June 2012 Whale Sightings

Click here for Map of June 2012 whale sightings.

June 30, 2012

7:14 pm - Whales at 3 tree point (Puget Sound) still southbound
6:35 pm - 3 orcas just cruised past Alki heading South!
Karen Scout
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4-6 orcas moving from West Point in to Elliot Bay. Being stalked by a 20 foot orange rib with 5-6 people on board towards downtown Seattle. Boat was motoring right alongside a large orca.
Mike McGuane
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7:00 PM - Spotted 6-7 whales from North side of Three Tree Point in Burien - blow hole sprays and occasional breach made the evening.
Mark Keeney
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6:14 pm - Just found the whales between Vashon and West Seattle headed south nearing Lincoln Park and ferry lanes. I am on the West Seattle side and they are spread out a bit though slightly closer to the West Seattle side.
Amy Carey
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Brad Hanson of NOAA Fisheries called at 5:15 pm, they found the pod of orcas that had been reported off Edmonds - they found 8 orcas, no IDs yet, off Elliott Bay, heading toward Alki Pt.
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Orcas have been loving Eagle Point (San Juan Is.) the past few days, and sometimes linger here for hours. Tonight a handful of them slowly, calmly floated around close to shore within the same 100 yard area, for literally hours. I've attached a photo that isn't "good," but it's kinda cool-- I just took it at sunset this evening from the deck because I loved how the light reflected off the whale, making it seem as though it was either on fire, breathing fire, erupting, or had an urban pin-striping muscle car detail job from the local auto garage!
Alex Shapiro, San Juan Island
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Ten members of J-pod were seen along the eastern side of Saturna Island in Canadian waters today (48°45.2071N, 123°06.9784W). The whales were spread out and traveling north. J2 "Granny", the 101 year old matriarch, was identified among the group. Also L87 "Onyx" was seen traveling with the whales. Onyx is often observed traveling with members of J-pod (L87's mother is L32 (deceased), siblings, L44, L56, L63 (all deceased). Whales were surface active and lobtailing and one whale even breached.
Amy, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
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11:58 AM - Now hearing calls and clicks on the OrcaSound hydrophones.
Orca Network
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Interesting report from the WA Coast this afternoon (could be Northern or Southern residents, or Offshores):
I received a report from one of our fishery observers this afternoon at 2:15pm that there were about 50 to 60 killer whales (best guess) about 1 mile West of Cape Flattery (he did not give an exact position) and they were traveling Northeast. Sounds like some of them went right by the boat, there were at least 2 very big males but most of the others that were close by were smaller animals. He was not able to get pictures before they were too far away. He also reported at least two humpback whales off of Tatoosh Island, and on our survey last week we also saw humpbacks.
Adrianne Akmajian, Marine Mammal Technician, Makah Fisheries Management
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1:44 pm - Whales nearing Turn Point.
1:38 pm - Whales went up the west side today around noon. Last seen heading past Kellett Bluff.
John Boyd
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1:22 pm - Killer whales north of County Park. Moving at a very fast clip, northbound!
San Juan Outfitters
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11:43 AM - hearing echolocation at Lime Kiln.
Monika Wieland
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12:19 pm - Clicks and a few calls on the Orca Sound hydrophone (they were reported off Lime Kiln earlier, so must be heading north).
Scott Veirs
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Sandra Pollard relayed a very sketchy, 3rd-hand report of possible orcas in Admiralty Inlet around 10:30 this morning, between Lagoon Point and Port Townsend, heading north.
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1:40 pm - Graham Dewitt called from WA State Ferries to relay a report from a ferry captain about 4-5 orcas travelling steadily south, just over a mile from the Edmonds ferry dock.

