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Orca Network 

Whale Sighting Report  

In This Issue
Southern Residents
Transients/Bigg's whales
Alaska orcas
Gray whales
Humpback (deceased)
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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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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April 13, 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.
We watch these impressively beautiful beings in their natural habitats while they engage in as wild and natural a life possible along side us humans. We stand back in awe as we witness both the joys and harsher sides of their lives as they interact and negotiate their relationships to and with each other.

L84's Satellite tag deployed two months ago is still transmitting data. Updates from NOAA include encounters by Cascadia Research with L84, part of L pod and part of J pod off the coast of Washington. Prey and fecal samples were collected.
 
The J16s have spent a couple of days on the west side of  San Juan Island doing the "west side shuffle".  Seas were choppy but both calves J50 and J52 were looking healthy and spunky with J50 showing her ever independent self.

Several pods of Transients have been seen but this issue is all T049As who were encountered the morning of the 12th and seen by several whale watchers through out the day. Stunning photos and encounter reports give us a picture of their lives in the wild, playing, traveling, and hunting and prey sharing.  Center for Whale Research staff were on scene as well and you can read their full encounter report here: CWR  encounter #19 with the T49As
 
Sadly a young female Humpback whale washed up south of Westport, Washington over the weekend. Cascadia Research, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Westport Aquarium conducted an examination and preliminary necropsy results shows that it appears to have been natural based causes. Photo and brief report are at the bottom of this issue.

The skies are looking favorable for our Welcome the Whales Festival and Parade in Langley this coming Saturday April 18th. Join us and the community in our spirited welcome of the Saratoga Grays and other marine life that roam these waters. Festival details here.

Whales have been seen everyday in these nearby waters. We still have space for our Sunday, April 19th,  fundraising whale watch cruise.  We board the Mystic Sea at Langley Marina and launch at 3:00pm, cost is $75 per person. Purchase tickets for Sunday April 19th cruise here.

Orca Network 

Photo of the Day
April 12 
Another photo from today of one of the T049As approaching.
(Taken with a 400mm lens and cropped.)
Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu 
Southern Residents
April 11
4:30pm - Many who would otherwise be out watching showed such great restraint and remained gathered for the 2nd Southern Resident C.A.L.F. (Community Action Look Forward) workshop to brainstorm on orca and salmon recovery. However at the end of the workshop, reports that members of J pod was still on the west side allowed many of us to caravan and eventually catch fleeting glimpses from County Park of blows and dorsals as they rounded the point passed the Center for Whale Research towards Open Bay.

A few sights from our 24 hour trip to SJI. The highlight? J pod! Nothing quite like listening to the hydrophone, hearing them, but not being able to see them for nearly 45 minutes despite the frantic efforts of searching... The water was choppy, and just when I was about to give up, I spotted one!... we saw about 4 pass Lime Kiln heading north sort of close to shore...They were spread out and very hard to see due to the water, but I was happy nonetheless to spend a little time with the beautiful black and whites!
Rachel Haight

April 11
J pod member passing Lime Kiln State Park in choppy seas.
Photo by Rachel Haight

April 11
J pod member passing Lime Kiln State Park in choppy seas.
Photo by Rachel Haight

April 11
9:57am -  Hearing some faint calls on Lime Kiln.
Jill Clogston

April 11
9:17am - Just heard a nice loud call. On LK
Susan Marie Andersson

April 11
9:15 am - I can hear a few calls on OS
Selena Rhodes Scofield

April 11
9:04am - There's another one
9:00am - Heard a few J-Pod calls a while ago - all's quiet now
Monika Wieland

April 11
8:52 am - Seriously whales on LK...
Rachel Haight

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

April 10
10 April update - On the last update on 6 April, L84 was off Willapa Bay. L84 was traveling north and by 8 April he was near La Push where our colleagues from Cascadia Research Collective were able to intercept a group of Southern Residents traveling north. The whales were very spread out but the individuals they saw included members of both L pod (but not including L84) and J pod. They were able to collect 4 prey and 1 fecal sample. However, L84 had turned south by the afternoon of the 8th so Cascadia staff launched out of Westport on the 9th and were able to intercept L84 and a few other L pod members just off Grays Harbor and collect 2 more prey and 1 more fecal sample. As of this morning (10 April) the whales were about were they were on the 6th, just off the entrance to Willapa Bay.
Northwest Fisheries Science Center 2015 Southern Resident Killer Whale Satellite Tagging

