April 2018 Whale Sightings

Click here for Map of April 2018 whale sightings.

April 30
Hood Canal - T65As
4:27 p.m. - Granddaughter says she saw them from her school bus still heading Northbound passing Eagle Creek.
3:58 p.m. - They passed Lilliwaup continuing northbound about 45 minutes ago. Waiting at Jorsted Creek to see if they continue north.
3:00 p.m. - Still mid-channel northbound approaching Lilliwaup.
2:28 p.m. - saw them at Glen Ayr Resort closer to the West side of the canal but still mid- channel, heading Northbound. Waiting for them at Lilliwaup. -Paul Nelson Jr.
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~ 2:15 p.m - We saw them as we were headed south out of Hoodsport! They we're headed North. I saw the blow hole, then it rolled and flipped it's tail up. We were driving so couldn't see everything closely. I feel like we just spotted the baby, because we were debating if it was a Dall's Porpoise or Orca (but we've never seen a porpoise flip it's tail out of the water). WOW!!! So happy that this thread confirmed that we saw an Orca in the Hood Canal. I always tell my kids we won't see them that far south, and now we have! -Sara Kaugman-Bradstreet
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12:43 p.m. - Yep, saw them go in Dewatto from a viewpoint on the 101. -Keith Dixon
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Found them around 11:00ish north of Ayock. Saw the Chilkat, so thought it would be a good place to start. SAW THE BABY!!, although from a distance! Followed them to Eagle Creek Tavern, (large hamburger on their roof), where it appears they made a kill, (on the east side of the canal), as seagulls came in. When I left them, (12:10), they were heading south again. Tide still going out. -Harry Louch
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10:50 a.m - Hood canal orcas south bound at Hama Hama (heading south per Renee Beitzel). -Christopher Lewman
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T65A & her new calf T65A6 keeping close to one another as they navigate the glassy calm inland waters of Hood Canal. -Photo by Renee Beitzel, Chilkat Express
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April 30 - North Saratoga Passage - Grey first spotted about 25 yards from our bulkhead at Maple Grove Beach (Camano Island). Watched as she/he headed North toward Utsalady Point around 8:30am. -Photo byLesley Hamilton Frenz, April 30, 2018
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April 30 - South/mid Saratoga Passage - Gray 531 at Fox Spit: Here is the rascal! It was 531 after all, as soon as I got to the spit she headed out but I got the ID shots anyway. Some porpoise came by to say hi too. -Photo by Allie Hudec, April 30, 2018
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April 30 - Possession Sound & Point - 1:20 p.m - A visitor to our Langley Whale Center reports 1 gray whale south of Cultus Bay heading north, toward Scatchet Head (South Whidbey).
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11:10 a.m - gray whales #383 and #723 circling SW of Possession Point trending towards Point No Point, but making several direction changes. -Justine Buckmaster
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9:15 a.m - 2 gray whales seen while aboard Clinton to Mukilteo ferry south of ferry lanes heading south. -Fred Lundahl
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April 30 - Saw several huge blows near Chambers Bay between 5:00 and 5:30 pm today. I believe it was a gray whale, but she wasn't posing for pictures unfortunately. She was slowly meandering north towards Fox Island. -Carrie Gelegonya
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1:33 p.m. - A small Gray Whale was just off land, on the south side of the Key Peninsula heading the direction shown on the map. Map image by Shawn Bashor, April 30, 3018
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April 30 - 11:28 a.m. - Humpback off Apple Tree Point, Kingston, WA headed north....t didn't surface for very long and was moving fairly quickly. Then tail went up and was gone. -Photo & report by Gina James Vigna, April 30, 2018
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Dolphins - April 30 - Spotted 2 common or bottlenose dolphins close to the lighthouse at Point-No-Point (Kitsap) this evening, while watching a pod of harbor porpoise mid sound. The dolphins did a slow breathing roll and then were gone. They were close to shore. Too fast for a photo. It was a thrill! -Jim Larkin

April 29
Strait of Georgia - Love the Strait of Georgia on those flat calm days! Beautiful day out there with the T100's and T101's. -Photo by Gary Sutton, April 29, 2018
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Hood Canal - Here are a few more photos of little T65A6 down in Dabob Bay again today before and after the family made a kill right at the northern end of the bay! New calf T65A6 tucked in close with mom T65A in Dabob Bay, Hood Canal. -Bart Rulon, Chilkat Express
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1234 - we are leaving them outbound along peninsula in Dabob bay...Just heading out of the east finger along the Bolton peninsula. Just got done making a kill.
1149 - They are currently on west side of Bolton peninsula inbound to the bay.
1110 - T65As milling off Point Whitney in Hood Canal. Trending into Quilcene Bay. Familial bonds; T65A2 alongside his new sibling T65A6. -Renee Beitzel
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Spotted this group in Dabob Bay this morning with my son. They came very close to the beach. (T65As; See Sara's beautiful VIDEO). -Sara Satterlee Crosby
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Grey whale at Cresent Bay, Polnell Point at about 5:30 p.m. -Photo by Tammy Holmgren-Lapthorne, April 29, 2018
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Sunday afternoon 1:30 p.m. - gray whale feeding between Polnell Shores and Mariners Cove. He/she was about a half mile east of yesterday's feeding. It must be a different depth because it was snorkeling most of the time. -Terra Parham (see photos and ID notes below)
(Markings on the left side of the face are a match to the whale photographed by Mary Jo Adams on April 9th, which matches the Unknown gray on the 27th and 28th below. ID notes by Alisa Lemire Brooks, ON)
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April 29 - Admiralty Inlet - 12:20 p.m. - Whale at Double Bluff. We think it is a gray whale. It's traveling South outside of the Beach area occasionally coming up for air. -Paul Spehar
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April 29 - Possession Sound - 3:10 p.m. - Gray whale just south of Mukilteo ferry dock. -Amanda Grace
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9:30 - Gray whales #44 Dubknuck and #383 heading south across Mukilteo ferry lane toward Possession Point. -Stephanie Raymond aboard Victoria Clipper
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Off Hat Island from the beach this morning (gray 22 & presumably 21 -alb) See VIDEO. -John Mason
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We had quite a morning over here at Hat Island. -Screen grab of video by Kim Vest Gleason, April 29, 2018
(ID'd as gray 22 by Alisa Lemire Brooks, ON from Kim's stunning VIDEO)
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April 29 - Possession Sound - They're still here! Sounders #44 (Dubknuck) and #53 (Little Patch) greeted us south of Hat Island, followed by #21 (Shackleton) and #22 (Earhart) a little further north towards Port Susan. #44 and #53 were traveling together, as were #21 and #22, although later #44 appeared to have split off from #53. #49 (Patch) also made a brief appearance, keeping everyone guessing with a few rapid directional changes. This was our penultimate whale watch trip of the season in Langley before Mystic Sea returns to Anacortes. We wish the Sounders safe travels on their continuing migration north to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea, and look forward to welcoming them back again next year. -Sandra Pollard, Author/Naturalist
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We were on the Victoria Clipper (out of Friday Harbor)... saw 4 gray whales, just stopping to see the Mukilteo ones, some Minkes but no orcas....(see Minke section). -Lisa Egashira Archide
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April 29 - Gray whale leaving Hammersley...around Libbey Point at 7:45 pm 4/29/2018. In re photos: One adult family member was outside as the whale passed in front of our house and just happened to see a nice healthy blow from what he described as a small gray whale. He alerted the rest of the us and we all saw a another blow right before the turn out of our view. We did drive up to Harstine Bridge to watch until darkness but didn't see anything. -Jodi Johnson Pardi
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4:45 p.m - Grey at Hungerford Point/Pickering. Headed south, center of Pickering. Looked like it might turn up Hammersley. -Chad Queirolo
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April 29 - We were on the Victoria Clipper...some Minkes.... we had left Friday Harbor, before we entered into Admiralty Inlet, N. of Port Townsend...I think. Captain saw about 3-4 as we were coming home, stopped to see only 1 due to time constraints. -Lisa Egashira Archide

April 28
Hood Canal - 2:52 p.m - They're hunting just up from Tahuya. At least one male, several females. -Jake Haldeman
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2:40 p.m. - They just passed the Alderbrook heading toward the Great Bend and Potlatch. -Caitlin Berry Cable
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Saw 3 orcas in southern Hood Canal on 4/28/18, Saturday. Small, med., and large. I guess folks and a calf. Around 2:00 p.m. got a great video. -David Morgan
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1300: they turned around before shallows at end of Hood Canal. When we left then they were heading SW in a tight group. -Renee Beitzel
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1:21 p.m - they are headed back towards Alderbrook resort on the canal. They are right off of hwy 106 they killed a seal and turned back towards union. I counted 5. For spotting purposes there was an orange and white boat trailing them at about 200 yards
12:33 p.m. - Just saw three looks like they made a kill. One big male still headed toward Belfair. -Denise Hull
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11:00 a.m. - 5 orcas in Hood Canal. One male and four (?) females or juveniles were seen on April 28 at around 11 a.m. heading easterly toward Twanoh State Park along the south shore of Hood Canal. -Kevin Stoops
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10:59 a.m - We just saw what looked like a pod 5 adults and a baby orca heading through the narrows of the Hood Canal towards Belfair. We were able to spot them coming from just west of the Alderbrook, through Tahuya and lost sight of them as they passed through the narrows towards Sisters Point and on to Belfair. Amazing. T65As east of the bend in Hood Canal. -Caitlin Berry Cable
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10:56 a.m - A pod of 6-ish? Orcas just past Sisters Point in southern Hood Canal headed inbound. -Bruce Smith
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April 28 - Oak Harbor area - 3:53 p.m - Walking the beach with a gray whale at Polnell Shores. -Photo by Terra Parham, April 28, 2018
(Match to images of an Unknown by Adams April 9th and Toscana April 27 (below) - ID by Alisa Lemire Brooks, ON)
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April 28 - 7:42 p.m - Two grays in Langley now! Eastbound, close to shore. -Kat Johnson
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1:30 p.m. - 44 Dubknuck & 49 Patch are SE of Gedney Island, toward the Delta. 383 and 723 Lucyfer also SE of Gedney. 22 and 21 are slowly south bound from Bell's Beach. Per Mystic Sea. -Bonnie Gretz
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1:35 p.m. - 3 more whales at the Snohomish River delta #49, #723, and #383. Such an amazing day.
1:09 p.m. - Two whales on the SE corner of Gedney Island. One unidentified and the other #44. -Danielle Penninfton
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12:17 p.m. - Saw a Grey whale on the 12 boat to Mukilteo. Looks to be heading to Langley. -Sommer Bowlin
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11:30 a.m - 2 grey whales off of Bells Beach about mid channel....Not really making much progress in any direction over the last 15min or so. -Andrea Repine Van Cleve
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~ 11:00 a.m - I watched 2 gray blows at mid channel, watched from Fox Spit (Whidbey Island) out towards Mabana Shores (Camano Island) slowly trending south. I couldn't post at the time as my phone was having trouble with connecting to facebook.
(These are #21 and #22. We are on the mystic sea for the day. -Danielle Pennignton) -Marilyn Armbruster
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10:48 a.m - 2 grays spotted off East Point headed south. -Mark Severson
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10:05 a.m. - found 2 more heading south from Holmes Harbor. No IDs, they were very low surfaces for all 3. 9:45 a.m. - San Juan Clipper found one gray whale just south of Fox Spit heading slowly south. -Justine Buckmaster
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7:21 AM - Good morning. Grey whale just north of the Clinton ferry dock heading north. -Danielle Pennington
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Dolphins - April 28 - 3:29 p.m - Single dolphin off Alki right now. Going back and forth. Maybe feeding. -Carl Seaberg
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T49C in Coos Bay, Oregon. - "I took these on my cell phone....we saw him in a giant red pool and blubber of left over sea lion." -Photo by David Comstock, April 28, 2018
(ID confirmed by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)

April 27
Hood Canal - 8:30 p.m. - The orcas are between Glen Ayre resort and Cougar Spit. Just about a mile north of Hoodsport. Photo: Looking northwest. Glen Ayre resort in background. -Photo by Brad Lambert, April 27, 2018
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Hi Alisa, Howie, and Susan, Here are some photos from April 27 when we ventured down into Hood Canal to find the T65A pod eventually in Dabob Bay. They were on a kill at the time we arrived and very active. We got lots of good views of little T65A6 surfacing with mom during all the commotion. T65A and her new calf T65A6 in Dabob Bay, Hood Canal. -Bart Rulon, Chilkat Express.
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1:00 p.m. - T65As at entrance to Dabob Bay. On a kill but trending out/south. T65A2, T65A , and new calf T65A6 - Dabob Bay, Hood Canal. -Renee Beitzel
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April 27 - Port Susan - 1:05 p.m. - Grey whale feeding 50 yard from shore at Spee-Bi-dah (Port Susan) working north. -Malcolm Lindquist
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An uncommon view. Kayak Point, Port Susan. -Photo by Gary Lingenfelter, April 27, 2018
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April 27 - Crescent Harbor, Oak Harbor - 12:54 p.m. - Still here by the seaplane base NEX. Lots of people in cars and two tour boats out here as well. -Courtney WIlson
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10:49 a.m - Gray currently feeding just 100yards off the Navy seaplane base on E Pioneer Way. Chris Wardzala
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3:24 p.m. - Grey whale feeding in front of my shop close to shore right now. (Langley waterfront, Seawall Park) Screen grab from VIDEO by Marie Lincoln, April 27, 2018
(Pec of gray 531. ID by ALB)
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Friday April 27th report - nearing the end of our gray whale watch season, the whales will soon be heading north to their Alaskan feeding grounds. Today we found our iconic Patch, #49, lazily feeding along the shallow banks SE of Hat/Gedney Island. Then to the west of Hat/Gedney, Shackleton #21 and Earhart #22 were found. These two whales have been seen together frequently this season, will they also travel north together? -Jill Hein, volunteer naturalist
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10:20 a.m - "SE Gedney Island on the bar!" -Screen grab from video by Jason R Bourne, April 27, 2018
(ID'd as 49 Patch by Alisa Lemire Brooks, ON)
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April 27 - 8:00 a.m - Catie Wire sent a video of a bottlenose close to shore off Seacrest Park, West Seattle. Notes by Dave Anderson, Cascadia Research: " Very cool video! Yes, it's a bottlenose, but I don't think we can get an ID on it."
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Unidentified cetaceans - April 27 - I work for wdfw and my coworker was out on a boat near Owen Beach in Tacoma/Point Defiance yesterday evening, April 27th and saw a whale swim by under the water. She said it was moving fast and all the anglers are saying pilot whale. We don't have those in Puget sound do we? -Hope Anderson
(Possibly the bottlenose dolphin - alb)
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April 27 - I work for wdfw and my coworker was out on a boat near Owen Beach in Tacoma/Point Defiance yesterday evening, April 27th and saw a whale swim by under the water. She said it was moving fast and all the anglers are saying pilot whale. We don't have those in Puget sound do we? I saw other people reporting a gray whale here that day so maybe it just seemed really fast. -Hope Anderson
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12:22 p.m. - Just spotted a whale off Owen Beach. Headed toward Commencement Bay. Looked like a grey. I could not get a good photo. -Sydney Everson Haglund

