December 2021 Whale Sightings

Click here for Map of December 2021 whale sightings.

December 31
SOUTHERN RESIDENT ORCAS - Fri, Dec 31 - Haro Strait - 15:05 - Now parallel to Smallpox Bay. San Juan Island Westside.
15:02 - Orca southbound. West of CWR. 5+ animals. 1-2 miles offshore. -George Hamilton
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12:57-15:06 - Faint SRKW pod calls detected by OrcaHello AI and confirmed by David Bain. -via Scott Veirs, Orcasound/Beam Reach
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Newborn T124A7 was observed for the first time last week off the north end of Vancouver Island by colleague Jared Towers of DFO's Cetacean Research Program and Bay Cetology. (per Center for Whale Research on December 31st, 2021)
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BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Fri, Dec 31 - Haro Strait (T75Bs, T75Cs) - 16:14-16:49 - Center for Whale Research Encounter #96 (continued): "The new group welcomed from Haro Strait proved to be sisters T075B and T075C with their offspring, including a very young calf travelling alongside T075C! The animal appeared just slightly younger than T124A7, with folds still clearly visible along the trailing edge of his/her dorsal fin, and it was glued to mom's side. This youngster has been designated T075C3, and is her second in just over two years after T075C2 was first observed in late 2019!" [See CWR Encounter #96 for full summary]
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10:10 - About six orcas just passed Hannah Heights, very close to shore, initially heading up-island, but then turning west, last seen on a line toward Victoria. Pictures to follow shortly. For sure I saw two calves, each swimming closely by an adult. -Michael Noonan
photos - "T75C and her kid at least, plus others." -Sara Hysong-Shimazu
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Fri, Dec 31 - Strait of Juan de Fuca (T68Cs, T124As) - 16:56 - Brand new baby with the 124As
16:25 - Not in Puget Sound, but [MV] Saratoga witnessed the 68Cs joined with the 124As hunting off Trial Island in Victoria this afternoon, northbound. -Christopher Lewman, Puget Sound Express
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16:14-16:49 - Center for Whale Research Encounter #96: "As Mark and Joe arrived, they had observed two groups of whales, one milling and one southwest-bound for that milling group. In hindsight, they realized that the group arriving was an additional one to what Mark had observed on the waterfront earlier in the afternoon. The original group of whales, the initiators of the sea lion predation, were identified as the T068Cs and the T124As. Both matriarchs had young animals in tow, T068C5 being born in late 2020 and young T124A7 having been observed for the first time last week off the north end of Vancouver Island by colleague Jared Towers of DFO's Cetacean Research Program and Bay Cetology." [See CWR Encounter #96 for full summary and more photos] https://www.whaleresearch.com/2021-96
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UNIDENTIFIED ORCAS - Fri, Dec 31 - Haro Strait - 15:20 - Saw maybe 4 or 5 way far across on the Canadian side from Hannah Heights. -Petra Schindler-Carter
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Fri, Dec 31 - E. Strait of Juan de Fuca - 12:25 - More orcas reported off the south end of San Juan Island, seen from shore. Couple miles out due south of Eagle Point was approximate location given. No direction of travel noted. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Fri, Dec 31 - NW Strait of Georgia - 14:18 - A New Year's Eve Humpback Whale visible between Comox and Denman Island. -Patti and Mark Perepeluk
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Fri, Dec 31 - San Juan Islands - 11:23 - At 11:25 Donna Sanders, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: CHELAN@1123 Master reports 1 Humpback en route to ANAC heading south.
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Fri, Dec 31 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - I was on a bird watching tour out of Port Townsend. They took us out to see the humpbacks. -Koda Andvik
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Happy New Year! For our New Year's Eve cruise with Puget Sound Express, yesterday, we spent a little time with two humpbacks [off Dungeness]. They were staying mostly on the surface (sleeping?), not much activity or clear fluke shots. One had distinct scarring just in front of its dorsal fin - a series of 11 parallel scars (propeller?) The other's back seemed smooth with a small cluster of barnacles on the tip of the left side of its dorsal fin. Betsy Carlson, Citizen Science Coordinator, Port Townsend Marine Science Center
photos - (prop scars) BCXuk2018#5 Raza ID: ALB
photos - "Seabird" BCX0854 calf 2017 ID: ALB (confirmed by Jackie Hildering)
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Fri, Dec 31 - Central Puget Sound - 13:57 - My wife and I were walking along the Promenade at Pt. Defiance yesterday and a man there pointed out that he saw some whales out in Dalco Passage. I had my camera and aimed it out into the passage and caught the whales out in the distance. I know they were not orcas but wasn't sure what species they were. [video] [video] https://www.facebook.com/OrcaNetwork/videos/4650292478387431/ -Kaz Griffin
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UNIDENTIFIED BALEEN WHALE - Fri, Dec 31 - Possession Sound - At 14:54 Judy and Tom Nowack called to report at least one whale (possibly 2) swimming around Port Gardner Bay in Possession Sound. They didn't think it looked like a gray so are leaning humpback, but either is possible (definitely not orca). They are viewing from Mission Point, Tulalip, ~4-5km distance away.

December 30
Thu, Dec 30 - Strait of Juan de Fuca/Victoria (T49A2, T97) - 15:42-16:22 - Center for Whale Research Encounter #95: "Slowing as they approached Harling Point on the Victoria waterfront, Mark spotted the whales inshore of the research boat. The encounter began at 1542 with a pair of westbound killer whales, T049A2 and T097. Both individuals were seen last week, just before Christmas" [See CWR Encounter #95 for full summary and photos] https://www.whaleresearch.com/2021-95
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BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Thu, Dec 30 - Central Puget Sound (T68Cs) - 10:35 - [orcas] Around the Kingston /Edmonds ferry line, NB. Conditions are pretty tough out there for viewing from the shore. I can't even really tell where the Edmonds ferry is due to swells, white caps and mirage. -Sara Frey
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10:01 - Moving fast toward Kingston ferry.
09:56 - At least 4 orcas, moving fast past President Point going north. Moving fast toward ferry. Mid channel.
09:54 - President Pt., now two heading north.
09:29 - President Pt., orcas now southbound.
09:24 - Orca pod off President Point, 9:24am, Dec 30th. Hunting, breaching. Just hanging out. [From photos sent by Tim Davis: So far saddles and eyepatches looking good for at least some of the T68Cs. -alb] -Trish Moylan Davis
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UNIDENTIFIED ORCAS - Thu, Dec 30 - Haro Strait - 18:55 - Multiple orcas just passed Hannah Heights, VERY close to shore, heading up-island. (That is about 1 mile northwest of Pile Point on SJI.) I was not quick enough for pictures. -Michael Noonan
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17:00 - Orcas northbound - approaching Edwards Point, SJI. 1 mile south of landbank. Too dark for photos. I couldn't see them as they went past. The blows were very clear and a few were distinctive. -Michelline Halliday
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15:30 - At least 5 orcas heading north from Eagle Cove. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Thu, Dec 30 - South Puget Sound - 16:00 - 12/30/21- Humpback sighting directly in front of Salmon Beach Tacoma on the Narrows. Heading south towards Narrows Bridge. -Chris Hinds
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GRAY WHALES - Thu, Dec 30 - Saratoga Passage
Cascadia Region Whale Sighting
Gray Whale Sighting:
Sighting Time: Thu, Dec 30 @ 13:18:11 PST
Sighting User Reported Location (Lat/Lon): 48.09587,-122.50519 [between Rocky Point and East Point, Whidbey Island/Saratoga Passage]
Number Sighted: 1
Submitted Comments: Actively watched this whale feeding on ghost shrimp for over an hour approximately 75 ft off shore. Very active.
Submitter Name: Melinda Furrer
Whale Alert App
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08:30 - Grey whale off Hidden Beach, Whidbey, Dec. 30 at 08:30. -Sarah Wdot
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Thu, Dec 30 - Possession Sound - 13:12 - Spotted a whale out back of M Division! Breached twice and missed getting pics....heading towards Langley. Will attempt to get pics....going back out now. Hubby saw it from upstairs and we ran out to get pics. I saw the spray only but hubby saw it breach twice and it was a grey whale. -Romy Hoffman via Lori Christopher, Hat Island FB group (Lori C tagged ALB)

December 29
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Wed, Dec 29 - Central Puget Sound (T68Cs +) - Wanted to share my video from last night around 7:22 PM. A few whales went by my place on Browns Point. They were heading south towards Tacoma/Port. Happy New Year! [video] https://www.facebook.com/OrcaNetwork/posts/10166282567935601 -Jennifer Ihlen
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We saw the T068Cs as they cruised out of Elliot Bay yesterday (12/29/21). They hunted a harbor seal, and continued moving south as they delighted folks near Three Tree Point, who raced out of their houses to see the whales pass closely by the beach! With Puget Sound Express, all photos taken with a telephoto lens and cropped. -Emma Luck
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15:09 - Just swam past Des Moines Marina, looks like they are headed towards Redondo. -Molly LaFavor
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15:00 - Saw them surface twice since my last comment, with long downtimes. They are a ways south of here now, still SB closer to mainland.
14:40 - Just spotted the orcas from Marine View Park, closer to mainland side heading southbound. -Connor O'Brien
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13:40 - [orcas] From north side of Three Tree, SB travel, close to Burien shoreline. -Brittany Noelle
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13:25 - [orcas] SB just off Seahurst around 150th SW. Very close to Burien side of shore with Saratoga and a smaller boat slowly following. -Cindy Eckes Waddington
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13:18 - [orcas] Group is in a resting line. East side of shipping channel and closer to mainland (Burien) shoreline. Watching from home, Shorewood on the Sound. Travelling slowly SB. Puget Sound Express is on scene, one private boat is following guidelines as well. -Shari Tarantino, OC
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14:18 - They've submerged and disappeared for at least 20 minutes now.
13:59 - Heading south from the point.
13:53 - Just a few meters off the north point of Three Tree Point.
13:37 - Just south of the park now.
13:14 - [orcas] They are milling around just north of Seahurst Park. Half mile offshore or so. -Erik Rhyne
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12:37 - Video from my iPhone not zoomed, just off Lowman Beach Park. Volume off if you don't want to hear the excited children:) A group of us got a treat! They were milling mid channel then we saw them toss a large seal or sea lion and they started chasing it towards us! We saw the seal/sea lion about 10 ft away from us so guessing it got away. Then they took off S bound again. Looks like Saratoga was just floating and the Orcas swam towards it. -Kristen Alvarez
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13:13 - Saw two big dorsal fins roll by, south of Brace Point, headed south. -Megan McNally
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12:56 - [orcas] Just passed the Fauntleroy ferry moving fast southish. -Idylle Levitis
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12:53 - from Laura Baker, WSF Marine Ops: KITTITAS is slowing down for them now, located off FAU terminal.
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12:50 - Saratoga is on scene with the T68Cs and T68Bs southbound approaching Point Williams. -Justine Buckmaster
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12:29 - Orcas off of the Edgewater. -Amber Darling
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12:50 - They are still slowly moving southbound. Getting out of view but appear to be around Brace Pt. Closer to the West Seattle shore.
12:26 - [orcas] SB, roughly at the Fauntleroy Ferry route. -Tim Peters
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12:50 - They are at Fauntleroy dock area now, still southbound.
12:41 - They were just literally right off Lowman Beach.
12:14 - From Me-Kwa-Mooks. Still southbound.
12:06 - [orcas] View from Constellation [West Seattle], southbound, midchannel. -James Tilley
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11:00 - [orcas] Lots of activity off of Seattle Pier 70 at 11AM. -Mike Butensky
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11:10 - ...he says there are as many as (10+)...seems like they might be headed south - Alki point now.
10:54 - My husband says there are several (6?) orcas in front of the Pier 69 building on Seattle's waterfront right now. -Aleda Escalona
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10:51 - Orcas in Elliott Bay right out from The Edgewater Inn! Looks like a good-sized group playing with their food. -Michael Hurley
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(~11:05) 11:25 - Last I saw them they were heading west about 15 minutes ago.
10:50 - Luanda Arai called; she lives in downtown Seattle in Belltown and is seeing 3-6 orcas in Elliott Bay near the Victoria Clipper terminal, or just a little north. Sounds like they are hunting; she is seeing them circling (w/slow trend north), very surface active, seeing tails strait up above surface, lots of splashing, etc. She said they look pretty close to shore; anyone along the waterfront would have a good view. -Luanda Arai/Aria
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10:48 - Orcas off the Edgewater. -Amber Darling
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10:13 - Just wanted to send a picture of an Orca Sighting today from Myrtle Edwards Park, Seattle. My husband took many pictures, but here is one. Follow-up: We were so excited to see them. We have never seen orcas before. We just happened to be taking our walk in the park. We live in Maryland and are visiting our son who lives in Belltown. My husband's name is Jonathan Burelbach. -Carolyn Burelbach
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Wed, Dec 29 - Central Puget Sound/Tacoma - 16:33 - We are departing. last seen just north of Gig Harbor.
16:23 - Looks to be moving around Point Defiance slowly south towards Narrows.
16:20 - Off in the distance now. Getting closer to Gig Harbor side. Viewing from shore of Point Defiance.
15:42 - Just saw it from Dalco Overlook between Owen and Point D. Milling
15:20 - Looks like a humpback a few hundred yards off of Point Defiance right now. -Ed Rickert
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GRAY WHALES - Wed, Dec 29 - Saratoga Passage - At 09:48 Christi Schaffer, Whidbey Shores, called Orca Network to report there is a gray whale circling and feeding below their house [off Fox Spit].
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MINKE WHALE - Wed, Dec 29 - NPS/Admiralty Inlet - ~11:30 - Kathleen Waldron called to report seeing a nice a minke whale off the south end of Marrowstone Island heading southeast-bound, back out toward Admiralty Inlet from Oak Bay area around 11:30.

December 28
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Tue, Dec 28 - Possession Sound to Port Susan (T68Cs +) - 15:35 - We had sightings and some video of the Orca as far north in Port Susan as Pirates Cove, north of Tillicum Beach, at 3:35PM, moving north fast about 400 yds off shore. -John C. Storbeck
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13:00 - There are ORCAS just off the Clinton ferry lane. Follow-up: They were heading towards Hat Island. They were pretty far out; I had my binoculars and I counted 2 but there may have been 3. It was hard to tell. -Patricia Ohoma
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12:53 - [orcas] SE of Hat right now, travelling N/NE. -Jason R. Bourne
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12:25 - Just hanging out, a couple slightly north of Edgewater and a couple mid channel looking towards Hat Is.
12:15 - [orcas] Caught a brief glimpse of them from Edgewater Beach, they are just north of cargo dock. -Jim McKinlock
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14:45 - 1 mile north of Camano Head, heading north in Port Susan.
12:15 - Looks like the same group as yesterday 1/2 mile east of Mukilteo ferry dock. -Christopher Hanke, Puget Sound Express
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12:30 - They are milling around north of Edgewater Park. A whale watch boat is with them. Several in front of the boat.
12:02 - Currently east of the Mukilteo ferry dock. Can't tell how far due to bad angle from Muk fishing pier. Near shore. Straight line from pier to Everett cargo dock.
11:14 - [orcas] Just west of Harbor View Park moving west. 11:14 am. -Greg Heiss
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11:13 - Watched orcas swim by out my window near Howarth Park in Everett. Couldn't count how many - moving towards Mukilteo. -Charolette Olson
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10:44 - and currently right off bow of ship at anchor headed towards naval base.
10:35 - [orcas] Spotted them with my scope headed southbound towards the stern of anchored ship/Howarth Park. they are between the checkerboard marker and ship. -Rylee Fee
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At 09:49 Tom Nowak called to report ~5 orcas off their place at Mission Point, Tulalip, again this morning. Looks like one bull and four other whales hunting, approx. 1 km out from Mission Point. Pod has been down for 5 minutes.

