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Orca Network 

Whale Sighting Report  

In This Issue
Southern Residents
Transients/Bigg's Whales
BC Orcas (unidentified)
Grays
Humpbacks
Elephant seals
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


Quick Links

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.

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

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March 25, 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.
One of the most striking differences between this year's reports and previous is the regular presence of Humpbacks in Puget Sound. This past Sunday humans watched in awe as a pod of Transient orcas passed Possession Point, Whidbey Island while blows of 3 Grays lit up in the near distant shallows. As the orcas continued south, reports of a humpback near Edmonds and Kingston began coming in. The two species passed within hundreds of yards of one another just as the pod arrived off of Richmond Beach and stalled, the humpback continued on northbound.

Monday morning brought a couple of reports of a few orcas off San Juan Island so it was a nice surprise when it turned out to be J pod, spread out in in social groups as reported by naturalists and other observers.  Meanwhile K pod joined up with tagged orca L84 and part of L pod traversing the coast  north and south of the Oregon/California border.

And on the 22nd the Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network checked in once again on the very new Elephant seal pup who is resting-up quietly with her mom "Ellie" on a private beach. 

Orca Network 

Photo of the Day
March 24 
Humpback Big Momma (BCY0324) cartwheelin'!
Photo by Traci Walter

Southern Residents

March 24

Update on tagged orca L84...
24 March update - On the previous post on 20 March, the whales were southbound about 20 km north of Brookings, Oregon, near the California border. Our colleague Jeff Jacobson, who is based in northern California, was able to intercept them on the water that afternoon and determine that some of L pod and and K pod were with L84. The whales continued south, reaching Cape Mendocino on the afternoon of 22 March and then turned and headed north, reaching the area near the Rogue River at 1100 today.
Northwest Fisheries Science Center 2015 Southern Resident Killer Whale Satellite Tagging

March 24
Look who's here on my first full day home: J-Pod!
Here's J19, J41, and baby J51 this afternoon off Lime Kiln
Photo by Monika Wieland

March 24
J Pod checking out their west side of San Juan Island
Photo by Traci Walter

March 24
Tail slap! Along side one of my favorite whales, J28 Polaris.
You can tell it's her do to her distinct notch in her dorsal fin.
Photo by Traci Walter

March 24
J Pod! Today on the West Side of San Juan Island
Photo  by James Mead Maya

March 24
J Pod! Today on the West Side of San Juan Island
Photo by James Mead Maya

March 24
J Pod! Today on the West Side of San Juan Island
Photo by James Mead Maya

March 24
3:00pm - HI, just enjoyed a lovely sighting of 8 orcas at Lime Kiln.
Northbound, traveling, feeding, some breaching.

Photo by Cindy Jackson

March 24
First J pod sighting of the year (for me anyway)! So excited to have caught up with these guys on the west side of the island yesterday, especially since my last encounter with them was in October. Since then there has been the heartbreaking loss of J32 Rhapsody and her unborn calf. However there have also been the exciting events of two new babies being born. We barely caught glimpses of the tiny ones yesterday, but we did get to see J2 Granny, L87 Onyx, The Cookie Clan, and this fellow pictured below - J26 Mike! I didn't fire off many shots from the camera yesterday because I was so excited, but hopefully there will be many more encounters with these guys in the coming weeks and photos and stories to share. Any day spent with orcas in the wild = a very good day.
Photo by Katie Jones

March 24
Got to spend some time with J pod (and Big Mama the humpback, see below)... J pod was in a active mood too as they inched their way up the West side of San Juan Island in some pretty nice social groups. There were lots of tail slaps from Granny J2, Samish J14, Princess Angeline J17, Shachi J19, Doublestuf J34, Tahlequah J35, Hy'shqa J37, Suttles J40, Eclipse J41, Star J46, Notch J47, and Ti'lem I'nges J49, as well a few others. There were some breaches, inverted tail slaps, dorsal fin slaps, pec slaps, cartwheels, spy hops, aerial scans, and kelpings too. What an incredible day it was!...J50 is a goofy little thing that is really fun to watch. She was playing with J42 yesterday and being difficult for mama J16. J51 stayed close to J41 and was even right in the middle of a social group.
Melisa Pinnow

