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
|
|
|
Click here
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.
|
|
Sign up for our
Whale Sighting
or Free Lolita
Email Lists
Click Here to Join |
|
|
| August 19, 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.
|
For six days until Monday, August 18th, the only Resident orcas seen in the Salish Sea was "Group A," which is J2 Granny's subgroup and just 1/2 of J Pod (and Onyx L-87), who have been mainly close to the mouth of the Fraser River. But Monday Ks and Ls and the rest of Js came in and were still around San Juan Island later today.
Sometimes it's hard to separate out the different species when they mingle in the same reports. This time it's a white-sided dolphin that would leave L87 Onyx alone.
A humpback has been intermittently seen in Puget Sound, from Saratoga Passage to Edmonds to Vashon Island for the past week, including yesterday off Kingston and today off Shoreline.
Join us Friday August 22nd for an evening of dancing, beer, and Orca conservation at the Hales Ales Beer Garden, 4301 Leary Way NW in Freemont at 6:30. Proceeds go to The Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island, Washington to help fund the important Orca Survey field study and conservation of the Southern Resident population. Music by the stomp-grass music of Polecat with Eric Tollefson. Enjoy a meet and greet with former SeaWorld trainers Sam Berg, Jeff Ventre, and Carol Ray, featured in the documentary Blackfish, as well as Ken Balcomb of The Center for Whale Research and Howard Garrett and Susan Berta of Orca Network. |
|
Photo of the Day
|
August 19 | Beautiful day on the water with K pod and J Pod up by Pender Island, BC.
J2 Granny and L87 Onyx.
Photo by Traci Walter, Western Prince Whale Watch.
|
|
|
|
Southern Residents
| |
August 19
 | West Side of San Juan Island. Lots of this going on.
Photo by Connie Bickerton.
|
August 19
 | L92 Crewser - Not the best for photography, but I love orcas in sparkly water.
Photo by Connie Bickerton.
|
August 19
 | Watching the whales at Lime Kiln.
Photo by Connie Bickerton.
|
August 19
 | L88 Wave Walker popped up next to the boat.
Photo by Connie Bickerton.
|
August 19
 | Love the top of his dorsal going down.
Photo by Connie Bickerton.
|
Another amazing day on the water!!! Morning trip we were in Boundary Pass/Swanson Channel in flat calm waters with members of K Pod, a few L Pod whales, and J Pod!! Lots of socializing, and a few very nice spyhops by J34 Doublestuff!! Then the afternoon trip we went south to False Bay/Eagle Cove area with the rest of L Pod. Lots of whales spread everywhere, and a few were even surfing wakes of big boats!! Nice close-up pass by L95 Nigel. Steller Sea Lions on Whale Rocks growling away. Very nice day and great passengers! John Boyd
August 19
 | It was awesome to watch a large group of whales heading south past Lime Kiln this afternoon. They were a ways offshore but all in pretty close together. About half a dozen of them surfed a freighter wake - see two of them sharking while doing so in the photo here! Also, I coined a new term for all the mixing and matching of pods we've been seeing this summer: "hodge-pod".
Photo by Monika Wieland. |
12:35 - Orca calls on the Orca Sound hydrophone right now and for the past 30 minutes or so.
Jen Chesnut
August 19
 | Along the shore of Pender Island, BC.
Photo by Traci Walter, Western Prince Whale Watch. |
August 19
2:30 PM - ~10 Orcas heading south from Lime Kiln traveling with long moments of submersion (likely feeding).
Timothy Knab
August 18
6:30pm - Hearing faint calls again on LK....They been turning around all day once they reach Land Bank. Saw some pretty great behaviors this morn from the pullout but they haven't been needing to come north, been spread out all down island.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
August 18
Such an amazing day on the water. First trip we had a minke whale, porpoises, eagles, sea lions, and then we ended up near False Bay with lots of whales everywhere including J22, J34, K26 and more. And out of nowhere comes a Pacific White-Sided Dolphin that bow rode us for a bit! So I thought it would be hard to top that trip--so for the afternoon trip we had eagles, seals, sea lions, an very cooperative minke whale. Ivan and I decided to go out to see some Transient Orcas, and wouldn't you know it--we found about 12 more Resident Orcas including L84 Nyssa that no one knew were out there. Then over to see the Transients (T36s, 37s) and right as we got there everyone else left!!! So just us and whales, who began to breach and cartwheel and play and gave us a very nice and pretty close pass. August 18
 | Just south of False Bay, Ripple (K44) with his family and others. I know I say it all the time but what a beautiful day with beautiful whales.
Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu. |
August 18
Last night I was at Lime Kiln State Park around 6:30pm when my son and I spotted several orcas and whale watching boats just off the shore at the overlook area. They were about 100 yards from shore and the whales were headed south around the island.