December 27
SOUTHERN RESIDENT ORCAS - Mon, Dec 27 - Strait of Juan de Fuca (Ls) - 11:10-13:48 - Center for Whale Research Encounter #94: "The morning info placed the whales just meters off the beach along the Victoria waterfront, and after initially spotting only a single bull, they were thinking "Bigg's." Several more suddenly appeared, and with the large spread and erratic swimming patterns, they realized they had stumbled into Southern Residents!" [See CWR Encounter #94 for photos and full summary] https://www.whaleresearch.com/2021-94
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BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Mon, Dec 27 - North Puget Sound (T68Cs +) - 16:18 - [orcas] Just a bit north of Water Street in Edmonds, pretty far out but it's so calm you can see them. ---- Went to Sunset Avenue to look for the orcas that were heading towards Edmonds, saw them to the north so I went over to Water Street and found them! Pretty far out but it was so calm you could still see them. Pretty awful pics but still happy I saw some whales off of Edmonds! The double tail fluke was cool! [follow-up w/Janine: she first saw the pod coming south, at some point they flipped and were heading back north -alb] -0Janine Harles
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15:53 - [orcas] Viewing from Sunset in Edmonds. Looking north. -Barbara Gamrath
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~15:20 - [orcas] Spotted from the north end of Talbot Road in Edmonds. Whale watching boat follow behind. Heading towards Edmonds. -Melissa Duits
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15:05 - [orcas] Just past Haines Wharf, mid channel. -June Mansfield
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15:04 - [orcas] Spotted at Haines Wharf at 3:04 pm. Heading south quickly toward Edmonds Ferry. -Allison Fishman
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14:26 - They just passed my house on Marine View Dr. (Muk) and were on a kill directly behind my house. Heading towards Picnic Point. -Jodi Krause Poissant
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14:25 - [orcas] Passed Possession Lane at 2:25p.m. heading south towards Meadowdale and Edmonds. Close to shore, pretty mellow, saw 1 tail slap. 5 or 6. -Mark Gronau
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~14:10 - Eagle came in to try to steal some food!! Around 14:10 on a kill at Chennault Beach! -Alice Thuy Talbot
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14:07 - [orcas] Just passing Harbour Point area close to shore. -Donna Quayle
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13:50 - 5-6 orcas slowly heading south from Mukilteo towards Picnic Point. Lots of tail slaps, fluke waves, and 1 breach! -Alexa Lamey
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13:30 - the group I photographed were at the Mukilteo Lighthouse Park at 1:30 PM on Monday afternoon. Someone there said they followed them from Howarth Park in Everett, down to Mukilteo...photos - T68C1 ID by Alisa Lemire Brooks, ON - T68C3 ID by Yifan Ling -Blaine Amidon
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ID Edit from Justine: I was mistaken in my initial ID. I didn't get good enough photos this time to be positive, but I now believe these were the T68Cs, likely with the T68Bs or another family. No big bull so it's likely T68 and T68A weren't there this time. I estimate between 8-10 in the group so it's definitely possible just the T68B1s joined the T68Cs. I know for sure there were 2 calves and at least 2 adult females in the group, especially on the 27th.
13:37 - Update: T36As and T37Bs.
12:48 - Looks like the T36s. -Justine Buckmaster, Naturalist, Puget Sound Express
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12:38 - [orcas] On a kill right at Mukilteo Lighthouse. -Christopher Hanke, Captain, Puget Sound Express
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14:41 - Blasted right past Picnic Point headed south.
14:29 - Can see from Picnic Point!!
12:55 - Great activity here on Mukilteo boat launch. Look to be still headed south.
12:23 - I have not seen them in a while. Number of seals gathering here though.
12:08 - Seem to be hanging out just north of Mukilteo, still seeing from Howarth, bunch of birds and a personal white boat nearby.
11:34 - [orcas] Viewing from Howarth Park!!!!!! -Brandon Kvamme
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11:54 - They have continued south. They are very close to the Mukilteo side, approaching the ferry terminal from the north.
11:08 - Seeing them from Clinton. Viewing conditions are actually really tough because the water is producing steam from the extreme temperature differences. As they get closer, I can provide more updates. -Danielle Pennington
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10:10 - Judy and Tom Knowak called to report seeing at least 5 orcas in Possession Sound with nice sunlight on the group. Transients came from Port Susan, Judy spotted them first from their place - watching them for ~30 minutes from Point Mission, Tulalip Reservation. Pod is ~2km away from them, now milling in the middle of Port Gardner Bay, Everett, and appear to be feeding on some unfortunate seal or sea lion. Some tail thrashing and large number of gulls swooping in to feed on scraps.
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~10:00-10:30 - [orcas] Mission Beach, Tulalip, around 10-10:30 on Monday. -Amy J Morrison
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08:49 - There's a report in Port Susan Whale Watch about an hour ago of 3 orcas sb at McKees Beach...via Alice Thuy Talbot
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UNIDENTIFIED ORCAS - Mon, Dec 27 - Central Puget Sound - 16:40 - [orca] Saw at least one off President Pt., heading north. 4:40. -Joanne Graves
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Cascadia Region Whale Sighting
Orca Sighting:
Sighting Time: Mon, Dec 27 @ 15:19:15 PST
Sighting User Reported Location (Lat/Lon): [adjusted based on images/sightline to user location: 47.673868, -122.462470]
Number Sighted: 3
Submitted Comments: Maybe 1 adult and 2 babies. Couldn't get good fin pics for identification.
Submitter Name: Emily Smiley
Follow-up with Orca Network: Pod was traveling northbound. Set of images by Emily shows at least one male and one female/young male swimming tight together, and one young juvenile/calf swimming solo to the west of them. Approx. location is between her gps on Bainbridge and north of West Point putting est. location of orcas est. 47.673868, -122.462470
Whale Alert App
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09:30 - At 09:32 Donna Sanders, WSF Marine Ops, emailed report: [MV] KITTITAS @0930 Master reports 6 Orca off of VASH Dock, heading in a NB direction. [northbound off north end of Vashon]
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GRAY WHALES - Mon, Dec 27 - Saratoga Passage - 14:25 - MV Saratoga is on scene with Gray Whale #53 Little Patch slowly southbound off Mabana. Somewhat playful with the crab pots, just saw a spyhop! -Justine Buckmaster, Naturalist, Puget Sound Express photos

December 26
GRAY WHALES Sun, Dec 26 - Saratoga Passage - 08:50 - Christi Schaefer called to report a gray whale off Whidbey Shores/Fox Spit. Unsure if feeding or traveling.

December 25
UNIDENTIFIED ORCAS - Sat, Dec 25 - Anacortes - 10:50 - At 10:54 Donna Sanders, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: [MV] YAKIMA@1050 Master reports 4 Orca milling about near Shannon Point possibly feeding.
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10:59 - Christmas day orcas! Seen at 10:49 am on the ferry (starboard side) near Anacortes docks. What a wonderful holiday blessing. At least four whales including an infant. Headed northeast. -M Elise Cannon
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GRAY WHALES Sat, Dec 25 - Saratoga Passage - (Reported as orcas, follow-up determined was the gray whale - alb) - Follow-up: Thanks for sending me that clip. My husband & I did see a gray whale on Christmas day. So cool! My husband & I moved to Greenbank (from Ohio) over four years ago. Not too many whales in Ohio. I didn't expect to see a whale (gray or orcas) this late in the year. What an unexpected delight! Original Report: My husband & I just witnessed a pod of orcas hunting in the Saratoga Passage off of Hidden Beach (Greenbank) from our house. Started @ 12:20 pm or so. First saw spray of several different individual orcas. A dark dorsal fin broke the surface of water multiple times as pod moved northward. The water roiled up in a circular pattern. The surface seemed to bubble up, settle & then repeat. Just guessing that this is some kind of hunting behavior? We watched this behavior for 20-25 minutes. Then pod seems to have continued northward. Didn't expect to witness a display like this today. -Kathy Daberko

December 24
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Fri, Dec 24 - Strait of Juan de Fuca (T97) - 13:39-13:59 - Center for Whale Research Encounter #93: "The crew continued on to find a solitary T097 moving steadily southwest from just offshore of Albert Head at 1339. T097 is a rarer sighting for CWR, though December is a common month to find him traversing the area." [See CWR Encounter #93 for full summary and photos] https://www.whaleresearch.com/2021-93
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Fri, Dec 24 - Strait of Juan de Fuca (T46s) - 09:55-10:43 - Center for Whale Research Encounter #92: "At 0955 shortly after turning west from the Victor Foxtrot buoy several killer whales surfaced 200 meters north of Mike 1, also travelling west! The whales were the easily recognized T046 matriline, four of whom were shoulder-to-shoulder as they plodded west while eldest male T046D was approximately 300 meters north of the group." [See CWR Encounter #92 for full summary and photos] https://www.whaleresearch.com/2021-92
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Fri, Dec 24 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - 11:20 - Pod was off Triton Cove, last reported heading southbound toward Hama Hama. -Elise Buie via Tisa Annette
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Fri, Dec 24 - Boundary Pass/Haro Strait - We had a lovely visit with four humpback whales this afternoon, including MMY0136 "YinYang", Big Mama's 2014 calf "Beak", and Divot's 2018 daughter "Olympus". The fourth whale never fluked. YinYang seemed to be acting competitive and trying to keep between Olympus and the other two whales, lifting chin and flukes up on nearly every surfacing. It was a really lovely encounter and another great Christmas Eve trip. -Sara Hysong-Shimazu/Maya's Legacy
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We always look forward to our Christmas Eve trip and today was no exception! We found four humpback whales near Turn Point and watched as they cruised south. The lighting was spectacular and even though it was definitely cold on the water there were a lot of warm and happy smiles watching these magnificent creatures. -Maya's Legacy Whale Watching
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GRAY WHALES Fri, Dec 24 - Saratoga Passage - 15:45 - Watching gray whale spouting from Camano Island State Park in front of Fox Spit headed north towards Baby Island, closer to Whidbey side. -Shelly Greybeck

December 23
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Thu, Dec 23 - Strait of Juan de Fuca (T49A2 and T49C) - 15:21-15:28 - Center for Whale Research Encounter #91: "At 1521, Mark and Joe identified T049A2 and T049C as the southwest-bound duo. They were travelling side-by-side from the VH buoy for Race Rocks. Just prior, the trio on Mike 1 had paused to document a pair of humpbacks travelling a reciprocal course to the bulls, and as both species dove it appeared that they were on a collision course." [See CWR Encounter #91 for full summary and photos] https://www.whaleresearch.com/2021-91
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Thu, Dec 23 - Strait of Juan de Fuca (T251) - 14:03-14:32 - Center for Whale Research Encounter #90: "About seven minutes later they finally spotted what George had, and slowed to find a lone killer whale roughly 3.5 miles south of the webcam position at Race Rocks! Incredible. They began the encounter at 1403 just northwest of the VF buoy with a solitary T251, as the crew got one beautiful breathing cycle from him before a long dive and direction change." [See CWR Encounter #90 for full summary and photos] https://www.whaleresearch.com/2021-90
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Thu, Dec 23 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - 13:42 - [orcas] Heading north towards Big Beef at 1:42p. -Stacey Urner
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13:26 - [orcas] Looking out from Seabeck, they are mid channel across from Brinnon moving fast towards Dabob. -Savannah Johnson
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13:07 - Chilkat is on scene, just north of Seabeck hunting a harbor seal. -Justine Buckmaster, Naturalist, Puget Sound Express
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11:50 - Triton Cove, passing now, 11:50, NB, mid channel. -Noelle Morris
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11:09 - Just passed Hama Hama, still closer to east shore, moving north.
10:45 - [orcas] Just north of Eagle Creek, at least three on the east shore heading north. -Catherine Brooks
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Not a closeup, but blows are visible in the upper left here (midmorning 12/23 near Eagle Creek)! ---Look closely in water in the upper left: puffs of breath from the T68C pod of Bigg's orcas spotted in Hood Canal today by LLTK biologist Joy! This beautiful family of five whales has been in Hood Canal for over a month - always an incredible sight. [video] -https://www.facebook.com/longlivekings/videos/1545865979107928/ -Long Live the Kings
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~08:00 - Mile post 10 in Union, it was around 8am, I think. Reports are saying they are currently in the Hoodsport area heading north, 4 of them. -Monica Poff
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07:30 - Two adult orcas and a juvenile playing and slowly making their way west, lower Hood Canal. Between milepost 12 and 13 (north shore) out in the middle (just a little east of Tahuya). -Marianne Gagliardi Floyd
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GRAY WHALES - Thu, Dec 23 - Saratoga Passage - 12:55 - [gray] Spout east of Baby Island. -Aaron Gill
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13:00 - He now has moved more mid channel, southbound, 13:00. Tide has gone out for now. Hope he got lots of good eats.
12:30 - (Little Patch) still hanging and feeding at Hidden Beach.
11:15 - Still feeding back and forth at Hidden Beach.
10:40 - [gray] Viewing from Hidden Beach. video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2GyTDLlspk -Marilyn Armbruster
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Welcome back Little Patch #53 - SO good to see you today feeding by Hidden Beach, Saratoga Passage. Thanks for the heads up Orca Network and Nancy Culp Zaretzke! -Jill Hein photos "Little Patch's fluke (tail) in action. He is propelling himself along the sediment with mouth open, collecting shrimp and all kinds of goodies. This is a unique feeding behavior of the gray whales who visit our area each spring (The Sounders). Little Patch is the first to arrive for the 2021-2022 season."
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09:56 - He is feeding, still here. [N of Hidden Beach].
08:58 - Lone gray whale north of Hidden Beach. -Nancy Culp Zaretzke
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MINKE WHALE - Thu, Dec 23 - Hood Canal - ~15:00 - I think we had a grey at the Great Bend in the Canal this afternoon. The fin swooped back a bit, was not upright like an orca, and there appeared to only be one animal. Was heading south around 3 pm. Follow-up: Minke would be the closest. Fin was obvious, but further back than an orca, no white, and very grey, rather than black. And the animal was not massive, but not small. Slow moving while rolling along. It did not come up out of the water very high as it traveled, so we saw mainly the top, it's back and fin. It also would roll about 3 or 4 times before going under and staying down for several minutes at a time before surfacing again further south. Much larger [than a harbor porpoise]. I could see it near the South Shore at first, and we are on the inside bend of the Canal, up on the bluffs. Mom's got an incredible view of the Bend there. She caught the Bigg's going through a couple weeks back, too. See a blow?: Nope, not once! So maybe Minke! Mom will be fascinated by that! My husband found a YouTube vid of a Minke, that's it for sure!! -Kimberly Smith

December 22
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Wed, Dec 22 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - ~16:00 - Sighting tonight of presumed T68Cs from mp 6 heading towards Alderbrook. Approx. time ~4pm. -via Tisa Annette
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UNIDENTIFIED ORCAS - Wed, Dec 22 - Gulf Islands, BC - 12:52 - Saw a couple orcas just off of the point of Saltspring Island from the ferry, looked to be headed towards Active Pass. -Jay Arr Double-u
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GRAY WHALES - Wed, Dec 22 - Saratoga Passage - 16:30 - Saw Little Patch out from mid Bells Beach, Whidbey side, slowly making his way north. Viewed from Fox Spit. -Marilyn Armbruster
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13:10 - He's now heading into the shallows at Sandy Point, presumably for more feeding!
12:35 - Now heading south off of north Langley.
12:25 - MV Saratoga is on scene with Gray Whale #53 Little Patch feeding in the shallows just north of Langley! -Justine Buckmaster, Naturalist, Puget Sound
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13:26 - Spotted the patch on the gray so I believe it is Little Patch. Now heading NW towards Langley close to Whidbey bluff.
13:15 - Looks like the gray whale at Sandy Point has turned around. Heading northwest slowly up Saratoga Passage close to Whidbey.
13:06 - Gray whale close to Sandy Point on Whidbey side. There's also a whale boat. -Luanne Seymour

