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Wednesday's Wondrous Whales!!!! Sunny, glassy smooth water, J and L pod, caught up with them, sort of spread out, off Eagle Point....heading north, gave the folks at Lime Kiln a thrill....then further up...formed up into groups, breaching, multiple big tail slaps, and a lot of rolling over and showing that beautiful white underside...two young ones, maybe Joy and Cousteau of L pod? Pictures to follow. Very happy group of passengers aboard Mystic Sea. Whoopee!!!
Bonnie Gretz

4:13 pm - Orcas on the Lime Kiln Hydros. Boats, too.
Kara E. Clayton

3:54 - Calls on Lime Kiln right now! Distant though.
Amber Prewitt

1:30 - Lime Kiln still very active chatter. FABULOUS!
Kim Merriman

The Js and Ls did the unexpected today! They came down President's Channel instead of Rosario or Boundary, and looked like they were going to continue down San Juan Channel. Then they did a U-Turn, and came close to shore at Reuben Tarte County Park (NE San Juan Island, near Roche Harbor) at 1 PM, then went west through Spieden Channel. When they reached Haro Strait they fanned out and slowly made their way south against the strong flood tide, with some whales close to shore and others out in the middle of the strait. It took them from about 2:30 to 5:00 PM to fully pass by Lime Kiln Lighthouse!
Monika Wieland, San Juan Island

I *ALMOST* missed this breach shot this afternoon, but got most of it. J-Pod and L-Pod took an unusual route through the San Juans today - this photo was taken as they went through Spieden Channel on the north end of San Juan Island. Many more photos to come! Photo by Monika Wieland, June 24, 2014.

Js and Ls wowed us as they went through Spieden Channel this afternoon - this was my first shutter click of the passby! Photo by Monika Wieland, June 24, 2014.

I. AM. EXHAUSTED. After striking out with orcas early this morning, ended up with an EPIC (there's that darn word again) encounter from shore at Rueben Tarte. J's and L's came right by the rocks and were literally at our feet. Most of these photos are not cropped - that's how close they were! What a fun place to see them. A first for me! And then caught them again on the west side as they headed south against a big flood.
Katie Jones

An inverted tail-lob off Reuben Tarte County Park. Photo by Katie Jones, June 24, 2014.

A normal tail-lob off Reuben Tarte County Park. Photo by Katie Jones, June 24, 2014.

A spy hop off Reuben Tarte County Park. Photo by Katie Jones, June 24, 2014.

Today the J Pod and (part of) L Pod took an interesting route through the San Juan Islands. They came down into President Channel, milled around across the top of San Juan Channel, some made it to Yellow Island, then everyone turned back north socializing and breaching all the way back north. They actually tucked in behind O'Neil Island and some orcas went on both sides. I've never seen Resident orcas in this area. What a fun experience. Very happy whales with lots of adult play time in between!
Traci Walter

Photo by Traci Walter, June 24, 2014.

It's been so great to have the J's and L's around for multiple days now! So many incredible encounters with them. Yesterday was no exception....J's and L's moving north up Swanson channel along the Pender bluffs. Two big resting groups, J's in the lead and L's trailing. Here is a pic of some of the L's in their resting pattern.
Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver

Some of the L's in their resting pattern. Photo by Gary Sutton, June 24, 2014.

Another view of the amazing shore based whale watching at Lime Kiln Lighthouse State Park. Photo by Connie Bickerton, June 24, 2014.

3:59pm - They are just talking away on Lime Kiln! So cool!
Jean Karlsson

3:40pm - Calls still on Lime Kiln!
Vickie Doyle

J32's adorable fat midsection. If its a baby on the way or lots of chinook in her belly we are happy. Photo by Tasli Shaw, June 23, 2014.

On our way off island,we meandered to County park at 11:40 and caught glimpses of the SRKW tail-enders and left at 12:18 with leaders at Open Bay (north end of San Juan Island).
Alisa Lemire Brooks

A shot of one of the SEVENTEEN times J32 breached when the whales left Active Pass heading for the Fraser River. Photo by John Boyd, June 23, 2014.

Just got back from a trip with Jpod off Vancouver BC. Just dug up a few photographs of J32 who looks pregnant. Photo by Josh McInnes, June 23, 2014.

I was on the delayed 7:25pm WSF Kaleetan to Orcas Island. The whales were headed SSE at a pretty good clip.  They were forward and a bit to Port of the vessel when first sighted.
Cindy Wolf

L47 Marina, surfacing. Photo by Connie Bickerton, June 22, 2014.

L72 Racer's unique saddle patch. Photo by Connie Bickerton, June 22, 2014.

The Orca whales shuffled back and forth past Eagle Point, San Juan Island, all day long in tight, affectionate groups, and their emphatic puffs of watery exhales accompanied me as I worked. All day long, back and forth.
Alex Shapiro

Orcas just a few yards off the shoreline. Photo by Alex Shapiro, June 22, 2014.

One Orca wanted to see me as much as I wanted to see him! Orcas in all sizes: small, medium, and large! Photo by Alex Shapiro, June 22, 2014.

3:00 PM - 3 orcas breaching in unison. L55 pod near Stuart island. 3 orcas breaching. Photo by Kate Nitti's awesome boyfriend, June 21, 2014.

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.