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Orca Network 

Whale Sighting Report  

In This Issue
Photo of the Day
Southern Residents.
Transients/Bigg's Killer Whales
Humpback whale
Minke whales
Pacific White-sided Dolphin
Orca Network recommends:
The Lost Whale, by Michael Parfit and Suzanne Chisolm  
An intensely personal story...but this person is a young orca.  

Lost Whale book...ver scaled  

 To learn more about orcas: 

Orcas in Our Midst, volume 3, by Howard Garrett

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 

   DeathatSeaWorld


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Tokitae looking up at us from her tank in Miami, FL in the late 1990s 

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September 17, 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.
We've enjoyed a delightful extended stay on San Juan Island after the War of the Whales book-signing by Ken Balcomb and Joel Reynolds last Friday. From the first morning when the orcas' explosive exhales could be heard 1/2 mile away to Lime Kiln Lighthouse and other spots there have been Resident orcas most of the past week somewhere out in Haro Strait.

Howard Garrett and Susan Berta, Orca Network
Photo of the Day
September 16
Little L120, alongside mom L86 Surprise, first seen a few days old on September 6, has an open left-side saddle patch. The right side saddle patch is closed.
Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu.

Southern Residents
September 16
Cappuccino (K21), with Southern Resident Killer Whales - J Pod group B, K's and L's off Hein Bank.
Photo by Connie Bickerton.

September 16
21-year old male Solstice L89 at the end of a breach. Note the large pec fin.
Photo by Connie Bickerton.

September 16
I had the great privilege of meeting our newest SRKW today. I was beyond thrilled. L120in the center between mom, Surprise (L86) and her aunt and brother.
Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu.

September 16
Woo-hoo - found new baby L120 today, waayyy off in the distance. Thankful for zoom lens.
Photo by Jill Hein.

September 16
From Vancouver across Georgia Strait we found J2 Granny, still kicking at 103 years old, and her adopted son L87 Onyx. They were chasing salmon and after catching it, Onyx breached and spy hopped!
Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

September 16
10:30-11 am - We saw a male (looking a lot like K21) and a female a mile offshore of Hannah Heights, San Juan Island, heading south.
Howard Garrett

September 16
1:14 am - pretty sure we're hearing faint calls and clicks on Lime Kiln hydrophone, west San Juan Island. www.OrcaSound.net.
Susan Berta

September 15
From the Center for Whale Research as part of J pod heads north around 5:45 pm.
Photo by Susan Berta.

September 15
Hard to see it, but there's a strand of kelp draped over the fluke.
Photo by Susan Berta.

September 15
Four of the 8-10 J pod orcas heading north past the Center for Whale Research.
Photo by Susan Berta.

September 15
Message: 2 orcas spotted at 5:15, 4 orcas spotted at 5:45, San Juan County park, west side. Man, didn't leave name.

September 15
I tracked a group of California transients along with the T037's westbound out  the Juan de Fuca Strait on September 15th.  I originally picked them up in the morning thanks to a tip from Seahawk Charters who spotted them south of Becher Bay.  I left them 3 miles offhsore of Pt no Pt in the afternoon when they led me to J, K, and Lpod traveling east  in a large resting formation a half mile to the north of them.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales

September 15
L41, L85 and clan inbound in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Photo by Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales.

September 15
Later in the afternoon, the residents returned! All of J-pod, save for 10 whales, all of L-pod, and all of K-pod! That's 69 whales! They were traveling in discrete pod groups. We spent most of our time with L-pod, 35 whales strong!
Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

September 15
4:30pm. - Whales on LK. Being pretty quiet but they're there.
James Gresham

September 14
3:30 PM - J Pod off Point Roberts. We found the J Pod this afternoon around 3 PM just off Point Roberts. They were spread out and all around us! We were treated to a few tail slaps from J34 Doublestuf and also identified J27 Blackberry. They were spread out over a wide area not moving location much...most likely feeding.
Photo by Kamriell Welty.

September 14
J pod slowly cruising along in St. of Georgia.
Photo by Stephen Ellwood.

September 14
J pod in St. of Georgia.
Photo by Stephen Ellwood.

September 14
J pod in St. of Georgia.
Photo by Stephen Ellwood.

September 14
J pod in St. of Georgia.
Photo by Stephen Ellwood.

September 14
Granny (J-2) and Onyx (L-78) today, by the BC coal docks. They were leisurely heading towards Point Roberts when we left them, around 3 pm. Always a treat to see Granny.
Photo by Jill Hein.

September 14
We began our day with the resident killer whales of J-pod near Sand Heads Lighthouse, at the mouth of the Fraser River. The whales did some wildlife watching of their own, using their spyhopping technique to check out the world above sea level.
Prince of Whale Whale Watch

September 13
8:58 - Calls on Lime Kiln!!
Vickie Doyle

September 13
8:10 - Faint calls on Lime Kiln right now!
Mandy Johnson

September 13
They teased us up at LimeKiln, a few distant sightings- down there by y'all at Hannah Heights, between 6-6:30pm.
Caroline Lene

September 13
I  came across the L12's  east bound west of Otter Point in the morning and left them late afternoon off of the mouth of Becher Bay.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

September 13
L085 headed east for Race Rocks. (taken under permit #MML001).
Photo by Mark Malleson.