December 21
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Tue, Dec 21 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - 16:06 - Orca sighting about a mile south of Bangor. I'm on the opposite side of the canal so couldn't get good pictures. At least 2. They were heading north. -Kerry Halvarson
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15:33 - Four Orcas were in Dabob Bay again, went north towards Broad Spit and have since gone south. My husband was out crabbing and they came to them, bumped the boat, spraying them and went under the boat. They had been sitting, getting ready to pull, when they showed up. We thought they had left the area by then. -Lynn Stewart
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Tue, Dec 21 - NW Strait of Georgia - 14:00-16:26 - It was another day of Humpback Whales travelling back and forth and feeding between Texada and Comox. We watched them beginning at 14:00 until we ran out of daylight at 16:26. The weather was poor and taking any good photos was next to impossible. Nonetheless, it is wonderful to have the opportunity to see the Humpback Whales from shore. -Patti and Mark Perepeluk
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GRAY WHALES - Tue, Dec 21 - Saratoga Passage
15:00 - Passed Camano State Park, NWesterly bound, mid channel still.
14:50 - Odd, he's now flipped north again, 14:50. North side of Elger Bay, looking like now on the Camano side of mid.
14:44 - Has now changed directions southbound, still mid channel and in line with north side of Elger Bay.
14:38 - In between Fox Spit and southeast end of Camano State Park. Traveling leisurely northbound, middish channel.
14:15 - Viewing from Fox Spit, it's Little Patch; he's mid channel, NB, see pinned location on map [almost due east]. -Marilyn Armbruster
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14:00 - Pretty sure it's Little Patch, line of sight between Fox Spit and Mabana Shores, mid channel, northbound slowly. -Donna George
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12:47 - just spotted it heading north, slowly, off Whidbey east side toward Bells Beach. -Jennifer Feldman Spanton
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11:33 - Kay called back to report the whale is now directly out from street end off Anthes. This dive saw tail facing SE, directionally towards Camano/Everett.
11:29 - Kay Kenneweg called to report seeing a whale, milling around off Sea Wall Park, in Langley. Could see the whale's tail and moving around directly out for the Inn. Looks to be feeding, (gulls swooping) ~400 feet from shore. -Kay Kenneweg
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11:30 - Confirmed gray whale from video by Inge/Langley Chamber of Commerce forwarded by long-time ON board member Fred Lundahl (gray whale feeding off downtown Langley at 11:30). -alb
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Tue, Dec 21 - Saratoga Passage - 12:40 - Gray. This afternoon at 12:40 pm, we saw gray whale mid Saratoga Passage heading north. Just south of Bells Beach. We spotted him/her directly across Saratoga from south end of Camano. Yesterday a neighbor at Pebble Beach saw a gray feeding close to the Beach. -Peg Boley

December 20
SOUTHERN RESIDENT ORCAS - Mon, Dec 20 - Strait of Georgia (Js) - Based on a hunch that J pod had snuck north into the Strait of Georgia recently, we decided to scan the Strait this afternoon. Within minutes we stumbled upon J19 "Shachi" and the gang on a classic SE spread down the Strait. Galiano Island, BC (ID by Brendon Bissonnette). -Rachelle Hayden,
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BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Mon, Dec 20 - San Juan Islands (T99s) - Eventually picked up the T99s on the North side of Stuart Island hugging the shore. Heading west, they passed the Turn Point Light Station, crossed the border and approached Moresby Island. After a few minutes of westbound travel, they stopped and exhibited feeding behavior on the southwest side of Moresby. photos - "Turn Point Light Station with the T099s" photo - "That's little T099E, born earlier this year." -Fred Horn
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Mon, Dec 20 - Haro Strait - 00:10 - I was listening to the Lime Kiln hydrophone and listened to whale vocalizations for at least an hour the other night. Because I was listening so late, I actually fell asleep before the vocalizations ceased so I'm uncertain about the duration. This was on Monday 12/20, and the calls I heard began around 12:10am. The initial calls were overlapped a bit by a ship passing, but once the ship was gone and after a brief respite the whale began vocalizing more consistently. Heard several unique sounding calls, I am just a casual observer so that's as specific as I can be. Hopefully this is helpful in some way. -Janell Spirup
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Mon, Dec 20 - South Puget Sound - 14:35 - Humpback (maybe gray) in front of Salmon Beach in Tacoma, slowly travelling northbound. [Confirmed humpback via Zeno's images. -alb] -Zeno Martin
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UNIDENTIFIED ORCAS - Mon, Dec 20 - NW Strait of Georgia - At 13:42 there were orcas once again - this time travelling south past Kye Bay. -Petti Perepeluk
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Mon, Dec 20 - NW Strait of Georgia - 13:40 - Orcas and Humpbacks off Comox. Will update. Follow-up from Patti: several Humpbacks between Texada Island and Comox. -Patti Perepeluk
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UNIDENTIFIED BALEEN WHALES - Tue, Dec 21 - Central Puget Sound - 12:20 - Smallish baleen whale off Ruston in Tacoma right now. I've seen the fluke a few times thru binoculars, but not close enough for a photo with my phone. Halfway to the Gig Harbor side, 12:20. Follow-up: It was circling around and staying pretty much in one area, maybe heading a bit southwest, but I have not seen it again. Last sighting time, maybe 12:45. -Mary Moreno
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SPECIES UNCONFIRMED - Mon, Dec 20 - Saratoga Passage - It must have been him (NPS Gray CRC53 "Little Patch") we heard on Monday night as we were sitting on Bells Beach. Too dark to see but definitely heard one surfacing multiple times. -Kristina Brown

December 19
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Sun, Dec 19 - San Juan Islands (T99s) - 14:29 - It is the T99s - they were picked up again off Stuart Island.
10:30 - There were orcas westbound in Harney Channel at 10:30 this morning. The T99s were around this area yesterday and possibly the day before as well. -Monika Wieland Shields Orca Behavior Institute
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Sun, Dec 19 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - ~17:30 - seen near Seabeck around 5:30pm. Relayed to ON via Vanessa Stewart Nelson
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10:00 - [orcas] Last sighting was off of Pt. Whitney. Hunt directly out from there. No direction. -relayed to ON via Tisa Annette
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10:45 - [orcas] In Dabob Bay north of Broad Spit. -Steve Sund
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09:51 - I'm over on Wawa Point and haven't seen them since they went north past Pulali Point approximately an hour ago. My husband and I watched them with the binoculars until they went out of sight. At one time we saw 5 come at once, including what appeared to be a baby.
08:08 - Orcas in Dabob Bay heading north to Quilcene Bay right now! -Cynthia Canfield
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UNIDENTIFIED SPECIES - Sun, Dec 19 - Central Puget Sound - I definitely saw a whale today between Point Defiance and the Tahlequah ferry terminal. I thought maybe it was a minke, but could definitely be wrong. It was way too long to be a porpoise, but seemed small for a gray. Follow-up/description: I saw multiple blows from far away, which is what first caught my attention. I never saw the tail, unfortunately, but it showed its back multiple times, a couple of times for long enough to see a slightly bumpy dorsal ridge and then eventually a small fin. I was pretty far out from it and without camera or binoculars, so I couldn't get any more detail than that it was a dark gray. Yeah, these were big, very obvious spouts, so no minke. -Lauren Holton (Comment in CRC53 arrival post)
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UNIDENTIFIED ORCAS - Sun, Dec 19 - NW Strait of Georgia - At 16:00 we also saw a group of orcas head north past Kye Bay. -Patti Perepeluk
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Sun, Dec 19 - NW Strait of Georgia - 10:40 - Mark spotted two Humpbacks near Denman Island. Throughout the afternoon we continued to watch three groups of Humpbacks between Texada and Comox. There were at least six Humpbacks around all day. By our estimate, there were also over 300 Pacific white-sided dolphins that travelled north at 13:00. At 16:00 we also saw a group of orcas head north past Kye Bay. It was a full and enjoyable day! -Patti Perepeluk
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DOLPHJINS - Sun, Dec 19 - NW Strait of Georgia/Comox - By our estimate, there were also over 300 Pacific white-sided dolphins that travelled north at 13:00. -Patti and Mark Perepeluk

December 18
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Sat, Dec 18 - San Juan Islands (T99s) - 15:50 - T99s heading north up eastern Orcas Island shoreline. Should be near Peapods. -Sam Murphy
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09:30 - 5-6 orcas heading east through Harney Channel. Just passed Point Hudson but travelling close to Orcas Island shoreline. -Jerry Johnson
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Sat, Dec 18 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - 16:16 - [orcas] Directly out from Alderbrook now towards the north. Reports that they are milling around. -Tisa Annette
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15:10 - Tisa Annette relayed report: Hood Canal orcas are heading west fast in the lower section of Hood Canal. Last sighting was Twanoh heading towards Alderbrook, fast. Lots of down time.
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16:00 - I believe they made a kill in the 4:00 because of how long they stayed in this area. Lots of down time in the same small area.
~15:00 - Passing Twanoh towards Alderbrook around 3:00. -Stacey Crofoot
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16:05 - Actually closer to 106 side now.
16:02 - Got to see them on my way home, they are straight out from the Alderbrook closer to Tahuya side.
13:24 - Got word that orcas are heading towards Belfair. I'm at work in Union. -Daniel Joseph Ferreira

December 17
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Fri, Dec 17 - San Juan Islands - 14:17 - At 16:12 Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: [MV] Yakima 12/17, @1417 hrs. Master reports via 800 MHz 3 orca whales 1/2 miles SE of James Island.
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Fri, Dec 17 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - This family of marine-mammal-eating type orcas has been plying the waters of Hood Canal for a full month now feasting on harbor seals, harbor porpoise, sea lions, occasional sea birds, and a river otter. Yesterday, December 17th, T68Cs spent the day in the northern end of the canal doing what orcas do: socializing, traveling, resting, and doing their part to keep nature in balance. Pam Burger, who was out with Puget Sound Express, so beautifully captured this family and the gulls who opportunistically feed on scraps. -ALB. -Pam Burger
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~14:15-14:30 - They continued circling the same 1/4-mile area for an hour. We left them in the same spot we found them just off of Bangor around 2:15-2:30ish. 13:02 - They're still circling across from Bangor. T68Cs must've killed something big, they are actively feeding.
---- 12/17/2021 on the Chilkat Express brought us into the Hood Canal near Bangor where we encountered the T68C pod of Bigg's/Transient Killer Whales. They were actively feeding from the time we arrived to the time we departed. We suspect they killed something large like a sea lion and remained in the same place feeding on the carcass for most of the day. The orcas' meal wasn't the only casualty either. As we arrived on scene, we noticed a dead juvenile Bald Eagle right next to the T68Cs. I suspect the eagle attempted to grab a scrap of meat from the orcas' kill and it's talons locked shortly before one of the whales grabbed the same piece of food and pulled it under. However, I have also seen orcas play with diving birds until they die and swat at gulls with their flukes, so it's possible the eagle's demise was a deliberate effort by young orcas testing their skills or learning to hunt. Since we didn't see the struggle between the eagle and orcas, we can only speculate. As you can see from the photos of the eagle carcass, it does not appear to have been bitten by the whales. All members of the T68Cs but especially the youngest member, T68C5, surfaced near the eagle while we were there but showed only passing interest in it. They did seem quite curious about the Chilkat Express or perhaps the humans onboard. We spent most of the encounter with our boat completely shut down (engines and generator) and the whales approached us repeatedly despite our best efforts to maintain proper distance. Just goes to show that these incredible wild animals are unpredictable and each encounter is very different. You never know what to expect from these intelligent apex predators! -Justine Buckmaster, Naturalist, Puget Sound Express
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11:18 - Stephanie Hawkes Johnson called to report that one of her observers is able to see 5 [Bigg's] transients, west side of Hood Canal on a kill right across from the southern end of Bangor; specifically, across from Carter Rock. Non directional as they feed.
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12:21 - Still slowly moving north. Lots of birds still. Whale watch boat has arrived. Still south of the park.
11:10 - Staying in the area circling. Saw five blows at one time. Lots of birds diving around them. Hugging shoreline.
10:56 - [orcas] Have eyes on them at Bangor base. Along Coyle coastline. Lots of birds. Lots of blows. Unknown number. -Mollie Stanfield
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08:12 - Just lost sight of them. They went mid channel and disappeared super quick headed towards Bangor.
08:07 - Currently seeing them straight out from Big Beef Creek headed north at a fast clip. 4, looks like 3 females and one male. -Stacey Urner
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GRAY WHALES - Fri, Dec 17 - Saratoga Passage - 13:00 - West northwest bound towards Baby Island and Greenbank, closer to Whidbey but out a bit. I'd keep your eye on Hidden Beach and/or north side of Baby Island. But s/he pretty much heading westerly towards Greenbank.
12:45 - Gray whale out from Fox Spit about 300-400 yds. Northbound. -Marilyn Armbruster
b.o.c. photos CRC53 Little Patch confirmed by Erin Gless

December 16
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Thu, Dec 16 - Fidalgo Island (T49C & T49A2) - ~13:12-13:34 - I was prepping for a 1pm-2pm class at Washington Park's boat launch when I got a text that someone may have spotted orcas off of Skyline Marina. I drove the park's loop to where the overlook looks down into Burrows Pass (SE part of the park), and sure enough, two orcas were right off of Tugboat Beach/the marina entrance making a lazy trek westward. One orca was a mature adult male with a huge dorsal fin, but I wasn't too sure, at the time, on the other one. I had arrived at Burrows Pass around 12:40pm and only had about 15 minutes to stay; eventually the orcas picked up the pace a bit, continuing west, and came right by (underneath the bluff I was on), Anacortes-side of the channel, heading for Fidalgo Head. I had to go get the kids checked in for class so I went back to the boat launch; as soon as I had them all we made a beeline with them down to Green Point (NW part of the park) hoping that the orcas might come around the corner and continue east. When we reached Green Point, they were milling just north of Fidalgo Head for about the first 5 minutes. We saw a couple of inverted tail slaps and some rolling around. Then the adult male (later ID'ed as T049C and then verified in my photos and using the Bigg's catalog) began breaching (three times total), and the other orca (T049A2) was throwing tail lobs repeatedly. For the next 8 minutes or so they spent more time under water than above, and when a huge flock of gulls and seabirds came onto the scene I'd assumed they'd likely made a kill and ate, though I never did see their prey. Afterwards they continued an eastward trek at an average pace and passed our growing group of onlookers right off of the rocks of Green Point. They couldn't have been but 50/75 feet from us. We watched as they continued east toward the Washington Park boat launch until they were out of our sightline. On scene time roughly 1:12pm, departure time 1:34pm. It was such an amazing experience, and two of our five-year-old students had never seen orcas prior to this. Listening to their squeals and watching their faces light up just added another element of magic to this close passby. So glad to finally have the Washington Park experience after being there so often but always seeming to miss them. -Amanda Colbert
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A pair of Bigg's killer whales (T49C and T49A2) with a close pass along shore today! They travelled through our field site followed by some brief foraging before continuing on hugging the shoreline. Video taken by research assistant Trevor Derie. https://www.facebook.com/PacificMammalResearch/videos/429810008619878/ -Cindy Rogers Elliser, Research Director, Pacific Mammal Research - PacMam
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~12:10 - Elisabeth Jenkins called to report seeing two orcas, including a male, in Burrows Bay around 12:10. The orcas were in the northern end of the bay towards Skyline Marina. Very surface active; male was breaching, tail slapping etc. Last they observed, the orcas appeared to be heading out the north exit between Burrows Island and the S end of Washington Park.
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Thu, Dec 16 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - 16:46 - [orcas] Straight across from Lilliwaup, 1/4 mile N of Dewatto. -Steve Illman
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15:45 - Still in the same area right up against the east shore. It's like they have something cornered in the overhanging trees. They have been extremely stealthy and hard to follow. I've seen two for sure.
15:00 - [orcas] Spotted them just north of Eagle Creek trending southward closer to the east side.
----They were staying low to and under the water. They really seem to be at home and were just lounging around while I watched. There were seals everywhere! -Jim Pasola
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10:30 - Orca in Hood Canal, just passed Scenic Beach Park, Seabeck, headed south. -Kathy Cole
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UNIDENTIFIED ORCAS - Thu, Dec 16 - North Puget Sound - 08:20 - [orcas] I saw them on the PT-Coupeville ferry about mid-channel. -Chris Miller
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08:20 - At 08:29 Laura Baker, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: [MV] SALISH 12/16 0820hrs: Vessel reports via 800MHz sighting a pod of 6-8 orca whales off Admiralty Head moving in a northly direction in the northbound traffic lanes.
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GRAY WHALES - Thu, Dec 16 - Saratoga Passage - 14:45 - Def. a gray, feeding north of Mabana Shores. I'm viewing from Fox Spit. -Marilyn Armbruster
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13:45 - One Grey Whale off of Bells Beach at 1:45pm - heading north. -Leslie McGuire
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09:00 - [gray] Gray or humpback right at Sandy Point heading east into Possession Sound. Near Whidbey side. We thought we saw two spouts but can't be sure if it's one or two whales. -Luanne Seymour