April 26
Hood Canal - Posted 1:46 p.m. - Just saw them in Union, my life here is now complete. It's been about 30 minutes heading towards the marina. I'm located just east of the marina. Watched with binoculars from up the hill off Kuhn Ave. They seemed to be closer to the Tahuya side of the canal. -Sarah Rush
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April 26 - San Juans - Saw one or maybe 2 grays in a bay on the SW side of Lopez Island this evening. We are watching them from around 6 to sunset (MacKaye Harbor, Lopez Island). -Photo by Joyce Lyster, April 26, 2018
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April 26 - Admiralty Inlet - 02:30 PM - Greys in Admiralty Inlet. At least two greys traveling north. Just left Lagoon Point. No photos as they were in mid-channel. Three boats from Port Townsend were out, perhaps they will send in photos. Appeared to be a mom and young one. -Paula Ratcliff
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April 26 - Oak Harbor area - There was a grey in Crescent Harbor (Oak Harbor) from before 1 pm, until an hour ago (he may still be there). -Angel Almeyda
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April 26 - 6:34 p.m. - She turned back and is now on the northend of Fox Spit feeding...possibly moving northwesterly towards Baby Island. (gray #531 - alb)
5:40 p.m. - My friend Gayle and I watched a gray at Fox Spit around 5:15 pm and its currently fedding south of Fox Spit and north of Bells Beach. -Marilyn Armbruster
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15:54 - Gray feeding at Fox Spit. -Photo by Fred Lundahl, April 26, 2018
(while conducting aerial feeding pit surveys. Possibly gray 531 who was ID'd in the area short time later)
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12:25 p.m. - She's back, heading towards Baby Island from Whidbey shores. -Clayton Carlson
(video sent shows gray inside white buoys, unable to ID due to resolution - alb)
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April 26 - Possession Sound/Port Susan - 6:27 p.m. - Hi! Watching 3 separate grays between Hat Island and Jetty Island. Two are fairly closer to each other (can see them in my binos at the same time) and one is completely separate. -Amy Willoughby
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Two, maybe three gray whales around noon at Kayak Point Park, Port Susan. Gray whale 22 off Kayak Point, Port Susan. -Photo by Gary Lingenfelter, April 26, 2018
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On yet another glorious clear, sunny day, Mystic Sea left the dock to head south towards Everett where Sounders #49 (Patch) and #383 traveled in tandem, their heart-shaped blows silhouetted against the backdrop of the Cascade mountains. One of our crew members, Richard Snowberger, took to the skies earlier with pilot Fred Lundahl for some aerial photography of whale feeding pits around Whidbey, always a fascinating sight. Later on our trip we found two gray whales feeding in Port Susan, displaying the skill they have achieved in perfecting this high-risk feeding strategy so close to shore. Grays 49 & 383 traveling side by side. -Sandra Pollard, Author/Naturalist (Photos Richard Snowberger, Crew)
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9:30 a.m - Single Gray whale spotted Tulalip side of entrance to Port Susan heading north at 0930. -Fred Lundahl
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7:37 a.m - They moved out to mid channel and are moving north near mission beach/Tulalip Bay now.
7:00 a.m - Looks like 2 grays feeding this morning NE Gedney...pretty cool when they travel through the sun reflection! See Facebook VIDEO. -Lori Christopher
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Bottlenose dolphin. - Seen off Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook around sunset tonight. Surfaced a number of times in the same area. -Photo by Matthew Saporito, April 26, 2018

April 25
Amazing evening kayaking in the Lambert channel, Hornby Island between 5 and 7 Transient Orcas including a new member in the family. Photo by Louis Jobidon, April 25, 2018
(ID notes by Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research: "T23C and a new calf")
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T036A, T036A2 and T036A1 with those beautiful backlit blows along Spieden Island...even a heart shaped one. -Photo by Gary Sutton, April 25, 2018
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April 25 - Haro Strait - T101 pod as well as another pod are currently off of Yacht Haven by Roche Harbor, heading north. -Tammy Caldwell
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April 25 - Hood Canal - We were at Waterfront at Potlatch Resort. They went to the very far end of the canal and appeared to have had something for dinner as it was a lot of splashing breaching and spy hopping. My husband said one had a seal in his mouth. I took that video at 5:43. They went down to the end of Hood Canal where we were and then about 6 o'clock turned around and headed north again. -Jami Davenport
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We saw and videos a small 4 orca pod in the Lower Canal of Hood Canal at Skokomish yesterday (April 25). Looked like a male, female, younger one and a baby. (very cute by the way!!) We would be happy to send these to you if you would like. It would be great to learn more about them. We were so surprised too see them as they don't normally come down this far! -Thank you for your time, Melissa Donovan
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They (orcas) cruised north up the Canal late afternoon. Many people stopped cars along Hwy. 101 south of Hoodsport to watch. Lots of breaches and tail slaps. -Thomas Sheldon
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1:45 - 2:45 pm - Watched three orcas milling back and forth just south of the Hamma Hamma River. They were closer to the eastern shore of Hood Canal. -Gayle Swigart
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Reporting for my family who is out at Hood Canal: 5+ orca with possible baby at about 9:45am. East side of Hood Canal, 1-1/2 miles north of Hoodsport headed south! -Kelly Lauricella
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April 25 - 11:00 a.m - Gray passed close in at Fox Spit and now heading towards Bells Beach still closer to southend of Fox Spit, direction of travel southeast.
(#531 - alb)
10:15 a.m - gray now slowly heading southeasterly, at mid channel, kind of angling towards Fox Spit.
9:55 a.m - Gray whale at Camano St Park near boat launch, making directional changes (first NB, then SB). -Marilyn Armbruster, viewing from Fox Spit area
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April 25 - 6:15 - Two grays making their way mid passage between Camano and Langley. -Peg Boley
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3:00 p.m. - looks like 21& 22 off NW Gedney Beach traveling towards Langley
12:15 p.m - Last saw them 1215 heading North towards Glendale on Whidbey. -Nathan Bowden
(grays 21 & 22 - alb)
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11:12 a.m - They've flipped and heading east now. could be a few days before they make up their minds
10:43 a.m - Gray whales #21 Shackelton and #22 Earhart headed west around Possession Point! -Renee Beitzel
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April 25 - 12:28 p.m. - 1 or 2 gray whales feeding off our beach off Wilkinson Rd in Langley just south of Comforts Winery. -Craig Weiner
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11:15 a.m. #44 Dubnuck & #383 together NE of Clinton ferry terminal, might be turning towards Gedney. -Nathan Bowden
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7:15 a.m - Sighting of one grey in the ferry lane, closer to Clinton side. -Photo by Kristina Brown, April 25, 2018
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7:11 a.m - Grey whale sighting on the 7am boat from Clinton to Mukilteo. North of the boat swimming towards Whidbey (I would say directly towards the island westbound. From the mainland straight to Whidbey) Just saw one, coming up for air. I think there might have been a pod, but only one surfaced. -Kristen Wagner-Patterson
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April 25 - 8:00 a.m - Orca pod moving south just past Clinton ferry dock. Im parked up hill so cant make them out very well. Moving and blowing. They looked smaller than a grey and black but i could very well be mistaken. They were close to surface and blowing. -Paula Ratcliff
(We had no other reports of orcas. Many eyes were on gray whales in that area at this time - alb)

April 24
April 24 - North Saratoga - 3:16 p.m. - Just spotted a gray whale feeding at Snakelum Point/Harrington Lagoon. -Charlene Moore Hickey
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Fun to see Gray Whale #44 Dubknuck in Penn Cove today, beautiful weather conditions and his blows were breathtaking. He's definitely one of my favorites ..... left him around noon, just south of Long Point, feeding back and forth, so no real direction of travel. -Photo by Jill Hein, April 24, 2018
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10:55 a.m. - ID'd as #44 Dubknuck, passing Long Point and following shoreline headed southeast.
10:05 a.m - gray is eastbound passing Coupeville wharf.
9:42 a.m. - gray whale along south shore of Penn Cove headed east towards Coupeville wharf. Sunlight lighting up the blows, gorgeous. -Rachel Haight
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We also received a call from Bryce Gradert, reporting a gray whale in Penn Cove, off the end of the Mussel docks off Hwy 20 north of Coupeville, at 8:30 am.
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6:30 a.m - Gray deep in Penn Cove again! Beautiful calm water, close to pottery place. Great view this morning! -Geoff Kappes
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April 24 - 7:30 p.m. - Three or more gray whales, probably feeding. Seen from the breakwater of the Saratoga Beach community picnic and launch park. Date: Tuesday, April 24, 2018, 7:30 pm until 8 pm. Location of sighting east side of Holmes Harbor, Whidbey Island. The whales spouts were easy to see in the twilight. Whales appeared to be closer to Dines Point on the western shore of Holmes Harbor than to the eastern shore. Sightings collaborated by Ed Mannery, photographing setting sun. No photos of the animals available. Picnickers also saw whales. -Rubie Johnson
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~ 6:00 p.m. - 1 of the 2 whales off Baby Island. After rounding Baby Island (as seen here), they moved north and veered northwesterly toward Hidden Beach. Gray whale off SW side of Baby Island at entrance to Holmes Harbor. -Photo by Marilyn Armbruster, April 24, 2018
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Gray #531 off Fox Spit at 1500. -Allie Hudec
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11:13 - #22 Earhart & # 21 Shackleton and 383 between Camano Head and Gedney.
10:26 - Grays 49 and 723 east side Gedney. Lazy whales. -Renee Beitzel
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April 24 - Holmes Harbor - 9:00 a.m - Gray Whale feeding at Greenbank in Holmes Harbor off the old pier at Wonn Road on April 24, 2018 See Vimeo VIDEO. -Randal Schroder
(PCFG 185 - ID by Alisa Lemire Brooks)

April 23
April 23 - Coastal Grays - Was on the Oregon Coast between Depoe Bay and Boiler Bay. on Monday. Lots of grey whales or similar feeding. -Casey Burns
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April 23 - Oak Harbor area - 12:32 p.m. - Several greys feeding at Crescent beach right now. -Maggie Easton
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April 23 - Saratoga Passage - 7:25 a.m - Three grays heading down Saratoga approaching Langley. -Peg Boley
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11:45 a.m. - #44 just started feeding on Camano Island beach due East of Fox spit East point. -Nathan Bowden
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11:36 a.m - 3 whales feeding there (Hidden Beach): 383, 531, 723 feeding on top of each other!! -Renee Beitzel
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11:33 a.m - Whales have circled back around and are now mid channel directly out from parking lot at Hidden Beach. Pretty neat!
11:05 a.m - The 2 grays have started moving Northwest leaving hidden beach. Another whale has approached from the South. Not sure if that is why they're moving away.
10:51 a.m - I'm at Hidden Beach and there are 2 gray whales feeding here. I have a video and some pictures as well. -Austin Kreiter
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8:32 a.m - At least 3 spouts right at Cama Beach right now.
8:25 a.m - I am seeing a whole lot of whale spouts close to Camano between the state parks. -Nancy Culp Zaretzke
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April 23 - Possession Sound - 10:53 a.m - The whale seen this morning at NE Gedney could be #44 who we are with now. -Renee Beitzel
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9:02 a.m - On the move towards Camano.
8:46 a.m - the whale is still milling around the Hat island marina entrance (ne corner of island) feeding off and on.
6:45 a.m - Single gray traveling north on NE corner of Gedney. -Lori Christopher
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Humpback whales - April 23 - It was an amazing sight in the blue sky and April sunshine at 8 am this morning. The 2 or 4 humpbacks swam through the Strait of Georgia majestically. -Yves Tiberghien On Mayne island, BC.

April 22
T100E peeking out of the water today near Vancouver beside T100F. -Photo by Gary Sutton, April 22, 2018
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April 22 - Hood Canal - 1:15 p.m. - They are currently out of sight up into Dabob. We have a view of canal from Pleasant Harbor area north to Dabob entrance and east to Seabeck.
9:00 a.m. - 4-6 orcas at entrance to Dabob Bay on Hood Canal headed north covered a few miles in 20 minutes. -Chris Messmer
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April 22 - A sunny Earth Day afternoon cruise today - as Mystic Sea hosted the annual Sound Water Stewards' gray whale cruise! Great food and great camaraderie - sun and whales - how much better could it be? We found #22 Earhart and #53 Little Patch by Hat Island, then #531 north of Langley, and #383 along the Camano Shores. One whale surfaced quite close to us, surprising us all, what a treat! Thank you Mystic Sea for a great day! -Jill Hein, Sound Water Steward, and volunteer Naturalist.
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3:32 p.m. - Gray whales...north of Hat Island. Heading towards Port Susan. Two of them. -Photo by Kelly Neal Myers, April 22, 2018
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3:30 p.m. - Slow moving north between entrance to Holmes Harbor and Greenback.
2:59 p.m. -Am at Camano State Park . Seeing blows to the west in between Whidbey and Camano. West side of that little island. (Baby Island) -Angela Zylla
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Might have been #53 (Alisa's 12:15 sighting); we were with him northbound on the San Juan Clipper for a while, and 723 also passed us southbound south of the ferry lanes midchannel. -Stephanie Raymond
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12:15 pm - gray whale south of westbound Clinton/Mukilteo ferry lanes heading northbound at steady pace. -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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Whales inshore and offshore today, with our first encounter just five minutes after leaving Langley Marina. #531's heart-shaped blow was clear to see as she headed from the deeper water towards the beach for a tasty snack of ghost-shrimp. With a stiff breeze whipping up the whitecaps on a cobalt sea against the stunning background of the snow-capped Olympic mountains, passengers also enjoyed watching some of our favorite Sounders #383 and #49 (Patch), intent on wasting no time in finding their next meal close to Gedney (Hat) Island. With so much evidence of whale feeding pits along the shoreline, hopefully the Sounders are well prepared for the next stage of their long migration north. -Sandra Pollard, Author/Naturalist
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11:35 a.m. - 723 SE Gedney and 531 having a feeding frenzy along shores at/just north of Langley. (56 was off Possession Point earlier heading SW, possibly out). -Renee Beitzel
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10:47 a.m - Spouts south of Mukilteo Clinton ferry crossing heading North. No ID from Mukilteo shore by naked eye. -Nat-Ali Muntz
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9:03 a.m - I've been watching 2 grey whales close to shore by Tulalip. They seem to be feeding with a lot of surface activity. Trending north but moving very slowly. -Danielle Pennington
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April 22 -Possession Point - 10:08 a.m - #56 heading southwest around Possession Point. Probably heading out. -Renee Beitzel

April 21
Unidentified killer whales - 9:34 a.m. - Orca NW of Admirably Inlet, SE of buoy "SA", headed SE into Admiralty. -James Greenway
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Gray whales - April 21 - Saratoga Passage - 7:30 p.m. - 2 grays about 25 yards off Bells Beach. -Rick and Kathy Lessley
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12:50 p.m - The grey reported earlier near baby island fed it's way past Fox Spit and then headed toward mid channel. -Photo by Kurt Schmidt, April 21, 2018
(Gray whale #22)
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Mystic Sea afternoon trip:. #22 and #383 off Fox Spit, then one unidentified one just north of Langley as we were coming in. Saw #49 off Camano around 3:30. -Bonnie Gretz
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11:23 a.m - Holmes Harbor gray heading north...just south of Baby Island currently. -Dan Gulden
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9:00 a.m. - Holmes Harbor juvenile grey whale spotted close to shore circling and tossing close to shore in same spot for approx 5-10 minutes. Assume feeding. -Mary Dettrich
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April 21- Penn Cove & Oak Harbor area 12:37 p.m. - 3 more grays south of Crescent Harbor.
12:20 p.m. - Gray at Crescent Harbor. -Terica Ginther
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8:35 a.m - While driving, spotted a gray whale off San de Fuca in Penn Cove. Saw spout and tail; only a quick glance. May be headed towards Monroe Landing. -Steve Shelley
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April 21 - Possession Sound - 11:15 a.m - Patch (#49) is in Possession sound as usual, near Gedney. -Photo by Steve Smith
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April 21 - Our morning trip began in sunshine and relatively smooth water, and we quickly found gray whale #531 about a half mile north of Fox Spit on Whidbey Island. We then turned south and caught up with #49, Patch at the south end of Camano Island. Both were in fairly shallow water, so were not tail fluking, but we got good looks at their distinctive side and back patterns. Patch has especially distinctive markings, with his namesake big white patch on his back.
For the afternoon trip, the wind came up and the clouds moved in, but we spent some great time with #49 again, then moved north, toward some big heart shaped blows in the distance around Baby Island. However, one of our sharp-eyed passengers spotted #22, Earhart, off Fox Spit. As we were admiring her, #383 showed up! They were traveling north at a speedy (for gray whales!) 6 knots, and engaging in some activity, throwing up their front pec fins and a half of a tail fluke. They both did lovely big fluke up tail dives, so we were able to confirm their identities. One the way back to the marina, we spotted an unidentified whale very close to shore, just north of Langley. Another lovely day on Saratoga Passage, as our time with our beloved Sounders draws to a seasonal end. It's been a privilege to spend time with these amazing animals since March, and be reminded how very lucky we are to share a habitat with them. Bon Voyage, as they head back up to their far north feeding grounds in a few weeks. -Bonnie Gretz, volunteer naturalist.

