from Canadian waters. We were able to spend some quality time with a group of 15 killer whales socializing under Mt. Baker. Naturalist Alison was stowing away on her day off and captured some gorgeous shots!

Check out the Whale Report blog for this trip at https://orcawhalewatch.com/blog/orcas-under-mount-baker/

Photographer and Naturalist: Alison Engle – Instagram: – Website: www.alisonengle.com

May 25, 2025 - We headed out into the Strait of Juan De Fuca for an encounter with a group of five Bigg’s Killer Whales....
06/29/2025

May 25, 2025 - We headed out into the Strait of Juan De Fuca for an encounter with a group of five Bigg’s Killer Whales. This group consisted of the T75Bs, which are a frequently seen family in the Salish Sea, and a single female T68, a rarer visitor to this area. The whales were traveling together, zigging and zagging frequently, but we were able to get some beautiful looks. It was interesting to see T68 as she normally travels with her son T68A. He was seen with another unrelated family, only a few days prior, without his mother, in Tofino.

CHeck out the Whale Report blog for this trip at https://orcawhalewatch.com/blog/killer-whales-in-the-strait-of-juan-de-fuca/

Photographer and Naturalist: Bethany Shimasaki – Instagram .with.Bethany – Website: www.bethshim.com

May 9, 2025 - We headed north on a beautiful afternoon. We checked out some harbor seals on White Rock and then continue...
06/29/2025

May 9, 2025 - We headed north on a beautiful afternoon. We checked out some harbor seals on White Rock and then continued up into Boundary Pass. We cruised up along the border and towards Patos Island where we got beautiful views of the Patos Island Lighthouse. There were also a bunch of Steller Sea Lions hauled out nearby. We continue back to the east towards a report of a humpback whale at the Turn Point Lighthouse. It turned out to be a well-known Salish Sea humpback BCX1057 “Divot”. We had some good looks as she traveled along, when suddenly, she did a massive breach! After fully breaching out of the water, she did a second massive breach, slamming her mouth on the surface of the water. Then she flipped over and spent several minutes tail lobbing and tail slapping. Surface activity like this is rare from humpbacks, so it was a delight to get to witness her sudden burst of activity! We ended the encounter with one last look as she fluked right in front of Mt. Baker!

Check out the Whale Report Blog for this trip at http://orcawhalewatch.com/blog/breaching-divot-the-humpack-whale/

Photographer and Naturalist: Bethany Shimasaki – Instagram .with.Bethany – Website: www.bethshim.com

May 18, 2025 - Another beautiful day in the Salish Sea! We checked out Spieden Island and a bunch of Steller Sea Lions, ...
06/28/2025

May 18, 2025 - Another beautiful day in the Salish Sea! We checked out Spieden Island and a bunch of Steller Sea Lions, Mouflon Sheep, and Eagle along the shoreline. As we headed down the channel towards a report of some whales, suddenly, a very strange sighting caught our attention! It was two deer swimming in the middle of the channel! Deer are known to swim between the islands, but this was a pretty unique sighting! We continued and got to see a family of Bigg’s Killer Whales known as the T18s as they traveled past Friday Harbor! As we were watching T19 “Mooyah” and her two adult sons traveling together, Captain Ivan spotted more whales across the channel heading in the opposite direction! It turned out to be another family of Bigg’s Killer Whales known as the T49As! What a treat! We had a quick look at this family of five before heading back to the dock.

Check out the Whale Report blog for this trip at https://orcawhalewatch.com/blog/swimming-deer-and-killer-whales/

Photographer and Naturalist: Bethany Shimasaki – Instagram .with.Bethany – Website: www.bethshim.com

May, 5, 2025 - We rarely get such glassy, calm waters like today! We headed north towards a report of some Bigg’s Killer...
05/25/2025

May, 5, 2025 - We rarely get such glassy, calm waters like today! We headed north towards a report of some Bigg’s Killer Whales. We started off the encounter with a family known as the T100Bs. There is a young calf in this family that is less than a year old, and we got some adorable looks as the baby popped up next to mom T100B “Freya”. A short distance away was another family of whales known as the T124As. This group has several youngsters as well. Suddenly, the whales started chasing after a harbor porpoise! The hunt didn’t last long, with one of the whales doing a sudden lunge and ramming the porpoise out of the water! The T100Bs rushed in, and then the two families spent some time eating together! We had an incredible backdrop of Pt. Disney on Waldron Island, as the whales were surfacing together!

Check out the Whale Report Blog for this trip at https://orcawhalewatch.com/blog/killer-whales-hunting-a-harbor-porpoise/

Photographer and Naturalist: Bethany Shimasaki – Instagram .with.Bethany – Website: www.bethshim.com

May 2, 2025 -Our trip started with a stop at White Rock to check out the harbor seals basking in the sunshine. We headed...
05/24/2025

May 2, 2025 -Our trip started with a stop at White Rock to check out the harbor seals basking in the sunshine. We headed up into Boundary Pass, spotting several harbor seals as we continued to cruise and search for wildlife. Suddenly, we got a call that a large group of whales had been found north of us in the Strait of Georgia! It turned out to be a group of Bigg’s Killer Whales. We were delighted to identify the iconic dorsal fins of T63 “Chainsaw” and his mother T65 “Whidbey”. They were also traveling with Whidbey’s youngest daughter T65B “Chunk” and grandchildren, a well as another mother T101 “Reef” and her adult son T101B “Lagoon”. We had a beautiful view of the large group of whales that were all surfacing together!

