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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| April 26, 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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After our last report the Center for Whale Research posted a photo from their April 19th encounter announcing the news that J52 is a male! For those keeping track, the genders for the three J calves are: J50 is female and J51and J52 are males. J pod spent part of the 22nd around False Bay, San Juan Island and on the 24th the J16s were encountered heading west near Sooke, BC. The presumption was that the rest of J pod was ahead of them.
We've had no new news or sightings of Ks and Ls.
Bigg's/Transients reports have slowed but stunning photo's speak to the power these mammal eating orcas possess.
A number of Gray whales have been spending time together the past few days in Port Susan, north Puget Sound, feeding near shore and delighting many residents and whale watchers. Included in tonight's report is an update from Cascadia Research Collective on their Puget Sound Gray whale field studies that ended on the 19th. A summary report from John Calambokidis along with video stills provides insight into the close contact that happens between these gray whales.
Humpback BCY0324, Big Mama, is back (or never left) and was seen in Boundary Pass, BC where she too left humans in awe while she engaged in repeated cartwheels.
Laura Dormela recounts her April 20th encounter with a pod of orcas near Henry Island and Minkes in the Strait of Juan de Fuca in her blog entry titled Whales All Day.
Correction to our April 21st report:
On April 21st at 6:33 pm- Orca Activity post turned out to be a feeding gray whale.
Orca Network |
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Photo of the Day
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April 24
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| J36 and J52 west of Jordan River
Photo by Mark Malleson |
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Southern Residents
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April 24
Thanks to Paul from Sooke Explorations for relaying a sighting of killer whales off of Sheringham Pt. we were able to catch up with the J16's west of Jordan River on April 24th. They were moving quickly west out the Juan de Fuca Strait. No sign of the rest of Jpod but likely well ahead. Mark Malleson April 24
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| J36 and J52 west bound in the Juan de Fuca
Photo by Mark Malleson
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April 24 |
| J26 heading west out the Juan de Fuca Strait
Photo by Mark Malleson
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April 24
Was out on an adventure with Sooke Coastal Whale Watching! We found Jpod off of Sheringham Lighthouse (Sooke, BC). There were 2 babies. One of them was jumping out of the water. It was way too fast to capture at the time. Towards the end of our visit with them I got a bit of footage of the wee one hanging with his momma! Deanna Brett April 24
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| Wee one hanging with his momma in
the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Sooke, BC
Video by Deanna Brett
(ID'd as J52 by Melisa Pinnow)
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April 24
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| J26 "Mike" westbound Juan de Fuca Strait, Sooke, BC
Photo by Deanna Brett
(ID'd by Melisa Pinnow)
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April 24
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| J36 "Alki" westbound Juan de Fuca Strait, Sooke, BC
Photo by Deanna Brett
(ID'd by Melisa Pinnow)
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April 24
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| J26 "Mike
Photo by Deanna Brett
(ID'd by Melisa Pinnow)
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******************** April 22
It's always such a pleasure to get to spend time with Jpod...we got to see them around False Bay on San Juan Island. Conditions were a bit on the rough side but that never stops the magic when you are with these guys! It was my first chance to get a look at some of our wonderful new babies!!! Ashley Keegan, Wild Whales Vancouver April 22
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| Sweet little J52
Photo by Ashley Keegan
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April 22
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| J50 is really an incredible orca. Those rake marks are intense!
Photo by Ashley Keegan
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April 22
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| J17 "Princess Angeline"
Photo by Ashley Keegan
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April 22
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| One of the J-pod calves seen from Island Explorer 4.
Photo by Mark Connell |
April 22
Some highlights from our trip with J pod offshore of False Bay. We had everyone except for the J14's, J22's, J2 and L87 who must have been trailing behind. We spent some quality time with the "Jabies", which is always a treat! Gary Sutton April 22
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| J51, J41, J28, J46 and others
Photo by Gary Sutton
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April 22
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| J26 "Mike"
Photo by Gary Sutton
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April 22
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| J34 and J27 exiting Middle Channel on the morning of April 22
Photo by Mark Malleson |
********************* April 19
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| J52 is a male!