April 20
Hood Canal - 8:30 a.m. - 6-8 orcas between Lilliwaup and Dewatto Bay on Hood Canal. no particular direction/milling. -Chris Messmer
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Saratoga Passage - 8:45 p.m. - Whale(s) heading south along Whidbey shore by North Bluff Road / south Coupeville in Saratoga Passage (difficult to ID due to darkness). Spouts and surfacing. -Scott Price
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5:32 p.m - Turned around and is head east between Hidden Beach and Camano.
5:22 p.m - Grey whale between Baby island and Hidden Beach toward Greenbank Bay. -Beth Clifton
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1120: #44 Dubknuck feeding close to shore on north side Gedney. -Renee Beitzel
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11:46 a.m - One grey whale just north of the Clinton ferry dock heading north west. -Danielle Pennington
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10:50 a.m. - San Juan Clipper has at least 5 grays spread out at SE Gedney. #21, #49, #53, #383, and one unidentified all resting not going anywhere. -Justine Buckmaster
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10:39 a.m. - #21 Shackleton by himself SE Gedney. 2-3 others way in on delta (no IDs) and we are now with #723 Lucyfer in Saratoga just NW of Camano Head. Closer to Whidbey side. -Renee Beitzel, Chilkat
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Unidentified cetaceans - April 20 - Hood Canal - At about 3:30 today we were driving over the Hood Canal bridge heading to Port Angeles and saw what looked like a couple of dolphins really close to the east side of the bridge. Sorry I couldn't post sooner, I was the driver. Unless they were orcas, just saw the post from yesterday. Saw it as it was going back in the water. Could have been a baby orca, it was a small fin. -Angie Edgmon
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April 20 - Puget Sound - I also saw this on the same train ride in. Looked like orcas or dolphins but could not confirm from train. -Evie Bozak
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8:00 a.m - Possible whale sighting just to the north of Golden Gardens in Seattle. At 8am this morning. Didn't get to take a picture. I saw what looked to be small dorsal fins. Didn't look like sea lions and definitely not seals. I was on the train into the city and unfortunately couldn't investigate more. -Kristen Wagner-Patterson

April 19
Haro Strait - T49As - ...Dave was about to give up and go home when he took one last scan with the binocs back toward Kelp Reef and saw a fin and a blow. Heading in that direction, other blows and fins were seen and the encounter started at 1255... See full summary and photos at Center for Whale Research Encounter 28.
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Bigg's killer whales - Hood Canal - 7:44 p.m. - saw them (orcas) 20 minutes ago headed north from Hoodsport to Sund rock. Mid channel. Then we lost sight. -Brad Lambert
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1:51 p.m - (orcas) Right off Eldon! Appears to be feeding. No direction of travel either. -Nick and Amy Eberling
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Just got back from the Hama Hama Shellfish Company. Spent an hour, (12 - 1:00, Low tide was at 12'ish), watching orcas just North of the delta. I would guess they were feeding as they weren't moving in either directions. -Harry Louch
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12:28 p.m. - I am seeing about 3 orcas on east side of Hood Canal out from Hamma Hamma River. Too far away for id photos. No direction of travel, appear to be feeding. -Gayle Swigart
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April 19 - Dalco Passage/Puget Sound - 9:51 a.m - Three orcas seen in Pt Defiance Vashon ferry lanes. Heading towards Gig Harbor shoreline on Vashon side then we lost sight of them. Like they went down for a feed. They were thrashing about. We think they looked like 3 males. Tall dorsals. -Amy Christensen-Burrows
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April 19 - Female gray whale 531 feeding close in shore off Fox Spit today in the presence of a local human resident. The gray whale close encounters afforded around the shores of Whidbey Island have been stunning and has connected neighbors and community to each other as well as the whales in such meaningful ways. -Photo by Allie Hudec, April 19, 2018
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April 19 - 9:51 a.m - Three orcas seen in Pt Defiance Vashon ferry lanes. Heading towards Gig Harbor shoreline on Vashon side then we lost sight of them. Like they went down for a feed. They were thrashing about. We think they looked like 3 males. Tall dorsals. -Amy Christensen-Burrows
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April 19 - Case Inlet - 12:25 p.m. - Just saw a single Gray surfacing in Case Inlet at Vaughn Bay. Headed around Rocky Point toward Allyn...Only saw the one, breached (surfaced) three times total before it disappeared around Rocky Bay Point. No photos or videos sorry. The whale was close to shore, headed North when it came up. Heard the whale blow first and looked to find it already submerged again except the back near the tail which never came out of the water. It was gray, white, and spotted with markings that look like circles. Quite symmetrical and white shaped marks all along both top sides. Hope this helps. -Janie Zumstein Powell
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April 19 - Oak harbor area - We saw what looked like a gray whale swimming oddly in Crescent Harbor off Whidbey Island Naval Air Station at 3:30 this afternoon (Thursday)...We didn't get photos since it didn't surface very much or for very long. (we asked for more details): It was swimming in small circles in water that was probably 6-8 ft. deep. From your description it could have been feeding. When it surfaced, it sometimes looked like it was on its side, other times it looked like it was swimming normally with its back on the surface. A few times we saw its side fins slapping the water. Hopefully it was just feeding, but we heard about a missing whale tangled in fishing gear. We have never seen a gray whale in Crescent Harbor before, especially so close to shore in the shallow water. (I would say it is a feeding gray whale - and Crescent Harbor happens to be one of the places our grays feed, more than usual this year though.- SB) -Tom Lowman
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April 19 - Saratoga Passage - 7:41 p.m. - Just spent an hour watching two (grays) feeding back and forth, close to shore, at Hidden Beach. Incredible!!! -Karah Rondestvedt
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4:30 p.m. - Gray whale heading south between Harrington Lagoon and Race Lagoon, Saratoga Passage. -Randy Zimmerman Furnas
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Grey Whales spotted of Cama Beach of Camano Is. Feeding slowly and headed south toward Everett. One, but three earlier reported by WFS colleague. Feeding, traveling. We caught the straggler at 3pm who was in a hurry to catch up. -JR Johnson
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12:30 p.m. - 531 at Mabana headed into shoreline. -Nathan Bowden
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1157 - 531 milling SE of Baby Island. Another was at the point but we were too far for ID. -Renee Beitzel
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Gray whale 531 feeding close to shore off Fox Spit this morning. -Photo by Allie Hudec, April 19, 2018
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7:30 a.m - Gray whale feeding at Bells Beach for over 30 min. This one fed by swimming back and forth, opening his mouth and slowly collecting what I assume was shrimp for 30 minutes. Neighbors collected on the bank, with cups of coffee, dogs on leashes and binoculars in hand. We love welcoming the whales, and they bring us together! -Peggy Sullivan
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April 19 - Possession Sound - 8:25 p.m. - Still visible from Everett, seems the whales are getting in as close to the jetty as possible.
6:30 p.m. - At least two still blowing and diving on SSE side of Gedney / Hat island in Possession Sound. -James Grindle
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1043 - Grays 22, 49, and 383 SE Gedney. Lots of surface head raises, spyhops and interesting behaviors!! No direction of travel really. -Renee Beitzel

April 18
Hood Canal - Just saw at least 5 transients in Hood Canal east of the Hamma Hamma river delta at 1338. They appeared to be feeding. Lots of gulls present. -Brian McLaughlin, WDFW
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Coastal killer whales - April 18 - 6:21 p.m - Tillamook Bay OR Orca - There is a large pod (8) in Tillamook Bay. Feeding. -Photo by Thomas Molloy
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Facebook video of the orcas in Tillmook Bay around 5:50pm. -Filmed and shared by Debb Rhyce.
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April 18 - Oak Harbor area - 6:58 p.m. Seeing two gray whales feeding in Crescent Harbor, Whidbey Island, about 200 yards west of Polnell Point. -Steve Rothbeck
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April 18 - Saratoga Passage - 8:05 p.m - Spotted two gray whales feeding directly across from Bells Beach on the Camano shore. Seem to be making their way towards Langley. -Ferris Dudunake
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2:35 p.m. - #531 was the Baby Island whale. She moved along the bluffs of Baby Island Hts westbound then turned left into Holmes Harbor and started feeding just south of Baby Island. She rolled around and fed for about 20 minutes then headed back north. She exited the Harbor, went a bit north then turned and she is now mid way between Baby Island and the old Orca Network headquarters off North Bluff Road, still well south of Hidden Beach community. Just before heading off island I was graced with some more time watching 531 roll around feasting on shrimp. She tucked into Holmes Harbor and fed for a short time just south of Baby Island. A touching beautiful sunny warm Wednesday moment with a big whale.
1:35 p.m. - Two grays: One gray at entrance to Holmes Harbor westbound near Green buoy off Baby Island close in AND 2nd gray about 1-2 miles north of Baby Island NE bound. -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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April 18 - Saratoga Passage - We had a very unique experience on Chilkat Express today with 3 of our Sounders in Saratoga Passage. Gray whales 21, 22, and 383 were traveling closely together at a slow pace close to Langley when all of a sudden they picked up the speed and started some aggressive behavior towards each other at the surface. 383 breached 3 times in a row and the whales started peduncle throws towards each other as they continued southward to Hat Island. This went on for about 20 minutes and then all 3 whales calmed down and things went back to normal. -Bart Rulon, Naturalist, Chilkat Express
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10:38 a.m. - There's another gray right off the Langley waterfront! 10:15 a.m. - Chilkat on scene with #383 north bound off Langley mid channel. -Justine Buckmaster
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Saw at least one gray off Hidden Beach about 10:10-10:15. -Geana Lijek
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April 18 - Admiralty Inlet - 11:07 a.m - Red Head just picked up a gray whale off Double Bluff - southbound. No ID. Seems to be in traveling mode. Single surfacings about 3-4 minutes apart. Unfortunately we weren't able to get any photos & surfacings were too irregular to ID. -Wendi Robinson, PSE
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April 18 - Hood Canal - ...drove to Hama Hama. Elk in the meadow of the Hama Hama river and eagles on the way up, but no Orcas. ... On the way back at one stop looking from the North to the South I saw a nice blow....It could have been a gray, as the spout was fairly high & strong. However, I wanted it to be an Orca. Watched that area for awhile, but didn't see anything else. -Harry Louch
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April 18 - Possession Sound - If you are on the Mukilteo-Clinton ferry headed to Mukilteo right now, look left! Whales (two?) spouting just north of the ferry at 5:18pm. -Lee Ann Tobin
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Had an evening visitor...bonus reflected sunset made the moment beyond incredible! NE Gedney. -Photo by Lori Christopher, April 18, 2018
(PCFG 185 - ALB)
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April 18 - Gray whale in the San Juans. - Photo collages by Jeanne Hyde, April 18, 2018
(match to gray whale in Puget Sound May 2nd)

April 17
Coupeville/Oak Harbor area - 6:00 p.m. - gray whale at Polnell Point. -Jeff Humphrey
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#44 Dubknuck spyhopping by the channel marker at entrance to Penn Cove today... he did it about a dozen times too! I left him heading southbound (2:30-ish) down Saratoga Passage. From Long Point, Coupeville. -Photo by Jill Hein, April 17, 2018
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April 17 - Saratoga Passage - 9:35 p.m. - At least 2 gray whales are blowing right now, just below my house at Whidbey Shores. -Christi Shafer
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8:45 p.m. - We finally headed home after watching her, 531 move over amongst the houses nestled below the bluffs on the north side of Fox Spit. She was still feeding in the dark when we left.
7:20 pm - 531 is stalled out between Baby Island and East Point and has been feeding the past hour there.
6:15 p.m. - Gray off Baby Island moving south is 531. She is continuing towards Fox Spit area, feeding below the bluffs along the way. >5:50 p.m. - Gray whale east of Baby Island very close to Whidbey shores heading inland southbound. -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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Had a grey whale stop by his evening. I am about halfway between Fox spit and Baby Island. -Photo by Eric Wittenmeier, April 17, 2018
(gray 531, ID by Alisa Lemire Brooks)
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1:24 p.m. - Seeing gray southend of Elger Bay, Camano still SB. -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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1:05 p.m. - Camano Island state park- grey whale feet from shore by boat ramp. Heading slowly South. -Kayli Ann Breitweiser
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1130 - leaving grays 21 & 22 northbound in same general area (Baby Island). 531 has joined them.
1106 - We now have grays 21 and 22 northbound, mid channel out from Baby Island. -Renee Beitzel
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10:41 a.m. - These 2 are headed out now. They are mid-channel between CISP and Fox Spit. Headed northwest. Blows every few minutes but they are moving, not feeding. -Jennifer Feldman Spanton
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9:52 a.m - Two Grey's feeding off Mabana Shores on Camano Island. -Lisa N Ray Torrence
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9:32 a.m - seeing blows closer to Camano just south of Elger Bay. At least 2. Headed north and a little west toward Elger Bay. Not milling around- on the move. -Jennifer Feldman Spanton
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9:00 a.m - I was there about 10 minutes ago and he was still there but heading south. (Hidden Beach gray) -Nikki Lee
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7:11 a.m. - One grey feeding at Hidden Beach on this beautiful morning. -Michelle Schrader Krieter
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April 17 - Possession Sound - 10:32 a.m. - #49 Patch, traveling southeast just north of Gedney. -Renee Beitzel
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April 17 - Possession Sound - 7:58 p.m. - Hey I'm curious is there a humpback whale hanging around by the Clinton/Muk Ferry? I just saw what appeared to be a humpback but could have been a gray too. It was just off the Clinton Ferry terminal but it dove before I could get a direction. The mate and I both thought we saw a hump on it's back but I haven't heard of any humpbacks in the area, but we only saw it breach a little bit and then dive so it could have just been the angle and the water. The back of the whale looked pretty dark and smooth, usually grays spout water and this one wasn't and wasn't very active. (gray or humpback) -Melissa Simmons