Wayne Wilhelm Greenfield
August 18
 | The K13s
K13's hanging out with Ken Balcomb and the team from the Center for Whale Research. SW side of San Juan Island, Whale Rocks, South End of Lopez Island. We had J's, K's and L's.
Photo by Connie Bickerton. |
August 18
 | K44 Ripple and K27 Deadhead.
Photo by Connie Bickerton. |
August 18
 | My adopted boy K25 Scoter and K34 Cali. You can still see pieces of the satellite tag embedded in his dorsal.
Photo by Connie Bickerton.
|
August 18
 | K44 Ripple and K27 Deadhead.
Photo by Connie Bickerton.
|
August 18
 | |
K38 Comet and K20 Spock.
Photo by Connie Bickerton.
|
August 18
 | J34 Doublestuff doing the slowest pec slap ever.
Photo by Connie Bickerton. |
August 18
7:40 - Faint Resident orca vocals were heard on Lime Kiln hydrophone by Alisa Lemire Brooks. Visual by Ed, at least some of them coming in from the west towards island and to the south of Land Bank. They were milling spread out and trending south bound.
August 18
In the afternoon the residents that had been off San Juan Island began making their way steadily south, and by our 3:30 trip we had the rare opportunity to view resident and transient killer whales within a mile or two of each other! In a strange turn of events, the transients were playful and active, while the residents remained quite sedate, focusing on traveling.
Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watching
August 17
Ken Balcomb reports J pod members off Monarch Head at the south end of Georgia Strait and the north end of Boundary Pass, heading south about 6 pm.
August 17
Great afternoon in the Strait of Georgia with a very playful J pod! It was one of the strangest fog days I've ever seen! Layers of fog were covering certain pockets of the water and the whales would wander in and out of it. The funny thing was that the fog was not very high off the water. Onyx and Mike's dorsal fins would just be peeking out of the top of the fog layer while much of everything else stayed hidden. At one point we saw a cartwheel...sort of. We could only see the tail fly above the marine layer. Very amusing, indeed...
Katie Jones
August 17
 | J26 Mike.
Photo by Katie Jones. |
August 17
 | L87 Onyx with just the tip of his fin out of the fog.
Photo by Katie Jones.
|
August 17
 | J19 Shachi breaching next to L87 Onyx and J2 Granny.
Photo by Katie Jones. |
August 17
 | The Western Prince watching orcas!... Well...sort of...
Photo by Katie Jones.
|
August 17
 | | Photo by Katie Jones. |
August 17
 | J19 Shachi breaching in the marine layer. We almost couldn't see her.
Photo by Katie Jones. |
August 16
What a CRAZY day! Captain Spencer and I were watching L87, Onyx (a Resident Orca) forage and noticed something small trailing him. We knew it was too small to be an orca, and sure enough it was a Pacific White-Sided Dolphin (also known by locals as a Lag). The Lag proceeded to pester him for about an hour! He tried everything, ignoring it, tail slapping, and eventually started porpoising out of the water- he was so over it! Unfortunately for him, the Lag was just having way to much fun! However, we were able to steal him away for a little quality bow riding time.
August 16
 | Maybe if I just swim 20+ mph I'll lose it ..
Photo by Heather MacIntyre.
|
August 16
 | Ah, nope.
Photo by Heather MacIntyre.
|
August 16
 | Wheee!!!
Photo by Heather MacIntyre.
|
August 16
 | Eye contact.
Photo by Heather MacIntyre.
|
August 16
I heard what I presume was J-Pod Group A on the Lime Kiln hydrophones from 3:00-3:30 today.
Monika Wieland
August 15
Resident killer whales in Haro Strait! L87, J39, J49, and several other members of J-pod who have been seen in the area recently.
Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch
|
|
Transients/Bigg's Whales
|
August 18  | T65A and 6 month old T65A5. Southwest of Anacortes on Sunday.
Photo by James Gresham. |
August 1711:00 AM - a handful of orcas, 2-4, seen off of Point Wilson in Port Townsend by a couple of our visitors at PTMSC. They were heading north into the strait.
Allison Kellum August 17
 | We spotted this young orca off Lopez Island this afternoon, in a group of five - only one mature male present in that group - see the rakings on it's back?
Photo by Amitava Michael Kundu. |
August 17
T065A's off Whidbey, Smith and Minor Islands. This is a great group. The "Resident Transients." Incredibly skilled hunters. I hadn't seen them for a couple months. Little 6 month old T065A5 is looking great! James Gresham August 17
 | | Photo by James Gresham. |
August 17
 | | Photo by James Gresham. |
August 17
 | On the hunt. One of the T065A's tail slaps a harbor porpoise into the air after a chunk of the porpoise's peduncle was bitten out, disabling it. After this, a whale does a half breach with the porpoise across it's back. Watching Transients hunt can be brutal but once you've seen enough hunts to understand the tactics they use and can disassociate yourself, they become a thing of beauty.