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

April 9
J36 and J52 at San Juan Island on April 9th
Photo by Mark Malleson

April 9
The J16 matriline did the west side shuffle off San Juan Island today. On the water we watched them travel from False Bay to Hannah Heights between 13:45 and 14:30. Then back on shore they milled off Lime Kiln from 15:30-16:30, apparently foraging, before slowly continuing north...The J16s have been the only J-Pod whales around for the last couple of days, which is a bit odd, but maybe it has something to do with the fact that two of our newest members are in their family group. It was great to see two very active babies in J50 (mom J16 Slick) and J52 (mom J36 Alki), and also to see that the whale watch boats were all voluntarily giving the family lots of extra space.
Monika Wieland

April 9
 J26 doing a big breach, one of a trio of breaches taken from the water.
Photo by Monika Wieland

April 9
The youngest member of the Southern Resident Community at about two weeks old,
J52 rockets to the surface off Lime Kiln.
Photo by Monika Wieland

April 9
J16 Matriline Report for April 9, 2015
We spent the afternoon and evening with the J16 matriline, including the two new calves, J50 and J52. The orcas were spread out off the west side of San Juan Island foraging. The females and calves stayed almost exclusively inshore, while J26 Mike would repeatedly forage off shore. It was amazing to watch J50 though, she is such an independent and spunky calf! J16 Slick is not going to have it easy keeping track of this little one! J50 was close to the others, but not right at her mother's side as you may expect. She was seen engaging with all of the family members, and it would seem that J26 Mike was babysitting for some of the time.
We saw J26 Mike act out a variety of behaviors including tail slapping, kelping, pectoral slaps as he rolled through the water, and breaching. Whether J26 was using this behavior as a foraging tactic, or just for fun remains up for question! It seemed that the whales were in a "down to business" mode yesterday, and were very serious about foraging- as they should be with two lactating females in the group.
The most interesting behavior we witnessed came just towards the end of our first trip when most of the orcas were heading north again, but one stayed behind. Yep, you guessed it, J50 stayed behind and became quite social. It seemed that she was acting out similar behaviors as J26 (big brother) that we had seen a short time before. J50 started to roll through the water as well, trying to slap her pectoral flippers, as well as spyhopping (I can't tell you how adorable it was to see a bright pink/orange calf rolling through the water trying to pectoral slap). By the end of her playfulness J52 had also joined in socializing, and the orcas seemed to come back around to escort the playful calves north again. These mothers are certainly going to have their "flippers" full with these two little ones! The calves definitely seem very healthy, and with such a high mortality rate (50% or more), we hope there will soon be ample salmon filling these waters to ensure they always stay healthy.
As always, all photos were taken with a zoom lens and cropped to show detail!
Heather McIntyre, Legacy Charters

April 9
So sweet ... rostrum of little J50.
Photo by Heather McIntyre

April 9
J36 Alki and J52
Photo by Heather McIntyre

April 9
4:03 pm - Listening to orcas (and a nasty, loud boat) on Lime Kiln!
Kristina Louise Dahl

April 9
1:19 pm - About 5-7 (orcas) off Eagle Point including a baby. Make that two babies & a bull.
William Westrem

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

April 8
Photo from the field!
Check out this photo of an endangered Southern Resident killer whale by our colleague Greg Schorr of Cascadia Research Collective on April 8 along the outer West Coast.
Photo by Greg Schorr courtesy of NOAA-Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Transients/Bigg's whales
April 13
T065A3 spyhopping after a seal kill in Haro Strait on April 13th
Photo by Mark Malleson

April 13
T075B with T075B2 south bound near Gordon Head on April 13th
Photo by Mark Malleson

April 13
T075B, T075C and T065B  south bound at Ten Mile Point on April 13th
Photo by Mark Malleson

