"Sarataoga" grays have arrived. Here is the underside flukeof #723 while on a dive just off Possession Point, south Whidbey Island the afternoon of February 17, 2016. Photo by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network

 

16 February update - As of the last update on the morning of 9 February K33 and the rest of K pod were near La Push on the outer Washington coast heading south. By the evening of the 10th they were off the entrance to the Columbia River, where they turned north. They gradually continued north reaching the Quinault Canyon area off the Washington coast on the 13th. Here they turned south again such that by the morning of the 15th they were off Willipa Bay. As of this the morning (16th) they were off the mouth of the Columbia River. We are hopeful that K33's tag continues to remain attached into the near future as the NWFSC cruise on the NOAA vessel Bell M. Shimada to locate and follow the whales during their winter coastal movements is scheduled to get underway 20 February. Map courtesy of Brad Hanson, NOAA-NWFS NOAA-NWFS 2016 Southern Resident killer whale satellite tagging

     

Steady rain but at 9:00 AM news of a pod of Orcas off of Eagle Pt., headed toward America's Camp. We had scheduled a 10:00 AM trip, rather than the usual 1:00 departure, thankfully. By 2:30 we had searched down to the southern tip of Lopez Island, with no luck. Figuring that we had either passed them, or that they had turned up San Juan Ch., we turned around. Twenty minutes later I spotted the T60s near Whale Rocks, heading east. They must have turned up the channel, into an ebb tide, and decided to go into the quiet waters off of South Lopez. Shortly after spotting them they made a kill, and we were so fortunate to be able to watch them as they fed off the kill. I would guess perhaps a couple of seals were on the menu. Here are a few images from the day.
Capt Jim Maya, Maya's Legacy Charters 

The T60s - a family of five - T60 and her 4 offspring T60C, T60D, T60E, T60F. Photo by Capt. Jim Maya, February 15, 2016

Photo by Capt. Jim Maya, February 15, 2016

 

Photo by Capt. Jim Maya, February 15, 2016

Photo by Capt. Jim Maya, February 15, 2016

 

4:13 p.m. - Humpback traveling north in Colvos passage mid-channel off Prospect Point, Olalla.
Clif Alferness

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11:00 a.m. - Our homeschool group thinks we saw a humpback from Owen Beach at Point Defiance/south Vashon around 11am this morning! Definitely saw a tail and maybe it's back.
Jess Bennett Hogan

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UPDATE -- we heard back that the possibly entangled humpback was traveling NORTH - so those of you onshore north of Edmonds & in the Mukilteo/Clinton area please keep your eyes on the water for a whale trailing an orange buoy. (Humpback not seen again, see Intro summary for more details)
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10:38 a.m. - Taking train south from Edmonds. Looks like a humpback close to shore dragging what looks like a crab pot bouy. Wednesday 2/17 10:30am. Can anyone assist?
Paula 'Skippy' Purcell
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10:35 a.m.  - Whale fouled in crab pot. Just offshore between Edmonds and Mukilteo. Looks like it is caught up in crab pot gear with orange buoy.
Richard Purcell

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Amy Carey just relayed a report of a Humpback whale spotted by Aimee Demarest near Dilworth, Vashon Island, heading north, then turning south at a little after 3 pm.

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12:51 p.m. - We saw it (a humpback whale) again. Today out front Johnson point. In Case Inlet. (confirmed via short video unable to include - SB)
Beth Vendehey

9:37 a.m. - Spouts off Marina Beach in Edmonds. We think it's a humpback. Very exciting! It seemed to be headed north, but now from Sunset Ave we saw a whale seemingly headed south.
Tara Bergin

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9:18 a.m. - Just saw what looked like a humpback from the ferry heading to Fauntleroy. Mid channel, right next to the ferry, on the north side, closer to Lincoln park than Vashon.
Anna Tucker Sander  

Approx 2:00 p.m. - Stu and I launched from Edmonds marina to search for the reported entangled humpback. We decided to check out the blows we had seen earlier off Scatchet Head to rule out that whale. We reached the spot of the last blow with no luck so headed northwest towards Useless Bay and could not find the whale. We doubled back and just as we were off Cultus Bay about 2:50 p.m. I spotted a whale off Possession Point. We slowly made our way over to confirm it was a gray whale. We watched it surface and fluke several times back and forth By 3:30 the gray was northbound just east of Possession . Pt. Buoy Whidbey. This whale was not entangled and from video and Stu's photos confirmed this as one of the returning grays, #723.
Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network

Gray whale #723 foraging near the green buoy off Possession Point, south Whidbey Island. Video by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network February 17, 2016

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Gray whale #723 surfaces off Possession Point, Whidbey Island. Photo by Stu Davidson, February 17, 2016

Cascading waterfall off #723's fluke. Photo by Stu Davidson, February 17, 2016

Gray whale #723 fluke topside. Photo by Stu Davidson, February 17, 2016

Gray whale #723 fluke underside. Photo by Stu Davidson, February 17, 2016

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1:18 p.m. -  the whale blows I'm seeing are just west of the long row of waterfront homes on South East Scatchet.
1:16 p.m. -  just spotted a blow just off of Scatchet Head Whidbey island.
Stu Davidson 
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9:45 a.m. - Lynn Malecki called to report either a gray whale or a humpback off Columbia Beach, near the Clinton ferry dock on Whidbey Island, in mid-channel, heading south.