March 24
3:43pm - J pod,  OrcaSound hydro!
Connie Bickerton

March 24
2:45pm - Listening on Lime Kiln and they are talking, talking, talking! I love it!
Kristina Louise Dahl

March 24
2:41pm - Lime Kiln hydrophone!!  (confirmed as J pod)
Gayle Swigart

March 24
1:05pm - We've got three females and one youngster West side, HH (Hannah Heights, San Juan Island-ALB) area headed north. Cant ID them though.
Sandy Buckley

March 24
10:57am - Orcas out past Eagle Cove, SJI!
Lindsay Gustafson

Transients/Bigg's Whales
March 25
7:15 pm: Two (maybe more) Orcas just passed us on Fox Spit in Saratoga Passage. Heading north. (this would be a different group than the earlier pod. ALB)
Sandy Wiler Piotrowski

March 25
5:42pm -Still lunging, splashing
, ferry will go by them right about now
5:30pm - Got them! Saw them splashing mid channel north of Kingston ferry dock
Janine Harles

March 25
11:40am -
Mark Millard, with George Peterson and Brian McLaughlin, all of WADFW, reports seeing about 5 probable Transient orcas in Elliot Bay, milling non-directional at the moment.

March 25
10:30am - Heading north...Staying down longer
10:15am - All five heading north, Mid channel Alki
Use sail boat to locate
Martin Moore

March 25
10:14am - seem  to be approaching Alki Lighthouse area
James Mott

March 25
9:55am - Got em again, mid channel. 5 Orca, 1 male, swiftly moving south of Alki beach. Watching from Rockaway.
9:45am - Just spotted on large dorsal about mid channel, south end of Bainbridge by yellow buoy marker. Now lost em.
Kimberly Sylvester-Malzahn

March 25
9:30am - Another report of the orcas in Puget Sound came in from Mike, who was bringing a sailboat full of Colorado school students from Bell Harbor, Seattle, to Blake Island, and encountered the orcas between Alki Pt. and Blake Island, heading south at 9:30 this morning. When the orcas were nearing Blake Island, they turned and headed back north toward West Pt. It was the highlight of the day for students and captain!

March 25
8:32am - Orcas off the Bainbridge ferry just now. Center of Elliott Bay off Magnolia.
Kari Wright

March 25
8:14am - My husband just saw orcas, and 4 dorsal fins just as the Bainbridge ferry approached Elliot Bay!
Pamela Madigan

March 25
7:55am - Small pod of orcas seen from Bainbridge ferry heading towards Seattle.
Erin Bryce Greager

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

March 24
3:15pm - just left seeing orca's while standing on bank at Baby Island (Whidbey),  orcas were approx. between Cama Beach State Park (Camano Side) and Shangri Lai Shores (Whidbey side), I would say mid channel..traveling north.
Marilyn Armbruster

March 24
2:30pm - Orcas in Saratoga passage off Fox Spit! I counted 4 I think. They put on quite a show for us for about 10 minutes, then they went under and we couldn't find them again.
Sandy Wiler Piotrowski

March 24
11:55am - The Bighouse Family just saw 4 to 6 orcas traveling north just east of Sandy Point near Langely. They seem to be traveling towards Langely ... should be there at about 12:05 PM. At least one had a very large fin.
Roger Bighouse.

