3:48 - Various calls on Lime Kiln hydro now
Kim Merriman

3:24 p.m. - Orca off Lime Kiln Point State Park visible on the webcam!
Janet Helton

2:25 p.m. - Orca on Lime Kiln!
Katy Rudolph

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7:03 p.m. - went quiet for a while and now a few faint calls and echo.
6:00 p.m. -  Echolocation and vocalizations amping up again on Lime Kiln hydrophone.
Alisa, ON

6:08 p.m. - orcas on the hydrophone,...I'm listening to Lime Kiln right now and they're there. Not sure who... Still learning.
Katy Rudolph

5:40 p.m. - very faint calls again on LIme Kiln.
5:14 p.m. - hearing faint calls on Lime Kiln.
Ed Brooks

4:47 p.m. - Loud calls on lime kiln right now.
Ann Hazen

We saw L89 and K12s spread out 2 miles offshore of Eagle Cove.
Barbara Bender

2:35  p.m. - The whales are very very spread. Did see L89 and L22, L88, L72 and L105, J19, J27 and J39. We had them way offshore from Eagle pushing west.
Sara Hysong-Shimazu

11:03 a.m. - Orcas heading north toward Lime Kiln mid channel. Lots of boats.
Jack Nolan

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L89 Solstice surfacing west of Hein Bank today. The big guy was cruising along slowly, appearing to be in resting pattern and eventually came over next to the boat. He was swimming around while other whales foraged. There were fish there. L113 caught a salmon right in front of us and looked to be teasing L121 with it. Solstice is 23 yrs old. Photo by James Gresham, September 26, 2015

L121 Windsong with mom L94 today. Photo by James Gresham, September 26, 2015

L94 Calypso west of Hein Bank today. Photo by James Gresham, September 26, 2015

L88, Wave Walker, takes a break from hunting for salmon to breach!  We watched him just southwest of Salmon Bank on Saturday from the Island Explorer 4. Photo by Bart Rulon, September 26, 2015

On another truly spectacular "mill-pond-like" day, we headed out in search of whales. Little did we know that a humpback whale would steal the day as we headed towards Salmon Bank to find our Resident orcas. The humpback was very active with hundreds of pectoral fin slaps, and amazing tail lobs, it was difficult to leave! Thankfully we continued on and found members of L-pod, notably L89 Solstice, his mom L22 Spirit, L77 Matia, L119 Joy and many others, spread over a large area. After visiting with these majestic whales, on our return trip we found the same humpback, still active. He surfaced one time totally decorated with bull kelp, on the head, body, and his tail. What a sight - and what an amazing day!
Jill Hein, volunteer naturalist

L77 Matia (born 1987) breaching. Photo by Jill Hein, September 26, 2015

J2 Granny and K14 Lea traveling together in Haro Strait. Photo by Monika Wieland, September 26, 2015

Orcas all over Lime Kiln today between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. -  2 or 3 different pods. Photo by Mike Kratzberg, September 26, 2015

1:10 p.m. -  group males and females, traveling east 1/8-1/4 m from shore. Move past me towards Edwards Point. Everyday is a good orca day.
12:30 p.m. -  1 large male & 1 unknown traveling west quickly 1/4 m from shore. Move past me towards Lime Kiln.
12:23 p.m. -  Edward's Point group moving farther east out of sight.
11:52 a.m. -  Edward's Point group continues milling, east, west back and forth around the point. 2 females closely interacting with something small (prey? Or is it a calf? Can't tell.)
11:40-11: 48 a.m. -  1 male, 6 females all strung out moving west leisurely. Move past me towards Lime Kiln. Group off Edward's Point (I think it's called that. East of WP); 2 males 4 females probably more.  2x breach, 2x rolling dorsal extended, 1 spyhop observed.
11:23 a.m. -  Large male, small male & female traveling west leisurely. Move past me towards Lime Kiln.
11:12 a.m. - Orcas along West Side Preserve, (San Juan Island) No ID's, sorry. 20 (There were a few more. I couldn't be positive I hadn't already counted so didn't add them to count. Traveling, playing. Possible feeding? Breaches, tail slap, Dorsal fins seen during roll over. Observed with binocs from the most easterly edge of Western Preserve. Orcas approximately 1/2 mile from shore. Large male & female traveling west quickly. As they meet a slower moving group, they greeted w tail slaps, 1 breach. Move past me towards Lime Kiln.
Michelline Halliday