June 29, 2012

I came across T002B in Oak Bay on the morning. She went into the Chain Islands and skulked around the seal haulout for a few minutes. No kill was observed. She was last seen heading west.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales
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9:10pm - 4-5 orcas headed rapidly east to west past Iceberg Point, Lopez Island.
Tom Reeve
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We caught up with the whales just west of Eagle Cove (48°27.92N, 123°04.29W) at the southern end of San Juan Island. Eight members of J-pod were spread out and traveling east along the coastline. J26 "Mike", a 21 year old male was traveling with his mother J16 "Slick" who was born in 1972. In general, male killer whales stay with their mothers their entire lives, only briefly leaving her and the pod to mate with females from different pods. Needless to say, these males bring a whole new meaning to the term "Mama's boy." We also saw J14 "Samish" a 38 year old female. Although the whales were primarily traveling they were surface active and did exhibit other behaviors including acrobatics. A calf breached not once, not twice, but FIVE times. Another whale turned over on her back and then slapped the surface with her tail while upside down.
Amy, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours
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2:30pm at least half a dozen orcas traveling east to west off Iceberg Point, South Lopez Island. A few breaches and tail slaps as they go.
Tom Reeve
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1245 - Faint calls and loud echolocation clicks on Lime Kiln hydrophones --
1206 - J pod (S1/4) calls on Orcasound hydrophones. Now echolocation clicks. No detections since 10:00 at Lime Kiln, so likely southbound in Haro Strait.
Scott Veirs
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I was heading out hiking with my friend Jeff and got a call to head out on the ocean. We left from Sooke (NW of Victoria) and myself and Russ Nicks found a group of transients T36s. T36B and her calf T36B1 as well as T36As and T36. They traveled a steady route with occasional changes in movement where T36Bs traveled closer fanning out for prey and the T36As and T36 hunted offshore. Dives lasted 5 to 6 minutes.
Josh McInnes
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9:09 am - My husband just spotted about a dozen Orcas (probable transients) off the nwest side channel of Guemes Island. He said he saw a few babies, one breached the surface and saw one adult catch something and played with it for a few (not sure what "it" was, to far to tell). He was pretty excited to see them and feels pretty blessed when he does get to see them swim by his job site.
Sara Worley Wright
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About 45 minutes ago, my mother and I saw a whale off alki point. It clearly wasn't an orca. It surfaced three times, and on the last showed a long back, a dorsal fin and it raised its tail. Then it disappeared. The strange thing was its dorsal fin. It was curved on the top, swept back, quite small relative to the back, closeish to the tail, pointed, with a crescent moon shape (like a cut out) down to the back. Now I have seen gray whales before and I don't remember them looking like that. It was big, like a gray, but not massive. It was heading north. Was this a humpback? Can a humpback be in the sound????
Kate Calamatta
Humpbacks do occasionally travel into Puget Sound.

June 28, 2012

Dan Borchardt called to report seeing 3 orcas on the river side of the north jetty of the Columbia River, near Cape Disappointment, at 9:30 am. He said there was one female and two juveniles.
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3:54 pm - Finally....echolocation on LK Hydrophone-- I thought they were going to elude us for the day!
Pam Ren
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We saw three killer whales off of Lime Kiln State Park about 4:00 pm today! It was so exciting for "Midwesterns"--they are so beautiful!
Carleen David Michael Nicole Whittern
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About 4:45pm today a single adult male orca slowly swam east to west past Iceberg Point. Then between 5:45 and 6:30 another 8-12 orcas followed, very slow and spread out. A few tail slaps and breaches, but mainly just slow progress westward.
Tom Reeve
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3:44 PM - We are seeing at least 2 Orca whales 150-200 yds off the Norwester building at NASWI. There is a small whale watching boat accompanying them. It looks to only accommodate 12-15 people but it is chock full and they are getting their money's worth! They are heading South to North this time and seem to be riding the incoming tide. A bit of leaping and feeding activity. A fine sight, any time of day.
Charles Niedzialkowski, Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island
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Members of J and K pods spread out in Haro Strait, groups of 3 or less, between Salmon Bank and False Bay around 3:00PM (48°27.07N, 123°04.02W). Shachi (J19), Racer (L72), and Onyx (L87) were identified along with rumor of Granny (J2), Mike (J26), and Blackberry (J27). A minke whale was also found in close proximately, just south of Salmon Bank. Overall, 10-15 critters in the area.
Naturalist Tara, San Juan Safaris
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10:30 - John Rogstad of WA State Ferries relayed a report from the captain of the Yakima of at least a dozen orcas abeam of Anacortes frolicking their way southward.
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L87 (Onyx) yesterday surfacing with a Salmon in his mouth! We were with the whales in the morning in Rosario Strait, and in the afternoon we were with them around the Eagle Point area. In the afternoon they were spread out and foraging. I'm always so happy to know they have food to eat. This salmon doesn't look very big, but then again in the mouth of a Killer Whale, most things look small! He surfaced several times with it in his mouth before moving on.
Traci Walter, Western Prince
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7:10 pm - J pod and some Ls heading north from False Bay at a good speed.
Melisa Pinnow

June 27, 2012

With reports of Resident Orcas on the west side of San Juan Island and Transient Orcas north of Stuart Island, it was a tough call on which direction to take. Fortunately, heading north to search for Transients turned out to be a great choice! At Blundand Island (Gulf Islands, BC) we caught up to about 8 or more tightly grouped whales (48°43'86N 123°10'9W), including T102, that seemed to be slowly moving along the island until something kicked a pair into action and they repeatedly porpoised along the island, took a long dive, then surfaced along with the rest of the group.
Naturalists Tara, Kristen, and Shelly; San Juan Safaris
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I am writing to report sighting of ~7 orcas off the NE shore of Waldron Island last night around 7:00. They came from the direction of Sucia and Patos and were travelling south down the channel. They lingered off the shore for quite a long time and then continued on down, only to circle around and head back north but closer to the Orcas Island shoreline. I was wondering if anyone could tell me if these were residents or transients. I don't know enough to give much more info. There was one big daddy who seemed to stay further ahead while the rest lingered in what appreared to be a whole lot of frolicing.
Rebecca Moore
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We were with the residents in the middle of Haro Strait south of Kelp Reef when we got a call about a large group of Transients near Turn Point. We hurried over there and found 12-14 animals and they were quite active and doing a lot of socializing with each other. There was one big male T51, the T49's were there and The T36's.
Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver
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Ken Balcomb reports that 14 T's were in Boundary Pass all afternoon and early evening, while about 5 more were seen in Navy Pass, between Pender and Saturna Islands.
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11:23 AM - Orcas at Lime Kiln.
Robo Lon
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1051 am - Mainly S1 and a few other calls being heard on Orcasound! Happy listening!
Breanna Walker, Beam Reach Intern
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18:20 - 5nm off Cleland (an island about 5 miles NW of Tofino BC on the SW coast of Vancouver Island), a dozen animals, 3 are bulls, open saddles, no chatting travelling very slowly heading East, images coming in. Shooter says L71 & 78 were confidently IDed from yesterdays note.
Rod Palm