Check out the Whale Report Blog for this trip at https://orcawhalewatch.com/blog/chainsaw-and-company/

Photographer and Naturalist: Bethany Shimasaki – Instagram .with.Bethany – Website: www.bethshim.com

April 13, 2025 - 11AMWe headed out to an early report of some whales in Bellingham Bay! It’s not often we have whales in...
04/30/2025

April 13, 2025 - 11AM

We headed out to an early report of some whales in Bellingham Bay! It’s not often we have whales in that area. We were able to spot members of the Bigg’s Killer Whale family known as the T137s. This family is made up of mom T137 “Loon” and her three offspring. She was traveling with her daughter T137B “Tempest” while her eldest child, an adult male T137A “Jack” was quite a distance away. While we were watching the killer whales, we suddenly spotted a heart-shaped blow! It was a gray whale! We had some lovely looks at a wonderful gray whale as it fed in the bay. We love a two-whale species day!

Photographer and Naturalist: Bethany Shimasaki – Instagram .with.Bethany – Website: www.bethshim.com

Check out the Whale Report Blog for this trip at https://orcawhalewatch.com/blog/springtime-gray-whale-and-killer-whales/

April 12, 2025 - 11AMToday truly felt like the perfect spring morning. We started the trip with some incredible looks at...
04/29/2025

April 12, 2025 - 11AM

Today truly felt like the perfect spring morning. We started the trip with some incredible looks at the blooming wildflowers on Spieden Island. We spotted a bald eagle along the shoreline and some Mouflon Sheep Rams walking amongst the flowers. We then headed across the border to Canada where we spotted a group of killer whales! It turned out to be the T124As, a family made up of T124A “Kittiwake” and her offspring, including her adult daughter and her grandchildren. They were traveling with a very special visitor to the Salish Sea, T87 “Harbeson”. This male was estimated to have been born in 1962! That makes him 66 years old this year! Male killer whales live for an average of 30-40 years so “Harbeson” has lived to an incredible age!

Photographer and Naturalist: Bethany Shimasaki – Instagram .with.Bethany – Website: www.bethshim.com

Check out the Whale Report Blog for this trip at https://orcawhalewatch.com/blog/springtime-whales-and-wildlife/

September 19, 2024 - We started our wildlife viewing at Spieden Island with a nice stop to check out a few Steller Sea L...
10/31/2024

September 19, 2024 - We started our wildlife viewing at Spieden Island with a nice stop to check out a few Steller Sea Lions that were hanging out together in the water near Green Point. Next it was off to Canada to see some Orcas! We spent a lovely bit of time with brothers, Onca - T60D a 20 year old male and his younger brother T60E - Lynx who is now 16. These 2 dispersed from their mom and family a couple years ago and are steady traveling partners. They were slowly cruising along just north of the Discovery Islands. The fog had been lingering later than usual that day so we were so happy to find these two had changed course and headed into a sunny area. They are both sporting nice big tall fins that will still get bigger as they reach their maturity in their early 20’s. Lynx is the one with the 2 nicks in his fin and was alway sure to show us his beautiful white eye patch on each surfacing. Eventually it came time to leave. Captain JB had been tracking a new report of a Humpback Whale that was spotted nearer to Friday Harbor so off we went. We found the Humpback that had been identified as BCY1157. We stayed as long as we could and finally got a beautiful fluke up dive with Spieden Island as the back drop. A beautiful ending to another great day on the water.

Check out the Whale Report blog for this trip at https://orcawhalewatch.com/blog/fall-humpbacks-and-killer-whales/

Photographer and Naturalist: Alison Engle – Instagram: – Website: www.alisonengle.com

September 12, 2024 PM - It was a perfect afternoon for a trip out on the Western Explorer II. We left the dock and heade...
10/30/2024

September 12, 2024 PM - It was a perfect afternoon for a trip out on the Western Explorer II. We left the dock and headed east. We lucked out when just 15 minutes from the dock we had a group of 10 Bigg’s Killer Whales. They were just entering Cayou channel between Shaw and Orcas Islands. We had a group of 8 close together and at first were traveling close to the Orcas shoreline. In this group we had members of 3 different matrilines. The T37A’s lead my the mother who is named Volker and is now 30 years old. She was traveling with 2 of her 4 living offspring. Both are males, Inky who is 15 and Crinkle who is now 11. We also had the T100’s lead my the 45 year old mother who is named Hutchins, she was traveling with 3 of her 4 living offspring. Her adult son, Laurel who is now 22, her second daughter Tharaya who is 15 and her youngest, Estrella, who is 10. We also had T101, Reef, she is estimated to be 55 years old. Her two surviving adult son’s, Rush (31) and Lagoon (33) were off ahead of the group. We did not really see them till the end of our trip when they came by and one of them gave us several big Pec Slaps! Oh boy do these adult males have big pecs! We left them at the south end of West Sound and headed out to see what else we could find. Captain Ivan took us through the beautiful Cactus Islands where we saw some Bald Eagles, a few Harbor Seals and a variety of birds. Next we headed for the South side of Spieden Island were we found some exotic game animals including several of the Mouflon big horned sheep. How can you not love a day like this on the water in the San Juan Islands! Thanks for all of the great questions everyone!

Check out the Whale Report Blog for this trip at https://orcawhalewatch.com/blog/pec-slapping-orcas/

Photographer and Naturalist: Alison Engle – Instagram: – Website: www.alisonengle.com

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Friday Harbor, WA

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Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

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