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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| March 31, 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.
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Welcome J52! The Center for Whale Research has confirmed the birth of another new J pod calf, thanks to keen eyes and reports from Jeanne Hyde and other naturalists and whale watchers with J pod March 30th in the Canadian Gulf Islands. Amazing year for J pod, and boosting the Southern Resident population up to 81 (82 with Lolita/Tokitae, who is still kept at the Miami Seaquarium). The mother of J52 is still unknown at this time. Chris Dunagan of the Kitsap Sun recounts the events of yesterday in his piece Mystery of the orca moms rekindled by birth of another J-pod whale.No new reports on L pod or how little L121 is doing but NOAA/Northwest Fisheries Science Center shares another update on the travels of L84. Transients have been seen around the Salish Sea; in Discovery Bay, around Whidbey Island and big guy T011A and his mom T011 were reported near Sooke in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.Gray whales continue to forage daily around Whidbey, Camano, Hat/Island, Tulalip and Everett with a first sighting from Beverly Beach (Holmes Harbor), Whidbey. Please join us in welcoming the return of the Gray whales at our Welcome the Whales Festival and parade on Saturday April 19th. Details for the festival and our Sunday April 19th fundraiser Whale watch cruise aboard the Mystic Sea from 3:00-5:00pm can be found here. The lone (and probably lonely) Pacific White-sided dolphin interacted with a family in their boats over several days near Tacoma Narrows/Point Defiance area. Photo's from previous reports match that of the dolphin who was filmed bow riding and rudder rubbing in the two videos included in today's report.
Orca Network
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Photo of the Day
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March 30
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| Another new J baby! Strait of Georgia
Photo by Capt. James Mead Maya |
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Southern Residents
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March 30
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| J 16s with 2 calves, J50 & J52, tucked in
Photo by James Mead Maya
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March 30
March 30
March 30
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| J51 with Mom J19 Shachi and Sister J 41 Eclipse
Photo by Connie Bickerton |
March 30
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| Orca watchers, here's your latest update on tagged orca L84.
March 30--The previous update on 24 March found the whales northbound just south of Cape Blanco, Oregon. They continued north and by the 26th they were off Tillimook Bay in northern Oregon and by the 28th they were off Grays Harbor, Washington. There they turned south, and as of this morning (30th) they were off the Columbia River
Northwest Fisheries Science Center 2015 Southern Resident Killer Whale Satellite Tagging
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************** March 27
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| Magical encounter with J-pod off Victoria
Photo by Val Shore
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March 27
March 27
March 27
We were incredibly fortunate to have caught up with J Pod again just south of Discovery Island. The day was glassy calm and warm - very out of the ordinary for March, but we're not complaining! We were also able to spend some good quality time with J2 Granny... At an estimated 104 years of age, she was acting quite spunky and spending a lot of time rolling around with J38 Cookie (born in 2003). She appears vibrant, healthy, and not a wrinkle on her! Must be all those Omega-3's in that lovely salmon... Katie Jones March 27
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| J2 Granny near Victoria, BC
Photo by Katie Jones
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March 27
...this was my first really good look at DoubleStuf this spring and I am amazed by his size! DoubleStuf was born in 1998 which puts him at 17 years of age and he still has growing to do. Onyx was born in 1992 and is considered to be fully mature, but I think after watching them the other day, DoubleStuf may have already passed him in terms of size. I also noticed DoubleStuf's little brother, Cookie, seems to be noticeably sprouting his dorsal fin this year. At 12 years of age, Cookie is just beginning those awkward teenage years.
