December 2011 Whale Sightings

Click here for Map of December 2011 whale sightings.

December 31, 2011

4:20 pm - Leaving the orca, they are still moving steadily southward along Bainbridge, might make Eagle harbor before dark. Happy New Year!
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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3:55 - Directly east of Pt. Monroe (north end of Bainbridge Is.) starting to move south now.
Lance King
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3:54 - Pod has picked up the pace and heading south along Bainbridge. Probably at about Fay Bainbridge park.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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3:45 - research boat left and they are still milling around the same area possibly moving south at a snails pace.
Whitney Neugebauer
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3:35 - Currently way out mid channel next small boat NE of Pt. Monroe (north bainbridge) and North Beach on the Seattle. Now heading south.
Lance King
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2:45 - They have moved more west, still just off port Madison, slow movement SW. Acting more like residents but low number is throwing me off.
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2:16 - they are mid channell between Richmond Beach and out from port Madison. Little spread out still southerly but have slowed out there. Looks like a research boat with them. Maybe 8 Orca with all sizes, one mature male, and a very young one.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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1:50 - I just saw them from the ferry! Anyone know of a good beach to look for them on the Kingston side?
William Byrne Drumm
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12:55 - they have turned and are heading south at a good pace.
12:50 - still milling in same area, a wee bit more to north, but still off the point.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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Mom & baby, I think! - shortly before noon, one mile north of the ferry, Kingston.
Shirley Bomgaars
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11:46 am - John Rogstad of WA State Ferries relayed a call from the ferry captain of 4 orcas, one male, two smaller and one very small orca, actively milling and splashing off Apple Cove Point, near Kingston, for the past 90 minutes.
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11:40 - Wow, they have been doing cartwheels, breaching, lunging, along with all that milling for the last hour in that same spot. So excellent!
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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11:26 - Another report from Anthony Wolke on the ferry: 5 orcas are milling and foraging off Apple Cove Pt., near Kingston, possibly going slowly southward.
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Another orca update - are they moving south or north now? I noticed a pod of orcas between Kingston and Edmonds today at 10:30 moving south. Some spy hops, a few large breeches, lots of spouting. They got as far south as the oil docks and then headed north again. People coming off the ferry said there was one large male, a few females and 3-4 juveniles.
Casey Burns, Kingston, WA
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10:52 - my friend just texted me from the kingston ferry. He said they "put on quite a show." lucky...
Shane Farnor
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10:35am - I see tail lobbing, breaches and maybe lunge feeding just north of Kingston ferry lane.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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9:18 am - At least three Orcas off South Eglon, west of the shipping lanes. They seem to be heading South and seem to be feeding on the way. Looks like a male, a female and maybe a baby.
TOM BANKS
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8:45 am - Byron Faber called Orca Network reporting 5-6 orcas headed south past Pilot Point, near Kingston this morning.

December 30, 2011

Sightings of Risso's dolphins in southern Puget Sound - 30 December 2011
Kim Merriman reported a sighting to Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia of some unidentified dolphin/whales at the entrance to Eld Inlet on 30 December 2011. She was able to obtain some distant photographs of the animals, two of which are shown below. These were identified as likely juvenile Risso's dolphins by John Calambokidis at Cascadia. Risso's dolphins are fairly common off the Washington coast especially along the continental slope but their occurrence in Puget Sound in extremely rare and unusual. At least two previous reports going back almost a month of unidentified large dolphins or small whales could have been these same animals so it is possible these have been around for a few weeks. Southern Puget Sound has seen a previously undescribed diversity of species in 2010 and 2011. This has included the return of harbor porpoise in increasing numbers far south in the sound and sightings and strandings of more tropical southern species including Bryde's whales, bottlenose dolphins, and a long-beaked common dolphin (who remains in the area).
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Ken Balcomb just called (11:16 am) to say at least some Js are headed north up Haro Strait, past the Center for Whale Research. It's windy and solid whitecaps and he only saw a few dorsal fins but could ID some J pod whales.
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10:26 am - Calls at Lime Kiln!!! The group included J and K pod members. The calls were echoing and sounded a mile or two away from Lime Kiln. I also heard some echolocation at 10:34 am.
Meg McDonald
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10:26 am - Lime Kiln hydrophones - Sounds like J Pod is here.
Jeanne Hyde

December 29, 2011

December 28, 2011

December 27, 2011

December 26, 2011

Volunteers from the Point Vicente Interpretive Center spotted killer whales near a fin whale on Tuesday. We tried to get out with the killer whales off Pt. Vicente today, but they disappeared into the sun glare 30 minutes before we arrived on the scene; they had been with a fin whale - slowly headed west.
Alisa Shulman-Janiger, Director of the ACS/LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project.

