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Orca Network 

Whale Sighting Report  

In This Issue
Photo of the Day
Southern Residents
Bigg's (Transients)
Humpback whales
Gray whales
Unidentified 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

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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?

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  David Kirby  

The bestseller about orcas in captivity

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orca Lolita/Tokitae,

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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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February 26,  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.
After a quiet stretch we have plethora of sweet whale news to share. 
J pod showed up yesterday morning (25th) in Haro Strait and continued north into BC waters on a sweet sunny winters day, and L pod some time in Juan de Fuca Strait on the 22nd.

Through reports from NOAA's satellite tagging project we get updates on Ks and Ls off the Washington coast, who are spending many of their days foraging off the Columbia River.
  K33's tag has fallen off, but Brad Hanson reports via Chris Dunagan's Researchers locate orcas off the coast; new satellite tag attached that yesterday they found L pod off the WA Coast and tagged Nigel, L95 which they are hoping will allow them to track L pod during  this winter research survey "to gain insights about not only their movements but also their behavior in their coastal winter range".  NOAA's Sat Tag maps of K33 and L95 and more information about this research can be found HERE and in this report below.

A pod of unidentified Bigg's killer whales visited Puget Sound (thrilling several of us viewing from the shores of Admiralty Inlet) stalling a couple of times to eat before continuing north up Possession Sound to Mukilteo then turning back south. No more on them, so the assumption is it was a one day visit and they exited Admiralty during the night.

Reports of Grays and Humpback around south Puget Sound and the Blake Island area this past week. And today brings a report of a gray whale off Camano Head where we expect to see the returning Saratoga grays foraging on ghost shrimp. This whale was not #723 (who we first documented last Wednesday 17th as the first gray in), hopefully our next report will include an ID in this individual which will tell us whether she/he is one of the returning grays.

Upcoming Event:
On Saturday and Sunday, April 16-17, don't miss the annual "Welcome the Whales Parade and Festival" in Langley to honor and celebrate the arrival of Gray whales to Whidbey Island. Welcome the Whales Festival is sponsored by Orca Network and the Langley Chamber of Commerce. See our Facebook event page for more details.

Orca Network
Photo of the Day
February  22 
L118 with Jellyfish - Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Photo by Mark Malleson, Center for Whale Research, February 22, 2016
(taken under D.F.O. permit # MML-001) 
 
Southern Residents
February 25 
25 February update - On the previous update posted on the 24th L95 and likely most of L pod were off the Quinault Canyon on the evening of the 23rd, trending southeast. They continued south and we were with them most of the day on the 24 off the Grays Harbor area. The whales were extremely spread out such that we lost contact with them for a couple of hours due to reduced visibility and no vocalizing. By the afternoon we relocated them and were able to stay with them all night. This morning (the 25th) they were off the entrance to the Columbia River and after traveling a few miles south, they turned north and were just north of the shipping channel entering the Columbia River by this evening. Weather conditions in the afternoon were spectacular and we were able to conduct small boat operations with the whales.
Map courtesy of Brad Hanson, NOAA-NWFS
NOAA-NWFS 2016 Southern Resident killer whale satellite tagging - L95
 

L72 Racer and the NOAA vessel Bell M. Shimada - Pacific Ocean.
Photo courtesy of Brad Hanson, NOAA-NWFS, February 25, 2016
 

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February 25 
We were contacted this morning by Jeanne Hyde. She spoke those magical words you always want to hear, "J pod is here. Now." We had a beautiful, sunny day with lots of whales. It feels like summer is just around the corner.
Maya's Legacy Whale Watch

J2 Granny
Photo by Maya's Legacy WW, February 25, 2016
(see more photos from their encounter HERE
 
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Today we have heard reports of J pod off west San Juan Island this morning heading north up into BC waters this afternoon ~
Susan Berta, Orca Network 


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February 24 
8:20 p.m. - Sounds of whales - Sitting outside after dark at cottage near Sheringham point (Juan de Fuca Strait) lighthouse Feb 24. We are hearing many whales passing by going east. Have been listening to them for half an hour but too dark to see anything.
Gwen Keith

February 24 
24 February - Research teams from the NWFSC, Cascadia Research Collective, and Biowaves Inc departed on Sunday 21 February aboard the NOAA vessel Bell M. Shimada from Newport, Oregon. We transited north to the area where the most recent signals from K33 had been obtained before the tag stopped transmitting on 17 February - between the Columbia River and Westport. After three sweeps through that area with no detections we headed up the Washington coast Monday night in the nearshore waters. As we neared LaPush this morning, with 25 knots of wind howling out of the east, we saw numerous small blows close to shore heading south. About an hour later we were able close on the whales and confirm that we were with members of L pod. The wind subsided about noon allowing us to launch our research boat from the Shimada. About 1400 we were able to deploy a tag on adult male L95 - (see attached photo). The whales have moved offshore this evening - near the head of the Quinault Canyon (see map). We are hoping for a tag attachment duration that allows us track L pod for the rest of the cruise to gain insights about not only their movements but also their behavior in their coastal winter range.
Map courtesy of Brad Hanson, NOAA-NWFS
NOAA-NWFS 2016 Southern Resident killer whale satellite tagging 

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February 22 
...We were 5 miles south of Jordan River when we finally spotted blows at 1615. The first whales observed were L72 and L105 west bound. The rest were spread to the south and were doing long dives...
See full summary and photos at Center for Whale Research Encounter 13.