April 13
I've been told that the two orcas that came into the Sooke Harbour are believed to be mother (50y) and son (35y) T11  & T11A . Isn't that sweet! (Video of T011 & T011A)
Deanna Brett

April 13
T011 (born 1963), Sooke Harbour
Photo by Deanna Brett

April 13
T011A (born 1978)
Photo by Deanna Brett

April 13
1:56 pm - There is a pod inside Sooke Harbour right now
Sara Galbraith

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

April 12
A headstand right beside Ken's boat (under research permit) in
San Juan Channel just to the northwest of Shaw Island! A rather impressive one, at that.

This was the T49A transient group on the afternoon of April 12.
Looks like it was one of the younger whales, possible T49A3.

Photo by Val Shore

April 12
...and the head standing Transient from the other perspective!
Photo by Center for Whale Research

April 12
It was a great afternoon on the water with the T49A family of transient orcas. We spent some of the encounter near Frost Island where they appeared to be messing around with the lines on crab pots! This is a behavior I have heard about, but never witnessed until today. I guess if they find something that might be a good toy, they don't hesitate too much. I just hope they are careful about toys like that. We left them for a while to go check out some other wildlife and when we returned to the orca family, they were near the Shaw Island ferry landing and appeared to have made a kill.
Katie Jones

April 12
 This is a nice spyhop by T49A during that possible kill.
Photo by Katie Jones

April 12
It doesn't get anymore classic Pacific Northwest than this, does it?
Teenage male T49A1 cruising the shoreline of Shaw Island.
Photo by Katie Jones

April 12
Approximately 7 orca including at least one small were active herding then eating a habror seal in Wasp Passage (NW of Shaw Island) around 3pm. Numerous small boats were in the area watching. Just off east tip of Crane Island. Whales headed westward when finished.
Blair Evans

April 12
T49As catch Harbor seal Wasp Pass 4/12/15
Photo by Capt. David Howitt for Mayas Westside Charters

April 12
It was so nice to see the T049As again and they were having a grand old time
chowing down on lunch and then following that up by playing with a crab pot float.
Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu

April 12
The T049As made a kill near Swifts Bay, Lopez Island, WA. This is a short video of several clips of the encounter, including a short clip of a juvenile (possibly T049A3) playing with a crab trap float. The audio is of transient killer whales but not from today.
Sara Hysong-Shimazu

T049As at Swifts Bay, Lopez Island - 4.12.15
T049As at Swifts Bay, Lopez Island - 4.12.15
(Watch in 1080p)
Video by Sara Hysong-Shimazu

April 12
T49A's off Swifts Bay, Lopez Island.
Photo by Connie Bickerton

April 12
T49As
Photo by Connie Bickerton

April 12
T49As
Photo by Connie Bickerton

April 12
Thanks to Shane of Island Adventures  and to the Washington State Ferries for relaying a sighting of killer whales in Thatcher Pass we were able to get a look at the T049A's for the 4th time this week.  They have scoured every corner of our range since arriving on April 6th.
The T049A's feeding west of Thatcher Pass on the afternoon of April 12th
Mark Malleson

April 12
The T049A's feeding west of Thatcher Pass
Photo by Mark Malleson

April 12
We were with 4 Orcas off of Blakely with Island Adventures.
 Photo by Kim Wills Murray

April 12
T049A2 diving under the boat..in Upright Channel.
Photo by James Gresham

April 12
T049A1 in the foreground with his mother, T049A
Photo by James Gresham

April 12
T049A1
Photo by James Gresham

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

April 11
Pod of orcas this morning off of Yokeko Point heading toward Deception Pass.
Watch video here and watch to the end!
Debbie Peth Claus
 
*******************

April 9
Thanks to a report from Peter of Tula Sailing Charters we were able to locate the T049A's on the afternoon of April 9th.  They came south through Oak Bay and moved quickly west out the Juan de Fuca past Sooke.
Mark Malleson

April 9
T049A1 and T049A3 west bound south of Trial Island on April 9th.
Photo by Mark Malleson

