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

J36 and J52 west bound in the Juan de Fuca Photo by Mark Malleson

J26 heading west out the Juan de Fuca Strait Photo by Mark Malleson

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

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)

J26 "Mike" westbound Juan de Fuca Strait,  Sooke, BC Photo by Deanna Brett (ID'd by Melisa Pinnow)

J36 "Alki" westbound Juan de Fuca Strait,  Sooke, BC Photo by Deanna Brett (ID'd by Melisa Pinnow)

J26 "Mike Photo by Deanna Brett (ID'd by Melisa Pinnow)

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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

Sweet little J52 Photo by Ashley Keegan

J50 is really an incredible orca. Those rake marks are intense! Photo by Ashley Keegan

J17 "Princess Angeline" Photo by Ashley Keegan

One of the J-pod calves seen from Island Explorer 4. Photo by Mark Connell

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

J51, J41, J28, J46 and others Photo by Gary Sutton

J26 "Mike" Photo by Gary Sutton

J34 and J27 exiting Middle Channel on the morning of April 22 Photo by Mark Malleson

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J52 is a male! Photo by Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research

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

Orca's spotted at Inn of the Sea, Yellow Point Photo by Karen Green

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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

Bigg's/Transient on the hunt Photo by Spencer Domico

Photo by Spencer Domico

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.

Orcas sighted in Port Hadlock on Tuesday morning by a student at the NW School of Wooden Boat Building. Photo by Neena Milton

Photo by Neena Milton

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T103 east bound south of Discovery Island Photo by Mark Malleson

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 Pollard

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

They came right up to the beach at Kayak Point this evening around 4:30. So amazing watching them feed.
Jacqueline Slaughter

Two of the three grays feeding in Port Susan near Warm Beach this morning. Photo by Gary Lingenfelter

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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

Gray whales in Port Susan Photo by Gary Lingenfelter

Gray whale fluke Photo by Gary Lingenfelter

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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.

#44 "Dubknuck" Photo by Jill Hein

#44 Dubknuck's fluke identity photo Photo by Jill Hein

#21 - check out the barnacles on his head, all reaching for the sky, looking for food! Photo by Jill Hein

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Greys are back for a second night of feeding and cleaning. Just off the beach 100 yards. Mission Beach, Tulalip WA.
Christopher Klaschik

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

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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)

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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

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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

Photo by John Calambokidis, Cascadia Research Collective

Photo by John Calambokidis, Cascadia Research Collective

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Gray whale on it's side feeding  Photo by Debora Kulas