December 15
SOUTHERN RESIDENT ORCAS - Wed, Dec 15 - Central Puget Sound (Js) - 18:22 - Still heading north, slowly. Might be visible/audible at Southworth in 10 or 15 minutes.
18:16 - Can hear them out from Driftwood Cove. -Roxane Jackson Johnson
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17:20 - Looks like if they continue to commit to Colvos they will get a big push to the north as the ebb sets in this evening... It's already 3 knots in the north Narrows! -Scott Veirs, Orcasound/Beam Reach
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~17:00 - They passed west of Camp Sealth about 5:00. Low light so was hard to see, but could hear their exhales! Traveling in several small groups quickly northward. -Meaghan Baumgartner
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16:33 - A big male disappeared from view going up Colvos. I'm not seeing any more - he may have been the last one.
16:30 - Some have already headed up. But there's still some between Vashon & Point Defiance heading north towards Colvos. They haven't cleared the bottom of Vashon yet.
16:27 - Spotted from Old Ferry Landing Gig Harbor - they're heading up Colvos. -Heidi Armstrong
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15:50 - At 21:26 John Miller, WSF Marine Ops, emailed earlier report; CHETZEMOKA Orca Sighting 12/15/2021 at 1550hrs: Vessel C/M reports 6 orca, westbound in the center of Dalco Passage.
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16:05 - We have 3 between the Point Defiance Marina Boathouse and the Vashon Ferry terminal.
15:39 - Leads have reached the Vashon ferry terminal.
15:28 - Lots of splashes seen from Point Defiance Marina a bit east of the yellow buoy, look to be traveling south. -Robyn Dally
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16:05 - Saw a single surface NB Dalco towards Colvos.
15:16 - [orcas] Just saw a large splash in front of the Dash Point Lighthouse from Gig Harbor (with binoculars). -Charlene Engelland
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15:16 - [orcas] Outside of the mouth of Commencement Bay. Mid channel, seen from Browns Point. -Kristen Hohengarten McKillop
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15:09 - Entering Commencement Bay, still heading south. -Amy Bliss-Miller
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15:00 - [orcas] Big breach off Dash. -Ed Rickert
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16:30 - They have turned and are northbound, just north of Sunrise.. others still off west tip of Vashon.. SW bound.
16:25 - From Dune they look to be spread all across Sunrise Beach, probably middle of Dalco.
16:16 - Still have some streaming off west tip of Vashon, westbound. Others are spread all over, SW bound, off Gig Harbor.
16:12 - One group has passed the southernmost house at Sunrise Beach southbound towards Narrows, another group is north of them.
16:04 - Trailers have reached west tip of Vashon.. everyone continues westbound towards Gig Harbor.
15:59 - Leaders are Vashon side of mid channel at entrance to Colvos, trailers westbound through Ferry Lanes, lazily, barely surfacing. Everyone seems to be resting. Lots of logging happening with the leaders.
15:53 - There's a group of at least 5, including adult male & calf, passing Dune mid channel towards ferry lanes. They've just passed the east tip of Vashon, westbound.
15:44 - We have one on our side of the ship moored at Dune, off the back. Heading our way.
15:34 - Westbound leaders are near the ship moored off Quartermaster Harbor & crissing entrance, westbound.
15:30 - Several individuals traveling with purpose along south end of Maury Island, westbound towards Pt. Defiance.
15:25 - From Ruston Way, I have at least one adult male, 3 individuals at least, traveling in front of the Tote ship that's inbound right now, southbound.
15:16 - Have some passing Dash Point area, close to that side, southbound.
15:00 - Big breach off Dash Point! There's a few coming down East Channel on the Browns Point side. No activity west of channel marker.
14:52 - From Dune.. seeing some individuals east of the channel marker, between it & Browns Point, possibly foraging. No clear direction. -Melissa Bird
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15:25 - I saw some blows near that Tote cargo ship. Others have passed Browns Point. Stretched out from south end of Vashon & south end of Maury. Westbound.
15:07 - Male passing in line with the lighthouse. Closer to Maury. 3:07. Leader closer to the cargo ship near Harbor Master.
15:00 - Multiple breaches spreading out along south end of Maury. Gradually going westbound towards Vashon.
14:50 - Still Southbound by southeast near the cargo ship that's leaving. -Jason Cook
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15:36 - At least two WB in Dalco. More, over by Dash/Browns Point.
14:57 - One male actively hunting. I'm at Dune. He's directly between me and NE yellow channel marker...between east pass and Commencement Bay.
14:42 - Group report: they're by the yellow channel market, behind/north of huge, moored, red Navios ship off Dune. -Kathleen Cage
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14:35 - I see some by the channel marker followed by a boat. Different boat than the first, looks like a tug.
14:27 - [orcas] Looking from Woodmont Beach. South of Maury, SB. There is a vessel following. Maybe a research vessel? They have strong lights on board. -Ali Saccone
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15:29 - Some between Browns Point and the dunes foraging. (I'm at the dunes)
15:25 - Foraging between the dunes [Dune Peninsula] and southern tip of Maury.
14:28 - Still southbound on west side of channel, multiple breaches.
14:17 - [orcas] Browns Point looking northwest towards Vashon, saw a breach but too far to see fins or blows. -Janina Cooper
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[video https://www.facebook.com/OrcaNetwork/videos/616487022779770/ ] from Point Robinson by Ariel Yseth
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J pod..a breach and some really fast porpoising yesterday morning passing Dilworth. The speed they picked up was amazing...the second porpoise you can see the ripple on the water a couple of seconds before they break the surface. Very cool. [video] https://www.facebook.com/OrcaNetwork/videos/431562235125938/ -Mark McGough
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12:32 - [SRKWs] Approaching Point Robinson. -Scott Hill
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12:07 - [orcas] Leaders passing just north of KVI. -Ellen Weir
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11:56 - [orcas] I just spotted them about a mile south of the Fauntleroy ferry headed south. -Paul Newton
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13:05 - Cleared Point Robinson, grouped up mostly, island side, leisurely southbound and mellow. Silent again on the hydro during the whole south pass.
11:50 - The sweetest Cookie [J38] of them all. Jpod confirmation, trailers south of Glen Acres [NE Vashon] now, spread across the channel in singles and small groups, steady southbound. Added info: It was strange to be watching them pass with them being so silent again! They were not as playful as yesterday, but didn't seem to be in a full sleeping pattern either..just mellow travel with occasional tail slaps before they hit the point.) -Marla Smith
photos - ID's: GS
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11:48 - 5-6 it seems, spread out, SB, mid channel to closer to Vashon, about Point Beals now. -Jack Cheng
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11:45 - [orcas] Off Dilworth close to Vashon side. SB, moving fast. -Jen Huntley
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11:19 - [orcas] I've got eyes on them. Moving pretty fast southbound from the north end of Vashon. Spread out. -Holly Bailey
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11:55 - There's at least 15 south of Dolphin Point.
11:28 - They are off Dolphin Point, visible blows from shore.
11:09 - [orcas] They are well past Fauntleroy now. Southbound... Been watching them from Alki Point/Elliot Bay. They are moving quick. already passed through the Fauntleroy/Vashon ferry lanes West in channel close to Vashon. -Kersti Muul
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10:00 - Killer Whales per the onboard announcement. Ferry stopped to watch a bit. Best estimate would be (47.5826632, -122.4346926) [NW of Alki Point Lighthouse]. Actually, I saw them, too! But I'm not knowledgeable enough to identify from the little I saw. -Rob Bogden
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09:49 - A single orca was spotted from the 9:40 AM Bainbridge - Seattle ferry ride, at around 9:49 AM. The dorsal fin was quite large, so many were speculating it was a solo male. It was headed south towards Vashon Island. -Bianka Mariles
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GRAY WHALES - Wed, Dec 15 - Southern Saratoga Passage - 09:15 - Grey whale feeding off Pebble Beach, Camano Island, seems to have headed south now. >09:14 - Grey whale feeding at Pebble Beach. Headed north. -Teena Robinett

December 14
SOUTHERN RESIDENT ORCAS - Tue, Dec 14 - Central Puget Sound (Js) - 17:05 - Great combo of S4s and an S10!
17:02 - Echolocation slow clicks. -Scott Veirs
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17:27 - And nearly an hour later still hearing echolocation clicks...and S4 calls.
17:02 - Still hearing calls & echolocation, and a seal just swam over the webcam!
16:54 - S1s
16:50-16:52 - Still hearing loud S4 calls.
16:38 - Loud J pod calls on the Sound Action webcam/hydrophone! -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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16:39 - Lots of loud calls now!!
16:32 - Hearing what sounds like faint calls on the Sound Action hydro. -Marla Smith
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15:50 - [orcas] Ruston Way by the dunes, there were still 3 out by the ship, very hard to see, but could see blows and flips. 3:50. -Julie Davis
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15:02 - They crossed east thru Pt. Defiance ferry lanes and went north toward Point Robinson. We saw at least 3 females, calf(?), and 2 males. -Nathalie op de Beeck
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14:24 - [orcas] They seem to have turned back east [from Narrows]. -Kirsten Tucker
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13:59 - At 15:06 Laura Baker, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: Orcas off the Point Defiance dock, 12/14 Log entry 1359hrs: T/S Olwell reports sighting a very active pod of 3-4 orca whales, roughly halfway between the two terminals, traveling in a southbound direction. CHETZEMOKA PH notified.
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14:42 - Now trending northeast. Viewing from Point Defiance. Directional changes and foraging.
13:45 - From Tahlequah. 1:45pm. They appear to be resting now, but now facing west.
13:39 - Viewing from Tahlequah... raining pretty hard. #goodtimes Trending east, lots of milling, foraging, and directional changes. screenshot - "stills from video taken from Pt. Defiance around 3pm." J47 notch et al. -Shari Tarantino
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13:35 - Also one east side of the red freighter "Navios". Watching from Dune Point, 1:35. -Jim Schmaltz
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13:30-14:30 - We had wonderful views from Point Defiance Park 5 Mile Drive between 1:30 and 2:30. They came quite close to shore. It was wonderful! -Karen Povey
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13:02 - Group trending towards Gig Harbor seemed to have turned around towards Tacoma, 1:02. Males still in-between Vashon and Ruston. -Brooke Peterson
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15:27 - Large group has left the ship & are spread out along Maury. Trailing males still near ship at Quartermaster. Adult male heading up East Passage, Approaching southern channel marker, on the Vashon side. Everyone is trending up East Channel.
15:22 - There's a group milling & foraging off the ship moored at Quartermaster, still. Calf in that group. Lots of activity.
15:13 - From Dune, they are spread across the channel from Dune to entrance to Quartermaster Harbor, larger group closer to ship moored out at Quartermaster, NE bound. Looking like they might head back up East Passage.
14:53 - Spread all over the channel eastbound. Some through the ferry lanes now. Dune's about to get a good pass. Calf in this group close to Dune.
14:50 - There's at least 3 nearing ferry Lanes, Eastbound from Colvos entrance, mid channel.
14:38 - I ran up to my favorite Narrows perch & they have turned back out.
14:16 - Foraging behavior & LOTS of birds off Pt. Defiance proper.
14:14 - Lead group is off Pt. Defiance proper, entering the Narrows; 2 or 3 trailing them about 1/4 of a mile behind. Of course, they do this right as they shut the gates to 5 Mile.
14:06 - From my vantage at Pt. Defiance Marina, there's a large group.. maybe 10, in line with Sunset Beach but off Pt. Defiance proper, trending towards the Narrows.
14:03 - Big breach from an adult male, mid channel, west of ferry lanes. Foraging activity continues in Dalco Passage near entrance to Colvos.
13:53 - There's a group foraging the entrance to Colvos still, an adult male off Dune/Pt. Defiance Marina foraging, and some closer to Vashon shore near ferry terminal. Westbound or foraging directions.
13:42 - From Pt. Defiance Marina, a group of 3-5 near Colvos entrance, very active, trending east. Adult male milling in front of me, not far out.
12:54 - From Dune can see an adult male at the end of East Channel approaching Dalco Passage, at least 3 more in front of Dune, leaders still trending towards Gig Harbor/Sunset Beach.. not choosing a channel or reversal yet. Foraging behaviors. everyone westbound.
12:48 - Leaders are at west tip of Vashon, unclear which way they will go. Adult male giving us a beautiful slow, close pass at Dune. Others spread out behind him all westbound.
12:39 - [orcas] From Dune - they are spread all across Dalco Passage from right off Dune to Vashon, westbound towards Gig Harbor. screenshot - "The big fella continuing his casual pass of Dune/Owen Beach. He slowly surfaced and lazily rolled along the surface a lot as he did circles out there for a while." -Melissa Bird
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14:43 - Seeing a lot of activity again at the convergence of Dalco and Colvos. Waiting to see which way they go @ 1443, viewed from Pt. Defiance Marina.
14:01 - I had counted 10 as they passed the Marina, 4 went up Colvos, one headed back east but is now meandering back west, one headed more southerly, the other 4 have been hanging out just south of Colvos and still seem pretty active. I lost them for a while in a heavy squall that rolled through.
13:19 - Looks like they are still playing at the entrance to Colvos & that all but 2 headed up Colvos. One is hanging out south of the Research Boat, and one headed east and is currently between the two anchored vessels.
12:48 - The main group has headed up Colvos Pass.
12:35 - across from Point Defiance Marina close to Vashon side, leads have just crossed the ferry line. -Robyn Dally
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12:37 - Passing Dune park right now.
12:31 - They're really spread out. There's still some in front of the tide flats area.
12:29 - They're heading across; they've been in front of the tide flats, and now they're heading towards the big red ship that's out there in front of Tacoma waterway. -Lisa Long Betz
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13:59 - Above Owen Beach on bluffs. Hunt continues. Lead pod in southern end of Colvos. Trending west. Some pointed towards Colvos.
13:23 - We've got 2 to 3, hunting, Owen Beach area.
13:18 - We've got one orca still down at the Point Defiance viewpoint... which, looks up Colvos.
12:43 - Viewing from Point Defiance. They're headed west towards Gig Harbor.
12:30 - Very spread out. 6 to 8, south end Maury. Tail slapping. Holding in this area, but some trending to the west.
12:14 - Two more. One male, plus one adult surfacing by research boat. Trending west, at south end Maury.
12:10 - The/a leader just surfaced at south end, Maury. Seems to be headed west. -Kathleen Cage
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11:42 - Seeing them from Woodmont Beach south of Maury. Spread out. -Ali Saccone
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11:42 - [orcas] Seeing blows from Dune [Peninsula]. -Noelle Morris
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11:40 - See blows Near Maury, watching from the Dune [Peninsula]. photo - J38 ID: GS -Cherie St.Ours
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12:27 - They were heading towards Dune Peninsula park area last we saw them.
12:15 - Some were passing the Tahlequah ferry going south still. They are really coming up high out of the water so making it easy to follow them. Still really spread out.
11:55 - They are really spread out but moving south now. Several more breaches. Some are south of Maury Island. And some as far back as halfway on Maury.
11:45 - No direction movement yet. One breach so far, from Browns Point viewing over to Maury Island. They are pretty spread out still.
11:35 - [orcas] Viewing blows from Browns Point. Close to Maury Island. -Tisa Annette
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14:17 - Southbound in the Narrows.
12:38 - Second group circling Commencement Bay between cargo ship & the Port.
12:29 - 1 group westbound, approaching south end of Vashon.
11:35 - [orcas] First couple visible from Dune in Tacoma. [map indicates south of Point Robinson] -Jason Cook
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11:36 - They may be hunting something. Saw many splashes from the large male and haven't seen them come back up.
11:33 - [orcas] Watching them from Dash Pt., trending south closer to Vashon side. -Mollie Segall
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11:25 - [J pod] From Gold Beach. Followed by one person in a small boat. -Burt Miller, Protected Species Observer at Washington State Ferries
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11:17 - [orcas] Seeing them from Gold Beach, heading south. -Jeff Twersky
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10:55 - [orcas] Spread out heading south, approaching Gold Beach now. -Dan Hyde
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10:48 - [orcas] Spotted heading south of Pt. Robinson, close to Maury. -Julie Martin
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[video] https://www.facebook.com/OrcaNetwork/videos/233390395605051/ screenshots - "big breach Pt. Robinson!" -Caroline Martin Matter
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10:42 - Beautiful close J pod pass at Pt. Robinson, grouped up mostly, some singles, playful, steady southbound. (We were very surprised not to be hearing them during the pass, there was some tail slapping and breaching during the pass, possibly some resting by some maybe, so really not sure why they were silent, definitely Js though) -Marla Smith
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10:35 - Zachary Sokolik was also at Point Robinson, Maury Island, today and shares his sweet view of J pod swimming south in Puget Sound, some members just yards from the humans who planted their boots on shore. Check out the lazy inverted tail slapping by one member alongside teenagers and a little one, while others travel spread ahead and further offshore in this short super sweet beautiful video. -ALB https://www.facebook.com/OrcaNetwork/videos/439188224373076/
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10:33 - No SRKW calls yet on the Point Robinson hydrophone. I've been listening for last ~20 minutes. -Scott Veirs
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10:17 - Seeing them from Point Robinson. Several dorsals, spouts, and tailslaps visible south of Dilworth, SB. -Shelby Middling
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09:57 - [orcas] Looking from Three Tree Point west across the Sound, seeing lots of spouts tight against the Vashon side. -Conn McQuinn
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09:03 - Much appreciation to Kelly Keenan & Amy Carey for relaying report received of large group of whales off Dilworth, Vashon, heading southbound down the main channel. Unconfirmed at this time, but believed to be residents based on large number of orcas. -ALB
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BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Tue, Dec 14 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - ~13:00 or 14:00 - My friend (not an Orca chaser) happened to see the Hood Canal group under the Hood Canal Bridge today. They had killed prob. a seal. It was @ 1 or 2 PM. -via Kristen Alvarez
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02:00 - Last sighting I have of the T68Cs was from 2am yesterday morning heading into Belfair from mile marker 11. -via Tisa Annette (secondhand)
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Tue, Dec 14 - Central Puget Sound - swimming toward the overlook. -Patrick Ofenloch
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13:02 - Humpback milled around in front of Old Ferry park in Gig Harbor. Lost it as it headed in the bridge direction. It never fluked. -Kirsten Tucker
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11:56 - I'm on the Gig Harbor side waiting for the orcas to clear Vashon and a humpback just went by! Very close to this side! (Just south of Sunrise Beach Park). Heading south. -Mary Moreno
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SPECIES UNCONFIRMED - Tue, Dec 14 - Central Puget Sound - 12:12 - Dolphin swimming past ferry now, too! South end of Vashon. -Jim Schmaltz

