Find a wide range of books related to orcas at the Orca Network Amazon store.
Orca Network recommends:
The Lost Whale, by Michael Parfit and Suzanne Chisolm
An intensely personal story...but this person is a young orca.
 To learn more about orcas: 
Orcas in Our Midst, Vol. 3: Residents and Transients, How Did That Happen? Click here to order YOUR copy! ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The bestseller about orcas in captivity. Death at SeaWorld, by David Kirby  |
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to learn about L pod
orca Lolita/Tokitae,
captured in Penn Cove,
Whidbey Island, WA
in 1970, somehow surviving in a small tank at the Miami Seaquarium ever since.
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| June 9, 2014
We are watching and visiting the whales in their home~
Please observe, love and respect them from a distance.
Having trouble viewing this Sightings Report? Archived Reports can be found HERE.
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J pod has been foraging and socializing all around the San Juan Islands for ten days and counting. They were thought to have departed for the Pacific today but then showed up in Rosario Strait north of Anacortes later this afternoon. As indicators of the abundance of Chinook salmon around the San Juans, this tells us there must be at least a minimal quantity of the fish headed to the Fraser or Skagit rivers to feed J pod for a few days.
Meantime some large and exuberant groups of Transients/Bigg's Killer Whales have been seen and photographed, from Victoria to Nanaimo and beyond. Sometimes it's hard to separate the reports of Residents from the reports of Transients, and lately humpbacks have been mixed in the both, so our categories have sometimes blended in reports below. Whales and dolphins surprise us all the time and this report is no exception. Many whales of many species have been seen in recent days, so feast your eyes on some incredible photos and stories below.
The new ferry Tokitae was celebrated in Clinton on Whidbey Island Sunday. Photos and videos will be posted at the above link, including hauntingly beautiful songs by the Samish singers and drummers to bless the new M/V Tokitae, named both for the tribal meaning, "nice day, pretty colors" and for the first name given to the orca Lolita, still performing routines daily in a theme park in Florida.
We are excited to tell you that the next Orca Month celebration event will be a screening of the deeply moving film Saving Luna and a reading from the personal story of living with Luna and trying to help him in The Lost Whale, with producer and author Michael Parfit. On Saturday, June 14, 2014, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM join Orca Network in welcoming Mike (and possibly author and film maker Suzanne Chisholm), at Orca Network's Langley Whale Center, 117 Anthes, Langley, Whidbey Island, WA (copies of both are for sale in the Whale Center gift shop).
RSVP ONLY - please email info@orcanetwork.org, or call 360-331-3543 to reserve your spot - limited seating available. $10 admission/person or $25/family.
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Photo of the Day
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 | Just an amazing encounter with 26 Bigg's Killer Whales charging down the east side of Galiano Island. T86A's mouth seemed to be open (third from left). This year has been phenomenal for whale sightings!
Photo by simon Pidcock, June 7, 2014. |
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J pod
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Great day whale watching! J pod, members we saw and were able to ID were Cookie and Doublestuf. Saw some common porpoises. Then a group of transient orcas with a newborn calf only a few months old, 4 members total! Watched this group hunt and kill 2 separate seals! Then we saw a humpback whale! And we finished the trip off with J pod, several orcas breached and jumped into the air, and a big male named Doublestuf went under our boat, came up very close, and spy hopped (stuck his whole head out of the water).
June 9
Noon - J Pod past Jordan River headed West, goodbye for now.
Heather MacIntyre
(Or maybe they turned around - see above post by Amber Prewitt)
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16 year-old J34 Doublestuf (still sprouting his dorsal fin) and his mom, 29 year-old J22 Oreo.
Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, June 8, 2014.
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June 8
J Pod came down Boundary Pass and continued down Haro Strait. Apparently they went up north late last night. They had just passed Saturna when we were notified. We got on them at the bottom of San Juan Channel and followed them to Henry Island.
James Gresham  | J26 Mike.
Photo by Heather MacIntyre. June 8, 2014. |
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22 year-old L87 Onyx, an orphan who has traveled with elder females from K pod and J pod since his mother died in 2005, waving his kelp flag at Turn Point today. I adore this boy so much...
Photo by Katie Jones, June 8, 2014.
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June 8
7:10 AM - Orcas off Anacortes ferry dock headed west right now.
James Mead Maya
June 7
10:24 - What an awesome way to meditate or drift off to sleep! Thank you JPod! I will be hearing you in my dreams!