April 16
Hidden Beach/Saratoga Passage - 5:25 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. Arrived to Hidden Beach, Whidbey at 5:25 and 3-4 grays were feeding close in shore slowly making their way south along the shoreline swimming all over each other stirring up the water as they fed on ghost shrimp in the sand. Around 6:00pm they suddenly took off at high rate of speed where we thought we were saying goodbye, then just as quickly circled back slowed their pace and headed back down to the deepest end of the the bay. At this point there were only 3, so we either were incorrect or one continued south as 21, 22, & 383 circled back. The spent the next 3 hours feeding along the shore moving through the bay at Hidden Beach, circling back wide then moving in again. They repeated this many times. We left them at near dark now in glassy calm waters under a moody dark sky. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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1:07 p.m. - they are just circling around drifting a little north and more mid channel off Hidden Beach. I'm leaving for now.
12:45 p.m. - watching the grays in resting moving slowly up Saratoga. Currently out from Hidden Beach, on Whidbey side of the channel.
11:44 a.m - they veered offshore and are now out in the area north of Baby Island and east of Hidden Beach. Slowed down but traveling maybe now northerly up the Passage. -Marilyn Armbruster
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11:35 a.m - Just saw at least 2 grays (possibly 3) in Saratoga Passage heading west off Baby Island Heights, heading towards Baby Island. Not far from shore. (IDs: 21, 22, 383) -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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April 16 - Saratoga Passage - 4:55 p.m - There's a gray in Langley, just north of the Langley Inn, currently eating. -Amanda Potter
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April 16 - Penn Cove/Saratoga Passage
4:20 p.m. - Gray circled around and is heading north near green channel marker off Snakelum Point. Presume this to be 56.
3:30 p.m. - positive ID via Marilyn Armbruster photo is #56. He went partially into Penn Cove then circled back and passed close by Long Point on his way out and continued southbound, seemingly continuing in Saratoga.
2:20 p.m. - Gray is just now passing Long Point heading WB at entrance to Penn Cove.
1:54 p.m. - Found another gray whale up north in Saratoga Passage NE of Long Point, Whidbey. S/he just moving around making directional changes. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network

April 15
Rosario Strait - I was privileged enough to meet the newest member of one of my favorite families of Bigg's killer whales--the T65As. This is T65A6, born in the last week or so, traveling next to mom in Rosario Strait. -Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu
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April 15 - 7:45 a.m - Orca pod sighted milling around Langley, in Port of South Langley harbor. - Hans Hurn
(We had no other orcas reports. I good chance feeding gray(s) who were in the area - alb)
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April 15 - Penn Cove & Oak Harbor area - 2:57 p.m. - Gray whale feeding at Polnell Point on east side. He's about 25 ft off shore. -Jeffrey Humphrey
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2:45 p.m. - Small gray feeding inside Polnell Point. -Photo by Terra Parham, April 15, 2018
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I left about 1:15 - last saw them about mid channel, Headed more towards Coupeville wharf. #723 and #56.
1230 - They're traveling west. Well west of Monroe Landing now. Traveling along the north shore. I'm relocating now.
12:15 p.m. - two grays west of Monroe Landing, Penn Cove. -Rachel Haight
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April 15 - Saratoga Passage - 6:30 p.m. - Having a bite with Marilyn Armbruster at Village Pizzeria when they rang their whale bell. Everyone in the place moved over to the windows to see at least one gray whale feeding very close in shore off downtown Langley! We downed some of our food & drink, packed the rest to go and hauled our butts down the stairs at Boy and Dog park to catch up with PCFG #185 who was moving steadily along Seawall Park eastbound feeding along his way just from shore! The park ends so we watched him continued on, we then moved east and tried to relocate him. Last sighting was off the tug parked at the Langley Marina somewhere around 7:20-7:30? We searched, but couldn't relocate him. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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PCFG 185 pec fin detail. 1500- #185 feeding against whidbey shoreline between Langley and east point. Trending south. -Photo by Renee Beitzel, April 15, 2018
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April 15 - Saratoga Passage - 4:00 p.m. - We made it just in time to Fox Spit to see Grays 21, 22, & 383 now on the southside tip of East Point rustling around in the shallows together feeding on ghost shrimp buried in the sand. Barely had time to get out of the car and run to sit seaside just feet from these beautiful giants. They spent the next 20 minutes moving south along the shore, their bodies writhing, pec and flukes rising as they lay on their sides digging up shrimp. They continued along the shores towards Bells Beach. A most wonderful intimate encounter shared with many on shore. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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Mystic Sea hosted a fundraising cruise for Orca Network on Sunday afternoon. An unexpected treat was having John Calambokidis from Cascadia Research Collective speak to our passengers prior to departure, with great updates on our local "Sounders" gray whale population. We headed north from Langley and were treated to 3 whales feeding along the shoreline of Whidbey Island. #21 Shackleton, #22 Earhart and #383 (no name). It's a privilege to see this amazing feeding behavior - showing a pectoral fin and half of their fluke (tail) as they feed on their side in the shallow water. It's unknown where else this feeding behavior has been seen. We also found another whale by Mabana on Camano Island (#531), also feeding along the shore. Thank you Mystic Sea for the great day, and providing good weather! -Jill Hein, volunteer naturalist.
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Sunday 2:16 pm - 3 gray whales sighted straight across from south Camano Island state park parking lot, closer to Whidbey island than the park. -Gail Dunbar
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Beloved gray whale 49 Patch (left side). Great day on the water today with gray whales 21, 22, 49, & 383 with a surprise appearance of a pod of harbor porpoises! -Photo by Melanie Rullman, April 15, 2018
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We happened upon 3 of the four (531 decided to do her own thing) and PCFG gray #185 (whom I love) was feeding by himself along the shores of Whidbey Island to the south in some very shallow water, in true gray whale fashion, complete with mud plumes, pec fin waves and fluke tips! 1405: Currently southbound now. 3 grays: 21, 22, and 383 traveling together between Lowell Point and Baby Island. -Renee Beitzel
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12:50 p.m - 2 are mid channel between Baby Island and Camano State Park. -Jennifer Feldman Spanton
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12:42 p.m. - Single adult gray heading north out of Holmes Harbor. Currently just south of Baby Island. -Dan Gulden
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Two grays still there 11:30 to 12:00 off Lowell Point (between Cama and Camano State Parks). -Robyn Myers
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11:15 a.m - Two (maybe 3) whales spotted at Bells Beach. They were out a ways, followed by one of the Clipper whale watching boats and then a Mystic Sea came too. The whales seemed to want attention as they swam toward both boats. The "visit" lasted at least 30 minutes. -Peggy Sullivan
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10:35 a.m - grays have stalled and making directional changes, milling between Bells Beach, WI and Mabana, Camano.
10:20 am. - 3 Saratoga grays off Bells Beach have slowed, at times resting at surface. Still southbound, just real slow now. Little further out but still Whidbey side of mid.
9:45 am - these 3 Saratoga Pass grays are moving steady south down the Passage, right together in glassy calm water. Can hear their exhalations at times. They are about almost out from Bells Beach now, Whidbey side of mid channel.
9:00 am - possible ID on one is 22.
8:40 a.m. - They are now southbound Whidbey side of mid channel off Baby Island Heights, heading directionally towards Fox Spit/ East Point
8:10 a.m. - looks like feeding time is over for now. Watching the 3 of them heading East directionally away from Hidden Beach. Beautiful, all 3 surfaced at once in glassy calm seas. Viewing from across the water from Baby Island area. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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7:32 a.m. - 3 grays feeding at Hidden Beach this morning. -Michelle Schrader Krieter
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April 15 - Possession Sound - 9:27 a.m - We have a grey at eastern tip of Hat. -Kim Vest Gleason
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9:05 a.m. - Gray whale in the ferry lanes swimming toward Mukilteo. On the north side of the lanes. Surfacing briefly then diving. -Michelle Goll
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Dolphins - April 15 - Mystery mammal heading north toward Hunter Point/Eld Inlet. Dolphin? 9-10 feet. Surfaced only 5 times without a distinct blow yet a smooth surfacing series. Light gray in color. -Kim Merriman
(ID notes by Dave Anderson, Cascadia Reserach : "Kim sent me her pictures, and that is Stump, one of the bottlenose dolphins that we have identified. The way her dorsal fin bends to the right gives the leading edge of the fin the appearance of a bit of a bump when viewed from the side.")

April 14
3:25 p.m. - Heard a loose report of orcas (presumably the T65As) near Shilshole in the middle about an hour ago, possibly milling. -Sarah Hanke
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11:50 a.m. - 2 Orcas mid Sound off Bainbridge ferry to Seattle. -Sarah Telschow
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0830 off Pt. Robinson. Still headed north but further offshore. More milling around, then headed NE toward Three Tree Point. Assumed Ts.
7:30 a.m - April 14, Gold Beach, Vashon Island. 4 females, 1 male, 1 baby. 200 yards offshore headed north. -Burt Miller
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April 14 - Juan de Fuca Strait - We had a great day on the water with at least 3 matrilines of Transient Killer Whales south of Sooke! Our Adventures from New York & Germany had the time of their life - Smiles all around! Thanks Russ for finding them and Brendon for helping with ID's...We Love it! Possibly (T18's, T19's T99's). Matriarch T18. T19B (born 1995) T19C (born 2001) Matriarch T99. T99B. -Paul Pudwell
(IDs by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network)
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April 14 - Another successful hunt in the Lambert channel, Hornby Island, 4-6 Transient Orcas sharing a sea lion after a kill. The Wales were first spotted from Ford's Cove and slowly moved up the channel really close to shore All the pictures were taken from Hornby Between 10:30 and 3:00pm. -Photo by Louis Jobidon, April 14, 2018
(ID comment on Louis' FB photo album by Monika Wieland Shields, OBI: "Sweet! Looks like the T49Bs and T65Bs who were down here a couple days ago!)
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April 14 - Penn Cove - 6:00 p.m. - After spending about 25-30 minutes at the end of the cove 56 & 723 turned and are heading back east. They stalled out for a bit near the dock of the orca capture site, and are making their way slowly east in heavy rains. Highway lined with eager drenched whale lovers. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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5:40 p.m. - Grays right by Penn Cove Pottery. -Geoff Kappes
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5:15 p.m. #56 and #723 are as deep into Penn Cove as you can get. Feeding in west end.
4:40 p.m. - These 2 grays just passed the pier at 3 Sisters heading still west and deeper in Penn Cove!
4:20 p.m. - The two grays just passed Riepman Ave heading west deeper into Cove very close to shore! In heavy heavy rain squall!
4:00 pm. - There are 3 whales in Penn Cove. 2 west of Monroe's Landing and east of Riepman Ave. Out of public view on this the north side. Third whale is out mid channel somewhere in this same general area. Rain squall came in making for unpleasant viewing.
3:32 p.m. - Both grays heading west now out of sight around the bluff.
3:20 p.m. - 2 grays in Penn Cove off Monroe Landing. Just moving back and forth. No IDs yet. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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9:10 a.m. - one, possibly two, gray whales still deep in Penn Cove, west of Penn Cove pottery. Easily seen from highway. So good to see on our way to the festival! -Rachel Haight
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April 14 - Saratoga Passage - 6:30 p.m. - Hidden Beach 4 greys all to ourselves for half an hour. Had to come within 200 ft of shoreline. -Photo by James Grindle, April 14, 2018
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3:50 p.m. - Grays moving south along Whidbey shore by North Bluff Road (Coupeville moving toward Greenbank). -Scott Price
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2:35 p.m. - the 4 grey whales are still off Hidden Beach in the deep channel, not easily visible, but there are occasional spouts. -Merritt Clifton
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2:23 p.m. - These 3 grays came in close to Hidden Beach then moved offshore and to the north. Currently mid channel between Hidden Beach, WI and Cama Beach, Camano
1:12 p.m. - At least 21, 22, 383 of the 4 grays Renee reported have moved in closer to Hidden Beach in Saratoga Passage, currently paralleling shoreline several hundred yards offshore heading northbound. Cascadia is just now with these whales. (531 may have headed over towards Holmes Harbor). -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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Today was Welcome the Whales day in Langley - and we did it in style. After leaving the dock Mystic Sea headed north in Saratoga Passage where Sounders #21, #22, #383 and #531 were intermittently resting and feeding between Hidden Beach and Camano Island. New research is finding that, although gray whales are not a pod animal, they seem to be associating more together while spending their annual sojourn in Puget Sound away from the main migration. Judging from the large number of scoters near Baby Island competing with some playful California sea lions, there must be plenty of good food around. As the colorful parade arrived at Whale Bell park and the blessing of the whales ceremony took place, their blows could be seen not too far away. -Sandra Pollard, Author/Naturalist
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11:13 a.m. - They've circled back a bit though and now across from Baby Island. We are with them and there, Northeast Holmes Harbor are 4! 21,22, 531 and 383. Pretty cool so close together! -Renee Beitzel
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9:10 a.m - Spotted 2 grey whales north of Greenbank very close to the Whidbey Coast heading north in Saratoga. Several blows and a fluke. -Jennifer Feldman Spanton
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April 14 - Possession Sound - 10:15 a.m - Patch (49) and Little Patch (53) off SE Gedney circling. -Renee Beitzel