December 13
SOUTHERN RESIDENT ORCAS - Mon, Dec 13 - Central Puget Sound (Js) - 16:22 - Orca spotted from Southworth ferry, west of Alki Beach headed north. -Troy Victor Violette
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16:40 - Still trending north. Kitsap side. Approaching Eagle Harbor.
16:15 - Northeast, traveling towards water between Blakely Rock & Alki...
16:12 - Correction... west of barge and yellow channel marker. Kitsap side.
16:10 - [orcas] Large group just east of large barge...Alki side. Looking from BI. -Kimberly Sylvester
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15:42 - [orcas] Moving NB, in front of Blake Island now, closer to BI side. (From Seattle side, right across from Blake.) -Paul Steyn Benade
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15:39 - [orcas] At least 3 visible at the south end of Blake Island. Northbound. -Tim Peters
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~15:30 - Saw them from Constellation Park at about 3:30. NB. -Carol Bowman Ellis
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15:30 - Saw one male from the Vashon/Fauntleroy ferry. Was north of the ferry, east side of channel heading NE. At 15:22, saw one spy hop due west (about 1 mile) from where the male was. -Ariel Yseth
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15:26 - [orcas] 3-4 blowin' and goin' NB from north of Vashon, passing Southworth Ferry Terminal as seen from Emma Schmitz, soon to pass Blake Is. -Russ Mann
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14:38 - Heading north, mid channel.
14:23 - [orcas] Seeing them from North Vashon Ferry terminal, on east side of channel. -Amy Bliss-Miller
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13:31 - [orcas] Yes, heading north now, north of Tramp Harbor. -Scott Hill
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14:31 - Northbound, mid channel, about here [west of Seahurst Park].
13:32 - Were feeling like they turned, as well. We're seeing nothing at Pt. Robinson.
13:21 - Can see several large fins coming our way at Pt. Robinson, mid channel.. lots of activity, at least one adult male more on the land side, w/research boat, still southbound.
13:04 - From Pt. Robinson, research boat & at least 2 adult males southbound approaching KVI, Vashon side. From here, they are near the channel marker north of KVI. -Melissa Bird
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12:59 - [orcas] Some spouts and large dorsal visible from Pt. Robinson. Looks like small research boat with them south of Dilworth. -Shelby Middling
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13:32 - Can barely see the research vessel looking north from Des Moines Marina; it's looking Like they are northbound now.
13:25 - From Des Moines Marina, it looks like they are turning away and direction northwest-ish now.
12:57 - [orcas] Spouts and trailing vessel visible from Des Moines Marina. -Janina Cooper
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16:25 - Big male just passed Bainbridge ferry area. Mid channel. Haven't looked for the others yet, but they were 5-10 min. behind last I saw them.
16:21 - Fast ferry just slowed while they passed some of them. Viewing from Alki Beach now. Northbound still. Big male in lead slowly making way north.
16:02 - They are definitely moving faster now. Most are to the north end of Blake now. Leading male was way ahead but haven't been watching him. Northbound.
15:58 - Spread from south of Blake to south beach area. Moving again, northbound.
15:40 - They are spread out from Tillicum village to Southworth ferry dock. Lots of surface action. Not really moving much, at this point.
15:28 - One large male visible at the south end of Blake Island. Closer to that side than where I'm viewing at Alki.
15:15 - Viewing blows straight out from my location [Southworth].
15:13 - One male, plus one adult. Closer to Vashon, north end.. NB, just came into view from Southworth. I think he's hunting.
12:55 - Picking up some speed. Definitely traveling faster now. Almost to Pt. Robinson, it looks like.
12:50 - Still out in front of me. Three Tree Point. Really slow travel southbound.
12:20 - Directly out from me now. Several big breaches. Spread out.
12:10 - Viewing from Three Tree Point!!! South mid channel although looks closer to Vashon now. -Tisa Annette
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12:08 - Live on Komo news right now! https://youtu.be/ox_CwrnorlM -Matty Leaman
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12:06 - [orcas] Seeing blows from Seahurst. Still SB well on the west side of the channel. Helicopter following above. -Mitchell Nevi
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12:01 - Trailers Vashon side, south of Glen Acres now, big spread, steady southbound. -Marla Smith
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~11:40 - [orca] Saw one straggler from the Fauntleroy-Vashon ferry at about 11:40. -Danielle Carter
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15:42 - There are two swimming right towards east side of Blake. I'm off to Manchester.
15:41 - Right now...heavy boat traffic, ferries, tugs. The leader of the back-end group... just turned away from Alki, to the northwest. Passenger only ferry from Southworth, stopped.
15:35 - The first of about 3 to 5 of the back group...is just in view from lighthouse.
15:25 - Group of 3 hunting off Beach Drive, halfway between Fauntleroy and Alki. I lost the giant male...he submerged a long time during tug/barge pass
14:48 - My first spot of pod in last 15 minutes. NB. North end of Vashon/east pass. Two orcas. Fast swim. One is tail slapping. (viewing from high bluffs, Southworth)
11:19 - All orcas have now cleared the north end of Vashon. Mid channel. East pass. SB. I believe there were 4, in the lead of this pod. Very spread out. Moving fast. In the rears...of the pod, I'm upping count to 3, for a total of 7. Will look forward to everybody's further updates.
11:10 - From high Southworth view, I'm going with 6. SB. East pass. 4 have cleared north end Vashon. Two... still not north of ferry crossing to Fauntleroy. -Kathleen Cage
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At 11:09 Laura Baker, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: Log entry 1109hrs: Orca pod, Vessel reports via 800MHz a pod of 20 whales heading southbound in the north and south traffic lanes. Pod is located between Vashon Head and FAU terminal.
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11:45 - I have photo IDs of J38, J39, and J19 so far. From the 10:40 Fauntleroy/Vashon crossing.
11:19 - J38 & J39 present.
10:46 - [orcas] Just entering the Fauntleroy Vashon ferry lanes. Viewing from the ferry. Whales are in the direct path. -Ariel Yseth
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photo - "Here's a trailer at 4:17pm off Constellation Park with Restoration Point in the background."
14:44 - Seeing blows from Emma Schmitz, south of ferry lane, NB, west of mid channel.
12:00 - Saw 3 or 4 blows south of ferry lane north of Dilworth west of mid channel, SB from Lincoln Park at noon.
10:42 - [orcas] At Vashon ferry dock seen from Constellation Point, West Seattle. SB. -Mary Hartmann
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14:45 - Leaders in front of Blake Island, NB. Seeing lots of breaches, foraging. West of shipping channel.
14:36 - Leaders are between Vashon and Blake Islands. NB.
11:51 - Foraging, in front of the three cell towers on Vashon. Still SB. We think they are the trailers. Folks at Three Tree Point should be seeing the leaders.
11:00 - Trending SB at tip of Vashon Island. 11:00am. Spread out between Vashon and West Seattle.
10:39 - Leaders are just reaching the northern tip of Blake Island. SB, 10:39am. Viewing from Shorewood on the Sound/Salmon Creek. -Shari Tarantino
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10:16 - [orcas] Leaders are already past Bainbridge heading west. -Kersti Muul
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10:22 - Orcas have slowed the pace, east side of Blake Island. Some foraging.
10:13 - Good morning! Seeing presumably Jpod from Emma Schmitz right now, lone male way out on the lead past Manchester fuel terminal, others spread out in small groups as far as up to Eagle Harbor from what we are seeing. Appear to be west of southbound traffic lanes. Moving south pretty quick. -Stephanie Raymond, Orca Network
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09:56 - We have alerted WSF and commercial shipping. -ALB
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10:13 - Alki Lighthouse now!!
10:12 - Big group coming up to Alki Lighthouse very soon!! Breaches seen near yellow buoy. They are close to shore. SB.
10:08 - Moving very fast!! Leader has passed Alki Lighthouse, headed for Fauntleroy ferry, a note to say that huge blue container ship slowed way down!!!!! SB direction.
09:55 - They are still a lot trailing past Climate Change area, viewing from Manchester, SB close to Seattle shoreline.
09:46 - Should be able to view off ferry leaving Seattle now!
09:44 - Huge grey navy ship pulling out right near their path, passed Space Needle just now, SB.
09:40 - I just saw them heading south, should be in front of Space Needle area soon, viewing from Manchester. -Noelle Morris
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09:38 - [Js] Chris Fly Called to report seeing orcas from Yeomalt Point, Bainbridge. Orcas are spread between Yeomalt and West Point, Seattle, all across the channel, not in big hurry and all heading southbound. Includes 4-5 males, and at least a dozen others, including youth & babies. Can't tell if Ts or Rs.
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J pod was picked up on the Orcasound - Listen for Whales Bush Point hydrophone in the very early morning hours perhaps as early as 1:15am. -ALB
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BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Mon, Dec 13 - North Puget Sound - We spotted of two large back fins from Port Townsend Water Street Park yesterday, December 13th, 2021. -Gus Bell
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~12:00-12:45 - Two orcas in Port Townsend Bay. Suspect transients. One large male with left leaning tip of fin and two notches on trailing edge of fin. Other whale smaller fin..female? Juvenile? They were headed in by the mill and ferry dock area at 12:45. First spotted between Point Hudson and Marrowstone Point around 12:00. Watched then for a bit as they passed in front of town. Good looks in the spotting scope. -Chrissy McLean
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~12:15 - 2 whales, who looked like an Orca mom and young offspring were sighted swimming along Port Townsend in a SE direction towards Marrowstone Island. We were at the Marine Park Community Building at the Winter Welcoming Center, near the dock. -Ben Casserd
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Mon, Dec 13 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - 15:49 - Orcas about 20-30 feet off our deck [McDonald Cove] hunting what we've now confirmed was an otter --- we have an otter family that lives in a cave and under the next-door neighbor's house when raising their young --- we saw the poor little guy or gal fighting for its life with the pack tiring it out before it became a Scooby snack (yep I know it's the Circle of Life). -Stuart Wood, PSWS & Brinnon Community group

December 12
SOUTHERN RESIDENT ORCAS - Sun, Dec 12 - San Juan Islands (Js) - 15:29 - At 15:39 Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: Whales 1529 hrs.: 12/12 SAMISH Master reports 3 orca at Upright Channel-Upright Head.
14:33 - At 14:40 Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: Whales 1433hrs, 12/12, Tillikum Master reports small pod of orca (2-3) at Turn Rock, headed for Cattle Pass.
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13:47 - Orcas passing through Upright Channel going east, almost between Friday Harbor and Shaw. Hard to say [how many], between 10-20, probably, spread out over 10ish minutes. ["Confirmed J-Pod!" -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute] -Britt McCombs

December 11
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Sat, Dec 11 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - 16:51 - Just left. Very dark now. But saw them on the Tahuya side from the Union Marina about 15 min ago. They had stalled and then just disappeared. -Trish Butterfield
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16:43 - [orcas] Just passed me between mile marker 6 and Alderbrook. Heading east. -Wendy Swanson
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16:21 - [orcas] They are hanging out in the middle of the canal at the Hood Canal Marina. -Carmel ML
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15:53 - Orcas are in front of Union Hood Canal Marina right now. updated: They were heading east again toward Twanoh after hunting. -Daniel Ferreira
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15:06 - [orcas] Eastbound 1/2mile of St. Pk. - big water area. -Carrie Mann
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14:11 - [orcas] Passing Twanoh mid channel, SB. -Terri Sue Samuels
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14:09 - Updated map for T68Cs still eastbound [south Hood Canal, east of Alderbrook]. -Bart Rulon, Naturalist, Puget Sound Express
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13:40 - [orcas] Just heading east past mile 12.5. Mid channel and south shore side. Whale watch boat giving good distance. -Tori Dulemba
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13:10 - [orcas] Spotted in Union near 2 Margaritas, heading in Alderbrook Resort direction. -Vanessa Stewart Nelson
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14:15 - Passed Twanoh State Park still heading east toward Belfair. Leisurely pace.
13:00 - [orcas] Headed east along north bank. -Mike Maddox
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13:30 - East of Alderbrook.
12:30 - Sounds like they are hugging the north shore as they take the turn [The Great Bend].
11:50 - They just swam past the long pier at Holiday Beach and still heading south.
11:30 - Someone saw them at Lilliwaup tide flats. Still southbound.
11:20 - Still heading south. Slow travel speed. East side of the canal.
10:37 - Orcas were spotted near Eagle Creek, north of Lilliwaup, heading southbound mid channel. -Tisa Annette

December 10
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Fri, Dec 10 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - 14:36 - Looking from Pt. Whitney, Saratoga following.
13:58 - [orcas] I'm at Brinnon now. Still tracking N. -Jeffrey Stander
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13:21 - One dorsal fin. I believe male, just south of Duckabush, mid channel. NB. -Kathleen Cage
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14:30 - They made a second kill just north of my last map post [Pulali Point]. They were northbound.
14:20 - They made a kill and ate, and they are hunting again northbound.
14:03 - T68Cs have entered Dabob Bay, still northbound
13:38 - Currently between Scenic Beach Park and Brinnon, mid channel, northbound.
13:20 - Confirmed T68C pod northbound just about a mile south of Brinnon. -Bart Rulon, Naturalist, Puget Sound Express
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12:00 - [orcas] Past Holly heading north close to the west side. Actually, I've only seen one, not much activity. (I did see the full group shortly after the last post looked like four whales and look to me like the T68Cs. But they were far to the other side and it's raining so visibility not good and no photos.) -Jim Pasola
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11:26 - 4 mid channel moving fairly quickly northbound, now passing Hama Hama Oyster Co. Slow but steady NB. -Catherine Brooks
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10:48 - Elaine Wiley just called to report orcas. She is around mile post 323 in Lilliwaup, just south of Ayock Point. They've been watching 3 orcas out in the middle of the canal for a good 30 minutes, 2 larger (female and/or juvenile male) and one smaller. They appear like they are going to head north but keep playing and circling around.
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09:47 - North of Eagle Creek, mid channel, slow pace northbound, spread out.
09:09 - Split in 2 groups; one mid channel, one closer to Lilliwaup. 3 in the group closer to shore, 2 adults and a little fella; mid channel group was hard to tell, 3 maybe 4
09:05 - [orcas] Lilliwaup now. -John Paul Fitzgerald
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Orca Sighting:
Sighting Time: Fri, Dec 10 @ 7:59:22 PST
Sighting User Reported Location (Lat/Lon): 47.40814,-123.13912 [Hoodsport]
Number Sighted: 3
Reported Animal Status: Living
Submitter Name: Briauna Reichert
Whale Alert App

