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Orca Network 

Whale Sighting Report  
In This Issue
Southern Residents
Transients/Bigg's whales
Coastal orcas
Gray whales
Humpback whales
Orca Network recommends:
Puget Sound Whales for Sale: The Fight to End Orca Hunting, by Sandra Pollard
This important volume recounts the people whose determined efforts ultimately succeeded in ending the captures.


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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April 30, 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.
J pod was seen this morning around Sooke, BC heading eastbound and last reported to us passing Metchosin heading towards Victoria, BC mid-late afternoon.  Just as I put the finishing touches on today's report, photos and reports stream in which is nice because it means we can feature as photo of the day another day in the life of a precious  J pod calf.
L84's satellite tag has stayed firmly attached to his dorsal and continues to transmit location updates which will contribute to data collected by NOAA and others on the winter and early spring foraging habits of L pod in the Pacific Ocean. The last update available has him (and those who travel close by) north of Cape Disappointment.

Bigg's/Transient T036As and T049Bs spent a couple of days traversing the seas around San Juan and Patos Islands, happily surprising  a group of humans on Tuesday who were on scene with humpback whale Big Mama. Other sightings had Ts as far south as Olympia and north off Galiano Island this week and a small pod of unidentified pod of Ts were seen exiting Admiralty Inlet earlier this morning.

Each year we revel in the return of the "Saratoga" gray whales who come to feed on shrimp in the waters around Whidbey, Hat/Gedney and Camano Islands. Food seems to be plentiful for these large lovely mammals as sightings continue almost daily as they move around the many different areas to eat. This week the grays spent three consecutive days  feeding in often glassy calm waters of Port Susan. On a couple of occasions five whales were hovering around the same feeding areas at the same time! How cool and beautiful is that! And for the record, here is the latest on those who, of the returning grays, have been documented this year in our inland waters: #21, #22, #44, #49, #53, #56, #383 and #723.

And humpback whale BCY0324 "Big Mama" found herself in the company of a smaller beloved boat mugging whale "Windy".

Orca Network 
Photo of the Day
April 30 
Sweet photo of one of 3 J Pod babies! This wee one was seen
just off Sooke BC, off Otter Point this morning about 10:30/11 am!
Photo by Deanna Brett, April 30, 2015 
    
Southern Residents
April 30
Captain Paul from Sooke Coastal Explorations had a hunch that Jpod would be coming in front of Sooke. Wendy Cooke Lang and I went with Paul to see. It wasn't far until Wendy spotted at least 7 blows. Paul counted about 20 whales. We were first on the scene with Jpod. Paul let everyone know because he's awesome like that! Here's a picture of one of the babes seen just off Sooke BC, off Otter Point this morning about 10:30/11 am. (see photo of the day)
Deanna Brett

April 30
3:00 pm - J-Pod headed NE past Metchosin towards Victoria... Watching from shore. They're pretty far out there but the big dorsal fins are easy to see! They're clipping along at a fast pace; about four commercial whale-watch vessels in the surrounding area.
11:34 am  - J-Pod swimming east past Sooke Point right now!
Michelle Rachel

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April 24
24 April update - L84 was just to north of the entrance to Grays Harbor, but well offshore, on our previous update (20 April). The whales moved inshore that afternoon, to just off the entrace to Grays Harbor, but by the morning of the 21st they had traveled due west and were on the shelf break. They headed north/northeast and were just north of Cape Elizabeth on the morning of the 22nd. From there they traveled south and by the morning of the 23rd were near the entrance to the Columbia River. They remained in this
general area overnight and as of this morning (24 April) they were just
north of Cape Disappointment.
Map photo courtesy of Brand Hanson, NOAA, NMFSC
Northwest Fisheries Science Center 2015 Southern Resident Killer Whale Satellite Tagging
Transients/Bigg's whales
April 30
10:35 am -  Orcas 1 mile north of McCurdy Point (Port Townsend) heading west.
Christopher Hanke

April 30
9:57am - now they're heading northwest across the bay towards the San Juans.
9:54 am - They are right off Point Wilson right now. Look to be feeding just outside current. I see at least one large adult and possibly two small ones. So far have only seen three dorsels at once.
9:16 am  - Off Fort Worden, Port Townsend Marine Science Center.
9:07 am - Orca pod off Port Townsend right now. Just rounded point Hudson heading toward Point Wilson.
Rebecca Samuelson

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

April 29
With the T124 matriline. We definitely covered some water yesterday,
leaving these orcas at Salamanca Point !
Photo by Heather McIntyre, Legacy Charters, April 29, 2015

