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Orca Network 

Whale Sighting Report  
In This Issue
Photo of the Day
Southern Residents
Coastal orcas
Unidentified
Humpbacks whales
Gray whales
Harbor porpoise
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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!

_________________

 

  David Kirby  

The bestseller about orcas in captivity

DeathatSeaWorld


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orca Lolita/Tokitae,

captured in Penn Cove,

Whidbey Island, WA

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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January 7, 2016

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.
By nightfall on December 31st all of K pod, minus the K14s, were exiting Puget Sound northbound into Admiralty Inlet. Earlier in the day NOAA-NWFSC biologists attached a satellite tag to K33 Tika, a 15 -year-old male, to continue their research of tracking the SRKWs winter movements and foraging behaviors.
On January 2nd SRKW vocalizations were picked up on the hydrophones off the west side of San Juan Island as J pod, the K14s, & L87 traveled southbound in Haro Strait.  Js and Ks showed up in Haro Strait again the afternoon of the 5th, this time northbound. Center for Whale Research encounter reports and  NOAA's 2016 Satellite tagging project updates (included in the report below) fills in the gaps of who was present and where K33 and family were on the days in between.  This morning's update tells us K33 and others were in the northern reaches of Georgia Strait off the south end of Quadra Island.

Chris Dunagan's January 4th piece includes NOAA's tagging project and an update on the deceased calf that beached in Ucluelet in Orca tracking begins on West Coast, as dead calf appears to be a transient.   Chris also get's us up to date on the tagging in today's entry K pod turns back and heads up into Canada.

Several people sent us sightings reports of a large number of unidentified orcas foraging and hanging around off the Oregon coast on January 1st. So far, we've not received any confirmed IDs but it was sounding likely to be residents.

The near daily humpback sightings around Eglon and Point No Point continue and a couple of gray whales showed up in Juan de Fuca and one in south Puget Sound.

Upcoming Orca Network sponsored workshop:
Please join us at our one-day workshop Ways of Whales on Saturday January 23rd from 9:30-4:30 in Coupeville, Whidbey Island. Ways of Whales brings together the best researchers in the region to discuss cetaceans of the Salish Sea, how they are faring, and the latest research and actions to help cetaceans, their prey and their habitats.
Click HERE to register for the workshop. Registration fee is $35/students & seniors $25. 

Orca Network
Photo of the Day
January 2 
J28 and her new weeks-old calf J54 westbound south of Victoria.
Photo by Mark Malleson, January 2, 2016 
Southern Residents
January 7 
January 7 - The previous update (4 January) found K33 (and presumably the rest of K pod) at the western entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. On the evening of the 4th the whales headed east into the Strait of Juan De Fuca and by the afternoon of the 5th were headed up Haro Strait (with J pod based on the calls on the San Juan Island hydrophones). They spent the 6th in the southern Strait of Georgia and by this morning they were in the northern Strait of Georgia, an area that we have previously seen J pod to commonly frequent.
Map courtesy of Brad Hanson, NOAA-NWFSC, January 7, 2016
NOAA-NWFSC 2016 Southern Resident killer whale satellite tagging 

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January 5 
Loud calls at 7:10...It was like they waited for the boat to pass.. then they exploded with sounds!
Melissa Bird
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7:10 p.m. - calls have continued, and just now a burst of a wide vocalizations by many whales! A beautiful array of calls.
6:12 p.m. - hearing many calls typical of J pod, including S4s, on Orca Sound hydrophone.
Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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6:12 p.m. - Faint calls off Orcasound. Lots of S4 and clicks.
Jeff Hogan, Killer Whale Tales
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4:34 p.m. - S10 calls now on Lime Kiln
4:24 p.m. - S4 calls on Lime Kiln
Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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3:55 p.m. - Vocals at Lime Kiln hydrophones now...The report is Residents!
Capt. Jim Maya

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January 4 
4 January - We are continuing the satellite tagging project that we began in 2011 to help us understand where Southern Resident killer whales go in the winter, and thus their winter habitat use. Last Thursday afternoon, 31 December, we deployed a satellite-linked transmitter on an adult male, K33, in central Puget Sound. The location data transmitted from this, and the previous tags we have deployed, tag will be key for NOAA Fisheries in our efforts to address the data gap in winter distribution identified in the Recovery Plan as well as provide information for the designation Critical Habitat in coastal waters. This project is a collaborative effort between the NWFSC, Cascadia Research Collective, and the University of Alaska, with supplemental funding provided by the U.S. Navy...

