February 2013 Whale Sightings

Click here for Map of February 2013 whale sightings.

February 28, 2013

I saw a gray whale feeding in front of my house at Kayak Point around 11:00am.
Gary Lingenfelter
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Around 7:00am we watched a single gray whale feeding just off shore, close to Spee-bi-dah. After about 30 minutes, we lost sight of the gray as it traveled slowly north. Appeared there was plenty to feast on in the bay as it was lingering quite a while to feed!
Victoria Mattson

February 27, 2013

Jared Towers had a large group of Bigg's Killer Whales off Gabriola Island. T18's, T100's, T36's and the T99's.
Reported by Simon Pidcock, Ocean Ecoventures, Victoria, BC

February 26, 2013

February 25, 2013

February 24, 2013

Whale sighting (2 individuals) between 11AM to 12:30 PM about 1 mile north of Kayak Point and 1 mile south of Warm Beach in Port Susan Bay. Gray whales. . .they were feeding and playing for several hours at the very southeastern area where the sandy mouth of the Stilly ends and the bay depth drops (as seen in the satellite images).
Bev Acker

February 23, 2013

February 22, 2013

February 21, 2013

February 20, 2013

February 19, 2013

February 18, 2013

This morning K25 (and presumably the rest of K-pod) was off Bodega Bay, California, apparently having turned back north about 20 km north of Point Reyes.
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1:30 pm - A lone Killer whale was just spotted swimming through Elliott Bay Marina here in Seattle between I and J dock then disappeared. Have been scouring the waters looking but did not see him again to get photo. It was like WOW I was standing on the bow of my boat replacing the bulb in my bow light and it surfaced right in front of me. Blew a big breath out and a big one in and disappeared. Also looking for others in the area but none seen.
Sean Kiær
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2:22 - A single grey whale is passing between us (south end of Camano) and Langley. It is moving slowly, from the south into Saratoga Passage. It was taking it's time, we watched it for 15 minutes before it traveled out of sight to the NW. It was about ¼ the distance into the Passage.
Peg Boley

February 17, 2013

February 16, 2013

K25 and a group of Offshore orcas passed each other just south of Cape Mendocino CA, probably by less than 10 kilometers.
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Over 200 Pacific White Sided Dolphins were spotted off Nanaimo this morning!
Melisa Pinnow

February 15, 2013

Orcas seen approximately 3pm, about 3 miles south of Victoria BC, along the MV Coho route between Port Angeles, WA and Victoria, BC. 1 small pod of 1 male plus what looked like 4 other individuals, heading south. Seen about 250 meters off the port side of the MV Coho, swimming and surfacing every 20-30 seconds. I didn't have binoculars and couldn't make out any distinguishing marks/scars.
John Boetsch, Port Angeles, WA
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While following up a report of killer whales spotted from a B.C. ferry in the morning I came across T020 and T021 in the afternoon west of Beaumont Shoals heading south. I left them at 1430 south of Discovery Island and on my way to Race Rocks I spotted T002B with the T060's south of Constance Bank west bound. The T030's were a couple of miles south of them also west bound.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales
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One gray whale, Camano Head at 2pm, 3 spouts, a fluke and gone.
Rob Miller

February 14, 2013

We had 12 whales head north passing Yaquina Head OR, according to Barb Lagerquist in our group. They were 3-5 miles offshore.
Bruce Mate

February 13, 2013

February 12, 2013

February 11, 2013

A gray whale has been sighted near Mission Beach at Tulalip, about a month before the first of a group of migratory whales usually shows up. Kathie Roon, who lives at the beach, said she saw a whale offshore Monday morning while walking her dog.
Everett Herald

February 10, 2013

Today we saw about 12 Orcas in Tumbo Channel off Saturna Island at about 11 am. They headed east, and rounded East Point. We also heard whales in Tumbo Channel last night (2/9) about 6 pm, but it was too dark to see them. It's very unusual for them to go through Tumbo Channel for some reason.
Sally Aitken
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12:15 - Our first grey whale sighting this morning, SE of Pebble Beach on the south end of Camano Island. It came up in the fog for three breaths, then disappeared like a ghost.
Peg Boley