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Today we traveled 2 hours (well worth the wait) before our first sighting of whales. We found transients (near Hannah Heights) moving quickly south along San Juan Island. J & K pod were southbound not far behind! We had both residents and transients in the same area! We continued northbound, and suddenly, we saw Dall's porpoises rocketing across the water. Some of the residents turned to play with them, and then the porpoise headed our way, bowriding for a few seconds. It was amazing! We turned back south visiting with residents before returning to the transients, ID'd as the T049As (T049A2 not present). T049A1 snagged a harbor seal and the family proceeded to breach and spyhop after the kill. As we headed home, we came across two humpbacks. We stayed with one for awhile trying to get an ID shot on the fluke, but he'd never show his tail. As we were about to leave, he suddenly started pec slapping for about 10 minutes. He approached the boat (we'd been totally stationary at this point) doing his backstroke and you could see his whole body under the water. He even cartwheeled once and trumpeted twice! What a day!
Rachel Haight

Breaching resident and the Olympic Mountain range. Photo by Rachel Haight, September 24, 2015

A southern resident porpoises past humans along the shore at Lime Kiln lighthouse. Photo by Rachel Haight, September 24, 2015

K44 Ripple cruising Haro Strait by the west side this afternoon with the rest of Js and Ks. Photo by Monika Wieland, September 24, 2015

2:42 p.m. - I'm pretty sure I heard Ks and Js.
Connie Bickerton

1:48 p.m. - GREAT action on the webcam - orcas swimming by fairly close to the camera - so cool!
Susan, ON

1:35 p.m. - Lots of chatter on the Lime Kiln hydrophone right now, and saw them on the web cam!
Laura Davis Robeson

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Earlier this month we welcomed our fifth new calf to the Southern Resident Killer Whale community since December 2014. Here is said bundle of joy, L122, swimming next to new mom, Muncher (L91). This is the first known calf for the 20-year old and we are ecstatic. Hopefully this little one survives its' first year and grows big and strong. Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, September 23, 2015 (Photos taken with a 400mm lens and cropped)

L122 tucked between mom, Muncher (L91), and Kasatka (L82) traveling Haro Strait off the west side of San Juan Island. Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, September 23, 2015

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A different kinda shot - L95 Nigel and a sailboat in Haro Strait. Photo by Monika Wieland, September 22, 2015

2:00-3:00 p.m. - Hello, about 20-30 Orcas passed by our home between Thieves Bay and Mouat Point on N. Pender on Sept 22 - 2 pm to 3 pm.  One was a babe - wonderful!  Very close to our shore.  We have a great fishing hole for the Orcas about 10 metres off our little cove, where the water is really deep - about 200 metres.  Super to watch!
Regards, Kathy Gilbert 

T049A1 westbound out the Juan de Fuca on September 26th. Photo by Mark Malleson

7:20 a.m. - WA State Ferries reports "a single large orca" about 3-400 yards west of Blakely Rock, off the SE side of Bainbridge Island, opposite Elliot Bay. No direction of travel, just milling.

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T049A's off the entrance to Friday Harbour on the evening of September 25, 2015.  Photo by Mark Malleson

5:25 p.m. - Maia from WA State Ferries called at 5:25 to relay a report of four orcas just off Friday Harbor in San Juan Channel, including one adult male.

Any day you can see orcas a ten minute walk from your house is a decent day in my book - that's T49A1 in San Juan Channel this afternoon. Photo by Monika Wieland, September 25, 2015

3:00 p.m. - Orca Sighting off Jones Island (San Juan Channel) I saw 3-4 but too many boats in the area to be sure.
Frank Cardinale

With Transients off Spieden Island, the only gang in town on Friday....lots of boats, including WDFW and a Coast Guard boat...lovely, misty, glassy smooth Northwest fall day! Some hunting going on under the surface, with gulls snatching up the scraps.
Bonnie Gretz

Classic NW fall day, and a lovely Orca taking a look at the scenery - at Spieden Island, San Juan Islands. Photo by Bonnie Gretz, September 25, 2015