...The tag was deployed on K33 as K pod was traveling north out of Puget Sound on 31 December, 2015. By the Friday, 1 January, the whales had arrived at the west entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. They have remained in the area between the entrance to the Strait and Swiftsure Bank since then. An interesting aspect of them remaining in this area for the past several days may have to do with our observation that the K14 matriline was not with the rest of K pod during our encounter. However, on Saturday, the Center for Whale Research encountered J pod, with the K 14s, as they headed south in Haro Strait and then west toward the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca - likely to rejoin with K pod.
Map courtesy of Brad Hanson, NOAA-NWFSC, January 4, 2016
NOAA-NWFSC 2016 Southern Resident killer whale satellite tagging 

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January 2 
...The J28's including J54 were in a tight group while J35 and probably J47 were loosely spread another couple of hundred yards to the northeast of them. The J22's were a couple hundred yards ahead of the J28's and all three of the groups were traveling slowly southwest. We ended the encounter at 1528 with the J28's just a little south of Discovery Island....
Center for Whale Research staff

Read CWR's  full encounter report at 2016 CWR Encounter #1

The J28s
Photo by Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research, January 2, 2016 

The J19s
Photo by Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research, January 2, 2016 

K42 & K14
Photo by Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research, January 2, 2016 

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J26 headed southwest for Discovery Island.
Photo by Mark Malleson, January 2, 2016 

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A few moments before our sailing yesterday, we got the word! Vocalizations on the hydrophones! Within a few minutes we were seeing members of J Pod and the K14s. We followed them to Discovery Island, BC, over near Victoria. Here are a few scenes from the day, including the lovely Granny, J2.
Capt. Jim Maya

A moment in time with J pod and the K14s - Haro Strait.
Photo by Capt. Jim Maya, January 2, 2015 

J2 Granny - Haro Strait
Photo by Capt. Jim Maya, January 2, 2016 

L87 Onyx - Haro Strait.
Photo by Capt. Jim Maya, January 2, 2016 

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3:17 p.m. - Hearing faint calls again on Lime Kiln Hydrophone.
Connie Bickerton
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1:00 p.m. - still hearing them on Lime Kiln...on the quiet side.
11:50 a.m. - Southern Residents live on the hydrophones: Louder on OrcaSound (so is the ship noise) Faint intermittent vocals on Lime Kiln (ship noise increasing there)
Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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What an incredible surprise this morning! I had been listening to the hyrophones as I usually do, and had been switching between two of them. I switched back to the one on the north end of San Juan Island and instantly there were LOUD J Pod calls! I ran down to the bluff to look, and here they came! First whale I saw that came in closer to the island was J2, Granny. (She's in the photo) They were spread out across the strait and in several groups. ... If you'd like to listen to the recording from this morning I made, click HERE.  Jeanne Hyde identified the K14's in the mix, so you may hear some K Pod calls too!
Traci Walter

Beatuiful matriarch J2 Granny southbound Haro Strait off the west side of San Juan Island.
Photo by Traci Walter, January 2, 2015 

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January 1  
(several reports were submitted from the Oregon Coast which we have included in the Coastal orca section. To date we've received no confirmed ID's)
Happy New Year from Depoe Bay, Oregon, where Carrie Newell of Whale Research EcoExcursions has been out with probable So. Residents yesterday and today, until about 1:30 this afternoon. Yesterday there were at least 12 within 3/4 mile from shore between Spanish Head and Lincoln City, and today Carrie found about 6 more just north of Depoe Bay, both times very spread out and foraging in place, not traveling. Lots of lob-tailing. Many photos were taken but haven't been analyzed for IDs yet. As of an hour ago they were trending southward.

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December 31 
Hearing K pod on PT hydro at 9:20! I heard faint, intermittent calls from 8:35 pm to 9:20. They seem to have stopped now.
Justine Buckmaster
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9:05 p.m. - Just turned on the Port Townsend Hydrophone, and I think I hear K Pod!
Connie Bickerton
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It was a spectacular afternoon at Eglon and Point No Point, ending with an amazing purple sunset that transformed the Salish Sea and surrounding mountains into a place of pure magic!. Across the channel were 2 humpbacks and K Pod. On the near side, a sunbathing/sailing sea lion, sweet harbor seals, and a bounty of birdlife. Thank you Orca Network for keeping us connected and informed - Happy New Year!
Donna Green Van Renselaar
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Members of K pod travel in a tight group northbound on the west side of Puget Sound- viewed from Bainbridge Island mid afternoon.
Photo by Connie Bickerton, December 31, 2015
(Connie's sigtings were included in our December 31st report) 

