Puget Sound Express - Edmonds

School is in session, and today’s lesson is all about learning through play! On our September 16 Half-Day Tour from Edmonds, guests and crew enjoyed a delightfully playful scene: T36B4 Auk (born in 2024) and T36B1A Maple (born in 2025) playing hard in Port Susan while the rest of the T36 pod watched. I don’t think we’ve seen quite as much orca belly as we did on this one day alone — the littles were breaching (both forwards and backwards), tail slapping, porpoising, swimming upside down, and more 🫍

The protected waters of Port Susan in Puget Sound made for the perfect spot for the little tikes to let out some zoomies and practice some orca behaviors on their own. At one point, the duo practiced pulling each other by the fluke (tail), a behavior that will likely come in handy in the future when they start participating in pod hunts. With four generations of orcas traveling together in the T36 pod, it’s so fun to watch the calves be calves!

Yesterday was a pretty epic day out on the water! We set sail from Edmonds in search of wildlife and found ourselves south of San Juan Island with “the Brothers,” T60D Onca & T60E Lynx. This dynamic duo is known for traveling together, away from the rest of their pod. After spending some time viewing the Brothers, we set off in search of more wildlife. We visited the sea lion haul-out at Whale Rocks, passed under the Deception Pass Bridge, and headed toward Smith & Minor Islands.

As we approached Minor Island, Captain Tony spotted a welcome sight — more dorsal fins! We approached slowly, realizing to our excitement that we were viewing the other four members of the T60 pod: T60 Panthera, T60C Yelnats, T60F Tigris, and T60G Uncia! The pod was making its way around the north side of the island, heading south towards a known harbor seal hot spot. Upon rounding the corner to the south side of the island, it was immediately obvious that these orcas were on the hunt. We watched as they made quick and efficient work of catching a harbor seal. Once they had caught the seal, they spent some time milling, prey-sharing, and spy-hopping. If you prefer not to see any images of the circle of life, we’d recommend skipping the last photo in this set.

Witnessing the entire T60 family across two groups and getting to see a hunt from start to finish proved to be an awesome chance to check out orca behavior in all of its glory!

Check out these photos from an epic tour we had at the end of August, featuring some top-notch looks at the T49A pod and T137A “Jack”! Guests and crew didn’t have to travel far from Port Townsend to spot this group traveling just off the Point Wilson Lighthouse 😍

This has been an epic summer full of incredible wildlife encounters, and we’re excited to keep the momentum up as we move into autumn! In September, our Half-Day Tour schedule changes a little: from September 8 - 27, our Edmonds Half-Day Tours depart at 9:30 am, and our Port Townsend Half-Day Tours depart at 10:30 am. Starting September 28, our Edmonds and Port Townsend Half-Day Tours both depart at 12 pm daily. Throughout September, Port Angeles Half-Day Tours depart at 12:30 pm.

P.S. Don’t miss out on the last days of our Port Townsend Full-Day Tour, which departs daily at 9:00 am through September 27!

Rare bird alert: Nazca B***y 😱 Guests and crew aboard a recent PSE Puffin Cruise were in for the surprise of a lifetime when we spotted a juvenile Nazca B***y hanging out on a kelp float around Smith Island! This striking bird is a little far from home, with its usual range spanning from Mexico to the Galapagos Islands and down to Peru. It is theorized that this bird may have ended up in the Salish Sea by hitching a ride on a cargo ship. Since August 25, we’ve been seeing this individual consistently around Smith Island; this series of sightings marks only the seventh time a Nazca B***y has been recorded in Washington State!

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As we move towards autumn and winter, we want to highlight our options for group tours and private charters! If you’re planning a corporate bonding event, school field trip, holiday party, or even a wedding, why not host it on the water? We offer bespoke tours for every group, from a 2-hour scenic cruise to a 5-hour whale watch! If you’re ready to make a booking or would like some more information on our group rates, please send an to our team: [email protected]. See you onboard!

Did you know that orcas are s*xually dimorphic? This means that mature females and males are visibly different from one another and, in the case of orcas, can be seen in their dorsal fins 🫍 During puberty (around age 12-15), male orcas experience a rapid period of growth where their dorsal fin shoots up in height, typically ending up around 5-6 feet (1.5-1.8 meters) tall — roughly double the height of their female counterparts! Adult male orcas tend to have dorsal fins that stand straight up, whereas adult female orcas often have curved or angled dorsal fins. When viewing orcas, it’s usually pretty apparent which whales are adult females and males, but it’s often more difficult to determine the s*x of the juvenile whales; we sometimes don’t know an individual is male until they start undergoing the sprouting process.

In this recent encounter with the T77 pod, you can see the difference in dorsals between the female and male pod members, as well as the juvenile who was born in 2016. Within the next five years, we should have an indication on whether T77E is female or male!

Did you know that we’re in the middle of World Photography Week? We’re celebrating by sharing some of our favorite photos taken by guests aboard our whale-watching trips and puffin cruises this summer! How epic are these shots?! ☀️

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Recently, we’ve had an influx of questions about one topic in particular: our sweet, sweet Blueberry Buckle!

Made fresh daily aboard each PSE vessel, Blueberry Buckle is a family recipe in the Hanke family, and we love serving it to visitors from near and far! Included in each Welcome Aboard booklet is the recipe, but we know that these can end up in scrapbooks, memory boxes, and even the bottom of your luggage. So, without further ado, the Blueberry Buckle recipe of your dreams:

🫐 Ingredients:

Cake -

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups sifted flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups fresh blueberries-washed

Crumb Topping -

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon

🫐 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°, grease a 9x9 baking pan.

2. Combine sifted flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. In separate bowl cream together butter and sugar, gradually add egg and milk.

4. Combine dry ingredients with wet until smooth.

5. Fold in fresh blueberries.

6. Pour into greased pan.

7. For topping use a pastry cutter or two knives cross-wise to cut butter into sugar, flour, and cinnamon - butter should be the size of peas.

8. Sprinkle topping on cake and bake for 35 minutes or until middle does not jiggle when shaken.

9. Enjoy! We can’t wait to see how your Blueberry Buckle turns out!

Yesterday’s afternoon trip from Seattle (Edmonds) saw Swiftsure heading south to Commencement Bay in Tacoma, where we witnessed some pretty spectacular orca activities, including these awesome breaches from T137A Jack… Jack-robatics, if you will! We love days when we get to spend time with wildlife right here in Puget Sound 🫍

We have tours departing daily from Seattle (Edmonds), including our Half-Day Tours at 9:30 am and 2:30 pm, and our All-Day Tour at 10 am. For more information or to book, head to our website: https://www.pugetsoundexpress.com/seattle-whale-watching-tours/