April 29
We headed out at 1:30pm and encountered TO49c near Becher Bay heading East. Whilst we watched TO49c, he continued to travel east towards Race Rocks. He did enter the park and the three WW boats stayed outside the park as he hunted and traveled along the main channel. Eventually he exited the park close by the Sea Lions and continued East. The final boat left TO49c heading for the VH marker.
Andrew Lees

April 29
TO49c was picked up near Sooke heading East.
Photo by Andrew Lees, April 29, 2015

April 29
3:00 pm - Two orcas in front of Westbay Marina (Olympia).
John Glacken

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

April 28
8:02 pm - A small group of whales just turned up west sound on Orcas Island.
Brian Schmitz

April 28
So, we are watching the humpback, Big Mama, just south of Patos Island. One of the passengers asked about Orcas. I told her that some had been sighted earlier in the morning near here, but no one had seen them since. I also mentioned that they could pop up any time and BOOM! THERE THEY WERE, Ts HEADED TOWARD US AND BIG MAMA! Squeals of laughter and delight! We followed the T36As, T49Bs past Patos Island as they headed toward East Point, Saturna Island, BC. Pics of mine from aboard the Peregrine, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching.
James Mead Maya

April 28
T36As, T49Bs passing  Patos Island Lighthouse
Photo by James Mead Maya, April 28, 2015

April 28
Photo by James Mead Maya, April 28, 2015

April 28
Photo by James Mead Maya, April 28, 2015

April 28
6:35 am - Very active orcas east of Sucia island, seen through binoculars out of Echo Bay. 5-12 individuals although difficult to see as they were staying close together. Traveling slowly northbound.
Jennifer Smith


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April 27
Some shots from today's encounter with the T36A's and T49B's near Salmon Bank! Another sweet day out there!
Gary Sutton

April 27
T36A, T36A1, T36A2, T49B, T49B2
Photo by Gary Sutton, April 27, 2015

April 27
T36A...look at that gorgeous eye patch.
Photo by Gary Sutton, April 27, 2015

April 27
The kids! Looks like T49B2, T49B1 and T36A2
Photo by Gary Sutton, April 27, 2015

April 27
Lovely day with T49Bs and T36s, south of South Beach, San Juan Island.
Photo by James Mead Maya, April 27, 2015

April 27
South Beach, San Juan Island.
Photo by James Mead Maya, April 27, 2015

April 27
Transients seen off the west side of San Juan Island from the Odyssey,
San Juan Excursions whale watching boat out of Friday Harbor.
Photo by Carol Allen, April 27, 2015

April 27
Photo by Carol Allen, April 27, 2015

April 27
We watched the T036A's and T049B's take out a Harbour porpoise south of Discovery Island on the morning of April 27th.  They got another one at mid day north of Middle Bank. They continued traveling  east along the west side of San Juan Island past Eagle Point and then jagged out to Hein Bank before continuing  east to Rosario Strait.
Mark Malleson

April 27
T036A in Haro Strait
Photo by Mark Malleson, April 27, 2015

April 27
Today was awesome! Another beautiful day on the water. Sooke Whale Watching was going out on an adventure, so I jumped on for a ride! Transient Killer Whales off Victoria.
Deanna Brett

April 27
Transient
Photo by Deanna Brett, April 27, 2015

April 27
Transient
Photo by Deanna Brett, April 27, 2015

April 27
12:30-1:00 pm - I saw 2 -3 Orcas between Bowen Island and Worlcombe Island. They travelled quickly on the south side of Bowen passing Cape Roger Curtis. Looked like a large male and 2 smaller orca.  They were spotted again near Deep Bay on Bowen around 3:00 pm and were headed north.  Sorry no photos.  Was a magical few minutes to see them.
Dianne Felsmann
Coastal orcas
April 26
1:00 pm - My wife, Erika, and I saw a male orca swimming just south of Point of the Arches around the southern tip of Shi Shi beach (very northern end of Olympic National Park, south of the Makah Indian Reservation.) We had just walked through one of the smaller set of arches south of the point when we saw the huge, 6-foot dorsal fin emerge three times for surface breaths while swimming steadily southeast through the seastacks toward Ozette. It did not linger, and we did not see any other dorsals or sign of other orcas. The sighting was not long enough to take any photos, but it was a truly amazing, thrilling experience. We have seen the superpod in the San Juans, but this unexpected glimpse at a wilderness beach was magnificent. Time was approximately 1 p.m. ...he was swimming steadily, three surface breaths at regular five-to-10-second intervals. That weekend we observed many seals sunning on the numerous rocks and seastacks in this area, and we saw a few swimming, too. We assume the orca was a transient, only because we saw no other orcas, but we have no way of knowing. The very tall dorsal left no doubt it was a male, and we saw a fair amount of the body emerge during each breath -- he was a big guy. Once he disappeared behind a nearby seastack, we never got another glimpse. Sight angles are tight at that spot, a lot of obstructions. But the orca passed us fairly close to the arches where we were -- we did not need binoculars at all.
Scott Morris
Gray whales
April 29
5:48 am - 2 Grey's 50-60 yards off the beach. Cleaning and feeding. Traveling into Tulalip Bay.
Christopher Klaschik