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

March 22
Calm seas and reports of gray whales AND orcas in the area - two days in a row for orcas - how lucky can we be? We found 5 transients from theT046 group,
heading south, then north, then south again across the Clinton/Mukilteo ferry lanes,
so we had some good viewing time, what a special treat.
Photo by Jill Hein

March 22
4:40pm - Last sighting from atop Richmond Beach, pod still mid channel southbound transect mid Port Madison and Carkeek.
3:25pm - Ts stalled 30 minutes ago out from Point Wells and are on a kill.
2:55pm - From Kayu Kayu...Ts southbound and Humpback northbound both out from Point Wells. No interaction.
Alisa Lemire Brooks/Orca Network

March 22
Bigg's (Transient) killer whales-March 22, 2015 Puget Sound
Bigg's (Transient) killer whales
March 22, 2015 Puget Sound
Most of the video is during a kill, but at a distance and not graphic. It does however show the coordinated efforts by the family once they happen upon their prey.
Video by Alisa Lemire Brooks/Orca Network

March 22
4:15pm - Transients southbound, nearing Carkeek. East side of mid channel, but appear to be trending east. Viewing from just north of Kingston ferry terminal.
3:22pm - orca's staying in the same place just south of Point Wells.
3:03pm - orcas just south of Point Wells, still heading south. Viewing from Kingston
Connie Bickerton

March 22
3:15pm - Orcas visible from Kayu Kayu park in Shoreline
Esther du Crocq

March 22
2:46pm - Orcas are passing Kingston ferry now, mid channel heading south at steady pace
Janine harles

March 22
2:41pm - seeing whales from President Point looking north. Can't tell direction of travel.
Jonne Graves

March 22
2:45pm - Heading out of Edmonds to Kingston on the 2:30pm sailing, spotted a pod off the port side about 10 minutes into the sailing. They were off the coast of Edmonds/Shoreline.
Vanessa Ryan

March 22
2:34pm - Standing on the hill above Kingston ferry, seeing them just south west of Edmonds Saw at least 3 dorsals.
Kimberly Sylvester-Malzahn

March 22
2:29pm - The girls are seeing them from marina beach, heading south but still north of Kingston ferry.
Janine Harles

March 22
1:59pm - orcas southbound mid channel south of tanker as seen from Ocean Ave
Michelle Goll

March 22
2:00pm - from Sunset Ave N. In Edmonds pod is due west steady pace southbound.
1:15pm -  from Haines Wharf/north Edmonds can see orcas are due west this side of mid channel, committed to southbound (as opposed to Admiralty).
12:32pm - Sweet...watching orcas passing Possession Pt mid channel and see Gray whale blows in distance on west side of Possession Point!
Alisa Lemire Brooks

March 22
Watched and photographed this group when it crossed the area north of Edmonds and west of Harbor Point and the Picnic Point Area. This Transient Pod (T046s) was very elusive.. surfacing once in a while then making long dives and re-surfacing at a great distance away! Awesome to encounter and experience them where they belong: in the wide open seas!
Photo by Stu Davidson

March 22
Photo by Stu Davidson

March 22
Photo by Stu Davidson

March 22
12:28pm - they made it to Possession Point, still heading south
12:21pm - paralleling the pod, west of Harbor point. Group is heading south
Stu Davidson
See more of Stu's photos here.


March 22
12:09pm - OK finally found the orcas well south of ferry, Possession point park a good spot to be but unfortunately I can't go right now!
Rachel Haight

March 22
11:45 am -  Son-in-law is on the Mukilteo ferry and seeing orcas. Four plus a youngster. Transients?
Annette Colombini

March 22
11:19am - They are just passing the Clinton dock right now.
Danielle Pennington

March 22
10:05am - Orca pod (4 plus a calf) spotted 30 minutes ago off the shores of South Camano Island heading south toward Mukilteo.
Stephanie McCarthy Walthall

March 22
9:55am - 4 Orcas in Saratoga Passage between Langley and Camano. Headed south, mid channel.
Sarah Malmstead

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

March 21
We picked up the 5 member pod headed south in Saratoga Passage along the western side of Camano Island. They rounded the southern end of the island and headed north into an area known as Port Susan, hunting seals as they went.  See more photos here.
Photo by James Gresham

March 21
Transient T046D in Port Susan
Photo by James Gresham

March 21
Family on the hunt in Port Susan
Photo by James Gresham
Unidentified BC Orcas
March 22
From an unsigned email:
7:30am -  At least 6 orcas spotted off Bates Beach in Comox this morning.
Completely breached so white underbelly sighted. One appears juvenile. Frolicking and breaching for approximately 30 minutes.
(Could be J pod up there again. Comox is in the upper NW side of Georgia Strait, where J pod has been seen a few times lately, and where J32 Rhapsody washed up Dec. 4.-HG)

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

March 20
My colleague mentioned seeing a few orca this morning feeding on the herring that are spawning near Powell River. He was walking on the beach at Greif Point, Powell River.
Becky Burbank

Grays
March 25
12:40 pm - Sandra Pollard, Mystic Sea Naturalist, reports 3 Gray whales south of Gedney/Hat Island, no direction of travel at this time. One of the three has been ID'd as #22.