December 9
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Thu, Dec 9 - Central Puget Sound - 16:30 - Have stalled and very active past 15 min. Dang, losing light. Anyway, they seem to be moving fairly slow up towards north.
16:17 - I see them now between southend Mutiny Bay and in line with Foulweather Bluff. Whidbey side of mid. NB.
15:00 & 15:30 - About a half hour ago (15:00) viewing from Maxwelton Park, they were halfway from there to Double Bluff Park, Whidbey side of channel. I'm currently (15:30) at Limpet Lane hiked to end of beach, I do not see them yet. Possibly a stall???
14:00 - Viewing from Sunset Hill Dr./Possession Shores. Thanks to all for following them. NB. See pinpointed map [SW of Scatchet Head]. Appear to be closer to Whidbey, mile to two out. -Marilyn Armbruster
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14:15 - And they just swam out of my view in Mukilteo, moving slowly north up the west side of Whidbey. 14:15. Downtimes of 3-5 mins.
13:57 - They look like, as of now, choosing to go up admiralty.
13:44 - They've stopped. Milling, lots of directional changes and moved more west. Lots of birds overhead, maybe hunting.
13:36 - Continue to slowly move north. I think I count 5-6. One large male and one little one trailing behind. Some Pretty active surface time after long dives, an impressive breach and some tail slapping. they're right in the middle right now.
13:40 - I should be able to tell in a few which path they will go. They're pretty much right In The middle right now.
13:26 - [orcas] They are south east of Whidbey in Possession triangle. Heading north slowly long down times. (from Mukilteo, Chennault Beach neighborhood. View with binoculars and a telescope). -Alice Thuy Talbot
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Video taken by my parents from the deck of the ferry pulling into Edmonds. Credit to Darrell Smith and Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Lorna Smith. -Kevin Campion screenshot - [Ariel thinks T65A3 in video]
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12:20 - Whales crossing NB in path of stopped ferry bound for Edmonds. They were NB off the port bow of the WSF Spokane. -Ariel Yseth
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12:38 - Watched at least one of the males continue northbound, east side of channel out from Edmonds. Last seen about 12:30. Appear to be staying this side.
12:15 - We alerted WSF & shipping. Orcas are near stalled ferry MV Spokane. Elevation will be your friend today for viewing, at least currently. Warm layers, too. It is cold!
11:55 - Pod of few female/juv. male, little one, & 2 males steady medium pace northbound off Pt. Wells, Woodway. Edmonds up next.
11:30 - Getting curiouser... not tightly grouped. There is a tight group with one male at 11:25 location. Few to the west, including another male and looks like another male to SW. All slow steady northbound.
11:25 - Pod has grouped tight, moved towards mid channel but still east of. Now out from Richmond Beach Saltwater Park, northbound in resting mode.
11:00 - At least 4-5 orcas including two males. Loosely spread.
10:50 - From Richmond Beach Saltwater Park, seeing blows of multiple whales to the south. They are traveling up east side of the Sound approx. out from Carkeek area. Appear to be northbound. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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~09:10-09:15 - Saw a small number of orcas this morning from the 8:45 Bainbridge to Seattle ferry. They were close to Bainbridge, just north of Eagle Harbor. They were very far away so I was unable to get pics or tell what direction they were headed. Probably about 9:10 or 9:15. -Jill Irene Freidberg
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UNIDENTIFIED ORCAS - Thu, Dec 9 - NW Strait of Georgia - 14:25 - I have been watching them steadily since the initial report. The group is passing the north end of Harwood Island. [There appears to be 4, possibly 5, orcas in video from Patti. -gs]
13:16 - Orcas travelling north along Texada Island. -Patti Perepeluk

December 8
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Wed, Dec 8 - Central Puget Sound (T65As) - 16:25 - [orcas] They are just north of the Narrows Bridge heading south. -Katy Anderson
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16:05 - Heading towards Narrows Bridge. Small orca traveling with 3-5 orcas spread out.
15:42 - Point Defiance.
15:33 - [orcas] Dune Park. photo - T65A6 & T65A (confirm) -Ryan Dicks
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14:28 - Sound Action just had a report of what appeared to be one male orca moving south from Point Robinson. -Amy Carey
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10:31 - [orcas] Turned around now heading to the south of the lighthouse.
10:22 - 3-4 Orcas by the Alki Lighthouse heading northwest. -Patti Waterfall
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Wed, Dec 8 - San Juan Islands (T36s) - 10:46 - T36 and T36Bs - thanks Sara Hysong-Shimazu for the ID assist!
10:33 - Taking Spieden westbound.
10:17 - 5 Ts.
10:09 - Only seen two so far, long dives, maybe 1/2 mile offshore.
10:03 - Got them off Reuben Tarte. photo - "From left to right T36B2 Greenfelder, T36B Tattertip, and T36B3 Chip, as seen from Reuben Tarte County Park." -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
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09:45 - Orcas passing Mineral Point heading north, close in. -Dan Shelley
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Wed, Dec 8 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - Thank you, Orca Network, Heather Berry and Carrie Mann, for helping us find this pod! We got to see tail slapping, a couple breaches and spy hopping behavior at Belfair State Park! We don't have this in Central Texas so thank you for making our first trip away so very special! -Hannah Sartain
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15:01 - [orcas] They are a bit east of Twanoh State Park, closer to North Shore! I am on south shore (106) just east of Twanoh State Park! -Carrie Mann
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15:48 - They are closer to south shore now but could see spouts. About a mile past Belfair state park. We are on north shore.
15:36 - Lost them for a bit, they came up closer to South Shore side.
15:13 - Still here.
15:00 - Lots of tail slaps.
14:48 - Lots of action right now, still mid channel.
14:32 - [orcas] Seeing breaching. Mid channel. We headed up west from Belfair State Park. 8600 block, north shore. -Heather Berry
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13:24 - No direction at this point yet. They turned out & then back by the park. (They were mid channel but then were on the south side last I saw them.)
13:07 - [orcas] We can see them across from Belfair State Park. -Toye Elizabeth Norwood
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~13:00 - [orcas] Saw them about 1pm or so, pretty close to Belfair State Park from the opposite shore. -Bryan Owens
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13:00 - Possibly made their turn now. Heading west.
12:50 - They made it all the way and are turning back west. Quite the current so travel speed is slower.
12:35 - Belfair State Park. Still following current deeper in mid channel.
12:20 - Signs of a hunt. Mid channel. The current is definitely pulling them a lot faster so having to calculate for that. Tough conditions for viewing. Choppy. Blows are way out in front of them by the time I see those, you have to pan back west to see the whales. Still eastbound towards Belfair.
12:17 - [orcas] Roughly 4 miles west of Twanoh. They are still heading into Belfair. -Tisa Annette
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11:39 - Moving toward Belfair.
11:27 - [orcas] Directly in front of Twanoh, closer to north shore, direction unclear. -Catherine Brooks
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11:25 - And they are back, now heading towards Belfair.
10:57 - [orcas] Just saw them near Twanoh State Park, north shore. heading towards Union/Alderbrook. -Ali Spivak
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08:30 - Orcas still in Hood Canal. Saw breaths from airplane between Potlatch and Hoodsport. West side of channel. -Sue Larkin

December 7
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Tue, Dec 7 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - 17:00-18:00 - Found them tonight between Twanoh & Belfair. A lot harder to follow them in the dark so not sure if they flipped back to the west. They were heading east towards Belfair when I heard them. South shore. -Tisa Annette
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15:37 - [orcas] Just passed mile marker 11 on Hwy 106 heading toward Alderbrook. Very close to shore. -Diana Turner
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~15:30 - [orcas] Mile 9, Hwy 106, Union. [video] https://www.facebook.com/OrcaNetwork/videos/446792713510356/ -Sally Hoit Loomis
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13:00-14:30 & ~15:00 - Some orca action today while kayaking in Union between 1 and 2:30pm. Follow-up: They were traveling eastbound; this was after the bend of the Hood Canal in front of the Union/Hood Canal Marina there were 5 orcas total 3 of which were hunting together moving farther east and the other two were a good quarter mile behind them. I saw them again on my way home around 3 o'clock in front of Twanoh State Park. As far as the distance, I tried to keep the legal distance but they were zig zagging a lot back and forth and just popped up right in front of me. I'm thinking they were hunting sea lions that are present in the area a lot. -Daniel Joseph Ferreira
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Tue, Dec 7 - Central Puget Sound - 14:50 - A little further out, northbound.
14:29 - Humpback in Shilshole Bay off Discovery Park, saw two deep dives but no direction yet. Between blue dot [Shilshole Bay] and [West Point] Lighthouse. -Stephanie Reiss
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GRAY WHALES - Tue, Dec 7 - North Puget Sound - 10:30 - We had a gray whale up and down feeding extremely close to shore off Witter Beach Place, between Sandy Point and the Clinton ferry. I only had iphone so photos aren't great but I will attach in case you can ID from the bit of pattern! follow-up: This was on Dec 7 (Tuesday) around 10:30 am. We first saw it heading north from the ferry, but it passed our little group of houses around Witter Beach Place and then looped around a few times while feeding and headed back south again. Was in front of our house for maybe 20 min all up. Would love to know if you find out more! We've had more whales - grays and orcas -- in our little area between Whidbey and Hat the past few years than anyone remembers having. -Lara Nolan
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UNIDENTIFIED SPECIES - Tue, Dec 7 - North Puget Sound - This morning between 8:45-9:20, I watched a pod of dolphins in Crescent Harbor on the seaplane base. If I had to guess I would say there had to be at least 10-12 possibly. Please let me know if you have any questions. Follow-up: I was not aware of the harbor porpoise! We are Navy transplants and have only been here for about a year. I took a few sketches because they were too far away to get any good photos. The dorsal fin definitely looked more like the harbor porpoise. But, the distance made it hard to tell and they were moving fast. I read over on NOAA's website that they typically remain in groups of 2-3. There seemed to be at least 10. Also, do harbor porpoises jump? At one point I went back to my original sketch and quit paying attention to them and I heard splashing. When I looked up I could see a couple jumping. -Hannah Sewell

December 6
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Mon, Dec 6 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - Today was a spectacular day along the Hood Canal. We ventured over to highway 106 to see if we could find some eagles and maybe even the transient orcas who happened to be hanging out in the canal looking for grub. We saw about a dozen eagles which gave us an opportunity to capture some photos. On our way back from Hunter Farms, I checked the Orca Network site [FB page] to see if there had been and sighting of the orcas. They were last seen heading east around mile marker #9. Just as we arrived at mile marker #10 on highway 106, we saw a few cars parked and thought maybe the orcas were nearby. It had been a couple hours since the post at 10:30. We got out watched and waited. We spotted dorsal fins coming in our direction. Shortly thereafter 3 orcas surfaced right in front of us about 30 yards away. We began clicking away, hoping to get a few good shots. Here are a few of the photos I was able to capture. -Edith Hitchings
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15:01 - Observed just now from Union Marina Point... Viewing in NE direction. -Fred Norrick
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14:46 - Slowly hunting and slapping SB.
14:38 - [orcas] Close to Alderbrook shore. About 1/2 mile south of Alderbrook. 4 to 5. -Kathleen Cage
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14:15 - Past Alderbrook going west, closer to north side of canal. [video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BESaQ6AVF-Y -Noelle Morris
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14:03 - [orcas] Just approaching Alderbrook, mid-canal. 4 or 5. -Tori Dulemba
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15:30 - Just left the Union Marina. They are heading towards Potlatch near the bend.
14:00 - [orcas] Heading westbound towards the Alderbrook Resort and downtown Union, center of the channel. -Laura Ethridge
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13:45-15:30 - T68C's from Hood Canal yesterday around 1:45-3:30 pm. -Terri Sue Samuels
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15:33 - They're at Twanoh Falls area now.
14:17 - Heading towards Twanoh State Park.
13:45 - Orcas spotted in union WA heading towards belfair direction at 1:45. I'm watching the water closely. I only saw 1 at first but then 4-5 came up. -Vanessa Stewart Nelson
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13:03 - [orcas] They are at Twanoh State Park heading west. -Sam Kaiser
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13:01 - [orcas] Very close pass at Twanoh State Park. -Debbie Kaiser
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12:51 - [orcas] Twanoh State Park right now. They were headed towards Union. -Vladimir Thorsen
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12:17 - They are currently headed into the Belfair Cove [Belfair State Park]. My sister FaceTime[d] me and I saw 4 of them. -Denise Hull
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12:00 - This was our last sighting: Still eastbound. Mid channel closer to Twanoh side but they have been favoring the north shore this morning. Time on last sighting was 12pm. Very slow travel. 1 hunt observed. Traveling fairly bunched together. Very long dives and sometimes 3-5 minutes before they come up. -Tisa Annette
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~10:30 - orcas were seen ~10:30 "along the north shore across from mile marker 9 on 106 ...Unsure of direction." -secondhand via Shaylyn Slye
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Mon, Dec 6 - North Puget Sound/Saratoga Passage - 12:30 - Humpback heading northwest up Saratoga Passage. Now mid-channel approaching Langley.
12:22 - Humpback right in front of Sandy Point. Looks like it's heading northwest into Saratoga Passage. Close to Whidbey side of the channel. -Luanne Seymour

December 5
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Sun, Dec 5 - Hood Canal - 16:15 - Last eye I had on them was at 4:15, about 1-2 miles east of Twanoh State Park, mid-channel, and they seemed to be milling/logging. I believe they were feeding just prior to that, between 3-4 after passing Twanoh. -Shaylyn Slye
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(~15:39) 16:39 - I saw them about 1 hour ago, at least 4, 1 mile north of Twanoh State Park, still headed towards Belfair. VERY close to shore. -Vladimir Thorsen
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(~15:36) 16:36 - About 1 hour ago, at least 4 orcas 1 mile north of Twanoh State Park, right off my yard. Headed towards Belfair. -Levi Anderson
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15:00 - They swam by Twanoh State Park, heading east towards Belfair right at 0300. At least 3, maybe 4. -Shaylyn Slye
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14:00 - I think I just saw 1 orca about 1 mile east of Union/Alderbrook Resort. It was headed toward Belfair. -Kathy Watanabe
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~14:00 - Approx 2pm mile marker 9. -Laura Ethridge
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15:29 - Heading east from Twanoh Falls.
13:45 - Orcas spotted in Union, WA, heading towards Belfair direction at 13:45. I only saw 1 at first, but then 4-5 came up. Cannot identify. Heading towards Twanoh State Park. -Vanessa Stewart Nelson
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GRAY WHALES - Sun, Dec 5 - Central Puget Sound - 13:14 - Seeing heart-shaped blows in distance, continuing north under Agate Pass Bridge. -Sue Larkin
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12:08 - Kimberly called back; whale is definitely closer to the point, almost to the channel marker before Agate Pass Bridge. Just saw another nice surface and tall exhalation...beautiful.
12:00 - Kimberly Sylvester called back, whale is heading NE around the point towards Agate Pass at this time, ~1 mile south of the bridge and 200 yards from western shore. She saw it fluke, but is still unable to ID if humpback or gray.
11:56 - Kimberly Sylvester called to report that while out kayaking she is seeing the tall blows of a solo baleen whale (humpback or gray) just south of Keyport, right at mouth of Liberty Bay on west side of the waterway. She is a distance away so cannot tell direction of travel or confirm which species. -Kimberly Sylvester

December 4
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Sat, Dec 4 - Hood Canal (T68Cs) - 16:15 - [orcas] They passed Holly southbound. East of mid channel. Slow but steady travel. No other behaviors noted for this sighting. -Tisa Annette
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~15:00 - Taken from Anderson Creek (?) Just before Holly on Sat after 3:00. I saw 3. Steady travel towards Belfair. -Stacey Crofoot
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13:46 - Pod of 4-6 transients hunting between Oak Head [Coyle area] and Big Beef Harbor [N Seabeack area] in the Hood Canal. Follow-up - They were hunting for a while in front of Oak Head but were heading south down the canal when we lost sight of them. -Angie Chesney-Mattison
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10:25 - [orcas] Found them this morning directly out from Seabeck. Watched them hunt multiple times. I'm trying to confirm number of hunts by photos and videos, but I believe we ended up at 6. Lots of surface action with breaching, cartwheels, tail slaps. Their hunts were VERY close to the other shoreline west side of the Hood Canal. Number in family we saw was 4. We lost track of them as they turned into Dabob Bay at noon, hugging the northern shoulder. -Tisa Annette

December 3
SOUTHERN RESIDENT ORCAS - Fri, Dec 3 - Central/North Puget Sound (Js) - 17:19 - Heard a few faint J pod calls on Port Townsend hydrophone. -Gayle Swigart, Orca Network
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16:37 & 16:39 - [SRKW] Pretty sure heard faint call at 16:37 and whistles? at 16:39 on Port Townsend hydrophone. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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16:29 - [orcas] Viewing from Lagoon Point straight across. They are over at Marrowstone. Lots of blows, splashing and activity. -Jennifer Fulton Carpenter
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16:07 - [SRKW] Hearing clear calls on Bush Point! 4:07pm. -T.L. Stokes
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15:43 - A few faint S4s following some echolocation on the Bush Point hydrophone. So guessing some or all of Js! -Monika Wieland Shields
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17:16 - No calls at PT for last ~10 min. Maybe the trailers have been ebbed out west of Pt. Wilson?
15:43 - [SRKW] Clicks on https://live.orcasound.net/bush-point -Scott Veirs, Orcasound/Beam Reach
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15:36 - Way over at Marrowstone, some breaches, north bound. -Bonnie Gretz
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14:52 - A couple leaders NB by Port Ludlow! -David Haeckel
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15:32 - WRONG - SO spread out - just saw a male at 1532, they are still streaming by!