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

April 27
We have seen two grays much of the afternoon-they seem to be making big circles around Possession Sound. We watched them feeding on the flats and head toward Hat Island, then back toward the flats. We saw some great tail slaps today! My stepson (Michael Clark) got lots of photos (see below), and I will post some when we get back. My stepson smelled blow for the first time, too-LOL. Last we saw, they were heading in the direction of Langley. That was about 4:30.
Sharon Ann Clark

April 27
Photo by Michael Clark, April 27, 2015

April 27
Photo by Michael Clark, April 27, 2015

April 27
3:55 pm -  from Kayak County Park...looking south see blows mid channel approx. between Camano Head and Tulalip.
Alisa Lemire Brooks

April 27
3:05 pm -We just saw at least one gray whale on the flats near shadow of Pilchuk. I think there are more than one-clearly feeding. We aren't close enough to get good photos-now they are moving north-at least two. My birthday is complete-just wish I had a telephoto lens...
Sharon Ann Clark

April 27
1:10 pm - from Harborview Park (Everett) Ed and I see gray whale off east side of Whidbey, south of Sandy Point generally heading slowly southbound.
Alisa Lemire Brooks

April 27
11:20am - Slowly heading north east towards Everett and east side of Hat a island
10:52am - Hanging out with a Gray Whale on this beautiful morning.
Currently between Clinton and Mukilteo right on the ferry route mid channel.
Stu Davidson

April 27
Gray Whale #53 "Little Patch" 
Between Clinton and Mukilteo right on the ferry route mid channel
Photo by Stu Davidson, April 27, 2015

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

April 26
Afternoon trip report - A 25th anniversary fundraising cruise today for Island County Beach Watchers - and what a great day for passengers, and whales! We headed towards Port Susan and immediately found #22 and #383 foraging along the shoreline with pectoral fins almost waving at us...another blow in the distance and we found #49 Patch heading towards Kayak Point, traveling with #21. Then yet another blow and we found #53 Little Patch in the middle of the bay!! Wow, 5 whales! We had time for a short re-visit with #22 and #383 before returning to port, it was so cool to see FIVE whales today, very happy passengers aboard Mystic Sea!
Jill Hein, volunteer naturalist.

April 26
Synchronized swimming - #22 and #383
Photo by Jill Hein, April 26, 2015

April 26
Everybody's favorite - #49 Patch
Photo by Jill Hein, April 26, 2015

April 26
#22 along the shoreline near Port Susan
Photo by Jill Hein, April 26, 2015

April 26
Noon - we had the thrill of watching two gray whales feeding off our beach at Port Susan Terrace on east Camano Island. They were inside the buoy line and spent nearly an hour stirring up the bottom for their feast. Two whale watching boats shared the experience with us. This brought some questions to mind. How do the boat crews track the whales? And are there distance limitations for boats and gray whales,as there are with Orcas? We all love our whales.
Mary Pelland

April 26
Gray whales feeding off our beach at Port Susan Terrace on the east side of Camano Island.
Photo by Mary Pelland, April 26, 2015

April 26
Photo by Mary Pelland, April 26, 2015

Humpbacks
April 28  
So, we are watching the humpback, Big Mama, just south of Patos Island. One of the passengers asked about Orcas. I told her that some had been sighted earlier in the morning near here, but no one had seen them since....
James Mead Maya

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

April 26 
Today we found two humpback whales near East Point, Saturna Island. One of the whales was a large female named Big Mama (pictured here) and the other was a younger, smaller animal (later ID'd as "Windy"). We watched them zig zag back and forth near the shallows of Boiling Reef and I couldn't resist snapping a shot with a humpback tale, the Patos Island Lighthouse, and Mt. Baker in the background. It was just too good to pass up. After this happened, the whales surprised us with a closer look. I will say this - It's not every day I have to go home and shower because I have whale snot all over me. And as a side note: humpbacks decidedly do not smell good.
Katie Jones

April 26 
A humpback tale, the Patos Island Lighthouse, and Mt. Baker in the background.
Photo by Katie Jones, April 26, 2015 

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

April 25 
BCY0324 "Big Mama" from our encounter on the 25th!
Nice to see that familiar fluke in our waters again.
Photo by Gary Sutton, April 25, 2015  
 

 

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.