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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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.
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| October 3, 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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Since at least September 25 one or two humpbacks have been meandering within a few miles of Point No Point, Kitsap Peninsula. This afternoon a humpback is somewhere in Admiralty Inlet, last seen from Point No Point. Humpbacks have been the big story for the past few days. Below are some amazing photos and videos of encounters with humpbacks.
On Wednesday, October 1, J pod plus L87 Onyx and a few K pod members shuffled in small groups spread out up and down the west side of San Juan Island for over eight hours, then returned around midnight and continued vocalizing near the Lime Kiln hydrophones for another few hours. Bigg's Killer Whales, or Transients, made some interesting appearances in Canadian Gulf Islands, as seen below.
Several astute observers pointed out that the dolphins with the long beaks in the Photo of the Day in the last Sightings Report were not white-sided dolphins but were Common dolphins. Common dolphins are very rarely seen in the Salish Sea. Lance Barrett-Lennard recalls several encounters with four Common dolphins in southern BC about 10 years ago. The photo was posted by Cathy Scott, a friend who lives in Washington but who, it turns out, visited Monterey CA and saw a vast herd of Common dolphins on a whale watching trip. Those dolphins were also racing around in huge groups, which appears to be a foraging strategy to exhaust entire schools of small fish. See Stunning "Superpod" Of Dolphins Shocks Onlookers With Sheer Numbers.
This afternoon in Langley at the Langley Library at 6:30 pm, Sandra Pollard will give a talk and sign copies of her book: "Puget Sound Whales for Sale."
Tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon at 2 pm, Orca Network and the Everett Public Library, 2702 Hoyt Avenue in Everett, will present a conversation with Howard Garrett about Southern Resident orcas - foraging nomads of the Salish Sea.
Howard Garrett and Susan Berta, Orca Network
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Photo of the Day
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September 28 |
"Rhinoceros Chocolate"
T046B2 harassing a Rhinoceros auklet in the Juan de Fuca Strait.
Photo by Mark Malleson, taken under D.F.O. permit #MML-001
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Southern Residents
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October 2
We found the residents! Mostly J-pod (plus Onyx! L87) but K's were there as well, spread out, and hanging out. They weren't in a hurry to go anywhere, and were just milling in groups of two to five.
Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales
October 2
12:10 am - The orcas are back on Lime Kiln Hydrophones!! Want to hear them? Go to orcasound.net.
John Boyd
October 1
7:13 - Are those crazy loud clicks EchoLocation??? They are so loud and clear! I can never get on at work, I never get to hear them so well!!
Cher Renke
October 1
6:13 - Wowzers! It's a party at Lime Kiln!!! orcasound.net. LIVE Killer Whales! I'm not sure if all of Jpod is in.. but it's J's with 3 Kpod members and L87 and that's how it's been for a week!
Traci Walter
October 1
 | Onyx, L87.
Photo by Traci Walter |
October 1
Beautiful day on the water with J pod and L87! (There were some K pod animals around, but I didn't get to see them) This was the first time I've seen Pacific White-sided Dolphins bowride and harass a Killer Whale!
Traci Walter
October 1
 | Pacific White sided dolphins came zooming in from behind! L87 started zigging and zagging to ditch the pesky dolphins.
Photo by Traci Walter |
October 1
 | Pacific White sided dolphins zooming around L87, Onyx.
Photo by Traci Walter
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October 1
 | Two-year-old little J49 goes tearing off after a few Pacific white-sided dolphins (also known as lags). These little dolphins know they aren't in any danger flitting around with the resident orcas simply because resident orcas limit their diet to mainly salmon. However the orcas always seem to have an air of extreme annoyance about them whenever lags are around. The lags like to hum around the orcas and it must like having an obnoxious little mosquito buzzing tirelessly in your ear. There are many cases in the past few weeks where I have seen orcas do blatantly long dives to keep away from these little menacing creatures. Or they have exhibited over-zealous tail slaps. At times they almost seem to say, "THAT'S IT!!!" and go flying off chasing the little dolphins like J49 is doing here. Or perhaps he just found some playmates that are as busy as he is. I just find it interesting how much the orcas seem to have no patience for these critters when we as humans would happily play with them for hours. The difference between species...
Photo by Katie Jones |
October 1
1:50 - still vocalizing. Js & L87? and K pod.
1:15pm - Listening to SRKWs on Lime Kiln.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
September 30
Over by San Juan Island we caught up with J pod as we saw Blackberry (J27) and his family though there were other big males around as well. Then it was on to a humpback whale just further north!
Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch
September 27
The whale identified as J31 Tsuchi in my shots in the last sightings report turned out to be J32 Rhapsody. Thanks to Tasli Shaw for helping with the ID.]
James Gresham
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Humpback whales
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October 3
10:15 - humpback is between Foulweather Bluff and Marrowstone Island, last deep dive was headed west.