K pod members - Puget Sound.
Photo by Connie Bickerton, December 31, 2015 
Coastal orcas
January 1 
There was a large group near the Nelscott Reef in Lincoln City until about 3:45pm.
Jane Holbrook
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Happy New Year from Depoe Bay, Oregon, where Carrie Newell of Whale Research EcoExcursions has been out with probable So. Residents yesterday and today, until about 1:30 this afternoon. Yesterday there were at least 12 within 3/4 mile from shore between Spanish Head and Lincoln City, and today Carrie found about 6 more just north of Depoe Bay, both times very spread out and foraging in place, not traveling. Lots of lob-tailing. Many photos were taken but haven't been analyzed for IDs yet. As of an hour ago they were trending southward.
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12:07 p.m. - Nelscott Reef (near Lincoln City) Central Oregon Coast Orca Sighting. There were approx. 6-8 Orcas (including 1-2 males) feeding outside of the reef. They have been there for about 3 hours.
Monty Langford
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At approximately 11:45 am on January 1st, 2016 we spotted at least 5 possibly 7 Orca approximately 3/4 of a mile off shore at Rocky Creek State Park just south of Depoe Bay, Oregon.  They were headed south following a juvenile gray whale.  
Edith Hitchings
Belfair, Washington.
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11:00 a.m. - Steve Sharp called while watching three orcas about 3 miles from shore at Gleneden Beach OR, between Depoe Bay and Lincoln City. They seemed to be milling in the same place, not traveling.

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December 31 
Noon - Orca activity off Driftwood Beach, Oregon: I saw a large # of almost simultaneous blows in a fairly tight group about 3-4 m off shore. We are at about 250' elevation. About 10min or so later I saw them again further out and again later on even further, maybe 10mile? I could not make out what prey they were after as my 10x binocs did not allow detail, but I did see reflections off the backs of some. It was amazing.
Garry Helms
 
Unidentified orcas
December 31 
Last night (December 31st) we sat out by the water in the darkness Roberts Creek BC listening to the Seal Lions on White Islet being very vocal. We started hearing a strange noise coming closer and then we realized it was 3 or 4 whales spouting. They swam by and kept going down towards Gibsons/ Vancouver... Do they usually stick around the southern Georgia Strait in the winter? This is our first winter out here and we were very excited and surprised!
It sounded to me like orcas from what I've experienced before but I can't really say for sure. The breathing was quick and intense and they seemed to be swimming close together. They were always swimming fairly quick it seemed. Unfortunately we couldn't see them at all bit it was still pretty magical.
Brandi Fitzpatrick
 
Humpback whales
January 7 
12 Noon - At least one humpback is waving its flukes around, just SE of Point No Point, Kitsap Peninsula.
Howard Garrett, Orca Network

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January 6 
3:20-3:35 p.m. - Had the opportunity to use the high powered binoculars at Susan and Howies (south of Bush Point on Whidbey) to watch at least 2 humpbacks.  The whales were around the southbound shipping lanes, east of Point No Point lobtailing, breaching, sounding...eventually moving on southbound.
Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network

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January 5 - Juan de Fuca Strait 
BCY0160 and calf in the Juan de Fuca Strait.
Photo by Mark Malleson, January 5, 2016 

January 5 - Puget Sound 
2:00 p.m. - closer to PNP now.
Humpbacks still hanging around Point No Point and Eglon.
Casey Burns

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January 3 
12:50 p.m. - Still seeing humpbacks off Eglon. Amazing to see for this Colorado girl!
Gale Riordan Glenn
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10:42 a.m. -  the humpbacks look to be less than 1/4 mile north of Eglon boat launch - line of sight from north Edmonds.
Stu Davidson
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9:45 a.m. - Seeing columns of humpback blows SE of Point No Point this morning. At least three out there now.
Howard Garrett, Orca Network

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

January 2 - south Puget Sound 
(This report was passed along to us by Susan Marie Andersson, of a humpback in the Tacoma area on Saturday afternoon)
There was a humpback under the Tacoma Narrows this afternoon around 3:00 p.m.  I was walking the beach and saw the hump in the water. Someone else saw it breach!
Reported by Peggy Mohn Murphy

January 2 - north Puget Sound 
Humpback sounding near Point No Point, Kitsap. 
Photo by Steve Smith, January 2, 2016
(This humpback with distinct fluke markings has been photo ID's in this area regularly since September 2015) 

Humpbacks dive below Mt Rainier - off Point No Point, Kitsap.
Photo by Steve Smith, January 2, 2016 

Two humpbacks swim, dive, and breathe together.
Photo by Steve Smith, January 2, 2016 

Tail slapping with Whidbey Island in the background.  
Photo by Steve Smith, January 2, 2016 