Photo by James Gresham. |
August 17
Just south of Race Rocks were some transient killer whales! They made it all the way to Sequim! They made a kill at around 1pm. Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch August 17
7:30 pm - watched them from Bush Point heading north at a fast pace. Sandy Pollard August 17
7:28 - Ebey landing. Multiple blows. Heading north. Allen Peter August 17
7:18 - Seeing them at Bush Pt now! August 17
7 pm - Orcas headed towards Bush Point & south Marrowstone Island, going northwest. Wendy Sines August 17
6:21 - But some are headed N now off Foulweather Bluff. 6 pm - We Got Whales!! Just south of Bush Pt, on the Kitsap Peninsula side, in Skunk Bay between Hansville and Foulweather Bluff, traveling NW at a pretty steady pace. Looks like at least a dozen, but we haven't had a good long look yet. Yay! Thanks to all who have posted all day - we don't have a recent update on the NW Whidbey Transient group, so let us know if you see them too! Susan Berta August 17
5:17pm - I just spotted at least 2 or 3 Orcas headed north almost mid-chanel, but a bit closer to Hansville. Judy Anderson Roupe August 17
About six orcas past Point No Point at 5:10pm headed north and moving very fast. Patty Michak, Hansville August 17
I was out fishing near Point no Point with the family tonight and we pulled up our lines to enjoy 9 beautiful orcas! Scott Orness August 17
 | Here's a pic from Point No Point this evening.
Photo by Scott Orness. |
August 17
4:52pm - I'm at Maxwelton beach park looking west and orcas are midchannel. Multiple blows. Headed north. Rachel Haight August 17
1:15 - Maia at WS Ferries reports a pod of orca in the Clinton/Mukilteo ferry lane, presumably heading south. August 17
At 1 PM on Sunday, Orcas with several tour boats on the scene located just south of Partridge Bank About due West of Darst Road in Coupeville (about 1-2 miles offshore, binocs or a spotting scope needed). Cameron Chandler August 17
11:40am - Transient Killer Whales spotted north of Langley! Expected here around 12:15pm (edit: sounds like they already went south past us. Sneaky Ts!) Thanks to Fred Lundahl for the heads up! Sara Hysong-Shimazu August 17
Bells Beach, Langley, 11am - We saw four orca moving quickly toward Langley this morning. They were not playing, breeching, etc., just cruising. There was a boat "Destiny" that sighted them and followed quite a ways away, but a smaller boat ahead of Destiny, was much more aggressive in their chase and got closer than what looked legal...granted it hard to ascertain from the shore. What a treat for us, however! Margaret (Peggy) Sullivan August 17
11 am - Barbara McCallem from Bells Beach just called reporting a pod of about 15 orcas headed to langley right NOW! Sharen Heath  | Here is a picture of the whales off Fox Spit.
Photo by Michelle Sterett Bernson. |
August 17
About 10:00 to 10:15 AM - Orca in Saratoga Passage. At least four Orca were a few hundred feet off the eastern shore of Whidbey Island, just south of Fox Spit (5 miles north of Langley). The Orca resumed heading south and toward the center of the Passage. 3+ Orca initially feeding, then traveling. Steve Runo August 17
9:33am - Transients are at PT Wilson just made a kill. Christopher Hanke August 17
10:20 - Chrissy McLean at Port Townsend Marine Science Center reports 5-6 orcas were headed north out of Admiralty within 200 yards of Pt. Wilson and seemed to be feeding. Fishermen pulled in their lines. August 16
 | One of the T37s checking to see if there are any seals on the beach at Minor Island yesterday. They are in luck...
Photo by Katie Jones. |
August 16
 | It was a bad day to be a sea bird! Had one of the coolest encounters with Transient Orcas today! 37s and 34s, plus another group that I am not sure of yet. Three or four juveniles kept attacking birds as if they were Sea Lions.