Katie Jones
March 27
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| J34 DoubleStuf and L87 Onyx swimming side by side near Victoria, B.C
Photo by Katie Jones
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March 27
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| L87 during encounter with J Pod near Victoria, BC
Photo by Traci Walter
(taken w/300mm lens and cropped)
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March 27
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| Either J34 Doublestuff or L87 Onyx near Victoria, BC
Photo by Traci Walter
(taken w/300mm lens and cropped) |
March 27
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| J34 Doublestuff and L87 Onyx near Victoria, BC
Photo by Traci Walter
(taken w/300mm lens and cropped)
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March 27
Today I had a fantastic encounter with J pod, including both new calves - J50 and J51! The pod was in resting formation, but L87 Onyx and J34 Doublestuf were happily causing a ruckus on the side as the rest of the group 'slept'. We were with the group from Constance Bank, near Trial Island, to Race Rocks.Marcie Callewaert March 27
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| J51 and family
Photo by Marcie Callewaert
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March 27
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| J Pod
Photo by Marcie Callewaert
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March 27
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| J pod
Photo by Capt. Hobbes Buchanan
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March 27
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| J Pod
Photo by Capt. Hobbes Buchanan
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March 27
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| Scenes from encounter with J Pod, including J50, J51 and Granny, J2...and the Olympic Mts.
Photo by James Mead Maya |
March 27
11:13am - Still hearing vocals and echolocation on OrcaSoundGayle Swigart March 27
11:00am - started hearing echolocation on Lime Kiln10:28am- There is a lot of echolocation on OrcaSound hydrophone at the moment! And just now a J call. Hearing and L...probably L87 Onyx Alisa Lemire Brooks March 27
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| 9:00am - 15-20 whales swam by our home this morning... heading west down Speiden Island. The sights and sounds were awesome!
Photo by Janet Jorve |
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I'm hearing them on OrcaSound, last call at 11:18.Jacqueline Slaughter March 26
10:01am - J pod on OrcaSound!Gayle Swigart *********************** March 24
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Transients/Bigg's whales
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March 31
4:10pm - One lone male Orca spotted...he was traveling west out of Destruction bay (probably Discovery Bay, west of Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula), about 300 yards off shore. We are at Diamond pt.
Helen B
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March 28
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| I was blessed to see two Orca close to shore (20-40 feet away) at East Sooke Park (S. Vancouver Island, BC) this morning. I only got one decent picture as they went around a point. By the time I could get to the trail that ran along the shoreline, they were gone. I waited in the area for a couple of hours hoping they'd return but it didn't happen.
A magical experience!
Photo by Karen Kehler |
******************* March 26
In search of J pod today (they were heard on the Orcasound hydrophone), some friends and I headed up Trincomali Channel and randomly found T124C! We then headed down Sansum Narrows for fun and found the T101's and T124A's, who then led us down Saanich Inlet! What a day!! Melisa Pinnow March 26
2:31pm - Moments ago, a pod witnessed from our home above Brighton beach (just north of the Clinton ferry dock). The playful group breached and fluked between our home and the south tip of Hat. A few boats were witnessing same. The pod welcomed spring with their playfulness. Marty Beert March 26
5:00pm - Sighted 4 Orca whales in Discovery Bay off of Beckett Point. This is my second sighting of these whales in the past 3 weeks. Very unusual to see them in Gardiner. It looked like 3 adults and one younger, I think feeding as they were diving and seemed to be moving in circles. Terry Wood March 26
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| 11:52 With the Biggs orcas headed northbound at Point no Point (Kitsap).
Photo taken by Peter Hanke/Puget Sound Express.