T49A1 off Speiden Island Photo by Bonnie Gretz, September 25, 2015

1:00 p.m. - Orcas off Blake Island. I saw them off the Bremerton ferry. Mostly flapping around. No real direction of travel. Possibly eastbound if anything. Maybe 2 whales. One juvenile at least.
Michael Brubaker

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Today we traveled 2 hours (well worth the wait) before our first sighting of whales. We found transients (near Hannah Heights) moving quickly south along San Juan Island. J & K pod were southbound not far behind! We had both residents and transients in the same area!...We turned back south visiting with residents before returning to the transients, ID'd as the T049As (T049A2 not present). T049A1 snagged a harbor seal and the family proceeded to breach and spyhop after the kill....
Rachel Haight

One of the T49As spyhops in Haro Strait. Photo by Rachel Haight, September 24, 2015

 

Fin whale off of Smith Island. I was out with Puget Sound Express and we spotted the fin whale, several minke and a humpback. Photo by Sue Larkin,  September 21, 2015

2:32 p.m. -  Leaving him as he heads back towards Point No Point. 2:22 p.m. -  humpback feeding still near shore 1/4 mile or less south of PNP 2:05 p.m. -  humpback near shore mile south of Point No Point (PNP) Photo by Stu Davidson, September 28, 2015 (same humpback encountered by Stu off PNP September 26, 2015)

Humpback diving near Point No Point, Kitsap. Photo by Stu Davidson, September 28, 2015

Photo by Stu Davidson, September 26, 2015

Photo by Stu Davidson, September 28, 2015

1:00 p.m. - There's a humpback whale in the Straits south of Lopez Island. This one definitely is doing its exercises for the day - at least 5-10 minutes of rhythmic tale slaps followed by pectoral slaps, with breaches between exercises.
Tom Reeve

11:15 a.m.  - Jeff Hogan sees two humpbacks about 1.5 miles north of Alki Point, almost in the Bainbridge to Seattle ferry lane. Lots of flipper-slapping going on.

11:12 a.m. - have been seeing blows and breaches way across the sound from Alki, north of Winslow. Looks like humpbacks, not orcas. Very stiff and cold wind, hard to see. But beautiful!
Trileigh Tucker

10:59 a.m. - They were a ways off and the waters pretty rough. I saw simultaneous blows as well. The one who was breaching appeared to be slightly smaller, but again I was a ways off. They've gotten slightly further out of my sight slowly trending north. Big splashes off and on. A couple were not far from the ferry as it passed, so hoping someone on there might send an update.
10:30 a.m. - It's a breaching humpback! Just saw a huge splash. North of Alki. There's two of them, one looks smaller...Lots of breaching again! Milling in the same area 10:36. Blows visible without binoculars north of Alki beach.
Rachel Haight

10:00 .a.m. - Maia at WA State Ferries relayed a report of an undetermined number of orcas (later ID'd as humpbacks by several people -ALB) off Alki Point, possibly southbound.

I saw them from the 9:40 ferry from Bainbridge this morning: awesome athletics! Just finished a mtg in west Seattle so I figured I'd come down and take a look but I'm not seeing anything from the lighthouse.
Lisa Sibbett

8:27 a.m. - They are north of me now and I would say they are the west side of the mid channel buoy.
8:10 a.m. - The two humpbacks are out front again this morning. We live on President Point/Kingston and they seem to be steadily heading north.
Chris Otterson


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I was at Point No Point at 7:30 tonight with at least 100 other people waiting for the eclipse to start when the humpback blew and dove about 200 yards off the beach just south of the lighthouse. Then we saw it blow and dive a few more times before it headed north toward Hansville and Foul Weather Bluff.
Jan Clare

Many people gathered at Point No Point to watch the eclipse, and just as the moon began to be visible, the humpback came by! It was close to the beach when first spotted, then moved on to the west.
Marilyn DeRoy