8:56 - Humpback at Point No Point currently headed west between PNP and Double Bluff.
Connie Bickerton
October 3
We spotted a Humpback Whale this morning at 8:40 am at Point No Point heading north.
Michelle LeMieux Hall
October 3
Many humpbacks around Sooke this morning.
Paul Pudwell
October 2
The first thing we found was a humpback. It was feeding, and moving very sporadically, and proved to be hard to keep track of. Later in the day four more humpbacks showed up to feed in this same area.
Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales
October 2
 | Humpback lunge feeding off of Victoria, confirming that humpbacks are finding food in the Salish Sea.
Photo by Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales |
October 2
6:57 - Saw two deep dives east of the point at Point No Point. Too dark for pictures.
Connie Bickerton
October 2
Watching a whale at Point No Point at 6:30 tonight!
Elyse Sollitto
October 2
At Point No Point a single humpback was feeding just off shore from 5:00pm to 6:20 pm tonight, and was still feeding when I left. It was going back and forth having quite the meal from the east side of the light house to the north shore.
Dianne Dee Iverson
October 2
4 pm - From Bush Point, two humpbacks still there, somewhere out in the middle of the Possession Triangle, between Kingston and maybe Shoreline, now maybe a or two mile apart.
3:35 pm - just saw another spout! Getting VERY hazy, but the spout is still in the area near where they were first seen - from here (south of Bush Pt, Whidbey Isl) they are just south of the group of cell towers above Edmonds, south of the Edmonds ferry.
2:09 - two more spouts seen. From here (Whidbey) on the top of the hill behind the whales are a bunch of big cell towers - not sure if that would line up for you Connie but it might give you the general direction to look.
2:04 pm - just saw a few more spouts and sun glinting off the whales. There have to be at least two, saw two spouts in different places but timed close together. They may be a bit further south than the first sighting.
WHALE SIGHTING!!! Just now (1:15 pm) are seeing spouts and what looks like whales diving in the area between Edmonds, Pt No Point & Possession Point! Too far to tell for sure, but the spouts look huge (thinking humpback?) but there were at least 2 as we saw several spouts in a short time. The distance might be making the spouts look bigger than they are.
Susan Berta
October 1
Humpbacks everywhere today! 5 Humpback whales, 10+ killer whales, sea lions, seals, Dalls porpoise, Pacific white sided dolphins and huge bait balls getting picked off diving birds. The highlight was "Big Momma" and her calf going crazy in the Strait of Georgia. Double breaches and pec slaps and much more. They were really mellow and then all of a sudden.....double breaches, double pec slaps, throat slaps, tail slaps......MADNESS! It was so awesome. J pod kicking around too with some Lags. What a day full of wildlife!
Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver
October 1
 | Active Breaching Humpbacks: Mother "Big Momma" and her calf.
Video by Kathyrn Taylor
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October 1
 | "Big Momma" and her calf stretch out in the Strait of Georgia.
Photo by Gary Sutton
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October 1
 | A baby breach.
Photo by Gary Sutton |
October 1
 | Another baby breach.
Photo by Gary Sutton |
October 1
Saw a single Humpback whale off Point No Point on Wednesday between noon and 3 pm. Was headed north when we left, but had been swimming around the area with no particular direction. Ninety nine percent sure it was a Humpback, although did not get a good look at any white patterning on the bottom of fluke. Even breached while we were watching!
Brenna Sowder
October 1
Around 9:00am - Humpback at East Point, Saturna Island, BC. My daughter and I saw a humpback from East Point park. It started in close and progressively went deeper.
Donald Knox
September 30We put our kayak in at the boat ramp at Eglon around 4:30 and this video was shot at about 5:00 p.m. between Eglon and Whidbey Island. It was incredible! The whale continued South, then came around behind us a bit and was VERY close to the Eglon shore. We didn't capture any more video as we were just trying to live the moment. That kayak paid for itself today! Andrea Ogg September 30
 | The Best Tuesday Afternoon Ever.
Video by Andrea Ogg
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September 30
5:12pm - I was with Connie and we had a heck of a treat! After the breach this whale slapped his tail in a fury for at least 10 minutes straight! The wind was calm as were the seas...all we heard was the amazing sound of this tail ! Another great day! More pics to come...last we saw, she was headed east towards Edmonds. A blessed moment - no doubt!
Elyse Sollitto
September 30
3:56 - Its already down almost to Edmonds.
3:31 - Heading south again near Possession pt.
3:29 - He's stopped between Maxwelton Beach and the SE of Whibey. He breached and had been tail slapping for like 10 min.
3:11 - it's headed south at a pretty steady clip. Its almost to Maxwelton.
2:45 - Humpback at Point No Point day two!
Connie Bickerton
September 30
 | | Photo by Connie Bickerton |
September 30
 | | Photo by Connie Bickerton |
September 30
 | | Photo by Connie Bickerton |
September 30
 | | Photo by Connie Bickerton |
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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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