Photo by Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research
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Transients/Bigg's whales
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April 22
2:00 pm - Three orca's spotted at Inn of the Sea , Yellow Point (Ladysmith, BC). We had over 20 seals near us and the whales came really close. Traveling maybe stopped for a short while to feed on a seal. They didn't stay long so not sure if they were feeding. There were two large ones and a smaller one. Karen Green April 22
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| Orca's spotted at Inn of the Sea, Yellow Point
Photo by Karen Green
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******************* April 21
Big air day!!! We witnessed another predation event, with the 65a's and the 75b's hunting presumably a harbor porpoise at Danger Shoal. They were successful, judging by the many seagulls who showed up shortly after these shots were taken. Spencer Domico, Legacy Charters April 21
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| Bigg's/Transient on the hunt
Photo by Spencer Domico
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April 21
April 21
9:15 am - Maia of WA State Ferries called with a report of 6 orcas (five females and one juvenile) in Port Townsend Bay off the ferry dock, heading north.April 21
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| Orcas sighted in Port Hadlock on Tuesday morning by a student
at the NW School of Wooden Boat Building.
Photo by Neena Milton |
April 21
********************* April 20
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| T103 east bound south of Discovery Island
Photo by Mark Malleson
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Gray whales
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April 26
4:40pm - (Grays are at) Kayak Point Park
Kristin Kreifels
April 26 2:38 pm - Have seen whale watching boats the past three days in Port Susan, and watched while several grey whales spouted and surfaced from our vantage point above Sunny Shores!
Connie Johnson
April 26 1:10 pm - Just watched three gray whales feeding off Camano Island.
Including #49 "patch" & #383. #22 was out there too!
Elyse Margaret
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April 25 11:45 pm - The magic of midnight on Port Susan:
Still air, star filled sky, shimmering moonlight on a rippled sea, the silence of midnight broken by the blowing of a grey whale, eerily echoing off the bluff, swimming a stone's throw off the beach, headed for kayak point! Three blows and swim, Three blows and swim, fading into the night.
Doug Barlow
April 25 Five gray whales in Port Susan this morning! Blue skies and sunshine soon replaced the early morning rain as Mystic Sea headed through calm water towards heart-shaped blows silhouetted against the skyline. Gray whales #22, 44 (Dubknuck), 49 (Patch), 53 (Little Patch) and 723 welcomed us as they swam slowly southwards in unison, the only sound breaking the silence being the 'whoosh' of air from their blowholes. How lucky we are to have these gentle giants around Whidbey Island every year...
Our afternoon trip to Port Susan brought forth fresh fruit in the form of #383, accompanied by a friend (possibly #21) feeding close to shore. Returning to Langley we spotted blows off Fox Spit in Saratoga Passage - so that's where Patch and his companions went!Sandra PollardApril 25
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| That's #383 on the right and a travel companion that chose not to show fluke on the left.
Today in Port Susan right up at the shallow end. These were part of
five that were up in Port Susan around mid-day.
Photo by Richard Snowberger |
April 25
They came right up to the beach at Kayak Point this evening around 4:30. So amazing watching them feed.Jacqueline Slaughter April 25
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| Two of the three grays feeding in Port Susan near Warm Beach this morning.