Hello I don't see any reports from yesterday on the website, but hopefully someone with knowledge and experience saw the whale we saw off of West Beach in West Seattle. The whale was surfacing and blowing as we stepped out of our car at the condos there at West Beach (south of Brace Point), and I only had a glimpse of its back so I'm not sure which kind of whale it was. I'm pretty sure it had a fin on its back, and it was really a large creature - and very close to shore, maybe 100 yards or even less. The whale seemed to be alone and was headed north. It continued to blow occasionally, but unfortunately it did not surface for another look to see what kind it was. I hope this is helpful.
Ellen Cole
(no positive ID but the description fits and there have been several reports of humpbacks in the general area of Alki, Vashon, Blake Island- ALB)

1:31 p.m. - Saw some blows and pec slaps from a Humpback just off Point No Point just about 15 minutes ago. He was heading towards Whidbey Island the last dive he took.
Gail Greenwald

10:03 a.m. - Humpbacks 1/2 mile east of Bainbridge Island on the North side!
Dylan McCoy

10:00 a.m. - Two humpbacks off President Point/Kingston (Port Madison whales), one of which is tail slapping like crazy!!!
Chris Otterson

9:15-10:45 from upper terrace of Richmond Beach Saltwater Park in Shoreline watched two humpbacks west of mid channel off Faye Bainbridge Park. Surface times about every 8-10 minutes with occasional breaches and tail lobs, 2-4 in succession. Slowly drifting northward then again southward but keeping to the same general location. Much gull activity across the Sound with several very large bait balls out there!
Alisa, ON

8:20 a.m. -  Sequence, breaching Humpback calf off Port Madison! Mother nearby taking deep dives. Breached 20+ times in a row and still going when Victoria Clipper 3 left the scene! Photo by Justine Buckmaster, naturalist, September 27, 2015

Photo by Justine Buckmaster, September 27, 2015

Photo by Justine Buckmaster, September 27, 2015

Elyse Margaret reports Thomas Judd witnessed a humpback early this morning at Point No Point.

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Three humpback whales have been frequenting the mouth of the Columbia River up as far as the Megler Bridge. Last sighting: 9/26.  Our daily paper, Daily Astorian, has a good photo of one.
Kristen Sodervick

7:00 p.m. - Whale sighted swimming north past Lowman Beach Park, West Seattle...Looked like a solitary Humpback whale. 47deg32'27"N 122deg23'48"W.
Janet Murphy

Humpbacks still hanging around between Edmonds, So. Whidbey Island and Point No Point, WA - Marilyn DeRoy called at 6:15 pm with an update on the Point No Point humpback, saying it was about 500 yards out off the north side of Point No Point, milling and diving around the area.

6:18 p.m. - from my location half a mile inland, the humpbacks are in line with Double Bluff, but from the ferry terminal, it will probably be more inline with Scatchet Head. There are 2 here, closer to Edmonds than Whidbey Island. The third one that I see near PNP is very far away (the farthest I've ever seen a humpback from my home) and is much closer to PNP than Whidbey Island.
6:00 p.m. - Make that three humpbacks, one by PNP and two nearer to Edmonds, maybe 2-3 miles NNW of the ferry terminal. And the one near PNP is more like a mile off PNP, judging by its distance vs. a tug on MarineTraffic.
5:20 p.m. - I am seeing two humpbacks in the north sound. The first is halfway between Edmonds and Double Bluff. The second is way far away from Edmonds near Point No Point (PNP). It is hard for me to accurately pinpoint its location relative to PNP, but I think it is about 2 miles north of PNP.
Sherman Page

5:00 p.m. - There was a humpback near Spieden Channel, south of FlatTop near Rueben Tarte. Saw the flukes from shore!
Peggy Mauro

5:00 p.m. - I saw at least one, maybe two humpbacks between Vashon Island and West Seattle, near Fauntleroy ferry...on the move, heading south!
Anna Sewell

4:50 pm - WA State Ferries reports a large whale, probably a humpback, off the Fauntleroy dock in West Seattle.