Photo by Ivan Reiff, Western Prince Whale Watch. |
August 16
7 pm - T37's and T34's were 1 mile south of SA buoy (about two miles NW of Pt. Wilson, Port Townsend) heading into Admiralty Inlet one hour ago. Michael P Colahan August 16
At least four (including a little one, perhaps the new Transient baby) have just a bit ago passed Bush Point still heading southbound. They have not yet reached Windmill Point which is just north of Mutiny Bay, Admiralty Inlet. Susan Wicklund and Marilyn Armbruster August 16
7 pm - I'm headed back to Seattle from Victoria and we just saw a few orcas. Brought some tears to my eyes...first time I've ever seen them in the wild Soooo amazing! This was one of my main reasons for moving up here. Still on the clipper. We saw them just north of Port Townsend. Couldn't tell which direction they were headed. It looked like they were playing or hunting. Josh Harrison August 16
2 pm ish - Orcas reported about an hour ago off Pt. Wilson (near Port Townsend), heading south. August 16
12:58 PM - 5 transient orcas spotted traveling near Strait of Juan de Fuca (2 miles NW of Ebey's Landing, Whidbey Island). Raymond Malstead August 15
7:19 am - Three or more orcas were just now very close in and near to the Vashon ferry terminal and are heading west. Barbara Weber August 14
27 Ts!!! In the fog in the AM, near Barnes and Clark Islands. Naturalist Jeanne Hyde counted them...So far I have counted 27 Ts, comprised of 7 different family groups. T34sT36sT37sT99sT101s (including T102)T124, and at least one of her kidsT65AsCapt. Jim Maya August 7
 | 10:30 AM - There were 7-8 whales in our sighting. One whale was significantly larger than the others and had a smaller whale who travelled continually beside it. The largest whale seemed to be leading the direction of the pod. Just off Epsom Point (30+ miles NW of Vancouver BC) heading northwest. They were initially feeding off the reef and then appeared to be playfully travelling together.
Photo by Regan Minchin. |
|
|
Coastal orcas
| |
August 19
Noon - Jessica Wiltrout reports her husband was halibut fishing in 190' depth about 2 miles out from Goat Rock at Harris Beach State Park, two miles north of Brookings OR, when a single orca came by heading north in rough seas.
|
|
Humpbacks
| |
August 19
9:45 am - Solitary humpack in central Puget Sound, in the basin about a mile south of Richmond Beach in Shoreline. Spotted from inland with binoculars over a mile away so hard to clearly ID. Pronounced dorsal fin and tall blow suggest humpback. Heard what may have been a slap while it was on the surface. Seen surfacing 2-3 times in the same area then started heading north.
Dave Flotree
August 18
~8:30am ... Two whales observed mid channel south of Kingston and east of Pt Monroe at approx 47 43.8N 122 29.7W. The northbound Victoria Clipper stopped briefly to a show of blows and diving tails. The whales seemed to be leisurely feeding in the same vicinity for over an hour ... Repeatedly surfacing for a series of breaths followed by dives. The calm, sunny morning provided the chance to hear the blows from across the water.
Dan Hannafious with Isaiah and Doug
August 18
We saw the humpback again on the Clipper 3! He was circling mid channel near Point Jefferson (Kingston) at 8:10.
Justine Buckmaster, Victoria Clipper
August 16
11:40 - FYI for anyone not familiar....Tank Farm = Point Wells, Woodway (which is just north of Richmond Beach, Shoreline) transected from Connie's location means the whale is mid Port Madison a bit more east.
10:28 - HB moved a bit north. Sightline from Richmond Beach out from Suquamish House. Circling. Deep dive. Even from afar is breathtaking, such a beautiful whale.
10:10 - thanks to Connie...i just saw it surface 6 times in a circle then fluke. South end Port Madison...outer edge of ( so very much Kitsap side).
Alisa Lemire Brooks
August 16
11:42 - just resighted him/her further north of point wells heading north I think, still mid channel.
11:10 - still north of tank farm but heading south.
11:02 - Now north of the tank farm, closer to mid channel, heading north east.
10:50 - Trending south line of sight from the north end of Fay Bainbridge with the south end of the tank farm.
10:39 - deep dive, about the same place, not traveling very far.
10:23 - Spending the first day of my retirement watching a humpback whale from Fay Bainbridge. It seemed to be heading north at noon.
10:20 - it seems to be coming up every 10 min or so. Trending southeast at the moment, but circling round and feeding.
10:09 - HB is still just north of Fay Bainbridge. Seems to be circling around feeding. Came up and took 6 breaths, followed by a deep dive with a lovely view of his/her flukes. Heading north now.
9:50 - Just spotted the HB north of Fay Bainbridge headed south. Did a very deep dive, and I haven't refound it yet. Closer to west side. That's about the same place it was yesterday morning.
Connie Bickerton
August 15
We saw Split Fin! He was taking a snooze, so after a few surfaces we decided to keep moving and keep looking... And we found 5 more humpbacks! But the highlight was a mother and calf pair.
Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch
August 15
Spotted a humpback whale about 740am this morning about 3-400 yards off of NE tip of Bainbridge Island. It has been cruising back and forth for the past hour just offshore. Very foggy but did get some decent pics.
Tim Cuddy
|
|
Minke whale
|
August 17
A Minke whale at Hein bank. Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch
|
|
Pacific white-sided dolphins
| |
August 18
 | 12:10 pm - White sided dolphin off Edmonds!
Photo by Toby Black. |
|
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.
|
|
|