February 9, 2013

It was a pleasant surprise this morningto hear J-Pod Group B (the J11s, J22s, and J17s) were heading towards San Juan Island. They came into view from the Land Bank Westside Preserve around 11:30 AM and slowly made their way towards shore and then north up Haro Strait. J17 was in the lead with the rest of her family a little ways behind her. It was impressive to watch them briefly surf a freighter wake! J34 then spent a lot of time foraging just offshore of us between 12 and 1 as the whales were visible to the north and south, mostly milling and doing long dives. I watched them from shore until about 1:30, and when I left whales were still in view from there.
Between 2:30 and 4:15 I had a chance to go out on the water with John Boyd and we spent some great time with the whole J17 matriline (plus J31, J22, J32, and possibly J38) in Haro Strait not far from Snug Harbor. The whales seemed in a lazy mood most of the day, moving slowly. They would go on some long dives, but in between would spend time rolling around on the surface together. We heard an amazing number of above water vocalizations all day - I've never heard so many over such a length of time before. They were mostly in a fairly tight group, with J17 at times off by herself. It was awesome to get some "whale time" in these chilly winter months. It was also fun to catch up with all the whale folks who came out to see them! More photos of the encounter will be posted on my blog.
Monika Wieland, San Juan Island, WA
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Had a great visit with J Pod today off San Juan Island and an encounter with Blackberry in the centre of Haro Strait. I think he has missed all the whale watchers because he came right over to us!
Marcie Callewaert
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4:09 - Spotted orcas in Active Pass from the BC ferry. Lots of breaches.
Josh McInnes
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4pm - Five orcas passing Land Bank West Side Preserve. Male and female close in, looking pretty much like J26 and J16, but not positive. Another large male ahead about a mile, and two more females or young orcas about 2 miles out.
Sharon Grace
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3:47 - Orca having fun on Orcasound right now. Clear.
Else Jean Jensen
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3:35 - back on Lime Kiln.
Pam Ren
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2:32 - Now picking them up on the OrcaSound hydrophone.
2:09 - Amazing sounds right now on the Lime Kiln hydrophone!!
Katie Snyder
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1:28 - I can hear them at Lime Kiln, right now.
Nora Meszaros
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11:45 - they are on LK hydrophone.
Marcie Callewaert
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11:11 am - Looks like a pod a few miles off Hannah (SJI)!!A dozen maybe.
Chris Teren
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9:17 am - Per James Mead Maya, J-pod near San Juan Island this morning.
Jill Hein

February 8, 2013

North of the 4:00 Clinton ferry the captain spotted a whale, but didn't get a good enough look to ID the species.
Kurt Schmidt
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10:00 this morning, a grey whale swam by, close to shore, in front of Tulalip Shores. He didn't linger along the shore too long before moving on. Avoiding Spee-bi-dah, the whale headed out to mid-channel and proceeded northwest.
Jim Mattson, Tulalip Shores

February 7, 2013

9:46 am - Jason on the Victoria Clipper reported 5-6 orcas on Eastern Bank, which is a few miles west of Whidbey Island about even with Coupeville. Jason says they were trending southward.

February 6, 2013

February 5, 2013

1115 - J pod group B is outbound.
Ron Bates
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11:53 am - Ken Balcomb is with Group B of J pod about 12 miles southwest of Victoria at Latitude:48.25894 x Longitude:-123.42776.
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1115 - T10's and T26's should be going N. in Haro Strait.
Ron Bates

February 4, 2013

One gray moving north in the evening Monday, past Kayak Point Park (Port Susan).
Gary Lingenfelter

February 3, 2013

February 2, 2013

I was walking on fox spit, Saratoga Passage, Whidbey Island, and a woman told me she saw 4 orcas off the point around noon.
Sara Young
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12:40 pm - 7 orcas at South Beach (San Juan Island) heading North!
Melisa Pinnow

February 1, 2013

Jared (Towers) is out with the whales off Nanaimo and he reports that it is a subgroup of L pod.
John Ford
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10:10 am - A group of about 5 or 6 orcas were just reported near Nanaimo, BC by John Ayers. He says they are headed between Hudson's and Five Fingers Islands. He'll contact John Ford, but he says there's a zodiac with them now, so DFO has probably already been notified.