April 13
April 13 - Puget Sound - T65As with new little family member, T65A6. "12 Noon - Saw 4 Orcas. Three adults and one Calf heading south past McNeal island. One of the adults was missing the top of its dorsal fin." -Photo by Mark Johnson
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11:22 a.m - Fisherman report seeing the pod of 4 orcas, 3 adults and 1 calf, heading South through the Narrows. -Andrew Potter Maul
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T137B taking a swipe at a harbour seal offshore of Sooke on the afternoon of April 13th. -Photo by Mark Malleson, 2018
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April 13 - Orca sighting. 2 orcas heading north up Jervis Inlet, BC -Photo by Beverly Saunders, April 13, 2018
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April 13 - Saratoga Passage - What an incredible experience this afternoon... I've seen gray whales many times from a boat and at a distance from shore, but I've never seen a gray whale feeding off Whidbey within 100 yards of the beach FROM the shore. Sounder #21 (Shackleton) spent a couple of hours meandering between Whale Bell park and the Dog and Boy park, Langley in his quest for food, digging down deep into the sand for that "oh-so-tasty" ghost-shrimp. It certainly heralded well for tomorrow's Welcome the Whales event in Langley, and was a fascinating insight into how these whales have perfected this high risk strategy of feeding in shallow water. -Sandra Pollard
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5:12 p.m. - Gray whale with a nick out its tail and bright white pec fin feeding 20 yards off the breakwall at Whale Bell Park in Langley. -Reported by David Butts.
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April 13 - Penn Cove - 4:02 p.m. - Grays are just off the wharf in Coupeville now!! -Kari Habeck
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~2:00 p.m. - Grey whale in the waves at FAR west end of Penn Cove. -Al Luneman
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12:57 p.m. - (Grays) still here at the noon hour. About 50 feet off the Penn Cove Park boat ramp. -Robyn Myers
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12:47 p.m. - The end of Monroe Landing Rd has one right off the beach and view of 2 spouts! -Christine Hawkins
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10:30 a.m. - Still seeing (just the blows) of 3 grays in northwest part of Penn Cove in the extreme wind. -Jill Hein
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9:30 a.m - There are two, maybe three greys hanging out in Penn Cove right now! I'm on the road right behind the 3 Sisters Store. They're near the shore on this side. (Northwest Penn Cove). -Raina Rockwell
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6:51 a.m - There is at least one gray still in Penn Cove. Saw a definite blow as I drove south on 20. Just about as far into the Cove as possible. Visible as I passed the pottery place. -Geoff Kappes

April 12
There is a new calf in the T65A family; meet cutie T65A6 swimming in the middle of her/his family in the inland waters of Puget Sound. -Photo by Jill Hein, April 12, 2018
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Juan de Fuca Strait - T049C near Race Rocks on the morning of April 12th. -Photo by Mark Malleson, 2018
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April 12 - Puget Sound/Admiralty Inlet - 6:19 p.m. - 4 orcas headed north just off Point No Point. 1 large male and yes, close to Kitsap side. (this may be the south sound morning group?- alb) -Whitney Gabrielle
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April 12 - North Puget Sound - 7:40 p.m. - I just saw a small pod of orca whales heading south down Puget Sound, in front of our home at south end of Bainbridge at Restoration Point. I could see for sure three adults and at least one if not two small whales (based upon size of dorsal fin). Very exciting for me! They were just swimming along headed south. I saw them just passing Blakely Rock heading south (Blakely Rock is just north of the southern tip of Bainbridge, Restoration Point) It was very exciting to see them! -Thanks, Catherine
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6:40 p.m. - watching from Old Creosote on Bainbridge. They are straight out between Eagle Harbor & Space Needle. There are at least 5 (3 females, 1 male & an itty bitty baby). So sweet. Trending south. Bainbridge side but a ways out. Gorgeous out! Flat water. Easy to see. -Kimberly Sylvester
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5:20 p.m. - 5-6 orcas southbound, just passed Fay Bainbridge Park, very close to shore! -Sue Larkin
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17:12 - Seeing orcas approaching Faye Bainbridge park. Viewing with telescope from Richmond Beach Saltwater park. Steady SB. 4-5 individuals. One teen/adult male. Likely still 65As. -Ariel Yseth
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4:54 p.m. - pod is actually somewhat in south Port Madison, off North Bainbridge, just milling around.
4:45 p.m. - definitive sighting. Pod is traveling outer southern end of Port Madison heading southbound directionally towards North Bainbridge.
4:20 p.m. - I think I saw fins about 2/3 way down Port Madison close to Kitsap side still southbound. Super classy calm water. >3:35 p.m. - I spotted the pod surfacing at Jefferson Head southbound very close to Kitsap side. Much calmer now, the sun has come out. -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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3:12 p.m. - I just saw 2 orcas heading south from Point Wells. Out by mid channel buoy. -Joni Pollino
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On a windy and rough weather day, we had a report of Biggs/Transient orcas close by ... so off we ploughed towards Mukilteo and were rewarded with some great windy views of the T65A family, with a new calf! Great excitement as we had many looks at the new calf, although hard to catch with a camera! So exciting to see orcas again in our area, they continued to head south out of Possession Sound. When returning to port we also found one of our "Sounders", gray whale #531, feeding along the shoreline by Sandy Point. An unexpected surprise seeing 2 types of whales today - thanks Captain Eric for the great day! New calf T65A6 surfaces surrounded by her/his family in Possession/Puget Sound. T65A6 close to mama T65A. -Jill Hein, volunteer naturalist.
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At approx 12:20 T65As were off Possession Point heading SW (per Mystic Sea). I have not been able to relocate them (viewing now from N Edmonds). -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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I saw them southbound at 12:27 past Possession Buoy. From Picnic Point. (she thought more keeping to Puget Sound vs Admiralty). -Ariel Yseth
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11:45 a.m - T65As are west of mid channel south of Glendale traveling at good clip in choppy seas. Very windy, some rain with squall on it's way. -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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Could be a new calf with the T65As who were in Possession Sound today, very windy and rough conditions....-Jill Hein
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10:39 a.m - Chilkat has Orcas T65As off SE Gedney Island headed south 6 knots. -Christopher Hanke.
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April 12 - South Puget Sound - 7:10 a.m. - several orcas spotted from Pt Defiance ferry. Appear to be heading south toward ferry lane. -Glenn Myles
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April 12 - Saratoga Passage - 7:40 p.m. - Solitary gray was off Snakelum Point on Whidbey now heading out in the Passage towards the entrance to Oak Harbor. -Stephen Shelley
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7:35 p.m. - single gray whale close to shore (Lawana Beach) heading south towards Race Lagoon. -Randy Zimmerman Furnas
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7:30 p.m - 2 Grays between East Point and Bells Beach, on the Whidbey Side. -Susanne Schnippering
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6:14 p.m. - observing frequent gray whale blows around Greenbank area. Appears to be two whales judging from timing of blows. Heading south or possibly towards Holmes Harbor. Observing from Camano State Park. -Krista Paulino
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5:42 p.m. - Now they're leaving for real. South. They were here at Hidden Beach for 3 hrs.
5:30 p.m. greys still here at Hidden Beach, very very close to shore.
3:30 p.m. - greys headed north in deeper water, turned back and are still here.
3:00 p.m. - Greys at Hidden Beach. -Beth Clifton
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1:30 p.m - 2 gray whales heading south 100 feet off shore of Whidbey along North Bluff Road (Coupeville heading to Greenbank). -Scott Price
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Hi Alisa, Saw two grays at Hidden Beach Greenbank at 7:30 am and saw two grays same place at 3:00 pm. They went North about a mile and then came back South near shore and then by 3:45 were about 2000 feet from shore. -Sanford Laguna
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April 12 - Penn Cove - There were two gray whales in Penn Cove around 2:30 pm. my last sighting was closer to W Scenic Heights/Penn Cove Park. -Photo by Liz Howes, April 12, 2018
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2:38 p.m. - They (grays) are still out there. Monroe Landing Rd. and Scenic Heights boat launch is the best place to see them. They are very close to shore. -Deanna Furman
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1:30 p.m - There are 2 grays off Monroe Landing, for at least a half hour. -Patricia Prochaska
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12:23 p.m - Just seen spouts straight out of Coupeville dock, close to northern shore, headed east. -Sarah Ann
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Sammy Kempbell relayed a report at a gray whale at Grassers Lagoon, deep in Penn Cove at 11:45 am, heading east toward Coupeville.
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8:00 a.m - Gray whale deep in Penn Cove, seen from Highway 20, reported by Francie Zwicker, who says it's been there for several days.
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April 12 - Possession Sound - ...Great excitement as we had many looks at the new calf, although hard to catch with a camera! So exciting to see orcas again in our area, they continued to head south out of Possession Sound. When returning to port we also found one of our "Sounders", gray whale #531, feeding along the shoreline by Sandy Point....-Photo by Jill Hein, April 12, 2018
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1:25 p.m. - a grey close to Whidbey shore across from Hat Island. Spouts visible from my deck. Heading south east. -Kim Vest Gleason
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April 12 - Possession Point/Puget Sound - 2:45 p.m. - 2 more blows and saw her/his back. Looks like a single gray heading easterly at the moment, no fluke.
2:40 p.m. - Saw a robust tall blow presumably from gray whale off Possession Point/ Cultus Bay. Saw 2 blows at 1:20 pm as well then no more and got in conversation, but whale still out there apparently. -Alisa Lemire Brooks

April 11
Orcas seen from the Bremerton ferry around 7:35 pm, pretty close to Bainbridge, just milling about. There were several - at least 4-5, including at least one calf. (presumably T65As). -Kyleen Junier
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What a great day to encounter more Transient Killer Whales feeding/hunting around Sooke! CHAINSAW! T63, T65Bs and theT49Bs (Thanks to Brendon Bissonette for the correction). They were very close to shore from Otter Point past the bluffs and East Sooke to Beachy Head but than turned south and headed West again..at least two kills were witnessed. -Photo by Paul Pudwell, April 11, 2018
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April 11 - 4:30 p.m - One orca spotted From northbound sounder train near Carkeek Park. -Melissa Crowe

April 10
Bigg's killer whales - Juan de Fuca - Great to visit 2 of my favorite Transient Killer Whales - Mother and Son T11 (Wakana) 58 years old & T11a (Rainy) 40 years old - today off Sooke. They almost went right into the harbour again but went to the end of Whiffin Spit, turned around and than continued out west in the Juan De Fuca Strait. -Photo by Capt. Paul Pudwell, April 10, 2018
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April 10 - Puget Sound - T65As & T137s - Seen at least 5 from South Colby around 7:30 passing to the east of the southern tip of Blake Island heading north. -Angelique Sheris
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7:20 p.m - Just saw 5-7 orcas traveling north in Colvos Passage. They are just now crossing the Southworth Ferry Lan. Whoo ~Hoo! -Noreen Ferris
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6:16 p.m - Just got a report that orcas are passing Point Robinson again right now. -Kelly Keenan
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5:23 p.m - in the ferry lane (Vashon/Tahlequah) ... looks like they made a kill. But starting to travel again due south. -Holly Baily
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5:22 p.m - They are near the south end of Vashon. -Kelly Keenan
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3:53 p.m - 6-8 Orcas just passed Pt Robinson heading south at quite a pace. -Glenn Myles
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2:45-3:20 p.m. Today around 3:00 5 or 6 small whales possibly Orcas spotted off 3 Tree Point north cove. -Brian Hortelius
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T65A, T137D, and T137 off Three Tree Point, Burien today around 2:30. -Photo by Elston Hill, April 10, 2018
The calf looks to be beside T65A in the upper right hand corner. T137B and T137D may be the ones porpoising over to them. T137B, T65A, and maybe T65A5.(IDs by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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2:29 p.m. - 6-8 orcas at Three Tree, watching from Dilworth, Vashon. No direction, they are splashing around. -Kelley Keenan
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WA State Ferries called in a report from the ferry Chimacum, of 5 - 8 orcas southbound off Restoration Pt. in the traffic lanes between Seattle and Bremerton, at 12:42 pm.
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9:55 a.m - Orca off Apple Tree point southbound fast at 9:45. At least 4 (really little one with them), didn't see a male I don't think. Should be crossing the ferry line about now. Four came by in close with one in front maybe 30 yards, then pair, then one behind. Pretty sure no male. Then maybe a minute or two later I captured the pair further out in the channel. They were a ways out further which is why I don't think it was the same pair...T65A with T65A4 or T65A5 southbound off Kingston. T65A2 (born 2004) -Photo by Sara Frey (IDs by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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Gray whales - Saratoga Passage - Gray Whale in Crescent Harbor on Whidbey Island this afternoon. -Photo by Karen Krotz-Sperry, April 10, 2018
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6:20 p.m. - 1 gray spouting between north Woodland Beach and Madrona Beach, Camano. Appears to be heading north. Too far away for me to take pic. -Krista Paulino
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5:23 p.m - Gray is still feeding at the seaplane base. -Christine Sweger Miller
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Three grays feeding north of Pebble Beach, Camano Island around 5 pm. -Photo by Peg Boley, April 10, 2018
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5:00 p.m - One of the grays off Harrington is 44 Dubknuck, not sure of the other one. If I had to guess I would say 53. Lost those 2, but saw a blow by Maylor Poit, could have been the Crescent Harbor one, or one of these two.
4:09 p.m. - 2 grays here...
3:58 p.m - Gray whale southbound, almost to Harrington Lagoon. Way out, will check and confirm in a bit on who it is and let you know. -Jill Hein
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4:21 p.m - Grey whale feeding off Seaplane base in Oak Harbor. -Julie Vandergriff
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3:40 p.m. - Two gray whales feeding directly off Snakelum Point on Whidbey Island. Ranging from the green navigation bouy inward towards the point of land. Previously were in closer to Marine Drive. 3:40 PM 4/10/18. -Stephen Shelley
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3:15 p.m. - Just had a voicemail from Joe Larson reporting a gray whale near Long Pt., Penn Cove this morning; then this afternoon saw another whale heading out of Penn Cove between Long Point and Snakelum pt, but said it was darker and fluked a lot as it dove, and thought maybe a humpback? he said feel free to call with any questions
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2:55 pm. - Gray whale feeding in Crescent Harbor bay. -Phil Matthews
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April 10 - Possession Sound - 6:11 p.m. - 2 spouts north of Gedney, naked eye Rucker Hill, no ID. -Nat-Ali Muntz
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11:42 a.m. - Also, have #49 Patch and #53 Little Patch SE side of Gedney.
11:21 a.m - Gray #22 Earhart off Everett. -Renee Beitzel
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April 10 - Guemes Channel - WA State Ferries called in a report, from the ferry Chelan, outside of Anacortes, 1 gray whale in Guemes channel, eastbound at 8:50 am.