December 25, 2011

December 24, 2011

December 23, 2011

I just IDed some of the KWs off Ventura CA on 12/23 as the CA51s, heading this way; maybe they were the ones involved with the fin whale interaction.
Alisa Schulman-Janiger

December 22, 2011

I am reporting a sighting of a pod of orcas in Big Sur CA this morning. The approximate location is N 36.19975, W 121.730325 just south of sea lion cove. There were 3 adult females and one calf and they were attacking or 'bullying' 2 adult gray whales. The attack happened about 300 meters from shore and about 500 meters from where I was standing along Highway 1. They left and swam south after about 10 minutes of interaction with the grays. I believe once they were about a mile off shore they got a sea lion, there were about 100 gulls flying around and the orcas were splashing a lot. This was at Torre Canyon, approximately: N 36.188113, W 121.732424 where there is a deep submarine canyon. I didn't notice any distinguishing marks on any of the females. I first saw them at 8:50 am and then saw the possible sea lion kill at about 9:20 am. They were still traveling about a mile off shore and following the coastline south. The last time I saw them was at 10:20 am at about Mc Way Falls (N 36.156865, W 121.697288). I have photos that I can send if you would like, but I have not put them on my computer yet.
Nicole LaRoche

December 21, 2011

December 20, 2011

10:30 am - This morning I saw four Orcas in Discovery Bay, off Diamond Point, heading north.
Richard Isherwood, Port Townsend WA

December 19, 2011

We had an encounter on Jim Maya's boat with the T49As and T49Bs near Kelp Reef where they did kill one harbor seal.
Dave Ellifrit
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T49a's and T49b's...... Along with T49c !!!!!!
Jeff Lamarche
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1:24pm - 10 transients off Victoria. Got the report from jeff Lamarche.
Josh McInnes
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12:00 noon - Just got calls from Jeanne Hyde & Jim Maya---Transients off the west side (San Juan Is.) heading north!!!
John Boyd
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At 11:15 a.m. I was watching a transient adult male about 100 feet from shore, I believe. Of course I'll post the whole story on my blog.
Jeanne Hyde
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07:16 - faint transient calls.
Jeanne Hyde

December 18, 2011

4-5 pm ish - [Orcas]!! @ Orcas Island Ferry Terminal.
Kathryn Wunnicke
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Saw orcas at the North end of San Juan channel today at noon.
Rick Plath
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At least a half-dozen orcas today at Pt. Caution, northwest of Friday Harbor ... heading Northwest up San Juan Channel at 11:10am. One baby. One spy-hop!
Kevin Hillstrom
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05:07 - clear J Pod calls, though faint, beginning on Lime Kiln hydrophones.
Jeanne Hyde

