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This morning we had a taste of just how unpredictable weather and whales can be sometimes. We never take either for granted. We had unusually high winds up north today which prevented anyone from finding Resident type Orcas this morning, although there was plenty of other wildlife to be seen. Then early this afternoon 10 Bigg's Killer Whales, Transients T137s and T124As, popped up in Rosario Strait, and ended up coming almost to Friday Harbor by this evening.
Ivan Reiff

Bigg's Killer Whales heading toward Friday Harbor. Photo by Ivan Reiff, Western Prince Whale Watch, July 19, 2014.

Photo by Ivan Reiff, Western Prince Whale Watch, July 19, 2014.

Maia of WA State Ferries called at 3:33 pm, relaying a report from the Capt. of the ferry Hyak, with a report of 15 orcas in Thatcher Pass heading west.

T077A. He sometimes travels with another male, TO49C who has a very similar notch in his dorsal fin. When they are together, they are known as "The Twins." They spent a couple weeks in central and south Puget Sound earlier in the year. Photo by James Gresham, July 19, 2014.

Male Transient Killer Whale, TO137A breaching. He must have breached 10-15 times. They were raising havoc with the seals today. That's Anacortes in the background. We were real close to home. We were with them for a long time. Over 3 1/2 hrs. They must have killed 5 or 6 while we were there. We left them as they headed towards Thatcher Pass. Photo by James Gresham, July 19, 2014.

Noon - T137s reported heading up Rosario.

10:30 - Off Williamson Rock we saw transients heading down Williamson Rock to James Island where they turned around and started hanging out about a mile west of the Deception Pass bridge, just west of Deception Island for about an hour.
Capt. John Stone, Cutty Sark

4:15 pm - T60s near Mandarte Island. Out with Dave Ellifrit to photo-ID a group of five Transients, the T60s and T2B. Photo by Howard Garrett, July 16, 2014.

Between the hours of 10:00 TO 12:00 I saw a small group of orcas at Solo Point (south of Tacoma near Nisqually). Between three to four surfaced. There was a lot of herring in the area.
Michael Cameron

I was on the Clipper and was first to spot them on our boat after reading updates on FB. As we got closer to Kingston, I started looking for the fishing boat and then spotted orcas in front of the boat, probably 100 yards or more away from that boat. Stephanie was great at telling us her guesses of the whales' behavior and she was right!
Monica Zaborac

Thanks to everyone for posting reports below about what we think are a pod of about 6 Transient orcas headed north up Puget Sound. And thanks to Stephanie Raymond on the Victoria Clipper 3 for calling in a report of spotting this group (1 male, 1 young one and 4 others) at 6:45 pm, just south of Point No Point (N. Kitsap) headed north.
Orca Network

They went deep and, did not resurface as my sight line became hazy. I stayed until sunset!
They were headed north towards Admiralty Inlet, well past Useless Bay.They went deep and, did not resurface as my sight line became hazy. I stayed until sunset!
8:23 pm - Looks like maybe a kill they are going in circles lots of tail slapping!
8:13 - We saw one big boy at least and four more tail slapping and changing direction
8:02 - Spy hop and fins.
7:51 - They are trending north in front of sailboat at double bluff big male many more!!! I am at Norwegian Point (north of Pt No Pt).
Elyse Sollitto

My Friend [Bob Dale] & Me Saw An Orca Pod Near The South East End Of Bainbridge Island at approx. 3:15 PM - at Least 1/2 Mile Away - both feeding & playing the male breached a few times & we could see a couple of calves. We could see a large male, 2 calves & possible 2 females - they made our day worth while for sure.
Michael Porter

And more of an update from Jeff Hogan - now he believes the number of orcas to be between 6 and 10, at 2:10 pm they were approaching the Seattle-Bainbridge Island ferry crossing, and seemed to be behaving more like Transients rather than Residents but they are still too far out to ID for sure.

1:43 - They seem to be milling around quite a ways west of Alki. Heading up there now.
Trileigh Tucker

1:38 - There are 10 to 12 near Dolphin Point on Vashon. Southbound. Two males.
12:37 - They are southbound near Dolphin Point so should be to Dilworth soon
Amy Carey

Jeff Hogan of Killer Whale Tales called at 12:55 pm to relay reports he'd heard of 10 - 12 or maybe 15 orcas, including 2 males off Vashon heading south. He and others are heading to the shore to try to find them - hope we have photos & IDs soon!!

Maia of Washington State Ferries called at 12:10 pm to relay a report of 6 orcas heading south in the southbound lanes off the north end of Vashon Island in Puget Sound - anyone else see orcas out there?!

8 am - From my friend Scott out on Hales Passage. He saw 2 orcas around 8am today in front of his house. Seemed to be eating salmon, seals were not concerned with their presence. Headed towards Tacoma. Could be with the current group by now, or still out doing their own thang!
Melissa Bird

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.