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Coastal Orcas
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March 29
5:45pm - My husband and I spotted 6 transient orcas off the Oregon Coast at Boiler Bay. They were a half mile from shore. We watched them for an hour and a half during that time we saw them attack and feast on two sea lions. We are volunteers for the Whale Watching Spoken Here Program and spent March 21 - March 28th watching the migrating gray whales. We have been on several whale watching trips out of Bellingham to see the magnificent orcas. Today was the most spectacular whale watching we have ever encountered. The deliberate and calculated behavior of the orcas was phenomenal. In addition to attacking the sea lions we watched them breach, fluke slap, head lung and gracefully surface to breath. There was 1 calf among the 6 orcas we saw this evening. After we left Boiler Bay we went south to Depoe Bay to see if we could see them going by, we spotted them just north of Depoe Bay and watched them swim south and beyond the buoy markers at Depoe Bay. We last saw them going south around 7:30 pm. I have included some photos in hopes that you will be able to identify some of them. Have a wonderful day! Kent & Edith Hitchings March 29
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| Transient orca off Oregon Coast by Boiler Bay
Photo by Kent & Edith Hitchings
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March 29
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| Transient orca breaches off Oregon coast by Boiler Bay
Photo by Kent & Edith Hitchings
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March 29
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Transient orca breaches off Oregon coast by Boiler Bay
Photo by Kent & Edith Hitchings
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********************* March 27
Received a call from commercial crab fisherman Guy Lee, reporting a pod of orcas - 5 adults and 1 calf - about 7 - 10 miles from the harbor at Halfmoon Bay, CA. The calf was breaching, and they all came close to the boat, and Guy said they saw chunks of what looked like sea lion or some kind of marine mammal meat/blubber floating in the water.
March 27
We just received a call from Meg at 3:50 pm, reporting a pod of ~4 orcas ~6 miles outside the harbor at Halfmoon Bay, CA, today.
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| Grays | |
March 31
12:30pm - grey whale milling around north of Pebble Beach near Camano shores.
Sarah Malmstead
March 31
10:39am - Think we're watching the same whale. He's at south point of Camano heading south on Camano side of the passage.
Becky Wilson
March 31
9:30 am - saw a grey whale swimming south between Pebble Beach and Langley in Saratoga Passage.
Sarah Malmstead
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March 30
We left gray whales 723 and 383 near Camano Head feeding at 1315
Michael Colahan, Captain & Naturalist
March 30
7:05 am - Single grey whale north of the Clinton ferry dock. I could not tell direction of travel.
Danielle Pennington
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March 29
We left Langley marina and immediately a Bald Eagle scooped up his fish lunch, right in front of us, what a catch! We headed towards Gedney/Hat Island and found our first two whales, #383 and #22 on the east side, traveling close to shore. These two stayed together as we caught up with them later in the day, and #22 gave us a nice close pass-by, what a thrill. Single spouts were seen further east towards Everett, and towards Camano Head, but those whales were on long dives, didn't see enough of their bodies for identification. The weather held, and the sun even came out - another great day aboard Mystic Sea.
Jill Hein (Volunteer Naturalist) March 29
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| Fluke of Gray whale #383
Photo by Jill Hein (Naturalist)
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March 29
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| Gray whale #383 - close to shore
Photo by Jill Hein (Naturalist)
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March 29
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Gray whales #383 (back) and #22 (front)
Photo by Jill Hein (Naturalist)
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March 29
At 16:50 saw a spout (apparently a gray whale) heading east 1/4 from Polnell Point, heading towards Mariners Cove, just 200' or so off the beach. This is Saratoga Passage and is on the north end of Whidbey Island.
Steve Rothboeck
March 29
2:20 pm - From Baby Island Heights area on Whidbey Island, I see 2 grays and looks like to me near Onamac Point on Camano Island.
Marilyn Armbruster
March 29
1:15pm - 2 grays are feeding at Cama Beach right now with Deception Pass Tours watching them.
Wendy Nelson
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March 28
4:34pm - They're heading past Onamac on Camano right now!
Desi Tracy
March 28
4:00pm - From a vantage point on the bluff at Seawall Park in Langley I observed several very clear blows in binoculars near (north of) a sailboat between mid-channel and south Camano Island. One and possibly a second individual.
James Mott
March 28
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| Gray whale south of Possession Point, Whidbey
Photo by Stu Davidson
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March 28
March 28
3:39pm - Four whales we can see while south of Possession Two out front of and one each to the west and east
3:08pm - while watching two grays milling off of Possession Point, off by Picnic point we see another whale blow.
2:29pm - Whale blow (gray) south of Possession point. Direction slowly easterly.