April 9
Southern Residents - Juan de Fuca - J45 breach sequence. Saved the best 'til last! THIS! I was speechless after seeing this, SO awesome! SKRW in front of Sooke today! -Photo by Wendy Cooke Lang, April 9, 2018
(ID by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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Always great to sea J Pod of the Endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales around Sooke today! Smiles all around! J19 in all her full saddle patch beauty. J51 Nova in all his 3 year-old saddle patch and dorsal adorable! And more awesomeness...J39. -Photos by Cpt. Paul Pudwell
(ID by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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April 9 - Orcas at sunset, going up Lambert channel, Hornby Island. The whales stopped to get a snack (sea lion) and moved on northbound. Pictures taken from my kayak. T68B, T68B3. -Louis Jobidon
("Looks like the T68Bs. Cool to see them back in the area." ID's by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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April 9 - Puget Sound - T137s - 1838 - pod is northbound midchannel at Eglon, Kitsap. -Ariel Yseth
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6:07 p.m. - Orcas just passed Kayu Kayu Ac park (Richmond Beach) 3 of them. Northbound.
5:30 p.m - Saw some big splashes, tail splashing off president point, south of Kingston, mid channel. -Joanne Graves
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4:55 p.m - I am in mid channel and it appears the orcas are chasing either a porpoise or dolphin. We have been watching this chase for 15 minutes now. -Matt Graham
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4:45 p.m. - T137s made it to yellow mid channel buoy out from Kayu Kayu ac Park in Richmond Beach, south of Kingston and have now flipped. Many directional changes some surface activity. Maybe they found dinner. A lot of Harbor porpoise, seals and I've seen a couple sea lions. All happening south of yellow buoy between Richmond Beach and President PT. I need to go.
4:20 p.m. - T137s grouped in resting continuing northbound in no hurry. Up for 1-2 minutes and taking 7 minutes dives. They moved a little west, now mid channel, still south of or just at south end of Richmond Beach south of Jefferson Head, Kitsap side.
4:04 p.m. - T137s are east of mid channel slow steady northbound out from Carkeek. Still south of Richmond Beach. Viewing from RB Saltwater Park. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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3:42 p.m. - I'm just a half mile off of Shilshole marina, there are four orcas headed north slowly, gracefully performing barrel rolls and dancing about. -Photo by Matt Graham, April 9, 2018
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2:57 p.m - Oh, there they are again. Headed north mid-channel. They seem to be headed toward Edmonds. Now north of Shilshole.
2:40 p.m. - Currently sailing out of Shilshole just off West Point. Just saw 4 individuals several times heading west across the channel at 2:40. Haven't seen them resurface. -Jan Lewis-Newby
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King 5 Aerial Video of the T137s in Puget Sound off Magnolia.
(Confirmed as T137s by Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research)
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11:40 a.m - northwest tip of Vashon, traveling northward in Colvos Passage, crossing the Southworth - Fauntleroy - 3 orca. Jake MacLachlan
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9:34 a.m - Fishermen report orcas near Point Defiance heading south At least 3 spotted. (towards the Narrows is the direction they appeared to be headed) -Andrew Potter Maul
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9:33 a.m - Maia of WS Ferries reports a small pod of orcas off the South End of Vashon Isl. just hangin' out.
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Unidentified killer whales - April 9 - 4:20 p.m - Orcas off Lopez Island Ferry terminal. Two or more spotted at 420pm traveling NW. -Bryan Stauffer
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2:00 p.m. - There have been 2 Orcas, one large and one small, swimming in Lopez Sound near Frost Island. Feeding, playing, hanging out. -Cynthia Novotny
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April 9 - Possession/Puget Sound - 8:00 p.m. - One gray is just now off of Mission Beach/Tulalip southbound. Saw spouts and tail flukes. -Lori Christopher
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4:21 p.m. - this afternoon #53 (LP) was back northbound in Possession Sound.
11:52 a.m. - leaving Little Patch (53) southbound at Possession Pt. -Renee Beitzel
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I kept seeing dorsal humps popping up on my noon Mukilteo/Clinton ferry ride. Closer to the Clinton side. I love being graced by their presence, just doing their whale thing. -Katherine Madigan
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10:00 a.m. - gray whale #53 Little Patch is just south of the Mukilteo/Clinton ferry lanes heading south mid channel. -Justine Buckmaster
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April 9 - Saratoga Passage/Penn Cove - 7:00 p.m. - Mary Jo Adams is watching a gray whale feeding in Crescent Harbor, north of Oak Harbor. More later emailed with photos: Some folks who were out there watching this evening asked me if it was the same one that was there this morning so I guess there was one there then as well. It was feeding right in behind the boat ramps on the seaplane base. I did not see much of the tail flukes but have some pictures of the flipper that he was holding up in the air and more of the back area. Hope you can ID it! -Mary Jo Adams
(Photos below and others sent to Cascadia for IDs: " I just finished taking this animal through the catalog and it does not match a known ID. Nor does it match the prior unknowns this season." - Alie Perez, CRC)
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About 6:00 this evening, three gray whales traveled down mid-passage between Langley and Pebble Beach, taking their time with shallow dives and lots of blows. Seeing two flukes at the same time was quite the thrill. They were traveling towards Sandy Point on Whidbey. -Peg Boley
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Monday April 9th - heading northbound on a truly beautiful sunny day, within minutes of leaving Langley we'd found #49 Patch heading to the shallower water along Whidbey's coastline. He showed off his beautiful fluke (tail) to us a few times, then we headed further north and found THREE whales feeding - hugging the shoreline, southbound. Fun to see their pectoral fin and half their tail as they scooped up the bottom sediment, finding ghost shrimp. These three were ID'd as #21 Shackleton, #22 Earhart, and #383 (no name). The next whale we found was the new visitor, CRC #185, who was also feeding along the shoreline. We made it to Baby Island to see many California Sea Lions, and harbor seals and a few harbor porpoise, but wait - another whale was in Holmes Harbor! This was #531 (no name) and we had some great views of her in the mill-pond like conditions in Holmes Harbor. Wow - 6 whales, and sunshine. A great day on Mystic Sea. -Jill Hein, volunteer naturalist.
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1:00 p.m - Grey whale off Mabana heading north. -Lisa & Ray Torrence
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12:40 p.m - At least one adult, one possible juvenile gray whale, mid-channel off Harrington Lagoon right now! -Mary Fell Cheston
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1:16 p.m - Couldn't ID this one but it's passing Baby Island headed back into the passage.
12:33 p.m - One with the mystic sea in Holmes Harbor just off Saratoga Beach. -Dan Gulden
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12:07 p.m. - at least two grays off Bell's Beach mid-channel. -Allie Hudec
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11:42 a.m - A fourth hang in the same spot just West of East point beach (Fox Spit area). -Nathan Bowden
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11:07 a.m - 531 heading in towards Holmes Harbor where we just found two others closer in to shore off the point. No IDs yet. -Renee Beitzel
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10:50 a.m - three gray whales seen passing Fox Spit. One looked southbound. As seen from Wonn Road. -Sandra Pollard
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10:38 a.m - We also found #531 a few miles south of Fox Spit heading NE quickly. She started out close to Whidbey but is now headed out toward Elger Bay. -Justine Buckmaster
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10:25 a.m - Grey whale in front of Langley right now. Moving north, about 500 yards north of the whale bell on First street. Looking to be feeding. -Shelsea Eney
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8:13 a.m - greys feeding at Hidden Beach again this am. -Michelle Schrader Krieter
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8:00 a.m - sighted two (possibly 3??) grey whales in Saratoga near Greenbank (April 9, 2018). The were headed North along the east shore of Whidbey at a steady pace. -John Kuras
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1:00 p.m. - Monday, April 9th while sitting on deck facing the bay, heard a sound that was associated the next day by seeing a blow spout. The sound reminded me of blowing into a vacuum cleaner hose! No dorsal fin is seen and no breaching or tail fins seen. Tuesday it was moving north to south direction around midday, Wed. & Thurs. late afternoon it was moving south to north. It is solitary. The birds on the water appear like specks so I don't know how big the spout is but very visible. I saw one but my friend says she saw 2 spouts at same time. From Harrington Road, Coupville. -Irma Simons

April 8
While many friends gathered today along the shores of Whidbey to gaze in awe, adopted member of J pod L87 Onyx was being his awesome self off Langley, Whidbey Island. -Photo by Chris Korrow, April 8, 2018
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April 8 - Puget Sound - 1641- Viewing midchannel SB from Possession Beach (Positive IDs J26, J36, J42, J50, J16, Along with J17s, J22s, J14s, & I believe J11s as well) Updating from my ID comment yesterday. I believe I have a photo of J19 but cannot see the eyepatches or saddle. Did not have any photos of J41, J51, or (to my knowledge) J44. No ID photo of J39 but fairly sure that he's the blurry whale in the distance with J31 and J27. -Ariel Yseth
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4:26 p.m. - majority of whales closer to Mukilteo/Lynwood side. Looked like J27 and L87 were traveling together. Mostly travel mode but some breaches. Tough conditions - blows are not visible in wind and whitecaps. Leaving Glendale.
4:08 p.m. - they've arrived Glendale. Mid-channel. Calf double breach! -Debbie Stewart
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J37 Possession Sound. Wendy Berta Sines and I went out to find the whales today, and finally caught up with J pod at the Clinton ferry dock and Glendale beach from about 3:30 - 4:30 this afternoon. -Photo by Susan Berta, Orca Network, April 8, 2018
(ID by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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3:45 p.m. - the Captain of the Kittitas ferry called, departing Clinton and surrounded by orcas! We were watching from up the hill, as the ferry went VERY SLOWLY out of the dock, J pod spread out passing the Clinton dock headed south in Possession sound. Icons of the Pacific NW: orca (possibly J26) and WS Ferry Kittitas. -Photo by Chris Korrow, April 8, 2018
(ID by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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Just standing on a ferry deck on a blustery day watching J31 pass by. -Photo by Danielle Pennington, April 8, 2018
(ID by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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Southern Resident Killer Whale breaches near the east shore of Whidey Island. 3:00 p.m. - J Pod nearing Clinton now from the North. -Photo by Steve Smith, April 8, 2018
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Chris Korrow's pics of our close encounters with a Gray Whale (I believe ID'd as #531) and orcas (JPod). Started at Whale Bell Park, where a large crowd was gathered watching JPod move south (1:20pm) , we followed them the over to Cascade Ave lookout, then a group followed the pod down to the Clinton Ferry dock! Joined by lots of friends along the way! Thank you to Alisa Lemire Brooks and Orca Network and the LAngley Whale Center for their amazing siting network that makes it possible to track these beauties!! J31 cruises past east end of Whidbey, backdropped by downtown Everett to the east. -Christy Korrow
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J pod member exiting Saratoga Passage south of Langley backdropped by Camano Head. -Photo by Allie Hudec, April 8, 2018
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1:10 p.m. - I'm viewing from 1 mile south of Bells beach. Js spread across channel in groups, some more Whidbey side, some more Camano side. Southbound with periods of intermittent milling. Long down times. J51 and mom J41. -Rachel Haight
(ID by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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What a whale of a weekend with Southern Resident orcas off Whidbey Island... With calmer weather conditions today we were fortunate to engage with members of J pod once again near Fox Spit, southbound in Saratoga Passage. There were numerous vigorous tail-slaps indicating that they were finding food followed by energized breaches, and for the most part the whales maintained their momentum slowing just occasionally for a spot of group socialization. With reports of transient orcas and a humpback in the region along with our regular Sounders (gray whales), we wondered how many other whales we might see. As it was we encountered Sounder #531 near Langley Marina heading north, but no sign of the transients. The last we heard was that they had turned tail and left ahead of the fast approaching residents, as the two eco-types do not interact. There are few places in the world offering such diversity of wildlife, and the privilege of watching these iconic species in their natural environment. J38, J45 and probably J27 or L87 on his back. -Sandra Pollard, Author/Naturalist (Photo below by Richard Snowberger, crew, zoomed and cropped).
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About 1:00 p.m. - Orcas South of Elger Bay between Camano and Widbey Islands. Heading south-Southwest towards Everett. - Sean Meagher
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What an amazing day on the water on the San Juan Clipper! We encountered Gray Whale #383 near the SE side of Gedney/Hat Island and saw him spyhop 3 times! Of course, I missed taking photos of them, except the end of one that's slightly out of focus. We left him as he cruised toward Everett, then met up with J Pod in Saratoga Passage! They were breaching like crazy, and again I only caught one, arrgh! But it was so good to see them again, we were even treated to a surprise close pass (engines were shut down). J22 Oreo and J46 Star. J44 Moby under the watchful eye of his mother, J17 Princess Angeline. -Justine Buckmaster
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Today's encounter was pretty awesome. We didn't have much time and weather wasn't the greatest, but it was the first time I have seen anything black and white aside from the combination of the two. Gray whales people, gray whales. First we encountered #44 Dubnuck and #53 LP hanging out together, then we headed north and found Jpod as they foraged southbound. The energy we saw from them when we first arrived was nothing short of amazing. I have never seen such explosive breaching in all my 12 years as a naturalist. Veterans of the area (as I am not) told me that that is how it used to be. It "used to be" because they had enough food and the time to be social and expend energy with little cost to their survival. Things have changed and they no longer have that luxury. With only 76 individuals, they are critically endangered. I am deeply saddened, but at the same time, I am holding out hope that they are finding enough spring "black-mouth chinook" (salmon that never go to open ocean) to keep their energy and social connections high. J46 Star.
12:03 p.m. - Residents are southbound. Ts were on a kill so not any direction.
11:26 a.m - L87, J17s, J22s, J27, J47 and others (later included J16s). We are leaving to head for another group further south now. -Renee Beitzel
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11:07 a.m - Seemed to have stalled and are milling.
11:02 a.m - They are heading south. Some surface activity. Mid channel. Parallel with Hidden Beach now.
10:57 a.m - You know you're having an awesome day when your photo of the grey whale gets photo bombed by an orca!
10:51 a.m. - Seeing orcas from Hidden Beach with binoculars. -Danielle Pennington
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J36 Alki taking a peek around near the houses at Hidden Beach. J26, J16, & J50 following close behind. J42 present but submerged. -Photo by Ariel Yseth, April 8, 2018
(J36 ID by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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9:20 a.m - Saratoga Passage: Pod of Orcas heading south towards Race Lagoon. -Randy Zimmerman Furnas
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9:12 a.m - Orcas headed south off Harrington Lagoon. Looks like 2 male, 3 females and possibly a juvenile? -Lauren Johnson
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9:00 a.m. - Just saw 6-8 orcas making their way South through Saratoga passage off of Harrington Lagoon. -Peder Sunde
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April 8 - San Juans - Everyone was happy to see T49A1 back with the family. Even mom (T49A) got in on the fun. We left them about 7pm headed towards Turn Point. T49A5 and T49A1. Makes me wonder if this reunion was the first time the two had met. As far as we know it is, but who really knows what went on over the winter and early spring? Only them. -Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, April 8, 2018
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April 8 - Admiralty Inlet - 2:20 p.m. - Glacier Spirit has Ts, 49C+others Marrowstone Point heading west across north end of Marrowstone. -Christopher Hanke
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April 8 - Puget Sound T137s - 2:40 p.m. - (T137s) Going South behind barge, at distance. Watching from Picnic Point. There was a barge with sand going South, about mid-channel, maybe closer to Whidbey. A group of orcas was following it at a distance. I think 4 of them....Depending on the location perspective changes, and I am not a boater, so it was hard to say where exactly they were. But I hoped that barge could help those who watched from Glendale. -Nataliya Lisitsyna
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1:45 p.m - Orcas passing Ivars in Mukilteo, heading south. At least 3. (T137s). -Erin Elrod Birkenkopf
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1:52 p.m. - they (T137s) are now south of the Mukilteo ferry lines moving south. -Danielle Pennington
1:18 p.m. - they are on a kill north of the ferry lanes. So much surface activity, splashing everywhere. (T137s)
1:10 p.m. - they are relatively stationary. Still north of the ferry land but drifting south. A little more mid channel. A lot of surface activity.
12:44 p.m. - They are still trending southbound. Very close to the mainland side. Just passing the Everett marina now.
12:29 p.m. - I finally found them. They are heading south way on the mainland side. North of Everett still. -Danielle Pennington
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The Ts just south of Hat Island are on a kill. ID'd as T137s by passenger on board Ariel Yseth. -Renee Beitzel
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11:15 a.m - Orcas at Hat Island...East of Hat, headed south. The whole family group together, T137s. 1 male and 2-3 others, spread. T137 & T137B Possession Sound. -Photo by Steve Smith, April 8, 2018
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April 8 - Saratoga Passage/Penn Cove - We saw one (gray) in Penn cove about 4:30 headed towards Captain Whidbey Inn. -Scott Smith
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2:09 p.m - Grey whale cruised by just offshore (Langley) as we were watching the orcas. -Marie Lincoln
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Gray whale 531 cruised by Langley northbound as a large crowd gathered to watch J pod heading south. -Christy Korrow, April 8, 2018
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1:05 p.m. - 3 blows seen headed north towards Cama Beach on Camano side.
12:40 p.m. - watched a gray surface/blow several times before disappearing just 30'-40' off shore at Camano Island State Park headed north fast. -Shelly Greybeck
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11:31 p.m. - gray now feeding in front of south end of Camano Island park lower parking lot, saw it blow, it's back and tail as it was feeding. -GailDunbar
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10:44 a.m - Grey whale feeding at Hidden Beach in Greenbank right now. -Michelle Schrader Krater
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Around 10:30 AM at Hidden Beach, Whidbey Island. 2 grey whales feeding right off shore. I've never been this close. -Photo by Danielle Pennington, April 8, 2018
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10:35 a.m - 2 grays right off Hidden Beach. Right off the beach! -Kari Habeck
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10:31 a.m - Two grey whales feeding right near the shore on Hidden Beach Drive on Whidbey. Slowly moving south. -Erin Paul Crafton
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10:00 a.m - there is now a grey whale off of Harrington Lagoon, making its way South... great day for whale watching! -Peder Sunde
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April 8 - Possession Sound - The world-famous gray whale #49, Patch -- so-called for obvious reasons! -Photo by Steve Smith, April 8, 2018
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What an amazing day on the water on the San Juan Clipper! We encountered Gray Whale #383 near the SE side of Gedney/Hat Island and saw him spyhop 3 times! Of course, I missed taking photos of them, except the end of one that's slightly out of focus. We left him as he cruised toward Everett, then met up with J Pod in Saratoga Passage! They were breaching like crazy, and again I only caught one, arrgh! But it was so good to see them again, we were even treated to a surprise close pass (engines were shut down). -Justine Buckmaster
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Today's encounter was pretty awesome. We didn't have much time and weather wasn't the greatest, but it was the first time I have seen anything black and white aside from the combination of the two. Gray whales people, gray whales. First we encountered #44 Dubnuck and #53 LP hanging out together, then we headed north and found Jpod as they foraged southbound....-Renee Beitzel
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Beautiful VIDEO by Lori Christoper taken at 7:45 a.m this morning of gray whale feeding in the shallow coves just south of Hat Island marina. Individual is now working his/her way south.
(ID'd as female 531 by Alisa Lemire Brooks)
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Humpback whale - April 8 - We saw it (humpback) just in the opening to the breakwater off of Anthony's in Edmonds. I screamed in the restaurant freaking out my kids. About 10:40. -Lisa Ann Harbison Anderson
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We observed a humpback whale right off the Edmonds ferry terminal heading south in front of the 10:30 am ferry as it was loading. Saw a couple brief surfaces and confirmed species with a good look at the dorsal fin. ..No photos, it was very choppy but happened to be right in front of the docked ferry. Yes irregular dorsal hump. -Adrianne Akmajian
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Unidentified cetacean - April 8 - 5:58 p.m. - Here is a dolphin for you!! Heading north along the shore just Northeast of Raft Island toward Driftwood Cove. It followed the shoreline then I lost site of it. Kind of choppy today...caught it on video though. -Melissa Ayn Pratt Meyer
(Video sent to Dave Anderson, Cascadia Research: "I can't tell for sure either. One of the surfaces looked like it might have a more upright dorsal than the more curved fin of the bottlenose dolphins, and the dorsal seemed a little large for harbor porpoise, but there just wasn't enough resolution to be positive about any of it. Carr Inlet is a favorite hangout of the long-beaked common dolphins that have been down here, so I think that is most likely a common dolphin or a porpoise with a larger than normal dorsal fin, but I wouldn't count bottlenose out.")