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

April 8
T049A breaching near Darcy Island on the morning of April 8th
Photo by Mark Malleson

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

April 7
T123A and T49A1
Photo by Monika Wieland

April 7
Transient killer whale spyhop off Shaw Island after they made a kill.
Photo by Monika Wieland

April 7
From left to right T49A4, mom T49A, and T49A3 on April 7, 2015
Photo by Monika Wieland
Monika's latest  blog post with more photos and report on this Transient encounter

April 7
The T123's and the T49A's just south of San Juan and Lopez Islands.
Photo by Katie Jones
Alaska orcas
April 7
Received a call today from Jack Trahan USCG reporting a small group of orcas in the Port of Valdez, AK for the past two weeks, seen with a newborn near Gold Creek. He reports having photos of dorsal fins.
Gray whales
April 13
Trip report - The weatherman was good to us, the rain held off and we found whales! Heading south from Langley, we caught up with two favorites - #49 Patch, and #44 Dubknuck as they traveled back and forth between Hat Island and the Clinton ferry dock. It was a little choppy, but we still had some great views of them. We heard of another whale feeding along the Langley shoreline and found #22, busily feeding on her side, many views of her pectoral fin and 'half' her tail fluke as she scooped up those little shrimp from the sediment. We watched her travel from Langley to Sandy Point. Many people in Langley watched her pass by from Whale Bell Park. It was a good day on the water!
Jill Hein, volunteer naturalist.

April 13
Gray whale #22 in Langley, people viewing from Whale Bell Park
Photo by Jill Hein

April 13
#22 near Langley
Photo by Jill Hein

April 13
#44 Dubknuck
Photo by Jill Hein

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

April 12
Sunday at 3pm we boarded the Mystic Sea at the Langley Marina for a benefit whale watch hosted by the Langley Main Street Association and Mystic Sea Charters...we launched toward Gedney (Hat) Island, on the lookout for gray whales or the rumored orcas in the area. We could never confirm any orca sightings, but just east of Gedney we saw the first misty blow of a Gray whale, cruising along the dropoff at the edge of the mud plume from the Snohomish River, from only 10-20 feet deep to about 600 feet deep. This Gray never fluked but from the dorsal markings we got a tentative ID as #22. Then we cruised back toward Gedney and encountered a "mystery" whale, with a mostly unmarked back that didn't resemble any of the grays in the catalog, so this may be a new recruit to the Saratoga grays this year. This one did some great spyhops in the few minutes we were with it, before we saw another whale 1/2 mile to the south that actually breached (or half-breached, which is as much as you can hope for in a gray whale). This one, also never positively identified, did a series of about a half dozen unusual spyhops at a 45 degree angle on its back, which was a fitting finish to the trip. (from other photos, Jill Hein ID'd #383 as being one of the whales seen on this cruise-ALB)
Susan Berta & Howard Garrett, Orca Network

April 12
Gray whale spyhop
Photo by Susan Berta

April 12
Gray whale with Mukilteo ferry in background
Photo by Susan Berta

April 12
Gray whale pec fin
Photo by Susan Berta

April 12
4:49 pm - 3 whales! Look forward to IDs by those on board!
4:30pm - from Harborview park, Everett...Alisa and Ed are watching 2-3 Gray whales (and The Mystic Sea) just off east side of Hat/Gedney Island. Susan, Howard, Langley Main Street Assoc. and guests are having a beautiful encounter on the fundraising cruise for Orca Network.
Alisa Lemire Brooks

April 12
3:36 pm - Well I've got eyes on a grey whale heading south.
Danielle Pennington

April 12
3:50 pm - Gray whale is right at Possession Point, south Whidbey.
3:10 pm - from Mukilteo Ed spotted, and we are seeing, a Gray whale close to Whidbey Island south of Glendale heading south towards Possession Point .
Alisa Lemire Brooks

April 12
We found gray whale 22 deep in the Snohomish delta on it's side feeding. We could see her from land. We also saw 44 at Sandy Point feeding on its side. Both whale were showing pecs and tail very far out of the water. This is probably what people are seeing. We never found any killer whales.
Michael Colahan

April 12
12:30 pm -The Langley Whale Center reports gray whale #44 Dubknuck just passed by Langley about 150 feet from shore. Heading south. Lots of visitors came running when the "Whale bell" was rung.