December 17, 2011

Note: NOAA's NW Fisheries Science Center and the Center for Whale Research have confirmed that on December 17, 39-year old J16 (Slick) gave birth to a new baby calf in Puget Sound, probably only a few hours judging from the fresh fetal folds, before being seen and photographed by veteran field researcher Candice Emmons of NWSFC. This makes J16's fifth calf since her first, J26, was born in 1991. She was the sixteenth J pod orca photographed and identified by Mike Bigg in 1972, and is among the oldest whose age is known exactly. Her matriline is known as the J7's after J16's late mother.
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We saw two orca's right off Titlow Beach (off Tacoma) heading towards the Narrows Saturday Dec 17 @ about 9:00am. We thought possibly mamma and baby or teen due to the difference in their size. This sighting was a long time in coming and most overwhelming. As a result I was a little delayed in grabbing my cell phone and missed the window for pics!
Paige Van Der Vliet
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Still very audible at 11:55 (on Port Townsend hydrophones) until the boat drowned them out. Such a privilege to hear those beauties after spending the day watching them.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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Lots of calls still on PT hydros.....definite K Pod calls and a few Js in there too.....not hearing any Ls though.....
John Boyd
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2300 - Just began hearing a lot of calls & whistles on the PT hydrophones, with a lot of other noise as well - not sure who, but likely the Js & Ks that were in Puget Sound today.
Susan Berta
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2241 - faint SRKW calls (on PT phones).
Jeanne Hyde
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18:22 - clearly transient calls now - Lime Kiln Hydrophones
17:35 - Lime Kiln Hydrophones - began hearing high pitched sounds every two to three minutes... still continuing.
Jeanne Hyde
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The unofficial word from Brad Hanson of NOAA is that Js, Ks and L87 were still together in Puget Sound today. The last he saw of them was around 4:10 pm as they were still "trending" NW toward Admiralty inlet from Possession Point, Whidbey Island, but he said he wouldn't be surprised if they turned around again.
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3:45 pm - Can see the orcas now from Dave Mackie County Park on Whidbey. They're to the southwest and look closer to the Kitsap side. Far off, but close enough to see sprays with the naked eye
Jon Scanlon
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3:00 pm - Orcas spotted off Mayne Island lighthouse; coming from Georgia Strait into Active Pass. I'm assuming J pod; I missed them by 15 minutes. ):
Deborah Simpson
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2:42 pm - Brad Hanson and Lori Wilson say the orcas have turned westward toward Admiralty Inlet.
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2:24 - Southside of Whidbey off Posession Pt, generally heading north into Posession sound.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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2:19 - Lori Wilson says they are still heading toward Possession Point, but she still can't tell if they'll go up Saratoga Passage or Admiralty Inlet.
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1:55 pm - Brad Hanson called to say the orcas seem to be angling NE toward Saratoga Passage, but it's still too early to tell for sure.
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1:43 - they are nearing Scatchet head, Cutlus Bay, Whidbey Island.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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1:38 - Lori Wilson called to say she sees orcas heading north from north of Edmonds, but it's too ealy to tell if they'll go up Saratoga Passage or Admiralty Inlet.
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1:28 - they are moving towards Whidbey in the direction of Useless Bay but still out in middle of the sound. Hard to say if they'll go around Posession or up the inlet. One of the most interesting actions of the day (besides breaches and tail lobs) was about noon when the lead 6-7 ( young ones included) orca turned rather quickly (from northern end of Edmonds) and porpoised really fast back southward to the group that was near NOAA research boat. The pod then stayed in a very tight group for at least 1 hour as they (and the research boat) moved slowly north. We were thinking an elder gave them a shout out to join the group for whatever reason.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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1:25 - That northerly group looks to have turned south or west or just feeding in circles. : )
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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12:37 - still grouped drifting northward, mid channel between Edmonds & Eglon (Kitsap).
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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12:10 - Seeing some way out off Edmonds.
Kathy Wahl
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12:05 - Many off Kingston heading north.
Cindie Lang
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12:05 - Watching them off in the distance, half way between Edmonds and Kingston, still going north.
William Byrne Drumm
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11:30 - One group of at least 6 closer to Edmonds side moving slowly north, kind of towards Posession Pt.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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11:45 am - Brad Hanson of NOAA's NWFSC called from the Edmonds/Kingston ferry lane - the orcas have turned around and headed back south!
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11:19 am - WA State Ferries called to relay a report from a deck hand of a pod of orca surrounding the Edmonds ferry dock.
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11:15 - 2 more mid channel heading northish pointing toward Kingston.
Cindie Lang
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11:10 - Just spotted three orcas, just off Richmond Beach, headed north towards Point Wells then Edmonds.
Dave Haas
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11:05 - Between Richmond beach and Jefferson head. Mid channel. Have seen 2 big one little. Slightly moving north.
Cindie Lang
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11am 4 Orca whales ..including a baby.. spotted of Richmond Beach heading North.
Denise Guerrero, King 5 News
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Orcas inbound East Sooke Park @ 11am. Resting, too far for ID, about 20 animals. Should be at Race by now.
Brandon Harvey
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10:56 am in Malaspina Strait, on the east side of Georgia Strait, north of Vancouver, BC, Tony McGinnis just reported a group of 5-6 orcas heading SE, toward Vancouver.
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10:15 - Direction northerly, some making good time with foraging along the way.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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9:58 - Alisa Brooks called to say she found the orcas, right about where the Clipper had them at 8:20, between Richmond Beach and Port Madison, north of Seattle in Puget Sound, still generally possibly heading north, but not making much progress.
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The Victoria Clipper IV reports that at 8:20 am J pod is heading north in Puget Sound between Shilshoal and Jefferson Head, very active, spyhopping, breaching, and possibly feeding.