Debbie Brethauer
June 7
10:21 pm - They were really faint on Lime Kiln, but waiting paid off as they were practically on top of the hydrophone within five minutes! Can't believe how exciting this gets!
Danielle Vance
June 7
10:16 - I love this! I've heard some squeaks and squeals, but also some vocalizations I've never heard before and it's AWESOME!
Kristina Louise Dahl
June 7
10:06 pm - Hearing the whales now! Lime kiln!
Tyler Mills?
June 7
9:48pm - Orca sound. Loud!! Awesome!!
Jenny McEachron Gorle
June 7
J pod can be heard vocalizing on OrcaSound hydrophone. Earlier Connie Bickerton started hearing faint calls at 7:17pm on Lime Kiln which turned into a burst of loud activity an hour later at 8:20pm. They were traveling northbound and could be heard on OrcaSound by 8:55 where calls are still audible now at 9:37pm.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
June 7
As we sat watching the water and enjoying food, up pops a humpback whale! Certainly a bonus to the towering mountains, shimmering waters, and dazzling skies. And then wouldn't ya know about an hour later here come some transient (Bigg's) killer whales! They were frolicking and doing lots of high speed lunges and spyhops as they moved south down the island when suddenly they put the skids on so fast and did a very abrupt about-face, turned tail and started cruising toward Victoria. Hmmm, that was interesting... We look south and then BIG SPLASH! Put up binoculars and... HOLY FLYING ORCAS, BATMAN! Here comes J pod up the west side complete with J2 Granny near the lead. Screw dinner theater - this is the most action-packed cafe I've ever had the pleasure of dining at...
Katie Jones
June 7
9:17 pm - Several of J pod appear to be feeding after sunset at Mitchell Point, off of the west side of San Juan Island between Lime Kiln Point and Henry Island. They've shuffled back and forth at least twice, and are still going well after dark. It was a beautiful night, though, and it was magical seeing and hearing the whales offshore.
Tom Hoyt  | The photo possibly shows a Chinook silhouette in the foreground, possibly J36 with salmon. I'm not very good with ID yet, but from looking at other shots in the sequence, I think this may be Mike (J26) in the background, and Alki (J36) under water with the salmon in the foreground. Unfortunately, low light conditions didn't render a great photo.
Photo by Tom Hoyt, June 7, 2014. |
June 7
3:27 - Residents inbound! Js at Race Rocks. Ken Balcomb is on them.
James Gresham
June 5
J pod had fun today chasing salmon up and down the west side of San Juan Island! They started the morning southbound, passing Lime Kiln and continuing to Salmon Bank, where they foraged for a couple of hours. Then they revisited Lime Kiln briefly only to turn south again for Salmon Bank, where they feasted, tailslapped, and breached for quite a while (frustratingly just out of reach of a shore based camera). Back north again in the evening, not quite to the West Side Preserve before they turned south just before sunset. This photo (a cell phone shot of my camera LCD) is from their afternoon Lime Kiln visit. The orcas seem to be eating well!
Meg McDonald
June 5
6:45 pm - At least 3 orcas along West Beach north of Hastie Lake (Whidbey Island).
Shirley Taft
June 5
4:13pm - And they are talking again on Lime Kiln!!
Jean Karlsson
June 5
11:15 - 11:48 - I can hear them now! I can hear them now! YAY! I have no idea what that sound was at 11:25 a.m. It sounded like a hideously high pitched fire alarm. I've never heard a boat sound like that before...but then my head isn't usually under water. It hurt MY ears. Can't imagine what it does to the whales. Plus, the squeals have awakened my cats - who are now sitting at my computer listening to the vocalizations, too. Funny!
Kim Merriman
June 5
10:56 - 20 Killer Whales sighted today. We have most of J Pod in our waters. Including Granny the 103 year old.
Simon Pidcock
June 4
Ron Bates of Victoria's MMRG says the L12s left today. However, he had a fun report of the Humpback they call Big Mama, with a calf - the 4th or 5th calf she has shown up with over the past years. They were breaching and swimming 1 mile east of Seabird Pt. (the eastern end of Discovery Island, east of Victoria) at about 3:30 pm today.
June 4
FINALLY! Got our up close encounter at Lime Kiln!!! They regrouped on the west side and passed by around 5:30. They were heading north still when we left them at the county park.
Rachel Haight
June 4
2:43pm - I just heard them on Lime Kiln for the 1st time and that was the coolest thing ever!!!! YAYEEEEE MEE!!!