April 12
12:25 pm - Two grays outside Langley! Heading south.
Cara Hefflinger

April 12
11:30 am - Gray in Port Susan. A lone Gray was seen just off shore in front of Tulalip Shores this morning. Fed briefly just off shore. The Gray was heading north and disappeared around the corner toward Tulare.
Vicki Mattson

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

April 11
Feeding pits near Hidden Beach, Whidbey Island. YEA! Don't know when the grays came in to feed, but very happy to see that they are back since last year we hardly had any activity.
Photo by Nancy Culp Zaretzke

April 11
1:38 pm - Grey in Holmes Harbor
Cathi O'Nan Bower

April 11
12:28 pm - Been watching 2 Grays south of Fox Spit for about an hour, they are almost to Bells Beach now. Few whale watching boats nearby to help spot them.
Sara Young

April 11
10:00 am - saw 2 Grays from Howard and Susans former backyard on North Bluff Road (above Hidden Beach, Saratoga Passage).
Jeff Bueler

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

April 10
12:35 pm -  Marilyn Armbruster reported seeing spouts from Bells Beach mid channel heading south towards Langley.

April 10
10:00 am - Two Gray whales spotted off of the Saratoga community beach April 10, 2015
Michale Skutack

April 10
8:30 am- Mary Pacher in Greenbank reports one and maybe two gray whales having breakfast below the bluff just north of the Greenbank Farm.

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

April 9
7:28 pm - They then headed over to Fox Spit and are now headed south to Bells Beach
6:43 pm - Looks like three grays right in front of Camano Island state park headed north.
Ann Brockenbrough

April 9
1:00 pm -Laurie Samora was watching two gray whales about half way down Holmes Harbor, feeding for an hour, then heading back north toward Baby Island.

April 9
12:59 pm - Grey whale headed towards Possession Point (South Whidbey).
Alexis Aurmacz

April 9
2:45-3:00pm - A Langley Whale Center visitor called once they returned home to report seeing a gray whale from their home at the top of Holmes Harbor.

April 9
11:50 am -  Blows visible with naked eye from Camano Island State Park, viewing southwest towards Whidbey.
Kristin Kreifels

April 9
The whales are now over on Whidbey side south of Fox Spit. I can see blows from my kayak just outside Elger Bay.
Krista Paulino

April 9
10:25 am - 2 Grays just North of Mabana beach Camano Island. Very close to shore in the cove.
Sally Olin

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

April 8  
6:15pm - Bells Beach...Three gray whales  feeding and heading toward Langley.
Gave us quite a show!
Margaret Sullivan

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

April 7
Two gray whales right at the East shore of Hat Island. They were feeding and they were very active! It was impressive....The Naturalist ID the whales as #383 and #22.
Photo by Isabel Doran

April 7
Gray whale spyhop
Photo by Isabel Doran

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

Reported on April 9 (photos from last week)
Gray whales 22 and 383 feeding on the eastern Gedney Island
shoreline last week. Amazing!

Photo by Michael Colahan

Reported on April 9 (photo from last week) 
Photo by Michael Colahan 
Humpback whale (deceased)
April 12
Cascadia Research, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Westport Aquarium conducted an examination today on a humpback whale that washed ashore just south of Westport over the weekend. The 25' 8" female was estimated to be just over a year old. The blubber was thin with little oil, but the whale had been recently feeding on small fish. While a precise cause of death is undetermined, it appears to have been natural based on the necropsy. Numerous samples were collected for a variety of analyses, including genetics, contaminants, and general pathology; these may provide more details about what happened to this whale. Humpback whale populations have been increasing throughout their range, and strandings, which used to be relatively infrequent, are becoming more common along the Washington coast.

April 12
25' 8" female was estimated to be just over a year old washed ashore
south of Westport, Washington
Photo by Cascadia Research Collective

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.