December 16, 2011

Went back out for one last try at seeing the whales. At 4:10 pm I saw some just south of Lagoon Pt, others further south, nearly to Bush Pt. So I headed down to Bush Pt, and at about 4:30 saw a pod over closer to the Marrowstone Island side, a breach/splash, then a freighter went past & blocked the view for awhile. Then, just as I was about to pack it in, here comes a pod passing much closer to the Bush Pt. side - yay!! They were moving fast, & I tried to get photos but since it was so dark & I didn't have time to set up the tripod they are blurry, but it was nice to have a close pass by just before dark! There were more spouts down toward Pt. No Point, so they seem to be continuing south - let us know if you hear any blows out there tonight! Who knows where they will show up tomorrow~
Susan Berta
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Just got home to Everett from Whidbey...THANKS for the Bush Point suggestion Orca Network-- I finally got to see them! Sounds like I should have hung around a bit longer to see them closer, but it was still very cool. There was one big male with a really tall dorsal. And several smaller groups of 3 or 4. They were pretty spread out, but lots of action.
Pam Ren
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4:10 pm - Susan just called from Lagoon Pt. to say there are still more orcas in mid-channel heading south, including at least one male.
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Cold, hungry, thirsty but VERY happy (it doesn't take much) after spending four hours observing some of our endangered southern residents in Admiralty Inlet. My last sighting was at 4.00 pm at Bush Point when I watched one male, a Mum and calf and a couple of other females/juveniles pass by before they disappeared into the fading light - and who knows where? Note that Susan, a little further up at Lagoon Point, was still seeing whales approaching.
Sandy Pollard
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Kathy Webb called from Lagoon Point at 3:10 to say there were at least 5 or 6 orcas heading south in mid-channel, including at least two babies.
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2:55 - hearing calls now.
Martha McCartney
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I spotted [orcas] from a bluff above Fort Worden far on the Whidbey Island side.... so ran downtown and walked on the 2:15 PT / Coupville ferry. They were everywhere! What a treat ♥
Kippi Waters
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2:08 - Now swimming between Ft. Casey and Ft. Worden.
Martha McCartney
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1:45 - they were just south of Ft Casey - heading south. I see them.
Mary Hulbert
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1:22 - More calls on the PT phones.
Orca Network
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1:06 pm - John Rogstad of Washington State Ferries called to relay a report from the captain of the ferry Salish about a pod of orcas moving slowly south in the Keystone to Port Townsend ferry lane. He also reported that a group of 5 or 6 juveniles were off to themselves, accompanied by an adult male. Babysitting maybe?
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More coming in! 12:43 - Sandra Pollard just called from Ft. Casey (Admiralty Head, Whidbey) to say more orcas are approaching Admiralty Inlet from the north, coming steadily south, mid-channel and closer to the Whidbey Island side.
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12:29 pm - Calls still audible as the ferry pulls away.
Meg McDonald
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12:10 - I just heard a couple of L pod whistles and calls. L87 was already spotted. Could there be more L pod members at this time of year?
Meg McDonald
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11:40 am - Jill Hein reports orcas spread out across Admiralty, heading south, between Ft. Casey and Port Townsend.
Orca Network
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11:50 - I see [orcas] now from Point Wilson.
Deborah Wood
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1:45 - Loud on Port Townsend hydrophone right now! Ringing J and K pod calls.
Meg McDonald
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11:22 - J and K calls now on Port Townsend hydrophones.
Meg Mcdonald
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11:08 am - Just heard an S-1 call and spotted a male headed south-- right about in the middle of Port Townsend, Pt. Wilson and Admiralty Head.
Chrissy McClean, PTMSC
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11:05 - Calls now on Port Townsend hydrophone.
Orca Network
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11:05 am - Calls at Port Townsend!
Meg McDonald
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9:45 am - Victoria Clipper reports finding at least a dozen orcas, including L87 Onyx, spread out on and around Partidge Bank, heading SE, toward Admiralty Inlet. So far no calls on Port Townsend hydrophones.
Orca Network
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One single transient call on Lime Kiln at 18:11 and a couple other Transient calls at 18:23. They were very faint.
Jeanne Hyde
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5:57 PM - ORCA AT ORCASOUND
5:51 PM - ORCA AT ORCASOUND
Lon BROCKLEHURST
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Transient T31 at Race Rocks on his own about 2 pm.
Josh McInnes