Jean Karlsson June 4
Larry set out to go fishing off Anacortes, but when the orcas arrived, he called me, picked me up at the dock and off we went. We spent about three hours with the orcas, saw close to 10 breaches (none captured) and as we sat dead in the water (no motor), one swam right under our boat!
Eileen Eimermann  | J34 Doublestuf.
Photo by Eileen Eimermann, June 4, 2014.
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 | A bit of kelp wrapped around his dorsal fin.
Photo by Eileen Eimermann, June 4, 2014.
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 | J34 Doublestuf.
Photo by Eileen Eimermann, June 4, 2014.
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 | | Photo by Eileen Eimermann, June 4, 2014. |
June 4
2:17 - Right now, very faint calls. There is also something that sounds like tail lobbing or pec. slapping.
Kim Merriman
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Probably my personal favorite shot from the "whale of an afternoon" on June 3rd. From front to back: J2 Granny, J37 Hy'Shqa, J49 Ti'lem I'nges, J36 Alki, and J16 Slick. Photo taken from shore at San Juan County Land Bank's Westside Preserve.
Photo by Monika Weiland, June 3, 2014.
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 | What an amazing blessing today was! Js and Ls off the westside just happy to be together.
Photo by Sara Hysong Shimazu, June 3, 2014. |
 | | Photo by Sara Hysong Shimazu, June 3, 2014. |
June 3
Video of the incredible pass by Lime Kiln State Park June 3 by Traci Walter, shown on KING5.
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Chris Teren and L41 Mega.
Here is another image from today's mind-blowing epic-ness. I wanted to share this image because it gives you a better idea of the entire scene: whales, people, shoreline, lighthouse and all. This truly is one of the most magical places on earth. And the best part? These orcas are 100% wild and free living with their families and they come and go as they please. That's why it's extra special when we get close encounters like this. The orcas CHOSE to come close to shore on their own. SeaWorld has no hope of even beginning to replicate the magic of encounters with orcas in the wild.
Photo by Katie Jones, June 3, 2014. |
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Transients/Bigg's killer whales
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June 9Had a pretty special encounter with the T65As this evening in Presidents Channel while out with Western Prince Whale Watching & Wildlife Tours - this group of transient orcas has been more or less "resident" this spring, spending much of the last few months here. The five whales (a mother and her four living offspring) are quickly becoming local favorites! Monika Weiland  | T65As in President's Channel (west side of Orcas Island) today.
Photo by Monika Wieland, June 9 2014.
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June 9
Great day whale watching! Saw some common porpoises. Then a group of transient orcas with a newborn calf only a few months old, 4 members total! Watched this group hunt and kill 2 separate seals! Then we saw a humpback whale! And we finished the trip off with J pod, several orcas breached and jumped into the air, and a big male named Doublestuf went under our boat, came up very close, and spy hopped (stuck his whole head out of the water) . (Note: Also posted in J pod article above)
 | This evening with the T65As in Presidents Channel.
Photo by Katie Jones, June 9, 2014. |
June 9
4:27pm - 8-10 Orca north of Anacortes, just south of Baker Island. Saw them from the ferry to Orcas Island... Happy girl right here!!! Prob Res. Too far away to id... Kimberly Sylvester-Malzahn
June 8
 | Wild Killer Whale breach-fest! Western Prince - Ts / Js / Ts.
Video by Traci Walter, June 8, 2014.
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June 8
The T's were in San Juan Channel between Friday Harbor and Speiden Island. Hunting seals as the tide came in and covered the rocks they were hauled out on. All were trending slowly west towards the Sydney area. James Gresham June 7
Another incredible day on the water!! Spent most of the day with the T86A's, T137's and T124A1. After leaving the scene, we got a report that they joined up with another 18 whales!!! We made a quick "U" turn and saw that the T124's, T124A's, T77's and T65A's came steam rolling south, appeared out of no where and joined the party!! 26 Bigg's killer whales! They were in a HUGE hurry bombing through Active Pass and going south. Amazing to such a large group of them! Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver  | T124A1, T86A, T137, T86A2.
Photo by Gary Sutton, June 7, 2014.
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 | Surfing!
Photo by Gary Sutton, June 7, 2014. |
 | T137, T86A. T86A's mouth seemed to be open the whole day and looked to have some damage. That's her on the far left beside T137 with the mouth open.
Photo by Gary Sutton, June 7, 2014. |
 | Surfacing. T86A is on the far left beside T137 with the mouth open.
Photo by Gary Sutton, June 7, 2014.