April 7
5:13 p.m. - Orcas are southbound 3/4 mile off shore. Harrington Lagoon. -Terica Ginther
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3:25 p.m. - Saw orcas headed north, going by Harrington Lagoon, didn't get pictures but saw a couple black fins and splashing tails. -Debra Ross
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2:18 p.m. - looks like they turned north again. Back into the residential area
1:48 p.m - watching from Hidden Beach still. They went north and disappeared, now slowly drifting back south. Watching, -Ariel Yseth
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1:12 p.m - They were actively changing directions quite a bit (also on Mystic Sea this afternoon). They would go through periods of tail slapping, breaching, and spy-hopping and then be hard to find for a few minutes at a time. It was an amazing afternoon, though! J42 Echo, she's 11 years-old this year! -Amanda Marie Colbert
(ID by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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Mystic Sea left J pod still active off Hidden Beach at around 1.00 pm. When I left home this morning I expected to see transient orcas, not residents. I was as surprised as everybody else to discover that we were encountering Southern Resident orcas from J pod in Saratoga Passage today. I'm not even going to try and describe the indescribable - (actually I will) - spy-hops, breaches, tail slaps, side rolls, heads and tails, flukes and pecs, back rolls and more, every natural behavior seen in the wild that makes each encounter with these iconic whales so special. The lovely J38 powering along in Saratoga Passage! -Sandra Pollard
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12:51 p.m. - just left very active J pod by Greenbank and Baby Island!!! An OMG time with them...rain, hail, wind and lovely orcas...on Mystic Sea. -Bonnie Gretz
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Look who came to visit today - members of J-pod in Saratoga Passage, enjoying the waves, wind, rain. Surf scoter action too... Photos taken by Jill Hein from Hidden Beach on Whidbey Island. -April 7, 2018
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12:29 p.m. - Watching from Hidden Beach now. They are South heading NB. J37 Hy'Shqa swimming the choppy seas of Saratoga Passage off Hidden Beach, Whidbey. -Photo by Ariel Yseth, April 7, 2018
(ID confirmed by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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11:45 a.m - North Puget Sound Orcas Confirmed J Pod by Jill Hein relaying report from Eric Rosemore, Mystic Sea!! Split up, with some between Baby Island and Fox Spit and another group north of Camano State Park (in between Cama and Camano SPs).
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11:39 a.m - 4 Orcas close to the beach in front of Camano Island state park, now headed north in Saratoga Passage. -Gail Dunbar
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11:30 a.m - Watched them go past Camano Island State PARK. Still going north fast. -Sharon Szekely Camano whale watch page
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10:34 a.m - at least 3 possibly 5 orcas! We saw some spy hopping and mostly just milling around. Large dorsal fin stayed above water for a little while. At least 1 large orca and 2 smaller ones. They hung around for about 30 minutes. Haven't seen them for at least 15 minutes and no indication of which way they were headed. They were closer to Camano side.
10:10 a.m - 3-5, maybe more, orcas heading north in Saratoga. 1 mile south of Mabana. -Jennifer Feldman Spanton
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9:50 a.m - This morning we had a very exciting view of a gray whale and one or two orcas. Regrettably, no photos that show more than a splash or a bump on the water surface. Directly off of the point at Pebble Beach, Camano, we looked up and saw the back third of a gray whale's body & fluke diving nearly vertically into the water. As we watched it move on to the northwest, we noticed an orca dorsal fin very close to the gray's back as it came up. Lots of splashing, fins in and out of the water, and moving quickly. We followed it with the binocs, and the splashing continued as they moved on, and an second orca dorsal came up. I hopped in the car and drove to Mabana, but they had already passed by traveling towards Camano Island State Park. -Peg Boley
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9:30 a.m - Lots of killer whales together (more thatn 10, maybe 20?) off of beach at Pebble Beach Camano Island. SW side of island. Feeding and traveling. -Sally Isaiou
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8:51 a.m - Now at north end of Hat between Hat and Camano. Neighbor Bruce Kolpack counted 10 dorsal fins.
8:36 a.m - First group looked to be going toward north of Hat. We have another group passing right now. At least three in this group. Could one be a baby?
8:23 a.m - They're here! Between Hat and Whidbey. Heading towards Langley. Moving quickly! We think at least 5.
7:23 a.m - Orcas right now just south of the Clinton Ferry crossing. Appears to be a male and maybe two others, looked like females headed north. They are about a mile off the Clinton dock headed towards Hat Island/Saratoga Passage. I'm only seeing dorsal fins so it's hard to tell if it's a small female of possibly a young calf. -Melissa Simmons, WSF
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7:17 AM - Maia of WS Ferries relayed a report of 3-4 orcas 1000' north of the ferry Clinton/Mukilteo lane. No direction.
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April 7 - Penn Cove - North Puget Sounder #56. - A beauty of a gray whale feeding in the shallows at Monroe Landing tonight. The wind and periodic raindrops made it feel brutally cold but seeing that beautiful face made it all worth it. -Photo by Rachel Haight, April 7, 2018
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7:20 p.m. - Gray in Penn Cove. Must be feeding. Watched it for an hour. Maybe 50 feet from shore. Saw blow, back, and twice its entire face. Monroe Landing public parking area
Gray still feeding as of 6:50. So close to Monroe Landing Beach. We could hear the blow. -Geogg Kappes
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5:30 p.m. - Gray whale sighting; We saw a single small gray whale off the north shore of Penn Cove adjacent to Monroe Landing late afternoon traversing close to shore during low tide, perhaps feeding in the shallow near shore. -William Stelle
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1756 - grey whale shrimping, saw a dark black body after first blow, then soon after saw his whole back and no
dorsal. also he kept going back and forth across the sand flats. 1730 - just saw a gray right off Monroe landing boat ramp (Penn Cove). -Kit Rhodes
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April 7 - Approx. 5:45 p.m - We saw one gray whale headed north in Saratoga Passage between Langley and Camano Island. We are currently looking for Js from Sandy Point...so far no relighting. -Susan Berta, Orca Network
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1:13 p.m - Yes, it was a grey, saw the tail when it dove and had huge spouts of water, he is headed north towards Everett/Hat area.
12:46 p.m. - Just saw another whale at the ferry crossing (Mukilteo/Clinton) appears to be headed north. Only saw the whale spouting water, couldn't tell what kind of whale before it dove. I'd assume a grey but can't be positive. -Melissa Simmons, WSF
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10:30 a.m - Gray whale right off west side Sandy Point, Whidbey. -Christy Korrow
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10:15 a.m - Grey whale. I saw a whale in Meerkirk bay (a.k.a. Dines Point) about 10:15 AM this morning Saturday 7th April. The whale was on its own, moving west along the bay then turning north towards Greenbank and North Bluff. My attention was first drawn to the whale due to the noise it was making, rather like a roar. When I got to the shore line I saw the whale's head rising out of the water as it came up to breathe. The whale was in view for about 15 minutes as it headed north, rising to the surface to blow water from its blowhole then dropping below the surface. 48 4' 32"N, 122 33' 1"W. -Andrea Linton
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7:10 p.m. - on April 7, 2018, my husband & I spotted two gray whales heading south in the Saratoga Passage from our home in Greenbank. They appeared to feeding, but too far away to really see. Event lasted about 15 minutes. Mostly we saw the spouting action as they came to surface, but one time, part of one whale came up out water - don't know if was its' head or tail. Best guess feeding & traveling. Middle Saratoga Passage - east of Hidden Beach. -Kathryn Daberko

April 6
Seen a mama and a baby just off Friday Harbor from the ferry today around 3:00 pm headed northwest. -Hannah Loraine Jackson
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April 6 - Transient Orcas near Chrome island. 8-10 whales were first spotted in the Lambert channel around noon, between Hornby and Denman island. Last seen heading towards Baynes sound. T86A, T86A3-Louis Jobidon
(IDs by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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April 6 - Admiralty Inlet - (possibly Js, L87 coming in - alb) - 7:30 p.m - Viewed from Bush Point - Orca pod (one pod, four or more) heading south at sunset, west side of channel. Tracked from south end of Marrowstone to Point-no-Point. Very active, tail slapping, splashing, moving quickly to the south. One large male, at least 3-4 others. -Lorie & Guy Calkins
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7:20 p.m - Here at Mutiny Bay just watched pod of orcas come by headed south. Out mid channel so cant say how many or who, but a half dozen at least or more! -David Freed
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Watching a pod of about 6 orcas heading into Admiralty Inlet at 7:15 pm. mid channel, maybe closer to Whidbey side. -Windwalker Taibi
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7:09 p.m - There are half dozen orcas heading south on Whidbey side of Admiralty Inlet. -Howard Garrett, Orca Network
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April 6 - Haro Strait hydrophones - Hello, At 9:10 AM until 9:40 AM I heard intermittent whale song. There was a ship in the area so it was difficult to hear with great clarity but it was clear enough to identify at least 2 distinct voices. During that time I checked the Lime Kiln lighthouse webcam and saw 1 surface and blow. -Patrick Heys (forwarded by Scott Viers, Orca Sound)
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April 6 -South Puget Sound - 9:45 a.m. - I spotted a pair of orcas while out paddling this am. They were pretty far away but could have been quite large, dorsal fins were both tall, about equal in height and always surfacing in time together. They were heading South in the mid to east-side Carr Inlet just northwest of Raft Island. I saw them surface several times again west of Cutts Island before they were out of sight. Not sure if this is the proper way to report, but if you could let me know, great! We live on the water facing West to Carr and have seen a pair there before. -Melissa Ayn Pratt Meyer
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April 6 - Washington Coast - 5:40 p.m. - Gray whales, I think (pretty sure)... off the Jetty in Ocean Shores, headed north. -Teanne Rashel
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April 6 - 6:33 p.m. - three grays started heading north, now headed southwest north of Baby Island.
6:13 p.m - Seeing blows south of Baby Island straight across from Camano Island State Park. -Shelly Greybeck
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5:30 p.m. - Gray Whales (2-4) heading south in Saratoga Passage on east side of Whidbey Island approximately one mile south of Shangri La Shores. Just swimming south. -Bill Wiegand
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5:30 p.m - Connie Barrett reported another gray whale off Camano Island, N of Cama Beach, near Utsalady, at about 5:30 pm, the other two are still NW of Cama closer to the Whidbey side.
4:30 p.m. - Connie Barrett of Camano Island called in a report of what appears to be two Gray whales feeding and circling in one area in Saratoga Passage across from NW of Cama Beach State Park, closer to the Whidbey side.
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2:05 p.m. - PCFG #185 just west of Camano Head trending north. Close to shore. 21 and 22 were up north of Baby this morning. -Renee Beitzel
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Gray whale feeding between my home & Baby Island north of Camano state park in Saratoga Passage around 11:45 today. Whale watchers aboard Mystic Sea were also treated to this spectacular sight. -Lisa Pate
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8:09 a.m - Gray whales at Hidden beach (Greenbank), on the shore on Whidbey Side. -Trent
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7:43 a.m - 2 grays feeding at Hidden Beach! -Nancy Culp Zaretzke
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7:30 a.m - Gray whale Holmes Harbor feeding, working on shrimp. Feeding in front of Beverly Beach we have some good sand. -Moe Jerome