September 13
Yay!! Just spotted Resident orcas off Hannah Heights at about 4:20 pm, heading north up San Juan Island!
Susan Berta

September 13
Sekiu (K22) and her son, Tika (K33).
Photo by Connie Bickerton.

September 13
Doublestuf (J34) kelping - He's getting big!
Photo by Connie Bickerton.

September 13
1:09pm - Just spotted a lot of them while flying up to Friday Harbor. They are off the southwest tip of the island. We watched them for 2 hours this afternoon there. They kept going back and forth. What an amazing show! They were headed north. They ended up making their way up a little farther north (we saw them from Lime Kiln at 4:50pm) but then they went back south a ways and we saw them again just southwest of San Juan Island (couldn't really tell which direction they were going) a little before 7pm.
Sarah Abare

September 13
What an orca-tastic day... lotsa action out in front of Eagle Cove ALL DAY!!!
Erin Corra

September 13
Had an amazing experience with Blackberry (J-27)!
Photo by Michelle Rachel.

September 13
Blackberry (J-27) and Mt. Baker.
Photo by Michelle Rachel.

September 13
Approximately 2 week old Southern Resident L120 surfaces next to mom L86 and aunt L27 in Haro Strait.
Photo by James Gresham.

September 13
9:45 am - Ed just heard faint call on LK.
I heard J pod briefly on LK at 7:28 am.
Alisa Lemire Brooks

September 13
7:35 - 8am - Hearing blows 1/2 mile down the side of Hannah Heights, heading west. Ken at the Center for Whale Research says they are also rounding Bellevue Point, just north of Lime Kiln, so they're spread out for several miles along San Juan Island this morning.
Howard Garrett

September 12
J26 heading back to San Juan south of Discovery Island.
Photo by Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch.

September 12
Great news - word of Resident Superpod coming in west of Sooke at 4 pm!
Susan Bert
Transients/Bigg's Whales

September 16
From today's trip on the Western Prince II! Bigg's (marine mammal eating) Killer Whales by Turn Point Lighthouse on Stuart Island (note:image taken with zoom lenses and cropped).
Photo by Traci Walter, Western Prince Whale Watching & Wildlife Tours.

September 16
T060's and T002B hunting seals at Discovery Island.
Photo by Mark Malleson.

September 16
Orca pod near Discovery Island, BC.
Photo by Shelley Schwinn.

September 16
T060's were in the middle of Haro Strait, hunting harbour porpoise! Another breach and spy hop.
Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

September 16
Super rare transients off Tofino BC yesterday. Seen before in SE Alaska Ts, T175, T173, and new calf!
Josh McInnes

September 15
Hanging out with one of the newest little Biggs killer whales, T124D1, yesterday. Here is the little guy popping it's little head up with a pretty sweet backdrop.
Photo by Gary Sutton.

September 15
California Transients CA172, CA173 and CA166 in the Juan de Fuca strait.
Photo by Mark Malleson.

September 15
We saw a group of transient killer whales, the T060's off Orcas Island. On the Victoria side, we were also looking at transients! We had a large group of about 15 spotted by skipper Mark on his first trip at 10am. Also on zodiacs were Bo and Matt today. It was a special treat to learn that one of the transient families was not one we see often; they're exotics! Not seen regularly - they were from California!
Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

September 14
We saw plenty of transients just south of Race Rocks in the morning, and even managed to see a humpback as it popped up amongst a resting transient pod on the afternoon trip.  Then we caught up with the same T60 pod, this time a little closer to home, only a few miles south of Victoria. The afternoon tours got to enjoy the sunshine with humpbacks and several transient killer whale pods, including the T60s and T11s, along with an unidentified transient group travelling with the T11s.
Prince of Whales Whale Watch

September 14
South Haro Strait. T60s dining on Harbor Porpoise.
Photo by Capt. Jim Maya.

September 14
Photo by Capt. Jim Maya.

September 14
Photo by Capt. Jim Maya.

September 13
8:41 - four orcas in Burrows Bay heading towards Skyline marina and Burrows Pass (Anacortes). Absolutely incredible to see as a morning wake up!!!
Danielle Brinson
Humpback whales
September 13
About half way between Port Angeles and Victoria. All three pictures are the same whale. This is the same humpback that was in the south Sound in August.
Photo by Connie Bickerton.

September 13
Photo by Connie Bickerton.

September 13
Photo by Connie Bickerton.
Minke whales
September 13
Minke.
Photo by Connie Bickerton.
Pacific White-sided Dolphin
September 13
An added bonus this morning - three lags! Pacific white-sided dolphins are often called lags as an abbreviation of their genus, Lagenorhynchus. They're common further north in British Columbia but pretty uncommon here, though there's been numerous sightings of small groups around the San Juans this summer. This was my first ever sighting of them here though! They proceeded to make a beeline for J26 Mike, who looked like he didn't want anything to do with them.
Photo by Monika Wieland.
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 [email protected], 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.