15:20 -

Thought they had all passed then saw another big splash as what I think was the last one in our view was headed NW - 1 mi. so of Bush Pt.
14:45 - They are 1 mile south of Bush Pt., some surface active and foraging behavior continuing NW in Admiralty Inlet. -Susan Berta, Orca Network
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13:50 - [orcas] Still where Marilyn saw them, north of Hansville, maybe a bit further north. From 1 mile south of Bush Point. -Howard Garrett, Orca Network
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14:33 - I'm seeing them out from Hansville to Foulweather Bluff, more so Kitsap side of mid channel. 14:33. I'm viewing from high bank Shore Meadows/Whidbey.
14:40 - Male appears to be on Whidbey side of midchannel. I think the orcas have sped up a little. NB.
14:24 - Big spread. Large male out from Hansville and leaders? near Foulweather Bluff. NB.
14:00 - I'm seeing 6 or so heading towards Foulweather Bluff, about a 1/2 mile away. They have passed the southside of the yellow channel marker. NB for sure. Looking like they are plowing thru choppy waters. There are still a few near and to the southeast of the yellow channel marker too.
13:25 - Pretty much in the same area, not moving too much. Moving very slow, still active, hopefully filling their bellies.
13:13 - There are some just Kitsap side of mid channel, looking like the leaders.
13:06 - [orcas] Viewing from Shore Meadows/Whidbey. Active, breaches appearing NB still. over at Kitsap side. -Marilyn Armbruster
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12:00 - Picked them up from Maxwelton but viewing conditions from Whidbey are terrible. They are northbound, north of yellow buoy and almost to Point No Point now. Far over on Kitsap side.
11:37 - [orcas] Seeing lots of blows from Scatchet, across on the Kitsap side, but waves are making it really hard to even see dorsals. North of the green buoy. -Donna George
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15:53 - It was Js! Hearing them on the Bush Pt. hydro now.
11:53 - Sara Frey called to report orcas seen from Point No Point were committed to Admiralty, north of the yellow buoy now. At least 7, if not more. We chatted about which groups (both ecotypes) were in and who this might be. Still a mystery. Viewing conditions not optimal.
11:38 - Out from PNP, mid channel. Looks like just this side of the yellow can.
11:36 - Maybe 5-10? Hard to see. Spread out. At least 2 males. Steadily NB.
11:18 - Whales approaching Point No Point from the south, mid channel. Still too far for IDs.
09:50 - Many whales NB, mid/west channel, with line-of-sight Apple Tree Point to Useless Bay. Several males, some foraging, tail slaps. -Sara Frey
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Fri, Dec 3 - Central Puget Sound (Ks) - 15:58 - At 16:08 - John Miller, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: CATHLAMET Whale Report 2/3/2021 - 1558hrs: Vessel reports two (2) orca east of SW, moving north out of Colvos Passage.
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15:44 - Heading toward Southworth dock, northbound on west side of passage.
15:33 - [orcas] Due west from Shinglemill Creek. Heading north, middle of passage. -Carl Wassilie
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15:39 - Still NB, mid-channel, slow moving and very tight together. Should be visible from Southworth.
15:31 - Directly east of Driftwood Cove, northbound, tightly grouped. Mid-channel.
15:24 - Coming up towards Peter Point more towards the Vashon side.
15:23 - [orcas] Just now coming into view from Driftwood Cove. -Roxane Jackson Johnson
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14:50 - [orca] Nice breaching happening at Olalla. Continuing north in Colvos. -Mike Maddox
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14:34 - [orcas] Seeing blows from Olalla heading north. -Julie Davis
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14:33 - First saw a lone whale ahead of trailing group of at least 5, and another group coming up now. She says not traveling very fast. Water is rough.
14:30 - Still on the phone such glee coming over the phone...a breach!
14:23 - Alisa's (our Whale Sighting Network coordinator) sister Annie Kondra and hubby Mike were around Kitsap celebrating anniversary and took a wrong turn and ended up near Al's Market in Olalla...right into a crowd of people with binoculars - she called to ask if there were orcas. Well, why yes there are...On the phone with her right now watching residents heading northbound, they are on the Vashon side still coming from the south of them. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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14:12 - At least two passing Olalla Bridge. Pretty far out though. -Kelly Busey
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13:54 - 10-12 heading north up Colvos. -Ryan Dicks
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13:38 - Still seeing blows, 1:38, south end of Vashon, Gig harbor side, trending north up Colvos very slowly. Small white boat following. -Cherie StOurs
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13:35 - [orcas] First group is way up here in Colvos already. One close to Olalla side, and at least three on Vashon side. -Amy Bliss-Miller
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14:10 - Still mid channel just north between Camp Sealth and Lisabuela as of 2:10p.
13:34 - [orcas] Just south of Camp Sealth, closer to Olalla side. -Meaghan Baumgartner
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13:21 - Group Anika sees near Colvos entrance still trending north, from Dune. VERY challenging viewing conditions. -Melissa Bird
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15:55 - TIGHTLY grouped and going down for long dives as ferry is heading out.
15:45 - They're approaching Southworth!! Midchannel @ 3:45pm!!
15:10 - Actually the boat still looks like there is a large grouping next to it.
15:05 - Passing Fragaria, closely grouped hugging Vashon. The large white boat finally left them alone and is ahead of the grouping now.
14:20 - Seeing fins approaching Al's in Olalla at 2:20pm, Vashon side.
13:15 - Viewing 6-10 blows grouped tightly from Dalco Viewpoint at 1:15pm, appearing to be potentially heading up Colvos?
13:05 - Spotted one male mid-channel headed towards Dalco.
----Caught up with the endangered Southern Resident Orcas, both J & K pod today!!! Was able to spot and view them from 5 Mile Drive, then Al's at Olalla and finally the Southworth Ferry Terminal!! Sooooooooo cool!!! Can't wait to see the professional shots all my friends from the Orca Network got but here's a quick cellphone video! [videos: https://www.facebook.com/anika.langford/posts/10159403229683213 -Anika Blake
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12:51 - I'm seeing 3 individuals crossing in front of Vashon ferry, westbound through Dalco Passage. -Julia Vollmer
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12:51 - I'm seeing two males heading westbound toward Quartermaster Harbor as seen from Owen Beach. -Lucas Dambergs
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12:49 - At 13:01 John Miller, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: CHETZEMOKA - Orca Report 12/3/2021 - 1249hrs: Vessel reports six (6) orca mid-channel, moving west. [Dalco Passage].
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13:06 - Seeing some pointing towards Colvos now.
13:00 - A little early to tell, but there are 4-6 that appear to be heading towards the Narrows.
12:39 - Seeing multiple dorsals, directionally pointing towards Quartermaster Harbor.
12:33 - Saw one large dorsal, mid channel & straight out from Dune Peninsula. 12:33, southbound. -Brooke Casanova
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12:45 - Some westbound past Quartermaster Harbor now.
12:21 - [orcas] Seeing blows near the sailboat between Dash and Maury. Closer to Maury. -Ed Rickert
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12:20-12:30 - saw [male] about 12:20-12:30 from Browns Point Lighthouse. Barely caught him on my camera. -Emily Spanjer
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11:21 - [orcas] 4 or 5 just south of Pt. Robinson. Caught a breach in the binoculars. -Tim Vagen
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12:50 - Passing behind the ferry now.
12:37 - They are rounding the end of Bachelor Road off Vashon headed towards Point Defiance ferry.
12:29 - Southbound from buoy, spread out. Large male behind sailboat that is near buoy.
12:18 - Approaching buoy off Browns Point at 12:18.
11:17 - [orcas] Approaching Point Robinson now (viewing from Pt. Robinson). -Shelby Middling
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11:17 - [orcas] Just passed Tramp Harbor Pier on Vashon. -Scott Hill
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11:13 - Moving very fast. Just saw them, from Des Moines Pier, near the Vashon shore passing Pt. Robinson. 11:06 - [orcas] Just saw 4? moving southbound. Very far from us at Des Moines Marina. Left of the visible mountain range. -Kylie Williams
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10:46 - Now seeing several from KVI, SB, mid channel. 10:41 - Confirming 10:41 male at KVI SB. -Bradley Kramer
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10:42 - Same lone male out from KVI beach heading SB. -Amanda Schumaier
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11:30 - All have cleared Point Robinson now, porpoising fast travel southbound in three small groups, lots of singles, big spread, Island side of channel.
10:34 - Residents. Hard to count because of the spread, but around 20, I think definitely not two full pods like yesterday.. ["looks like K12 to me" -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute]
----K's Friday pass on the other hand, was full of speed! They were very spread out and traveled at a fast pace, with very, very long downtimes. The spread was wide, as only a handful came close in, and they kept it that way for most of the day. The Colvos pass found them more towards the mainland side, still spread, with Tika meandering behind and giving three mighty breach/bellyflops in a row to our delight! What a handsome guy he is becoming, that dorsal is so bendy and beautiful. By mid-island, they grouped up and were porpoising northbound in an impressive line of spray and spouts as they marched north to exit Island waters. It was good to be with K's again; it's been quite a bit since they've made a solo run down here by themselves. -Marla Smith
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10:32 - Viewing from Three Tree in Burien. One lone male heading south, midchannel. He's goin' fast, lots of downtime. -Alejandra Gonzalez
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10:20 - Still SB spread mid channel and close to Vashon shore. Well past three towers on Vashon.
10:12 - Four whales spotted hanging north of Dilworth - some making directional changes. -Cindy Eckes Waddington
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09:55 - [orcas] SB, mid channel, east of Vashon approx. west of Seahurst Park. -Jack Cheng
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09:52 - Seeing blows around Pt. Beals on Vashon from Emma Schmitz viewpoint. -Stephanie Raymond, Orca Network
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09:40 - Continued SB travel past the tip of Vashon, mid channel, on the east side of the island. At least 4-5 whales!
09:25 - Mid channel - One male leading, south of Blake, a second male following, third whale (female?) further on the west side. Southbound travel. Viewing from Fauntleroy ferry dock. -Pia VanHanen
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09:21 - Looks like they chose east side of Vashon. Leader is by the ferry terminal now.
09:14 - Several more orcas are south of the big male, will be entering the Fauntleroy ferry lane soon if they choose to go east of Vashon.
09:11 - Viewing from a mile north of Lincoln Park, male orca is passing the visitor center on Blake. Southbound. One lucky sailboat nearby. -Sarah Sing
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09:02 - East (side of channel), just coming up on Lincoln Park very fast!!!
08:45 - Viewing from Manchester, big dorsal just passed yellow buoy headed south toward Alki Lighthouse and several past lighthouse, lots of breaches!!!! West Seattle side of the shipping lanes! video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mxhut0zv5U Resident orcas -Noelle Morris
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08:23 - Donna Sanders, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: [MV] PUYALLUP Whales. Master reports 3 Orca moving south near EHBR [Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island]
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BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Fri, Dec 3 - Hood Canal (T68Cs)
14:30 - They killed a seal and now they are aiming northeast towards Dabob Bay again. See my map drop pin [mouth of Quilcene Bay].
13:50 - T68Cs are going into Quilcene Bay now northbound all grouped up.
13:21 - Update: still southbound, Dabob Bay.
13:00 - T68Cs. 1:00pm they have turned south now.
12:52 - Currently at the very north end of Dabob Bay. Still northbound. IDs to come in a bit.
----We had another encounter with a "rare for this area" Bigg's killer whale pod yesterday. This time it was the T68C pod and we found them in Dabob Bay, Hood Canal. It's always exciting to see orcas we don't see very often, and this family gave us some great views. This pod of 5 also has a calf born last year (2020) that isn't in our most recent ID guide dating back to 2019. Right towards the end of our visit with them they had a dramatic harbor seal hunt, and little T68C5 was getting right in there too. -Bart Rulon, Naturalist, Puget Sound
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11:12 - Looking like a kill just below red bluff. Birds and lots of surface activities. Trending NE towards Broad Spit.
10:49 - At least one calf/smaller one. Not tiny but probably less than 3 years old. Passing Pt. Whitney now.
10:38 - At least 4, possibly up to 6. Still heading N mid Dabob bay between Pt. Whitney and Zelatched Point.
10:32 - I'm watching a group of killer whales heading into Dabob Bay right now. One male, 1-3 smaller, some bird activity. Presumably mammal eaters. Closer to the Zelatched Point side and I'm on the 101 side so too far for decent photos. -Adam U
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~07:30 - Some (approx. 3) were spotted earlier this morning around 730am heading north from Triton Cove. This was thru word of mouth to me, so I don't have any other information or photos. -via Tisa Annette
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07:00 - photo from 7:00 am. right across from the [Triton] Cove. We live on the point and I took this from my front. -Elise Buie
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UNIDENTIFIED ORCAS - Fri, Dec 3 - San Juan Islands - 15:18 - Lone male orca southbound at South Beach. I was watching from the redoubt and saw him surface three times and then he disappeared. -Amy Nesler