December 15, 2011

We live on the west side of Mill Bay (Saanich Inlet, north of Victoria BC), and although not frequent, we have sighted Orcas in the Bay. There was a pod back in August, and we have also seen them in May. Thursday 15 December we spotted what at first seemed to be a lone male. He was swimming slowly in a circle, and not quartering the area as they seem to do when searching for food. After a while we, got glimpses of a smaller (female?) inside the male's circle. They were closer to the Saanich side of the Bay, so even with good binoculars, it was not easy to see detail. But then, as they were leaving the area, a third smaller orca showed itself.
Dave and Maxine Livingstone
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From Joslyn Gibson - her other half was on the Coho Ferry departing Victoria at 4:15 pm, and saw a pod of orcas coming into Victoria Harbor - no other details as to number of whales, etc.

December 14, 2011

December 13, 2011

09:23 am - transient calls on LK
Jeanne Hyde

December 12, 2011

December 11, 2011

Here are the same killer whales again, this time off of Balboa Pier (Newport Beach CA) this morning - caught by the crew from Daveys Locker. These were spotted by the volunteers from the ACS/LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project.
Alisa Schulman-Janiger

December 10, 2011

11:45 am - Just observed two orcas in Case Inlet (South Puget Sound). They did a series of long dives just south of Vaughn Bay for about 15 minutes. I last spotted them heading towards Heron Island.
Pamela Benson-Lasnetske
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The trained volunteers for the ACS/LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project spotted 12 killer whales about 2 miles off off Point Vicente CA at about 1:30 pm today. We got on them around 2 pm and confirmed them as transients: the CA51s, the CA50s, and the CA140s. They killed at least one sea lion, and were VERY surface-active: breaches, spyhops, headstands, close approaches - and mating!'' They were last sighted at about sunset heading very slowly eastward, still surface-active. The CA51s were the active group seen yesterday off Ventura, based on the images that Luke Dutton posted on the Island Packers Facebook; Luke and Captain Anthony Lombardi enjoyed watching them from the Islander.
Alisa Schulman-Janiger, California Killer Whale Project, ACS/LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project: Director/Coordinator

December 9, 2011

8-9 ORCAS 4 MILES OFFSHORE IN BETWEEN VENTURA HARBOR AND SCORPION RANCH, SANTA CRUZ ISLAND CA, 80-100FT DEPTH OF WATER, going SLOWLY SOUTH, 10AM, PLAYING, MATING, ONE LARGE MALE WAS REPEATEDLY ROLLING OVER AND MOUNTING OTHER WHALES, ONE SMALLER ORCA HAD A LARGE FIN IN ITS MOUTH. I HAVE A PICTURE OF THIS, ONE LARGE (25FT + MALE), SEVERAL MID SIZE AND A FEW VERY SMALL CALVES. ONE HAD A SHALLOW CUT ABOUT 1/3 OF THE WAY UP ITS DORSAL FIN ON THE FRONT AND WAS HEAVILY SCARRED ON ITS BODY IN FRONT OF ITS DORSAL FIN.
Grant Cunningham
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6:16 PM: In the same spots that we have been seeing all of the humpback feeding activity just offshore of Ventura Harbor CA, four miles. We saw our first couple of spouts but alas they were from a large group of Orcas today! It was one of the best shows of these animals I have seen, there were at least 4 calfs and a maybe three females and a large male. They weren't moving in any particular direction, and then we found out why when Pink Floyd came on the stage and put a show on, multiple times. We ended up drifting with them and had a great show under the bow and playing with the passengers for over half an hour. There were some great pics and video taken, some will be posted on the Island Packers facebook site soon. The most amazing thing captured by our crew Luke on video was the calves vocalizing to us. The female brought the calf over to the boat and it lifted its head out of the water and started vocalizing and it was really neat to hear. There was a total of at least nine. We tried to find them on the way back this afternoon but to no avail. Early start to the season.
Anthony Lombardi

December 8, 2011

December 7, 2011

Five orcas were reported just north of Nanaimo BC this morning. According to Lon Kamann, they were headed north in Northwest Bay at 9:45 am, near about 50 sea lions, which were "going crazy." There was one male in the group, and possibly one baby. Sounds like transients.