Mark Malleson

L103 and L123 (born November 2015) west bound in the Juan de Fuca.
Photo by Mark Malleson, February 22, 2016
(taken under D.F.O. permit # MML-001)

L95 at Sunset.
Photo by Mark Malleson, February 22, 2016
(taken under D.F.O. permit # MML-001)
 

_


22 February update - On our previous update on 16 February, K33 and likely the rest of K pod were off the Columbia River, having just turned north. They traveled about half way up the the Long Beach Peninsula by that afternoon before turning south. On the morning of the 17th they were off the Columbia River again. Unfortunately, we received our last transmission about noon that day. We suspect that the tag detached as the battery levels were still good and this deployment of about 50 days was very similar to what we obtained for J27 last year. We are putting all the location data from K25, L84, and K33 to use as we attempt to locate the whales from the NOAA vessel Bell. M Shimada. 
Map courtesy of Brad Hanson, NOAA-NWFS
NOAA-NWFS 2016 Southern Resident killer whale satellite tagging 
 
Bigg's (Transient) killer whales
February 23 
5:19 p.m. - Small pod of orcas (maybe 7 of them) off of Mukilteo Park, just south of the ferries, mid channel heading south.
Holly C Cook
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3:45 p.m. - long down times and now they've gone all stealthy on me.
3:30 p.m. - do appear to be on a kill. Many directional changes in same general area 1-2 miles south of Possession Point maybe 2+ miles from north Edmonds
3:10 p.m. - found them .south of Cultus Bay/Posession Point east of the green buoy off Scatchet Head. Lunging and gull activity suggests a kill.
Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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2:20 p.m. - 6-8 orcas within 200 yards of Maxwelton Beach, Whidbey Island, heading toward Possession Point.
Gary Stubbs
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12:25 p.m. - They are off Useless Bay, active, just north of green bouy channel marker. Susan counts at least 8 or 10. Maybe others have joined them.
Howard Garrett, Orca Network

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11:50 a.m. -  Mutiny Bay, Whidbey Island. In the right place at the right time today (doesn't always happen that way). Five (at least) transient orca heading south in Admiralty Inlet at speed on this beautiful day, maybe a brief stop to feed.  - Sandra Pollard
Photo by Richard Snowberger, February 23, 2016 

Photo by Richard Snowberger, February 23, 2016  

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11:28 a.m. - the wider view, looking across at Foulweather Bluff and the entrance to Hood Canal.
Photo by Howard Garrett, February 23, 2016 

11:05 a.m.  - From the bluff a mile south of Bush Point, from 2-3 miles away.
Photo by Howard Garrett, February 23, 2016 

Photo by Howard Garrett, February 23, 2016

10:50 a.m. - Thanks to a call from Elsa Leavitt, Howard just found a pod of about 4 - 5 Bigg's/Transient orcas heading SE in Admiralty Inlet, just south of Bush Pt. at 10:50 am!
Howard Garrett, Orca Network

Humpback whales
February 26 
10:12 a.m. - Humpback whale heading east into Drayton Passage now.
Photo by Peace Corey, February 26, 2016 

9:15 a.m. - Good morning all! Actually, GREAT morning! I'm hanging with a humpback whale straight out from Andy's Marine park (SW Anderson Island, Nisqaully Reach, south Puget Sound), all the way across the water though.
Peace Corey
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7:00 a.m. - Just saw humpback whale jump in water and seems to be foraging right off
dogwood beach in Nisqually Reach. Seems to be alone.
Denise Roswell
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5:00 a.m. - Humpback reported on Kitsap Orca Watch this morning off Manchester by Noelle Morris. Feeding behavior. Too dark for photos.

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February 25 
Tim Anders reported a Humpback in Case Inlet, Puget Sound, sighted from the west side of the Longbranch Peninsula 100 yards off shore, sighted today, Feb. 25th and also sighted Saturday the 20th.

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February 24 
Reposting from Kitsap Orca Watch page by Noelle Morris this morning: Humpback sighting by our neighbor Lydia Henke Trunnell at 5:15 am seems to be hanging around Manchester dock by barges.
Susan Marie Andersson 
Gray whales
February 26 
The Island Explorer 4 has spotted her first gray whale of the season just off Camano Head! We left scene at around 1PM with the whale headed in the northbound direction.
We do not have a positive ID on the animal, but we do know that it is not 723, Lucy! This means that there is more than one gray in the area! With the first trip departing Everett tomorrow, we hope to firm up an ID on this individual and find some more!

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1:00 p.m. - Shane from Island Adventures called the Langley Whale Center with a gray Whale Sighting. 1 gray Whale (not 723) seen between Whidbey Island and south Camano Island.
Wendy Berta Sines, Orca Network - LWC

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February 23
9:30 am Tues - Saw large whale off Manchester coastline west of Blake Island. Large fin we suspect it is not an Orca, maybe gray whale. Blowing, slapping, breaching.
Melaine Coulter
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8:15 a.m. - Spotted whale between Manchester and Blake Island... lots of breaches, playful slapping of water. Hard to identify what kind.
Rita McKendrick

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February 22 
Washington State Ferries has relayed a report of a small Gray whale just south of Blake Island about 3 pm today, just "hanging around"  
Unidentified whales
February 24 
Whale in Port Angeles Harbor: Large whale sited close to downtown waterfront in Port Angeles Harbor, second hand siting, was told to me by a reliable source who observed whale. Much larger than orcas, not sure what kind. Whale surfaced briefly, and at least three people saw enough to know it was quite large.
Eric Neurath
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February 24 
4:23 p.m. - Small whale headed north toward Zittles Marina in south sound- JOHNSON Point. We think maybe Minke? -- solo, moving slowly.  (Good chance it's a humpback that has been seen for several days around the Nisqually Reach area)
Robin Matthews 
Harbor porpoise
February 25 
Lots of porpoise just south of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge today. We cut the engine and just watched them for a good half hour before we had to leave. There were quite a few of them!
Photo by Rachel Easton, February 25, 2016 
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 [email protected], 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.