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Orca Network 

Whale Sighting Report  

In This Issue
Southern Residents
Transients/Bigg's Whales
Grays
Humpbacks
Pacific White-sided dolphins
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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March 10, 2015

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.
At least part of the Southern Residents were seen or heard over the past few days. Mid evening of the 9th J pod could be heard vocalizing ever so faintly on both hydrophones located on the west side of San Juan Island. We have received no reports of them today.
NOAA's 21 day research cruise has ended but L84's satellite tag is still transmitting which allowed Cascadia Research to intercept part of L pod near La Push on the 6th and collect additional prey and fecal samples. They had hoped to observe L121 but researchers did not encounter any whales that would be associated with her/him. L pod traveled south to Cape Elizabeth then turned north ending up back near La Push on the 9th.

Recently published this important new paper: Ecological Knowledge, Leadership, and the Evolution of Menopause in Killer Whales. Brent et al., 2015, shows that postreproductively aged female resident killer whales lead collective movement, especially prominent in difficult years when salmon abundance is low and sons are more likely than daughters to follow their mothers.

After two days in Puget Sound, the T137s journeyed to the west side of San Juan Island where many people witnessed a rather unique event: a spyhopping whale with an intact Harbor porpoise fetus (photo of the day). Those who documented this encounter report never having witnessed anything like this in their many years observing and studying orcas in this area. You can read more in Monika Wieland's Orca Watcher blog entry and watch Traci Walter's video further down in the report.

In our last report we announced the  first 2015 sighting of one of the returning "Saratoga" Gray's #723.  As it turns out, two Gray whales were seen on the afternoon of the 6th feeding along the south west side of Whidbey near Useless Bay. #723 was seen again on the 8th along with #21.  

And we are just thrilled to say Big Mama (BCY0324), a beloved local favorite, was seen near Battleship Rock.  BCY0324 was the first humpback whale to return to the area many decades after whaling in the late 1800s and early 1900s exterminated the local population. Humpback(s) in Edmonds are becoming a welcomed and more common sight which brings us such hope for the Puget Sound and the Salish Sea.

And just now as I finish up the report, I receive a report of a Pacific white-sided dolphin seen off the south end of Vashon.

Orca Network 

Photo of the Day
March 7
I have never seen anything like this! We were out with the T137s this afternoon when one whale spyhopped with what looked like a piece of meat in its mouth. It was also "head banging", shaking it back and forth. Only when I got home and looked at my pictures did I see that in its mouth it had a harbor porpoise fetus, fully intact!
Photo by Monika Wieland
Southern Residents
March 9
10:47pm - Yay! Hearing them loud now.
Lisa Meoli

March 9
10:47pm -  Hearing them now clearly
Megan Hale Raber

March 9
10:43pm - Still activity on Orcasound hydrophone...wish I'd known about these years ago. Very cool.
Sarah Wells

March 9
9:13pm - Hearing a little something on the Lime Kiln hydrophone! Thanks to Barbara Bender for the heads up!
Whitney Neugebauer/Whale Scout

March 9
9:11pm - Started hearing J pod calls...they are somewhere in Haro Strait and can be heard on both Lime Kiln and Orcasound hydrophones simultaneous...faint audible S4 calls and echolocation.
Alisa Lemire Brooks

March 9
Orca watchers, another update of location of tagged whale L84.
9 March update - On Friday 6, March our colleagues at Cascadia Research Collective intercepted the tagged whale and a few others off La Push as the whales moved south. They did not see L121 or any of the whales it would be associated with it as the other whales appeared to be extremely spread out. They were able to collect 4 prey and 3 fecal samples that day. The whales continued slowly south reaching Cape Elizabeth by the early morning hours of the 8th. Here they turned north and by early this morning they were off La Push before they again turned south, occurring off of Hoh Head by mid-day today.
Northwest Fisheries Science Center 2015 Southern Resident Killer Whale Satellite Tagging

********************

March 6

Orca watchers, here's an updated map showing location of tagged L84.
6 March update - As of the morning of 3 March the whales were just north of Ocean Shores. They circled back and spent the 4th and 5th traveling north. They turned back south at Cape Alava early this morning. Our colleagues at Casacdia Research Collective intercepted them this morning off La Push in their research boat to attempt to collect additional prey and fecal samples and get a look at L121.
Northwest Fisheries Science Center 2015 Southern Resident Killer Whale Satellite Tagging

Transients/Bigg's Whales
March 7
T137A with the harbor porpoise. He swam around with it for quite a while!
Photo by Heather MacIntyre/Legacy Charters