December 6, 2011

We received a call from Gretchen at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse visitor center in Newport, OR, relaying a report from visitors of 3 orcas off the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. The pod included 1 adult male.
Susan & Howard

December 5, 2011

9:33 pm - Orcas breathing off Camano Is. between Cama beach and the state park! Very cool:)
Danelle Murphy
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Js and Ks and probably Onyx L-87 woke me up at 2:32 am. But I realized they had been on both the Lime Kiln and Orca Sound hydrophones since about 1 am. Their calls lasted up until almost 6 am. More of the details and a couple clips I'll post on my blog Whale of A Purpose
Jeanne Hyde, San Juan Island
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Looks like the first calls were autodetected at Orcasound around 1 a.m. Still hearing them now at Lime Kiln, but any calls at Orcasound are masked by ship noise.
Scott Veirs

December 4, 2011

5 Transients in Monterey Bay, the CA138s, CA217 (Chopfin), and CA171b together. They successfully hunted a large harbor seal about 7 miles SW of Moss Landing CA.
Kate Cummings
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We had another amazing encounter with the same transient pod that has been in the Bay for eight days now, which includes the large male "Chop Top". Today the pod was joined by another large male. Today they attacked and beat up a harbor seal for at least fifteen minutes prior to killing and eating it. They injured it immediately and it was bleeding profusely, yet it hung on at the surface while they repeatedly tail whacked it and dragged it around and pushed it about. It was a very active and prolonged kill event, with the orcas surging in tight circles around the seal. There was plenty of partial breaches and tail lobs. It appeared that the adults were letting the younger animals practice their techniques. The coordinates were approximately 36.46.5N and 121.54.0W
Dorris Welch, Marine Biologist, Sanctuary Cruises, Monterey Bay CA

December 3, 2011

Up to 15 T's off Victoria this afternoon most going West, 4-5 going East.
Ron Bates
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Out with Capt. Spencer, Legacy Charters. We encountered several transients at 1:55 pm, heading west. When first spotted they were approximately a mile south and a mile east of Race Rocks. There were at least 4, possibly 5, animals, no adult males in the group. At the same time, behind this group by a couple miles and a bit farther to the south, heading west, were what appeared to be, 4 more, including one large male. We stayed with the first group for a while, leaving them moving rapidly west. We did not find the second group (hence no proof of who it actually was). Then, on the way back, at four and a half miles south of Victoria, we saw more transient whales. There were 5 or 6 and no adult males. We stayed just long enough to get some photos and left them heading east at 3:15 pm. I will post more of the story with pictures on my blog Whale of A Purpose.
Jeanne Hyde, San Juan Island

December 2, 2011

One of our volunteers works on Princess Monterey Whale Watch and said they saw 5 to 6 Orcas. One with dorsal fin missing so most likely it was "Stumpy" plus there was another male with the group. According to another whale watch boat they had killed a sea lion before the Princess got to the area. If indeed it was "Stumpy" then it would have been the same group as seen last weekend in the same area, only yesterday another male was with them. Probably the one that is occasionally seen with them.
Peggy Stap
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Email from my mother on Vancouver Island this morning about 'lots of Orcas off Gabriola Island'. No more details at present...
Sandy Pollard
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Watched 1 group of orcas heading out of Admiralty from Pt. Partridge, WAY offshore, left @ 2:30 pm. then a call from Sandra Pollard @ 2:35, reporting spouts off Keystone again/still! back @ ft casey now, still looking...
Susan Berta
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2:20 pm - At our last sighting in looked like they were headed NW into Haro Strait, but they could turn westward out the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Howard Garrett
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1:40 pm - at Ft Casey now, orcas bet. N Marrowstone Isl, Admiralty Hd, & Pt Townsend, foraging, still heading NW.
Susan
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11:30 am - orcas between Lagoon Pt & Admiralty Head, closer to Whidbey side, heading NW in Admiralty inlet
Susan
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Hydrophone reports
5:35 pm - now calls on OrcaSound - faint
Jeanne Hyde