Around 4:00 p.m. -  Saw 2 humpbacks while kayaking near Port Madison on Bainbridge Island.
Kim Dougan

A humpback diving south of Lopez Island today. One of 3 we saw between San Juan Island and Rosario Strait. Photo by James Gresham, September 26, 2015

On another truly spectacular "mill-pond-like" day, we headed out in search of whales. Little did we know that a humpback whale would steal the day as we headed towards Salmon Bank to find our Resident orcas. The humpback was very active with hundreds of pectoral fin slaps, and amazing tail lobs, it was difficult to leave! ...on our return trip we found the same humpback, still active. He surfaced one time totally decorated with bull kelp, on the head, body, and his tail. What a sight - and what an amazing day!
Jill Hein, volunteer naturalist

2:00 p.m. - A kelping humpback Saturday - hundreds of pec slaps and huge tail lobs, amazing. Salmon Bank vicinity. Photo by Jill Hein, September 26, 2015

...and huge tail lobs -  Salmon Bank. Photo by Jill Hein, September 26, 2015

Part of his rorqual pleats - and his 15' pectoral fin. Photo by Jill Hein, September 26, 2015

1:45 p.m. - Large humpback heading north in shipping lanes just east of Port Madison,  traveling north fairly rapidly. A boat came speeding by only 30 or so yards from the whale, then he disappeared. I don't think the boater saw him. Photo by Shelly Edwards, September 26, 2015

Photo by Shelly Edwards, September 26, 2015

Noon - Humpback whale heading towards Skunk Bay. Photo by Stu Davidson, September 26, 2015 (same whale seen on return trip September 28 - south of Point No Point)

Noon - Humpback whale heading towards Skunk Bay - Point no Point in the background. Photo by Stu Davidson, September 26, 2015

11:00 a.m. to NOON - Two humpbacks (large & small) spotted off Jefferson Beach, Kitsap County, on Puget Sound.  Nine of us saw the pair. We all perceived them to be a mother/"baby" pair. I believe this was just based on how small the second appeared (we never saw much of the young one's body). Juvenile might be a better word. Also, the extreme closeness of the pair, the little one was alongside like a shadow. I did not see the tale of the little one.
Donna Moreland

Tail of one, dorsal of another... Photo by Donna Moreland, September 26, 2015

The juvenile humpback we saw Saturday morning off Jefferson Beach, Kitsap county. Photo by Donna Moreland, September 26, 2015

Beautiful underside fluke of the larger of the two humpbacks off Jefferson Beach near Kingston. Photo by Donna Moreland, September 26, 2015

Photo by Donna Moreland, September 26, 2015

8:20 a.m. - There was a whale sighting on the 7:55 run of the Bainbridge - Seattle ferry this morning. Pretty sure it was a humpback and it did a full breach right off the port side. It was pretty spectacular.
Sarah Martin

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Saw a humpback swimming past the northeast corner of Bainbridge Island about 6:30 this evening heading north. Photo by Tim Cuddy, September 25, 2015

3:55 p.m. - just saw a humpback breach 5 times, followed by lots of fin slapping, E or NE of Point No Point. (viewing from downtown Edmonds, so very far away from)
Sherman Page

4:00 p.m. - Marilyn Deroy and her husband are seeing the humpback south of Useless Bay, breaching repeatedly and flipper slapping, as only humpbacks do.
3:35 p.m.  - Marilyn Deroy is seeing a humpback northeast of Point No Point in the direction of Double Bluff.

Humpback breaching off Point No Point. Photo by Marilyn DeRoy, September 25, 2015

12:20 p.m. - arch and dive, Humpback now just south of green buoy off of Scatchet Head (South Whidbey)
10:06 a.m. - huge fluke followed by a deep dive.. Still close to Kitsap side not far south of Point No Point.
9:48 a.m. - Humpback just blew...Those on Point No Point should look from the south-east beach south easterly (like towards Edmonds ferry terminal). Whale close to Kitsap side just east of shipping lanes
8:38 a.m. - humpback once again out from Point No Point - slight north easterly amongst several fishing boats. Blows seen from North Edmonds.
Stu Davidson

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We had a whale sighting at 10:30 PM. We are a mile south of the Southworth ferry on the Kitsap side of Colvos Passage. It was dark, but it was probably a humpback, definitely not an orca...no dorsal fin ! Guessing it to be 18-20 feet in length, very close to shore and doing lots of shallow dives as it headed steadily northbound.
Noreen Ferris

4:41 p.m. - humpback blows slightly south east from Point No Point. few miles off shore on Kitsap side - I guess slightly east of shipping lane. Trying now to determine direction. Appears to be in a feeding pattern.
Stu Davidson