Stu Davidson
March 28
12:35pm - Saw a lone grey off Innis Arden (Richmond Beach)...from a sailboat.
Shelly Richer Edwards
March 28
11:50am - Whales are now approaching the Clinton ferry dock. At least two. Heading south east....Correction. At least 4.
Danielle Pennington
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| Yet another wonderful whale day starting at 9:30 am with half-a-dozen gray whales seen feeding close to Langley shores. Twenty minutes out of Langley 'Mystic Sea' spotted heart-shaped blows south of Sandy Point again close to shore, followed by sightings of #49 Patch and #53 Little Patch traveling side-by-side. Later pecs and tails (possibly #22) were seen close to shore in feeding mode on the Clinton side of the ferry lanes.
Seems all whales today were having a gourmet lunch!
Photo by Sandra Pollard (Naturalist)
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March 28
11:35am - Sandra Pollard aboard the Mystic Sea reports seeing six gray whales off Langley this morning, and Patch and Little Patch just north of the Clinton ferry dock.
March 28
10:40am - Fred Lundahl reports several gray whales off Sandy Point, Whidbey Island (just south of Langley), close to shore. No direction of travel given.
March 28
10:29am - Greys very active just south of Sandy Point close to shore off Whidbey.
Kari Ingalls
March 28
10:05am - For the past 1/2 hour I have been watching four Gray's (no ID) feeding below our bluff on Whidbey Island, Saratoga Passage, moving from Langley Marina toward Sandy Point (southbound-ALB). I haven't seen evidence of Gray's, on our beach, for two years. I can still hear their "blows" through my open window. Very exciting.
Noel Goforth, Langley
March 28
8:48am - 3 grey whales feeding in shallow, in the Saratoga passage just north of Langley, slowly making their way towards Langley!
Rachel Kellog Franklin
March 28
Thar she blows! Woke up this morning and said, "I think the whales will visit today." Walked outside with coffee in hand and within minutes heard the beautiful breath of three gray whales. Just passed by. At the Inn at Langley now. I may have gotten my first fluke shot in the passage. It's going to be a great day!
Debra Campbell
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March 27
5:00pm - this evening at the Mukilteo Ferry Landing I was Blessed to see four Grey Whales. It was Awesome!!! What a Beautiful sight!
Elaine Wrinkle
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| Gray whale #723
Photo by Sandra Pollard
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March 27
Gray whales off Gedney (Hat) Island, including #49 (Patch) and #723. The whales were well into the shallows waving their pectoral fins as they dug deep for ghost-shrimp, attracting a dozen or so Pacific Harbor seals to the area and a group of Harbor porpoise. Passengers could not have wished for a better day with sunshine, snow-capped mountains and the best the Pacific Northwest has to offer.
Sandra Pollard, Naturalist
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March 26
5:15pm - John from WA State Ferries Ops called to report 1 Gray whale loitering 1/2 mile south of the Clinton Ferry dock .
March 26
2:00pm - One gray whale sighted in Beverly Beach (Holmes Harbor) heading towards Baby Island. Sally Bigger
March 26
12:00pm - Mo Jerome called to report a gray whale feeding at Beverly Beach...then heading north toward Baby Island. (The first gray whale report from Beverly Beach, Holmes Harbor)
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Humpbacks
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March 30
12:43pm - My friend Bill Anderson is at Edmonds Marina Beach, reports a humpback whale, mid channel, no clear direction. Says he got some photos but is still watching it...
Janine Harles
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Pacific White-sided dolphin
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March 24, 25 & 26
Point Defiance and the Narrows. First encounter was under sail, he joined us and and sailed all around with us for an hour following us. Then the next day he met us on the dingy going, we stopped ashore to drop off trash we collected then he joined us again when we left. He performed a few acrobatic jumps and spins. Then the 27th he showed up as we motored in the sail boat near the narrows. Video here And we have more video from this day of him rubbing on the rudder. Very Odd. Alan Niles
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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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