5:34 pm - ORCA CALLS AT LIME KILN
RoboLon

5:20 pm - I hear them! Faint resident calls on the Lime Kiln hydrophone.
Jane Cogan

4:43 pm - SRWKs calls LK hps.
Jeanne Hyde

1 pm - they're atill there!!!!
Gabriela Rojas

12:50 - I'm definitely hearing it. I heard two very brief calls.
Lisa Falcao

12:22 pm - Calls on the Port Townsend hydrophone are loud and clear now.
Meg McDonald

11:55 - Clear enough now to hear distinct J and K signature calls.
Meg McDonald

11:39 - They're audible again now.
Meg McDonald

11:15 - heard a couple of calls
Alisa Lemire Brooks

11:13 - Calls
Lisa Falcao

11:08 am - Calls again over ferry noise!
Meg McDonald

10:49 a.m. - Hearing faint calls on Port Townsend hydrophone.
Gayle Swigart
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10:25 - Mike Waitt of Bush Pt. just called to report lots of orcas in Admiralty Inlet, moving slowly north across the channel, still just south of Marrowstone Island.
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3:45 pm - Mike Larson called from Sechelt BC to say he was watching two humpbacks apparently feeding on Halibut Bank, in the Strait of Georgia.

December 1

Saw 4 Orcas - 2 and 2 together, just north of Picnic Point, near Edmonds, WA. They were traveling north about 9:30 A. Looked like they were playing or just traveling through. There were no very large fins. Assumed females and babies. No markings - Too far out.
Bruce Johnson
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I understand that both J and K pods were in Saratoga Passage yesterday, Dec. 1 about 4 PM? Whoever they were, it was QUITE a show. I was part of the lucky group down on the beach at Camano Island State Park. A number of the orcas were feeding close to the beach, along a tide line. Obviously good fishing! While watching those close to shore, we would also sight a number of orcas over toward Baby Island, and across Saratoga Passage toward Greenbank, including a few tall fins.
Barbara Brock
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We saw the orcas from 1:45 to 3:30, and more were coming after that, mostly across Saratoga Passage, but with the leaders 8 to ten miles ahead of the last ones. There was very little play or splashing, but several direction changes.
Howard and Susan
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Jill Hein of Coupeville called to report she watched the orcas pass between Camano Island & Harrington Lagoon, Whidbey Isl. until 4:30 pm, still heading NW
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At Cama Beach State Park, we watched 10-15 orcas heading North up Saratoga Passage. Sightings occurred over at least a two hour period. They were very spread out in small unidentified groups of three to five with at least two males. The males were seen perhaps an hour apart. Orcas also seen here in the past. I saw several traveling North in August of this year as well.
Daniel Boyce
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Nancy Nolan called at 1:38 to say she saw at least three orcas off East Point, Whidbey Island, heading north.
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1:35 pm - Just got a call from Ginger Miller at Fox Spit, Whidbey Island, who sees three orcas, including a baby, rounding East Point, headed for Greenbank!!!
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10:30 am - John Rogstad of WA St. Ferries just called to say there were six orca in the past 15 minutes off the Clinton ferry dock, swimming "decidedly" northward.
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10:25 am - Alisa Brooks says the orcas are spread out north and south of Mukilteo now, but the fog is descending and now she's hearing them more than seeing them.
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10:10 am - Tom O'Day called again to say the whales are a few hundred feet from the Mukilteo ferry landing.
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Orcas are between Picnic point and Mukilteo. Have a visual of at least one male and about 5 others heading towards lighthouse.
Cathy Bacon
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10 am - Alisa Brooks just called to say the orcas are approaching Mukilteo now.
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9:45 am - Tom O'Day called with a report from of orcas off Lighthouse Pt., Mukilteo.
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Watching pod between shipwreck and Mukilteo having a blast. Look to be heading south slowly.
Mark Manion
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Large pod just glided by Picnic Point Park in North Edmonds heading north. Beautiful!
Kelly Beck Graves
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T46B's feeding on Constance Bank off Victoria.
Mark Malleson
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I have three humpbacks leisurely meandering there way past my place in Jervis Inlet, Saltery Bay, BC.
Cathy Kelly, Powell River (Saltery Bay)