....As we headed home, we came across two humpbacks. (off Iceberg Point, Lopez Island) We stayed with one for awhile trying to get an ID shot on the fluke, but he'd never show his tail. As we were about to leave, he suddenly started pec slapping for about 10 minutes. He approached the boat (we'd been totally stationary at this point) doing his backstroke and you could see his whole body under the water. He even cartwheeled once and trumpeted twice! What a day!
Rachel Haight

Humpback belly, pleats,  and pec fin - Iceberg Point, Lopez Island. Photo by Rachel Haight, September 24, 2015

Raised pecs of inverted humpback - Iceberg Point, Lopez Island. Photo by Rachel Haight, September 24, 2015

4:05 p.m. -  Yeah! Humpbacks! Have been seeing humpbacks off south Lopez Island the past few days (spouts, dorsals, breach). Now there is one amongst a huge gathering of seagulls doing pectoral splash after pectoral splash to the south of Iceberg Point area.
Sally Reeve.

1:00 p.m. - two humpbacks apparently feeding amongst a cloud of gulls south of Iceberg Point, Lopez Island.
Tom Reeve

I saw one blow at 8:40 east side of mid channel transect Kayu Kayu Ac park (Shoreline) and Kingston ferry. Nothing since now it's windy and seas a bit rough.
Alisa, ON

8:02 a.m. - Saw them again from Marina Beach Park, Edmonds still southbound.
7:45 a.m. - 2 humpbacks seen from Edmonds fishing pier southbound close to edm side, big one and small one.
Michelle Goll

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6:29 p.m. - Humpback at Fort Casey. (Whidbey Island)
Mary Janowiecki

2:55 p.m. - Humpback heading north in Admiralty Inlet, just south of Port Townsend.
Renee Beitzell

Humpback whale south of Constance Bank on September 23, 2015. The encounter was just epic! While out with BC Whale Tours, we got to witness some of the most acrobatic surface behavior I've seen all year! Photo by Heather MacIntyre, September 23, 2015

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One, possibly two humpbacks feeding actively, viewed from 5:15 pm to 7:45 pm. surface activity and shallow dives, surfacing every 3 -5 minutes with longer breaks when moving onto another feeding area. The whale had reddish-orange coloration on its back fin, quite hooked shape, never saw tail or pectoral fins. appeared quite large when seen close to a watching boat. at one point possibly two whales given length of distance between blows that were only seconds apart, but not sure. We saw the humpback in Rosario Strait: east of Obstruction Pass (south-east side of Orcas Island), traveling north to Buck Bay (east side of Orcas Island), swimming within a half mile of the east shore of Orcas Island, then circling back (further east, approximately in the shipping channel) and swimming south to Obstruction Pass, then going north again to Buck Bay and turning south again, but this time staying close to the east shore of Orcas Island.  Then it got too dark to see.  We saw it the late afternoon and evening of Sept 22, and then again the afternoon of Sept 23 also for several hours, repeating its cruising up and down the shore feeding, then at about 4:30 pm the whale kept going north of Doe Bay and we did not see it again.
Amy Mower

Humpback sounding near Lopez Island. Photo by Mark Wangerin, September 22, 2015

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Late to report because I discovered this group after the fact. Whale sighting Monday morning around 7:30am just southwest of the tip of Duwamish Head in West Seattle. Spotted heading south along shore from my car, couldn't have been more than 75 or 100 from shore! A passing cyclist and I both guessed minke based on relatively small size, but based on other reports I wonder if humpback is more likely?
Jason Lee Bell

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Humpbacks lunge  feeding in BlackFish Sound on September 11, 2015. Photo by Mark Malleson

Minke Whale in Boundary Pass. Photo by Mark Wandering, September 22, 2015

This is the Pacific white-sided dolphin that has been seen around Gig Harbor. Taken on September 18, 2015 at 6:30 pm at the mouth of Gig Harbor. Photo by Lisa Durbin Charbonneau

...We had both residents and transients in the same area! (Haro Strait)...We continued northbound, and suddenly, we saw Dall's porpoises rocketing across the water. Some of the residents turned to play with them, and then the porpoise headed our way, bow-riding for a few seconds. It was amazing! Photo by Rachel Haight, September 24, 2015