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June 7
At least 26 Bigg's killer whales today .... a "personal best" for me! We were already privileged to watch the T137s, 86As, and 124A1 be very social at the surface when we got on scene ... but then ... on the horizon we could see two lines of white froth and spray. The spray got closer and closer, revealing at least 15 more orcas speeding towards us from the west, all in one long line of porpoising whales (T77s, T124s minus 124C, 124As, 65As, likely others as well). You could practically hear Ride of the Valkyries playing as they steamed toward us. Totally awesome, fabulous creatures. I'm blown away yet again. Tasli Shaw  | T65a2, 65a5, 65a, 65a3, and not sure who is in the back.
Photo by Tasli Shaw, June 7, 2014.
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 | She had her mouth open throughout the entire encounter, leading me to believe something is amiss ...You can see some water squirting out the side.
Photo by Tasli Shaw, June 7, 2014. |
 | | Photo by Tasli Shaw, June 7, 2014. |
 | | Photo by Tasli Shaw, June 7, 2014. |
 | | Photo by Tasli Shaw, June 7, 2014. |
June 4
1:12 - Just found some Bigg's Killer Whales off Zero Rock (NE of Victoria in Haro Strait). T36A's. We also got to see 20 resident killer whales.Simon Pidcock June 4
12:13am - At least 3 orca are swimming in the Port Angeles harbor right now. Can see their blows and heard tail or fin slaps. Seeing the white water splash. they are 100 yards or so off the parked coho ferry. Sandy Thompson Watne  | T0137's.
Photo by Heather MacIntyre, June 3, 2014.
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 | T0137's.
Photo by Heather MacIntyre, June 3, 2014. |
 | T0137's.
Photo by Heather MacIntyre, June 3, 2014. |
June 3
After taking a look under the boat for the seal (I think) he quickly took off. TShaw060314mindblown Today: 35 resident killer whales, 4 Bigg's killer whales, and a Big Momma the humpback with her new calf...all within 5ish miles of each other. Not bad Salish Sea, not bad. Never made it down to the residents, but it turned out to be the T137A show for us! Not once but TWICE he made a beeline for the boat from 100 yards away and appeared to inspect the hull. I'm presuming there must have been a harbour seal hiding under us. Wowza. I am SO FREAKING LUCKY and honoured (??? right word????) to see these things. Tasli Shaw  | T137A beelining for us.
Photo by Tasli Shaw, June 3, 2014.
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 | | Photo by Tasli Shaw, June 3, 2014. |
 | | Photo by Tasli Shaw, June 3, 2014. |
 | After taking a look under the boat for the seal (I think) he quickly took off.
Photo by Tasli Shaw, June 3, 2014.
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Coastal orcas
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June 6
S. Krupin reported spotting 3 killer whales early afternoon on board the Miss Anita out of Bodega Bay. The animals were eating a sea lion and teaching a younger calf how to hunt!
JC Smith
June 4
Bret Greenheck, of BLM in Newport, called in two reports of orcas at Yaquina Head. At 1:30 pm, he saw two orcas, an adult male and a female, about 100 yards off, heading north. At 2:30 he saw four orcas, one adult male, two females and a juvenile, about 10-20 feet from shore at some points, also heading north.
June 4
Ron Bates of MMRG relayed a report of one male orca, at 4:30 pm, milling near Devil's Punch Bowl, OR, south of Depoe Bay, no direction of travel.
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Gray whales
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June 6
Friday morning 8:45 am - Captain said there was a gray whale next to the Keystone ferry terminal. I saw its knobby back. Partner Chuck said it was a gray. Cheryl Lowe May 22 & 28
I was recently catching up on some e-mails and came across the Orca Network report [with the gray whale photographed May 22 by Stu Davidson and Janine Harles off Edmonds]. I couldn't help but recognize the little grey whale that was photographed in Puget Sound on May 22nd as the same individual that I photographed on May 28th off northeast Vancouver Island while out doing some work with MERS. The pigment on the right side of the head and the left flank match up nicely. Anyway, it was so covered in KW teeth rakes scars that we decided to Facebook an image of it. Thought you all might be interested. Jared Towers
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Humpbacks
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 | BCY0324's calf taillobbing Saturday afternoon.
Photo by James Gresham, June 7, 2014.
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 | BCY0324.
Photo by James Gresham, June 7, 2014. |
 | Incoming.
Photo by James Gresham, June 7, 2014. |
 | BCY0324.