Humpbacks pass by Whidbey Island, Mt Baker in the background.
Photo by Steve Smith, January 2, 2016  

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2:38 p.m. - few minutes of blows from at least 2 whales west side the Sound between Point No Point and Eglon. Maybe trending southbound but really they just beauties shuffling north and south all these days. Gorgeous day.
Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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1:45 p.m. -  Humpbacks south of Point No Point  near Kitsap side.
Steve Smith
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11:58 a.m. -  Can see whale blows mid point between Pt no Pt and Eglon from north Edmonds.
Stu Davidson
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11:50 a.m. - Michelle Moyer reports two whales south of Point No Point. (Probably humpbacks based on location and blows seen in distant photo)
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I saw them earlier around 11:00 a.m.  northward from Eglon, then southward from Point No Point. Back in Eglon I watched for them but didn't find them. Elusive today - I suspect they are hugging the shore close to the Kitsap side in between, just north of Pilot Point, according to triangulation on a map.
Casey Burns

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

January 1 
About the same time (4:50) I could see them line of sight was between north Edmonds and halfway between Point No Point and Eglon boat launch.
Stu Davidson
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4:50 p.m.  - Lots of humpback tail-lobbing going on, at least ten in a row, east of Point No Point, possibly mid-channel or on the Edmonds side, seen from just south of Bush Point on Whidbey Island, visible through binocs.
Howard Garrett, Orca Network
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4:12 p.m. -  I'm pretty sure I'm watching three humpbacks from Eglon, two have black flukes, and our old friend Two Spot. (White with 2 black spots)
Connie Bickerton
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From 4:00 - 4:20 p.m. - from Edmonds watched the blows of the humpbacks (at least 2, probably more) west of southbound shipping lanes, mid way between Point No Point and Eglon first southbound, then milling then trending slowly north.
3:00 p.m. - from Sunset Ave, north of Edmonds ferry, watched the blows of at least 2 west of southbound shipping lanes, just south of Point No Point traveling northbound.
-Alisa LB
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2:19 p.m. -  they are moving northerly, lots of frolicking!
2:15 p.m. -  line of sight from north Edmonds looking due west- can see them about 1/4 mile north of Eglon boat ramp.
Stu Davidson
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2:15 p.m. -  now seem to be heading south mid channel, closer to Kitsap side.
2:00 p.m. -  watching from Eglon looking north to south side of Whidbey at 2 humpbacks. Traveling east.
Kimberly Sylvester-Malzahn
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1:57 p.m. - Watching them northeast from Eglon. Looks like 2 or 3 heading south.
Joel Petree
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1:56 watching two humpbacks southbound in the current line. Probably feeding. Whales are north of Eglon, line of sight with Useless Bay.
Connie Bickerton
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1:54 p.m. -  2 possibly 3 humpbacks heading south as seen from Point No Point. Near Edmonds ferry.
Chris Larkin
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12:58 p.m. - At Point No Point and found at least 2 humpbacks pretty far south from here in line with the Seattle skyline, appear to be north of ferry. Hopefully they're swimming this way. Gorgeous day!
Michelle Goll
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12:45 p.m. - Just saw the humpbacks off Eglon. Multiple blows and this nice tail sighting. Beautiful day. Happy New Year!
Photo by Chris Williamson, January 1, 2016 

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10:40 a.m. - Yes, a beautiful fluke dive visible from Eglon about 10:40. Looked like the humpback we watched throughout the summer from Point No Point, with the white flukes. Marilyn DeRoy
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10:39 a.m. - Humpbacks still hanging around today visible from Eglon and Point No Point.
Casey Burns  
Gray whales
January 5 
9:50 a.m. - gray whale heading north out of Eld Inlet - toward Harstine Island. Very shallow and slow surfacing and very faint blows.
Photo by Kim Merriman, January 5, 2016
(We viewed a Facebook video by Kurt Heikkila of a gray whale in Eld who was very surface active and breaching robustly several times before Kim encountered this whale. - ALB) 


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December 31 
A pair of Gray whales east bound in the Juan de Fuca near Crescent Bay (west of Port Angeles)
Photo by Mark Malleson, December 31, 2015 
 
Harbor porpoise
January 7 
10:40 a.m. - Some Porpoises feeding by Chambers Bay. No Orcas or other large whales in the South Sound, so this will have to do...
Photo by Robert Storozyk, January 7, 2015 

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January 6 
11:30 a.m. - from Shore Meadows (north end Mutiny Bay, Whidbey Island) I watched several Harbor porpoise (including 2 calves) about a mile out foraging back and forth.
Alisa Lemire Brooks  
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.