*******
March 24
7:00pm - we just watched some gray whale blows from Grand Ave Park (Everett) first one we saw and watched until about 7:30. Saw  pecs/fluke...they were moving north closer to Jetty Island, west of the Navy base. We watched until they were northwest of the lighthouse at Anthony's restaurant, probably until about 7:30 - Such a beautiful day.
Shelby Hight Fifield

March 24
12:40pm - Received a call from Finn Gatewood, on the Clinton-Mukilteo ferry, who saw one gray whale between the two ferries on the Clinton-Mukilteo run. She saw several spouts but could not determine direction of travel.

March 24
10:30am - Graham Dewitt, 1st mate on the ferry Tokitae, just reported seeing at least 3 gray whales, north of the ferry lane, about a mile south of Hat Island. No clear direction of travel.

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

March 23
-#22 did a nice spy hop for us-
To date we have confirmed sightings of seven animals:
 22/49/53/56/356/383/723
photo by Michael P Colahan

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

March 22
We headed back north to find our amazing gray whales - #49 Patch was the first to greet us, accompanied by #22, both in feeding pattern - 3 or 4 blows, then fluke (tail) up. Continuing northbound, we found #53 close to Hat Island. With such flat water today, viewing was exceptional, and we managed to avoid most of the rain! A great day - again!
Jill Hein/Volunteer naturalist

March 22
 #49 Patch
Photo by Jill Hein

March 22
#53 - known as "Little Patch"
Photo by Jill Hein

March 22
#22 - top of fluke
Photo by Jill Hein 


March 22
Maia at WA State Ferries called at 9:40am with a report of four gray whales just off the Clinton dock, moving south.

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

March 21
3:30 pm - Saw two grey whales heading north in Saratoga Passage, off Madrona Beach, Camano Island. Traveling, occasionally diving, with flukes showing.
Spencer Fekete
Humpbacks  
March 24
Big Momma (BCY0324) doing a pec fin slap in!
You can see the bulge of her eye just to the right of the fin. 
Haro Strait
Photo by Traci Walter

March 24
...Big Mama was full of cartwheels, tail slaps, inverted tail slaps, and pec slaps...
Melisa Pinnow

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

March 22
2:55pm - From Kayu Kayu...Transients southbound and Humpback northbound both out from Point Wells. No interaction.
Ed Brooks/Alisa Lemire Brooks

March 22
2:45pm -  Also a humpback... Just south of ferry.
Kimberly Sylvester-Malzahn

March 22
1:55pm - Success!! We saw the humpback off the Kingston ferry
Michelle Francke

March 22
1:21pm - On ocean ave in Edmonds and just saw a large whale dive too, just south of the tug on the kitsap side heading south-SW. May be humpback. (confirmed as humpback.-ALB)
Michelle Goll

March 22
7:30am - Saw a humpback while on the Edmonds Kingston ferry...it looked to be heading West.
Jason J Brunet
Elephant Seals
March 22
It's quite young - those are fetal folds, this pup may have been born right there on the beach (since Elephant seals do give birth on the beach).
Photo by Jill Hein CPSMMSN

March 22
A new photo of Elephant seal pup by Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network volunteer Jill Hein. First  included in our March 21st sightings report.
"Amazing news from our Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network - "Ellie" the Elephant seal who has been coming to a south Whidbey beach to rest while molting each spring for the last several years, is back - with a pup! This is the first Elephant seal pup we have ever witnessed in our stranding region (Island, Skagit & N. Snohomish)"
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.