Photo by Gary Lingenfelter |
******************* April 24
There are no fewer than five grays in Port Susan today at Kayak Point. One of them had a large patch of tan-colored barnacles on head. #21? Gary Lingenfelter April 24
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| Gray whales in Port Susan
Photo by Gary Lingenfelter
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April 24
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| Gray whale fluke
Photo by Gary Lingenfelter |
******************* April 23
We started off with gray skies and light rain, but that didn't deter our passengers or the whales! Heading south we found #44 Dubknuck south-west of Hat Island - heading towards the Clinton Ferry. He showed us his fluke (tail) several times as he continued on south. We then turned north towards Camano Island, and found 3 more whales near Port Susan. One was a bit elusive and we could not identify, but the other two were #21 and #22, traveling together southbound. We had some really good viewing of these two as they surfaced in tandem several times, and by the time we headed for Langley - the sun was out! A great day again aboard the Mystic Sea. Jill Hein, volunteer naturalist. April 23
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| #44 "Dubknuck"
Photo by Jill Hein
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April 23
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| #44 Dubknuck's fluke identity photo
Photo by Jill Hein
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April 23
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| #21 - check out the barnacles on his head, all reaching for the sky, looking for food!
Photo by Jill Hein
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**************** April 22
Greys are back for a second night of feeding and cleaning. Just off the beach 100 yards. Mission Beach, Tulalip WA.Christopher Klaschik April 22
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| Gray Whale #22 spy-hops six times at our stern as we drift, engines shut down,
in calm waters aboard the Island Explorer 3.
Photo by Michael Colahan |
******************* April 21
6:55 pm - Grey Whale right off the beach in front of our house. Mission Beach Lane, Tulalip, WA. Shes Beautiful! Christopher Klaschik (This Gray whale sighting was first reported on our Facebook page as orca activity and was entered incorrectly as such in our April 21st sightings report) ********************* April 20
For the second evening in a row, about 5 PM, we had a Gray Whale feeding just below our bluff. The tide was in and the whale was feeding in the shallows, barely breaking the surface. Barbara Brock ******************** April 19
Northern Puget Sound gray whale update: 19 April was our final day of suction cup tag deployments on gray whales and we successfully deployed 2 camera tags on whales. The first was brief when a 2nd whale knocked the tag off the whale within the first few minutes which damaged the fragile flotation on this tag and took it out of action though this did show the level social contact and interaction among these animals. Our 2nd tag (on ID 383) was of a different design with a single wide angle camera in front (this tag also constructed by Custom Animal Tracking Solutions working in collaboration with Stanford) and this represented only the 2nd deployment of this tag design on a whale. This tag stayed on into the evening before we recovered it and we are just starting to download and look at the images (see below) and data. Some of the initial video showed this whale in contact with the bottom and also filming a 2nd whale ahead (Patch) who appeared to also be feeding on the bottom off Hat Island. Overall these trips have provided more data than we expected both from the tags as well as the fecal samples, photo-IDs, and behavior monitoring. After studying these whales for more than 20 years, the video and tag data provide a perspective we have never before had.John Calambokidis, Cascadia Research Collective April 19
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| Photo by John Calambokidis, Cascadia Research Collective
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April 19
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| Photo by John Calambokidis, Cascadia Research Collective
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******************* April 13
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| Gray whale on it's side feeding
Photo by Debora Kulas |
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Humpbacks
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April 25
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| Capt. David Howitt, aboard his classic wooden
1956 42' pilot house sloop, the S/V Peniel,
with humpback BCY0324 Big Mama, Boundary Pass, BC.
Photo by Capt. James Mead Maya |
April 25 |
| Humpback BCY0324 Big Mama
Photo by Capt. James Mead Maya |
April 25 |
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Humpback whale BCY0324 aka "Big Momma" cartwheeling near Saturna Island BC.
Photo by James Gresham
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April 25 |
| BCY0324 caudal/peduncle (aka tail) throws. The whale lies upside down, lifts it's aft end high in the air and slams the flukes down. She did this repeatedly. A humpback's peduncle, the area in front of the tail flukes, contains the most powerful muscles in the animal world.
Strong enough to get a 60 ton animal airborne with 2-3 kicks of the tail.
Photo by James Gresham |
April 25 |
| BCY0324
Photo by James Gresham |
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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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