December 2
SOUTHERN RESIDENT ORCAS - Thu, Dec 2 - Central Puget Sound (Js, Ks) - 15:54 - [orcas] Directly out from Ray's [Boathouse], east of mid channel, in front of Orca II, northbound. Big splash. -Sandra Prow
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15:25 - Off Discovery Park on W side of channel headed north. -Christina Tweed
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15:15 - [orcas] Just started seeing northbound fins from Sunset Hill, towards Bainbridge, I think north of Yeomalt. Looking directly across the Sound from south end of Sunset Hill. -Lucy Gao
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15:42 - Group of orca just passing the Discovery Park Lighthouse. Mid channel to eastside. Northbound. Steadily trending closer to the eastern shore.
14:45 - [orcas] Viewing from Magnolia. Lead whale and research boat mid channel off of the mouth of Eagle Harbor. A couple bulls and females trailing. Steady northbound. -Tanner Sment
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16:15 - Very slow travel but still facing northbound. Almost directly out from Fay Bainbridge.
15:50 - Viewing them from Fay Bainbridge. Still a bit south of here. The orca whale boat & research boat are with them. Looks slightly east of mid channel. Still northbound.
14:45 - Watching from Pritchard Park area. Saw several breaches behind the research boat. Still traveling north. Looks mid to east channel from here. -Tisa Annette
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14:28 - [orcas] Viewing from the bluff south of Eagle Harbor, just coming into view, the research boat with them as is a big gray boat with red Hull markings. I'd like to know what that is, looks like the fast ferry has slowed down. -Jim Pasola
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~14:25 - [orcas] Several whales visible off Alki, large boat trailing and alongside ~2:25pm. Looked to be at least one male but I am on far shore. -Chris Wilke
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14:34 - Several frolicking around what I hope is research boat (small inflatable) between Alki and Bainbridge. I'm watching from 63rd and Alki.
14:17 - [orca] Dorsal spotted in front of where ferry is passing. Alki and 64th. Can't determine direction. -Kathleen Fife
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14:11 - [orcas] Visible from Constellation Park on the west side. -Sarah Miller
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~14:00 - I took video around 2 pm, one mile south of Fauntleroy ferry dock in West Seattle, Thursday, Dec 2, 2021. The whale surfaces at about 15 seconds on the video and again at 35 seconds. I only saw this male. Neighbor saw what she believes was a female and a baby in addition to this one. -Carolyn Duncan
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~14:00 - Taken around 2 pm today from West Seattle (On Beach Drive by the Mee Kwa Park.). -Monica Zaborac
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13:52 - [orcas] Passing Weather Watch Park now. -Alexa Harmon
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13:47 - Viewing from 60th and Spokane. Looking southwest. Several orca heads north. On east side of channel. Passing Me Kwa Mooks Park on the way to Alki Point. -Douglas B. Greenswag
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13:45 - [orcas] Seeing some just rounding north of Vashon Island tip. Looks like at least 3. -Jayce Lemmer
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13:45 - Nice Ariel between Alki Point and Blake Island heading N on west side of channel. -Carl Wassilie
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13:42 - So many orcas! Super spread out but the ones closest to West Seattle side are crossing by Blake Island now. -Sarah Sing
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13:35 - [orcas] Approaching northern tip of Vashon, NB, closer to Vashon side, research boat by them. -Paul Steyn Benade
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13:36 - Moving north, fast all the sudden! Now north of Blakely Island on the west side of the Sound.
13:14 - [orcas] Watching from Lowman, seeing lots of fins from mid channel out from the Colman Pool to the north end of Vashon. -Kim Sharpe Jones
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14:12 - Possible trailers, at least 3, just south of Bainbridge Island, NB, view from Constellation Park.
13:11 - [orcas] Saw some just south of ferry lane from Colman pool, NB. -Mary Hartmann
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13:00 - [orcas] Whales are just coming into view. Looking south from Lincoln Park! -Lauren Ryan Booth
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12:48 - I counted 14 going past 152nd in Burien. Amazing! -Noelle Ronning-Richards
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13:11 - A bunch of them spread nearing ferry lanes now.
13:04 - Several individuals visible from Fauntleroy ferry, 1-2 mi south of ferry lanes, heading north. -Monika Weiland Shields, OBI
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12:36 - Northbound, lots of breaching. Hugging both sides of shipping channel, viewing from Shorewood on the Sound which is right above Seahurst Park, Burien. -Shari Tarantino
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12:31 - Leaders north of channel buoy, mid channel, favoring island side, approaching Dilworth. Northbound good pace in the downpour, very spread out. photo - "J42 on right." -ALB - photo - J45 ID ALB -Jami Cantrell
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12:21 - [orcas] 2 spotted heading northbound visible from Crow Beach at 12:21. -Liz Riddle Sorensen
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11:47 - [orcas] Straight off of KVI. I'm at the Cove in Normandy Park and they're straight across. -Amanda Schumaier
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11:52 - Approaching Normandy Park.
11:44 - [orcas] Directly across from KVI Point on Vashon closer to Mainland travelling north. -Polly Middleton Brown
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11:28 - I think that I counted 9 at Pt. Robinson, but was hard to tell for certain. Awesome may be an understatement. -Jeff Twersky
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14:40 - Been viewing from north side Alki for ~30 minutes, orcas have streamed by still spread, heading northbound north side of point to south of or approaching BI/Sea ferry lanes. Seas are choppy on this side making for less optimal viewing than when they were on south side.
14:05 - Male out from Alki Point, east side of channel, steady northbound, rounding the point now. Others trailing east side of channel and mid/west of. Longish dives on this male.
13:40 - So incredibly beautiful. Lighting is sublime. Js and Ks continue northbound travels, spread out with at least some, including at least couple males, on east side of the Sound approaching Emma Schmidt/Mee-Kwa Mooks area of West Seattle on their way to Alki. NOAA out with them.
12:42 - Don't see any more at or south of Three Tree Point so think all north of here now. At ~12:35, trailing lone female or juvie male just off north side of Three Tree Point angling in eastbound, then dove and haven't seen since as of 12:42.
12:20 - Some trailers at least off the yellow buoy at Three Tree Point breaching while northbound. Lead male continued and is ahead of larger group, larger group continued as well and slow/med pace with some directional changes and lazy tail lobs as they continue on to the north.
12:15 - At least dozen, including 1-2 little ones and at least one male. Northbound under incoming rain...
12:10 - Large group cut over the Sound and is off Three Tree Point, well east of buoy. Very surface active while northbound. So super beautiful. Lead male continued northbound.
12:06 - A male, and he's turned in to forage perhaps...
12:00 - Lead whale well east of Three Tree Point, mid channel buoy, steady northbound with little tail lob added in.
11:10 - Amy Carey messaged: the orcas just passed Point Robinson northbound and said it was an awesome pass. And so now from across the Sound and through some trees I can see fins north of her/them at the point heading north. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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1200 - NB, counted 9. Just past radio towers between Maury and Vashon. Moving mid channel and passing tip of Vashon. Still breaching occasionally.
11:50 - Northbound - halfway past Maury. Bull catching up to the pod. Spread out.
11:35 - Northbound - several closer to southern tip of Maury and spotted one bull closer to mid channel.
11:09 - Orcas off Pt. Robinson. Too far to confirm number and direction but could see breaching. Viewing from south side of Three Tree Point. -Sandhya Ballal
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10:58 - More groups, count at 12+ total orcas past Racoma Beach, 10:58, heading north.
10:55 - Passing Racoma Beach almost to Pt. Robinson. Seeing two groups, 5 total so far. -Jennifer Nichols
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10:53 - [orcas] I can see a group from Redondo Beach. Hugging Maury. A small boat ahead of them. -Michelle Roy
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10:45 - Visible mid channel, large tug in middle of group now, between Point Robinson and Gold Beach still. -James Rempt
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It was another wonderful couple days of spending some quality beach time with J's and K's, feeling extremely grateful to watch them foraging and frolicking as they circumnavigated the Island, some very soul filling hours keeping the heart warm in the bone chilling December wind. J's and K's northbound pass was a bit different, seeing them coming up from the south at that time, but hoping they filled their bellies on their way down. They seemed relaxed and contented as they made their way north, seemingly enjoying each other's company very much. photos - [K26 ID: GS] -Marla Smith
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11:35 - Looked likely to be all of Js and Ks from Point Robinson. 10:39 - Visible approaching Point Robinson.photo - "We are still reliving the magic of our close pass from Js and Ks at Point Robinson on December 2. Here's J35 Tahlequah and J57 Phoenix." -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
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09:45 - Killer whales trending east, between Browns Point and Maury Island. Viewed from Dune Peninsula. At least one bull and several others. -Charlie Wright
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10:03 - Most of them are out of my view to the north. There are a few stragglers mid channel that I can see occasionally. Still headed north.
09:49 - Stretched out from Pier area to Point Robinson.
09:42 - At least a dozen orcas breaching and tail slapping. Slowly headed north past Dash Point Pier. Spread out across the channel. -Jasmine Morton
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10:07 - Mid channel between Dash Point and Gold Beach. There are some stragglers that are just off Dash Point; the rest are heading north towards Des Moines. Couldn't get a close enough view to get any ID's.
09:37 - From Dash Point Pier we are seeing about 8 trending north.
09:29 - Just saw 2 maybe 3 orcas in Commencement Bay heading towards Dash Point, heading north, lots of splashing around. -Rowena Mills
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UNIDENTIFIED ORCAS - Wed, Dec 1 - Central Puget Sound - 14:45 - One orca northbound, north of Kingston ferry lanes. Both ferry boats slowed. -Sue Larkin
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14:20 - Two males between Kingston terminal and Point Wells making directional changes mid channel.
14:00 - Seeing spread out at least three orcas, incl male, off Richmond Beach Saltwater Park east side did channel northbound quickly. I believe they would be in audible range of southbound Js and are not back off or changing course so wondering if we have other residents? Too far for IDs. Added: This sighting was at least 3. One male and two females. More easterly two were porpoising northbound. Orca west of them was northbound, as well, quickly. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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11:38 - We just saw two. It looked like one adult and one juvenile headed north pretty fast about quarter mile west of Alki Beach. -John Patrick Darmody II
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09:54 - Looks like T behavior with lots of ghosting, and looks like they flipped north now. Seeing fins closer to Dilworth. -Marla Smith
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09:33 - We are now scouting from Point Robinson. Feeling a bit like Ts. Seeing one or two north of KVI beach.
09:15 - Amy Carey is seeing many whales spread out far, appears to be some foraging. 1-2 near buoy of Three Tree Pt, some are farther to the west nearing KVI beach, Vashon. No sense of numbers at this time, but she does see a few males.
08:52 - Amy Carey, out scouting, just spotted one of the orcas mid channel out from Three Tree Point, Burien, heading southbound. -Amy Carey
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07:30 - A friend sent this from Vashon-Fauntleroy ferry, 7:30 this morning, 12/1/21, heading south across ferry line. She said "saw lots of Orcas" from boat this morning. -Callie Deegan
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Thu, Dec 2 - Central Puget Sound - 11:55 - Humpback east of Bainbridge, northbound. -Janina Cooper
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UNIDENTIFIED SPECIES - Thu, Dec 2 - Central Puget Sound - 09:30 - Single whale reported by friend at South Beach, Bainbridge Island. "Went by W-E about 15 min ago. Think it was a minke" ["There was a humpback report off Fay B. just before noon as well." -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network] -Susan Marie Andersson

December 1
SOUTHERN RESIDENT ORCAS - Wed, Dec 1 - North to Central Puget Sound (Js, Ks) - At 15:54 John Miller, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: SPOKANE Orca Report 12/1/2021. Vessel reports via 800MHz five (5) orca off Apple Tree Cove, moving south.
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15:31 - [orcas] Currently viewing from Kingston ferry terminal. Mid channel. -Kris Clark
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15:30 - So many whales. So many breaches, spy hops, etc.
15:25 - Sara Frey called back: male w/open saddle fishing intently off Apple Tree Point. "J26. Have a good spy hop of him" Large number further off in ferry traffic lanes heading south. Whales still spread in all directions.
15:15 - Sara Frey called. She and Donna Van Renselaar are watching orcas everywhere from just off Apple Tree Point to toward Edmonds and to the north. Breaching, foraging while still trending southbound. Emphasis on orcas spread wide! Was fun to listen in as they were seeing resident friends. photo - "From the 330 Pass off Apple Tree Pt. Kingston. J26" -Sara Frey
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14:19 - [orcas] Viewing from Pilot Point towards Possession Point. Kitsap side of the channel. Traveling south and slightly east. -Austin Iles
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14:55 - I saw the [first] group [from further south early in the morning] is near the Kingston ferry lines. I can see the residents breaching just north of Apple Cove Point. Still heading south. They're getting close to each other!
14:16 - I found them. At or just past south of Eglon. Porpoising and swimming hard out of water, big splashes. Hard to tell, they are far away but I guess I saw maybe 5? Moving quickly south.
14:02 - [orcas] Been scanning for about ten mins. and so far only caught a glimpse of two dorsal fins as they passed the south end of Whidbey heading into Possession triangle. Viewing from Chennault Beach, MUK, with a telescope. -Alice Thuy Talbot
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13:45 - Seeing a small group in the area that I have pinned location on map [just south of Point No Point, mid channel]. Fins look like little black dots in binocs. But there were quite a few breaches, trending SB. Viewing from Sunset Hill Dr. Possession Shores. -Marilyn Armbruster
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14:47 - Presume leading male sightline to north Edmonds from Apple Tree Point.
14:20 - Big breach visible north of Apple Tree Pt. on Kitsap side, out from Eglon/Rose Pt.
13:45 - All past PNP now, SB, some hugging shore, some farther out, fast travel in chop, 1:45, looked like J26 in rear.
13:25-13:35 - [orca] Dorsal strait east of Point No Point Lighthouse, Kitsap side, 1:25-1:35, sightline now here to Cultus Bay but spread out traveling fast in poor photo conditions. photo - "J26 Mike's big dive after a salmon after several minutes chasing it at the surface- super amazing to watch! This was about 3:30 off Apple Tree Pt." photo - K37 ID: Ariel Yseth -Donna Green Van Renselaar
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12:00-12:40 - 1 mile south of Bush Point - scattered dorsals SB mid channel. Long dives. -Howard Garrett, Orca Network
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12:35 - There are some in the middle of the shipping lanes about level with the southern tip ofMarrowstone Island. They seem to be heading south, but don't seem to be moving quickly (?) -Mike Meyer
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12:03 - At least 3 whales are south of yellow marker as seen from Bush Point. Big splashes and fast southbound. They are mid channel toward Marrowstone side, so to speak.
---- December 1: J stands for joy, and the welcome return of J-pod making a bit of a splash as they travelled southbound in Admiralty Inlet this morning. Their arrival was heralded by energetic breaches as they passed Bush Point at speed, once again inspiring whale watchers with their presence and power on a gray December day (photos Richard Snowberger) -Sandra Pollard
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11:57 - [SRKW] Currently hearing orca calls and clicks on Bush Point hydrophone! Loud and clear! -T.L. Stokes
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11:43 - [SRKW] Loud & clear echolocation and calls Bush Point! -Meg Sellers
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15:55 - Some directly out from Kingston ferry and several that are further south now. A few last breaches out from the ferry.
15:33 - Viewing from Kingston ferry now. Still spread out from north of Edmonds ferry to south of Kingston ferry. Multiple breaches again.
15:05 - 4 [breaches] in a row from here, 2 different orcas.
14:53 - I haven't seen any activity since last post. But just saw 3 breaches. South of Eglon. Mid channel.
14:25 - Still viewing from Eglon. Lots of surface activity with no real movement. Very spread out still.
14:15 - Visible from Eglon beach now. 3 big breaches.
13:44 - Still have eyes on at least 3-4. Multiple breaches in past few minutes. At least another 5 breaches. Big male now trailing close in to Kitsap side. Looks like might be Mike.
13:35 - Passing PNP and heading south still. Moving fast. Still several breaches - counted 5 here.
13:20 - Lots of porpoising now. They are moving fast!! Still some coming. Several trailing. Almost to pnp. Trailers were closer to Kitsap side 2-3 together
13:18 - Still viewing from Norwegian. Directly out from me and super active!!! Mid to Whidbey side. Some are grouped together. Lots of breaching, spyhops, tail slaps, etc. Still continuing south towards Point No Point. I lost count of breaches at 15.
13:05 - Directly out from Norwegian now. Lots of breaches again. Mid channel. Counted 8 breaches so far. As soon as I drove up, saw several breaches immediately!
11:57 - Saw a male come up and still continuing south. Haven't seen any other surface action than the initial breaches and a tail slap. Mid channel and closer to Whidbey side.
11:45 - No direction yet. Milling around. Too far out to get any decent pics or a count. Will update if that changes.
11:37 - [orcas] I have eyes on them!!! East Beach Park [mid Marrowstone Island]. Lots of breaching!!! Mid channel. I drove up and there were three breaching in front of me. -Tisa Annette
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16:20 - In waning light see who think is leaders (couple groups) now just south of Jefferson Head/Point just west of mid channel steady southbound powering their way through choppy seas. Lovely day even at a distance and the mystery of the earlier merge intriguing and thrilling. Good night whales and whale lovers.
15:45 - Thinking there were some ahead of that last report of mine. Now spread at least off Kingston to south of President Point mid channel to west of.
15:35 - Watching, at very least, a dozen if not up to 20 loosely in few groups abreast E/W mid channel transect Kingston terminal/Point Wells steady southbound. Includes females, 2-3 males and little ones.
15:35 - WSF and Commercial shipping have been alerted and updated.
15:02 - Just saw another!
14:52 - Saw simultaneous breaches quite a distance apart. General location of more southern breacher is map [mid channel between Eglon and Edmonds]. Other to the north maybe 1/2 mile.
11:26 - Definitely residents! Signature J pod calls audible on Bush Point hydrophone. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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11:25 - I think I hear S01 calls! [Bush Point hydrophone]. -Lucy Gao
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11:24 - [SRKW] Still very vocal from Bush Point! -Christina Van Wolbeck Fenerty
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10:44 - [orca] Seeing about 6, Port Townsend side of channel, heading south towards north end of Morrowstone. -Jeanne Hamilton, Langley Whale Center/Orca Network
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10:11 - [orca] I got reports of 7, two males. -Kelly Burns Keenan
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09:30 - Yes, 2 large males, very active at 9:30 out in channel from bluff on Ft. Ebey Road. Breaching and tail lobbing in transit.
09:35 - Pod of 5+ orcas traveling fast, heading south in channel off Libbey Beach, Whidbey Island. Big breaches by 2 in the lead. Smaller ones following, they're on the move fast! -Tenley Martinez
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Wed, Dec 1 - Rosario Strait - 12:28 - At 12:53 Laura Baker, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: Two Humpbacks off Blakely Shoal, 12/1 1228hrs: CHELAN reports via 800MHz spotting two humpback whales fluking and flapping 1 mile south of Blakely Shoal.
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GRAY WHALES - Wed, Dec 1 - Central Puget Sound/Commencement Bay - 15:23 - He's close to Harbor Lights Restaurant right now, 3:23 p.m., Wednesday. I cannot identify him, specifically, too far away for my old eyes. Those closer to the windows say it is definitely a gray and appears to be young. -Shirley Hughes via Belen Schneider E