April 5
Unidentified killer whales - Discovery Bay, Washington - 6:15-6:45 p.m - Orca sighting Discovery Bay<. Saw 4-5 orcas feeding in Discovery Bay, Mill Point. -Jen Fisker-Andersen
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April 5 - Satellite Channel, BC - 6:00 p.m. - 2 orcas seen in Satellite Channel travelling south toward Sanich Inlet. -Dave Groom
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April 5 - Georgia Strait - 1:30 p.m. - Orcas today Georgia Strait Between Seal Bay Park and Little River ferry terminal (Comox, BC) at least six taking slowly cruising south. One female spy hopped twice and appeared to be looking for one youngster who, along with another one, seemed to be playing-Flipping upside down while then belly flopping. Waves were large today and unable to accurately count. No male. Females and several young ones for sure. Sorry no photos. Playing youngsters. Spy hopping female. Very slow travelers. - Janet Russell
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April 5 - Saratoga Passage/Penn Cove - 2:47 p.m. - Saw them leaving Penn Cove heading south east...tail slap. -Bonnie Gretz
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2:15 p.m. - Two orcas spotted in Penn Cove (from Captain Coupe Park)- opposite side of the Cove from downtown. Heading east out of the cove towards Saratoga Pass. -Trent
(Cell video sent by Trent shows at least 3: female, juvenile, and possibly younger one.- alb)
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12:24 p.m - Just saw Orcas in Saratoga passage, it looked like three to us. (defintly orca dorsals heading NE) We are looking NE from Harrington Lagoon...they were black and white and blowing and coming up and down as they swam in a NE direction. -Sara Lauby Brouwer
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11:05 a.m - 4-5 orcas heading north in Saratoga Passage, closer to Whidbey side. Called in by a young woman (who did not leave her name) from Cama Beach.
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Gray whales - April 5 - 7:00 a.m - What a glorious site. Enjoyed watching 2 Gray Whales feeding with pectoral fins skimming the water just off our retaining wall at Bells Beach here on Whidbey Island. One Blessed me with a Spyhop as well. They are traveling towards Langley. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a photo in time. -Kristin Carlson
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April 5 - Watched 3 orcas feeding from Maple Grove Beach on Camano Island from 7:00- 7:30 tonight. They were closer to the Whidbey side of the passage. Lots of dorsal sightings and tail flips, 2 amazing breaches! -Lesley Hamilton Frenz
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Unidentified orcas Penn Cove. - 2:30 - 3:00 p.m. - I think there were about 4 of them. Quite active for about 10 minutes. Viewing from Monroe Landing beach, Coupeville. -Photo by CeCe Celia Aguda, April 5, 2018

April 4
Bigg's killer whales - This photo pretty much sums up what the "T Party" was like today in Boundary Pass. We got rained on ALL DAY but it was well worth it. Here is T002C3, T099B and T099D spyhopping together. 3 of the 24 confirmed Bigg's killer whales today! -Photo by Gary Sutton, April 4, 2018
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A decade of watching these animals and my level of interest and curiosity is higher than ever. It was so cool to watch the social dynamics today with 24 Biggs killer whales in Boundary Pass. T002C's, T023Ds, T036A's, T037A's, T099's, T010's, T124C and T049A1, T002C2 "Tumbo", T023D3, T036A3 and T023D3, T099B spyhop, T023D, T002C and T037A.. -Gary Sutton
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It was quite the T-party with the T2Cs and quite a few other transient orcas near Patos Island. These were taken between 1:30 and 2:30 P.M. today. -Connor O'Brien
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April 4 - San Juans - 10:00 a.m. - Cypress Island, Deep Water Bay, Observed one adult orca and a calf swimming in a south easterly direction approximately 150 feet from the shoreline, near the southern tip of Deep Water Bay. -Regards, Andrew R. Lawrence
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April 4 - Saratoga Passage - Two orcas at Hidden Beach, Greenbank (east Whidbey Island) at 8 am. There were some tall thin fins like the orca. I am attaching a distant photo, enlarged, the head looks like an orca. They seemed to be headed south. -Sanford Laguna
(Reported as orca. Grays were reported in same area at same time, either is possible as orcas were confirmed next day 5th in Saratoga & Penn Cove, see above - alb)
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April 4 - 6:41 p.m - Two grays off Snatelum Point on Long Point side (Whidbey). Were heading south but appear to have stopped to feed. -Stephen Shelley
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One gray whale north of Hidden Beach, Saratoga Passage @ 4:30-630pm. The weather was gloomy and raining so this was the best we could do. We walked a total of 4 miles to see him/her. -Beth Clifton
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2:30 p.m. - Spouts just south of the Mukilteo/Clinton ferry, closer to Whidbey. Grays? -Le Anne Tobin
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2:25 p.m. - on a late Kittitas ferry we had a cetacean moving north to south across ferry lanes. No fin like a humpback so presumably gray BUT did some sort of tail throw while traveling. Lots of oohs and aahs in my carpool lol. Fluked up and stayed down and we are past now. Not every day you see these guys being that active. -Debbie stewart
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8:00 a.m - We received a report from Mary Pacher of Greenbank that she observed two gray whales feeding at Hidden Beach at 8 am.

April 3
Southern Residents - ..on our first trip we were able to spend precious time with J-pod and it made me smile to find that J46 "Star" and J40 "Suttles" were together again (or perhaps still together) since the last time I had seen them. This time the two were swimming closely with J31 "Tsuchi" and her older brother, J27 "Blackberry". -Sara Hysong-Shimazu
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J26 surfing a freighter wake south of Trial Island on the afternoon of April 3rd. -Photo by Mark Malleson, 2018
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Faint calls on Lime Kiln 1:48 pm. -Alethea Leddy
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April 3 - The T037A's and T099's had one thing on their minds today.....FOOD! They spent almost all day making life very hard on the harbour seal population in Saanich Inlet. Here is T099D tearing some harbour seal apart while one of the T37A, T99, T99D, T99C, T037A kids helps from below the surface. -Gary Sutton
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I went whale watching with Outer Island Adventures where we found the T2Cs north of Victoria. I believe they were northbound. I think we were with them from about 2:30-3:15 or something like that. I heard that J pod was out yesterday as well but unfortunately we did not get to see them. -Connor O'Brien
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April 3 - Juan de Fuca Strait - Sorry for the late report, but approx 5 or so Orca near Hein Bank at 1748. Just milling, looking to be foraging. -James Greenway
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April 3 - 5:05 p.m. - seeing blows off far end of Woodland Beach, possible gray. Can't get direction yet, but will continue to observe from our high bluff lookout above North Woodland Beach (Camano approx 4.5 miles north of Cama SP). -Krista Paulino
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We watched 2 grays and a young one in Saratoga Passage from 10 am until 12:30 pm from the south end of Camano Island state park. They traveled south on the Whidbey island side straight across from us, followed at a good distance by a large whale boat. After feeding near the shore they reversed direction and traveled north past Baby Island and Sandy Shores. They were last seen heading north, still along the Whidbey side. -Gail Dunbar
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Tuesday April 3rd, had the pleasure of watching two gray whales swimming & feeding leisurely in Saratoga Passage, north of Camano State Park between our home & Baby Island from 11:30am to 12:10pm. They would split up to feed & rejoin intermittently, one whale swimming in circles & smacking water with its fluke. This caused excited barking from the seals on Baby Island. -Lisa & Scott Pate
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At about 12:30 we spotted what I think was 3 grey whales across the strait from Camano State Park, close to Whidbey Island. Lots of blows and tails, way too far from us to get any identifying photos. They lingered there for awhile then headed north. -Jeanette Lynn
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Longtime friends who like to spend time together, Sounders 21 and 22 in Saratoga Passage. #21 Shackleton - Saratoga Passage. -Photo by Janine Harles, April 3, 2018
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2 gray whales feeding at Fox Spit then headed south in Saratoga Passage around 11:00. (would be 21 & 22). -Jim Lovvorn
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11:00 a.m - We also have 21 and 22 together between Elger Bay and East Point (Fox Spit). -Renee Beitzel
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We had a call from a gentleman at 10:10 am, reporting one gray whale feeding about 150 yards off shore of Crescent Harbor off NAS Whidbey Sea Plane Base in Oak Harbor.
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Deceased gray whale April 3 initial report:
We at Orca Network/Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network received a report on April 3rd of a deceased gray whale on a Whidbey Island beach. A team of our Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network (CPSMMSN) volunteers conducted an initial examination that day and a full necropsy was conducted by Cascadia Research Collective and a team today April 5th. It is a common and sad occurrence to have several gray whales die in our region during their migration north, as they head back to their feeding grounds after a long journey south to mating and breeding lagoons.
If you see this Whale on the beach, please keep your distance, and remember it is a federal crime to collect any marine mammal parts without a permit from NOAA Fisheries. Researchers can learn a lot from stranded whales and other marine mammals, and we ask the public to leave the whale alone in her final resting place. Cascadia has provided an intial update from todays exam (below), we will provide updates as more information becomes available. To report stranded marine mammals in Island, Skagit or N Snohomish counties, contact the CPSMMSN/Orca Network at 1-866-ORCANET or info@orcanetwork.org
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April 5th update by Cascadia Research:
A young female gray whale that was first reported dead on the west side of Whidbey Island on Tuesday 3 April 2018 was examined today (5 April) by a team that included responders from Cascadia Research, SR3, Central Puget Sound Stranding Network, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The whale was just under 30 feet long and determined to be emaciated and the poor nutritional condition was likely a principal factor in its death. The thorough examination did not reveal any indications of trauma from ship strike or signs of entanglement but a wide range of tissues were collected for examination for pathology, disease, biotoxins, and contaminants. The unique markings on this whale did not match any of the more regular individuals that are typically seen in this region and cataloged by Cascadia Research and was likely one of the more than 20,000 gray whales that migrate past Washington each year in spring. The primary period for strandings of gray whales is April, May, and June so we are still early in this period.

A life too short...
A young female gray whale at her final resting place on a Whidbey Island.
Photo by Gwynne Gambit, April 3, 2018
(Appreciation to Gwynne for the initial report/photos to our Central Puget Sound Stranding Network)

April 2
T049A1 and T0124C near Maple Bay on the afternoon of April 2nd. -Photo by Mark Malleson
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I'm forwarding this orca report (Orcas spotted in Saltair: "I see the T37As in the link photos, Melisa Pinnow, CWR). which was sent to me by my mother's neighbor, Brenda. The whales were visible from Mum and Brenda's condos, which overlook Transfer Beach in Ladysmith, near Saltair, which is between Nanaimo and Victoria B.C. on Vancouver Island. Mum didn't actually see them as we were on a Skype call at the time i.e. Monday, April 2 at 10:00 am. Brenda (Bailey) sent another pic which I'll forward - she found it on another Facebook site and did not take it herself. (we forwarded that photo to Melisa Pinnow, CWR :"The male looks like T49A1 maybe.") -Cheers, Sandra Pollard
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April 2 - Haro Strait - 4-2-18 5:15 pm - Ts on Lime Kiln HPs right now...just a few calls and they were of good volume. -Jeanne Hyde
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Coastal killer whales - April 2 - Orcas in Oregon off the Yaquina Head Lighthouse in Newport, OR. At least 7 or 8 (that showed up in my pictures simultaneously - most likely several more. One (maybe two) of the orcas circled a Gray Whale for several minutes but did not appear to attack it. The rest of the pod had moved South by then. -Pike Bremer
(ID notes Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research: "Those are Ts but not sure who."
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April 2 - Possession Sound/South Saratoga - gray whale - 5:25 p.m. - Port Susan, next to Kayak Point at McKees beach. -Photo by Sar Kortekaas, April 2, 2018
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SEVEN whales today!! No April Fool's joke either! Just after leaving port on calm seas, we found #383 and #531 feeding together between Hat/Gedney Island and Sandy Point on Whidbey. Then #21 Shackleton and #22 Earhart were spotted together just east of Camano Head. Capt Eric then spotted another "blow" and we had quick views of the "new" visitor in town, CRC 185, before continuing to SE Hat/Gedney Island where we found #49 Patch feeding along the shallow bank, and we also found #53 Little Patch a little further west. What a thrill for our passengers - and our crew - to see so many gray whales in such a small area of Possession Sound! Well done, Mystic Sea. -Jill Hein, volunteer naturalist.
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At 1:40 p.m. - Eric from Mystic Sea called the Langley Whale Center to report: #383 & #531 between Gedney Island and Sandy Point. #21 & #22 near Camano Head heading North into Port Susan. And #49, #53, and CRC-185 SE of Gedney Island.
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Not sure if gray, lots of spouting, spotted Harrington Lagoon about 1pm close to shore Whidbey side. -Photo by Kira Dickinson, April 2, 2018
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11:59 a.m - Two whales feeding just south of Hat Island heading west toward Mukilteo/Whidbey. -Danica Bourne
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April 2 - Utsalady Bay/Skagit Bay - 6:32 p.m. - Those two Grays are back off Utsalady Bay on the North end of Camano with the tide. Feeding and blowing. -Dean Kayler
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8:58 a.m - At least two Grays feeding in the bay between Utsalady and Browns Point this morning! Northern end of Camano Island on Skagit Bay. Lots of people on the local FB pages talking about all the spouting and finning. -Dean Kayler

April 1
It's been quite a 24 hours on the hydrophones! Yesterday a sperm whale, and today the T2Cs who were chatty for well over an hour in Haro Strait. Today was also the first official day of our fourth field season and we were lucky enough to see the T2Cs early in the day and then have an extended acoustic encounter with them in the afternoon. Here's a CLIP of what we heard. -Monika Wieland Shields
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T2C1 - Photo of the Orcas that Maia reported. We are on board same ferry, Chelan. -Photo by Chuck Howell, April 1, 2018
(ID by Alisa LB based on confirmed matriline from Monika's report)
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10:50 AM - Maia at WS Ferries relayed a report of six orcas off Spieden Island. No direction given.
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April 1 - Utsalady Bay, Saratoga Passage - "A rare double spout gray whales in unison just before sunset Easter Day, 2018." -Photo by Phil Kezele, April 1, 2018
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April 1 - April Fool's Day? Not for passengers and crew on Mystic Sea, who soon caught up with Sounder #383 and his companion 531 traveling in tandem near Hat (Gedney) Island. Despite chilly, choppy conditions hardy sailors kept track of the whales while enjoying a mix of sea spray and whale breath blowing on the wind, before bidding the duo farewell and heading north in Saratoga Passage to catch up with a raft of barking, frolicking California sea-lions near Baby Island. No Easter bunnies on this trip, but half-a-dozen Bald Eagles dueling above the treetops waited to greet us on our return to the port of Langley on yet another adventure filled day. -Sandra Pollard, Author/Naturalist.
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2:50 p.m. - Two grays heading north just past Madrona Beach on Camano Island! Lots of spouts and flukes! -Vicki Anderson
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11:14 a.m - 2 grey whale just north of the Clinton ferry dock heading east. -Danielle Pennington
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10:47 a.m. - (grays) Feeding and heading NW towards state park and more towards Whidbey side now.
10:23 a.m. - 2 grays in Elger Bay! -Tami Fifield
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9:57 a.m - Now about mid-channel between Whidbey and Gedney.
9:45 a.m. - 2 greys slowly heading south from Sandy Point. -Caleb Thompson
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Saw one gray whale feeding at Fox Spit this morning at 6:50. Headed towards the middle of Saratoga passage southbound. -Ann Brockenbrough