                                          March 7
BBigg's Killer Whales (T137's) Fetal flinging 3/7/15  This is a very brief clip of a Killer Whale slinging around a Harbor Porpoise fetus from a recently killed Harbor Porpoise. I've watched Killer Whales in the San Juan Islands for 9 years and have never seen something like this.
Bigg's Killer Whales (T137's) Fetal flinging 3/7/15 This is a very brief clip of a Killer Whale slinging around a Harbor Porpoise fetus from a recently killed Harbor Porpoise. I've watched Killer Whales in the San Juan Islands for 9 years and have never seen something like this.
Video by Traci Walter

March 7
11:45pm - T137s today...off False Bay heading up Island...
Capt. Hobbes Buchanan
San Juan Island Whale & Wildlife Tours
11:45am - T137s today...off False Bay heading up Island...
Photo by Capt. Hobbes Buchanan
San Juan Island Whale & Wildlife Tours

March 7
T137s today...off False Bay heading up Island...
Photo by Capt. Hobbes Buchanan

March 7
T137s today...off False Bay heading up Island...
Photo by Capt. Hobbes Buchanan

********************

March 5
 T060D a young male about to belly flop!
It was an epic day on the water with mammal-hunting orcas known as Transients.

We saw two family groups come together, make a kill, and socialize afterward! The way these orcas communicate, and work together astounds me every time.
Photo by Heather McIntyre

March 5
We were heading north to Point No Point to do some salmon fishing this morning when we sighted a pod of orcas coming toward us, just north of and very close to the Point.  We watched them from 8:30 AM until 10:00 AM as they spent time between PNP and Whidbey Island.  They were in the tide line between us and Double Bluff, then they moved southeast toward Jefferson Head, then returned closer to Point No Point.  They ended up heading south again and went out of sight.  We could see their spouts in the distance in the bright sun.
There were approximately 10 - 12 orcas, of many different sizes.  There was at least one large adult male.  Some of the time they appeared to be feeding, as they were close together and very active.  Other times they appeared to be in a more restful state.   We saw some spy-hopping and some tail-slapping.  It was thrilling to see them for such a long time.  Salmon fishing wasn't good (I'd leave, too, if I were a salmon!)  We hope the orcas had better success!
Dianne Edmonds
(This report from Diane was picked up after the March 7th sightings report was sent out, which included many reports and photos of this pod. Through photos, the orcas were identified by Melisa Pinnow & Josh McInnes: T137's, T037A's (plus T037), T036B's (plus T036)  & Possible T099 was there too)

Grays
March 8
12:39:pm -#21 and #723 off Possession Point.
11:45pm - two Gray whales #21 and #723. We quickly lost them in the fog.
Sandra Pollard
Naturalist aboard The Mystic Sea

********************

March 7
Spotted this Gray Whale milling around the south end of Whidbey Island this afternoon - Specifically about three miles offshore from Scatchet Head and Possession Point
(south Whidbey Island, WA) Identified as #723
Photo by Stu Davidson

March 7
Fluke of Gray whale #723
Photo by Stu Davidson

********************

March 6

1:30pm - I watched gray whales today for a couple of hours in Useless Bay. I was at the private access point on Shore Avenue. There were thousands of ghost shrimp washing up on shore. I believe there were at least two whales feeding.
Kristen Coombe
(This report was posted on the 6th but we found it after the March 7th announcement that Gray whale #723 was the first of the 2015 season of returning "Saratoga" Grays (see March 7th sightings report). Given the location and southbound travel of #723 in south Possession Sound, there is the real possibility Kristen Coombes sighting was the first day of the returning Saratoga Grays)


Humpbacks
March 8
Big Mama (BCY0324) Battleship Rock, Speiden Island 
Photo by Capt. David Howitt
on M/V Peregrine for Maya's Westside Whale Charters

 March 8
Big Mama (BCY0324)
Photo by Capt. David Howitt

March 8
Big Mama (BCY0324)
Photo by Capt. David Howitt

March 8
2:45pm - Stu Davidson reported a whale, west of the north end of Edmonds.

Humpback Whale   March 8th, 2015
Humpback Whale March 8th, 2015
Humpback right out in front of our place (north Edmonds) breaching
and milling around.

Video by Stu Davidson

March 8
1:00pm - We received a call with a humpback sighting off SE side of Hat Island. (Possession Sound)

Pacific White-sided dolphins
March 10
1:47pm - Pacific White-sided dolphin spotted from Tahlequah Ferry (Vashon) west of and between
Ina Oppliger

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.