Photo by James Gresham, June 7, 2014. |
June 7
A glorious day on the water with sunshine, blue skies and seas. Mystic Sea caught up with Big Momma and calf around 1:45 pm off Sidney, Vancouver Island, and watched as the pair chopped and changed direction a few times (plenty of good food hopefully) and gave more than one graceful wave of their tail flukes before taking a deep dive. A delight to see these huge baleen whales in our waters performing their own special ballet
Sandra Pollard
 | BCY0324 "Big Mama" showing her calf how its done near Hein Bank.
Photo by Mark Malleson, June 6, 2014.
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 | I really do love humpbacks. Big Mama with her calf (thanks Katie Jones) at Hein Bank today. Photo taken from Mystic Sea Charters.
Photo by Jill Hein, June 6, 2014.
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 | | Photo by Capt. Jim Maya, June 6, 2014. |
 | | Photo by Capt. Jim Maya, June 6, 2014. |
 | | Photo by Capt. Jim Maya, June 6, 2014. |
 | Humpback known as Big Mama with her baby on Hein Bank, San Juan Islands, northwest Washington.
Photo by Cathy Miller Scott, June 6, 2014. |
 | Big Mama with her baby (Mt. Baker in background in one).
Photo by Cathy Miller Scott, June 6, 2014.
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June 6
11:00 - Matt and Bo headed to Hein Bank for a look at some of our favorite humpbacks: Big Mama and her baby calf!
Prince of Whales Whale Watch
June 3
3 pm - Rusty and Wendy Berta see a whale blow west of Mutiny Bay, Whidbey Island.
June 3
4:30 - Today I was out at Norwegian Park, in Hansville, with my two little boys exploring and I KNOW I saw a large black animal with a fin swimming in the direction of Point No Point. It was very far out, about the center of the waterway. I watched for a good 15 minutes as it came up to the surface, went back down, came up, just moving about at its own pace with no real hurry or obvious playtime. Nothing at all like the harbor seals we have seen hanging about happily fishing. (too far out for the camera on my phone to get a decent shot).
Jessica Coffman
June 3
5 pm - I saw a blow and a dark whale off Mutiny Bay.
Howard Garrett
June 3
5 pm - Dave Anderson saw a whale off Mutiny Bay.
 | BCY 0324 Big Mama's - new calf.
Photo by Simon Pidcock, Ocean Eco Ventures Whale Watch, June 3, 2014.
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 | Big Mama and her calf were moving north through Haro and entering Boundary Pass. These pics were taken north of Turn Point on Stuart Island.
Photo by Heather MacIntyre, June 3, 2014.
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 | Big Mama and her calf.
Photo by Heather MacIntyre, June 3, 2014. |
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Minke whales
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June 6We saw four (4!!!) breaches from a minke whale yesterday on Salmon Bank! I didn't manage to catch any of them on camera very well except this one. It's not that great, but you can tell that's a minke belly!
Katie Jones 
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Pacific white-sided dolphin
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June 7
 | 2:06 pm - White-sided dolphin near gig harbor today!
Photo by Toby Black, June 7, 2014.
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ABOUT ORCA NETWORK
Orca Network is a 501 c3 nonprofit organization, dedicated to raising awareness about the whales of the Pacific Northwest, and the importance of providing them healthy and safe habitats.
Orca Network's Whale Sighting Network involves citizens in helping researchers track the movement of whales, and encourages people to observe whales from their homes, businesses, ferries, and beaches.
Whale reports are sent in to our Sighting Network and emailed out to researchers, agencies, and citizens on our network, and posted on our website (MAP of sightings also on website). Whale reports and observations are sent in by a variety of sources, and Orca Network does not guarantee the accuracy of any report or whale identification.
TO REPORT WHALES, CALL: 1-866-ORCANET (1-866-672-2638), email info@orcanetwork.org, or post sightings on our Orca Network Facebook page.
*BE WHALE WISE! BOATERS - NEW FEDERAL REGULATIONS IN EFFECT AS OF MAY 16, 2011:
"The new rules prohibit vessels from approaching any killer whale closer than 200 yards and forbid vessels from intercepting a whale or positioning the vessel in its path. This doubles the current approach distance of 100 yards. The rules go into effect May 16 and apply to all types of boats, including motor boats, sail boats and kayaks, in Washington"
For more information on the new Federal Regulations, visit the NOAA Fisheries website.
To report harassment of whales in US waters, call NOAA Enforcement: 1-800-853-1964;
In Canadian waters, call DFO's Observe Record and Report (ORR) Violations Hotline: 1-800- 465-4336
Report the boat name &/or a description of the boat, & get photos if at all possible.
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