June 26, 2012

This transient Pod (I have video of a kill) was about 15 strong and discovered between 1800 and 2200. They were heading north through the San Juan Channel from about Friday Harbor until sunset north of Waldron Island.
Andrew Nix
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These two gangs came through Campbell River today southbound. They are not animals that i can say i have ever see come through here actually. Without the new guide book and the digital copy on my computer now i wouldn't ave been able to figure them out, hope i got them all right Mostly they were just traveling through the area today. The most action we witnessed was some speed swimming past the entrance to the Campbell itself. Excited to see this gang through...means in 2 days we had 24 different Biggs (Transient) Killers in our area!
Nick Templeman
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Dave Ellifrit said J pod and a few L's went slowly north in Haro Strait.
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We then went around the top of San Juan Island and saw our first killer whale just off Henry Island, traveling north west (48 35.480'N 123 12.887'W). There were two of them and they seemed to be propoising out of the water and traveling fast. We then noticed we could see dorsal fins off in every direction. We spotted two large males, one of which was L-92 "Crewser," and also around was L-41 "Mega" and L-26 "Baba." After watching them for some time, and cruising across the US border into Canadian waters, we took the scenic route back to Friday Harbor, going between Stuart and Johns Island and the eastern side of Spieden.
Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
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9:52 pm - Calls on Orcasound.
Pam Ren
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6:41 pm - Hearing calls on limekiln, faint but there!
Hunter Kilpatrick
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12:45 - Whales just past eagle point heading north at a fast clip! Two adults porpoising in the lead followed by two adults and a baby!
Lodie Laurieanne Gilbert Budwill
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9:27 PM - ORCA AT ORCASOUND.
Robo Lon
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We left this morning with the report of whales at turn point southbound. By the time we got there the whales had made it almost down to Eagle Point but luckily another group of J's were found along the Pender Island Bluffs! When we first arrived on scene, the whales were VERY active. I was able to ID J2, J8, L87 and the J16's. Breaching, cartwheels, spyhops, even double spyhops!
Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver
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A note about the gray whale in Puget Sound reported by Stephanie Raymond aboard the Clipper III, at 8:20 am heading north just south of West Point, just north of Seattle. Based on the barnacle patterns on the head, I was able to confirm that the gray whale we saw on 6/26 off West Point was the same one we saw off Point No Point on 6/11.
Stephanie Raymond
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12:21 PM - ORCA AT ORCASOUND
Robo Lon
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10:07 am - Members of J pod foraging at False Bay, slowly heading south.
Melisa Pinnow
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8:45 am - loud S4 calls and echolcation! 8:33 - echolocation on Lime Kiln now
8:00 - hearing J pod S4 calls
7:52 - loud moaning gruntlike call, sounds like L's, funny
7:19 am - echolocation at Orca Sound Hydrophone
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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A gray whale is in Puget Sound. Reported by Stephanie Raymond aboard the Clipper III, at 8:20 am a single gray whale was heading north just south of West Point, which is just north of Seattle, possible the same one Stephanie saw on June 11 in Puget Sound.

June 25, 2012

I was out fishing in Nanoose Bay (about 20 miles NW of Nanaimo, BC) with a few buddies last Sunday. The day started off as usual, eating breakfast at home before heading out fishing. While eating I was staring out at the water when I saw the distinct dorsal fins of Killer Whales. I texted my buddy Greg who was already out fishing and let him know the whales were coming his way. Little did either of us know that we would soon get a bit closer to them than we bargained for! We hit the water to go fishing about an hour later and Greg gave me a shout on the radio indicating that the whales were nearby. I wanted to test the new cam so I headed over and pulled up beside him. Further out from us the whales were swimming past and I grabbed a few distant pics. You can find the photos here, at: One scared harbor seal.
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Just before 9am - First sighting for us of the Orcas...off Rosario Head Fidalgo Island...saw at least 6 adults and a calf?
Kathy Kaufman
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At about 9:30 a.m. 3 orcas were spotted in front of Hannah Heights. I went to check it out and saw some amazing behavior. The L's were coming in from the west. Two females were hanging out just south of Edwards Point close in to shore, while a male was about ½ mile south of them, also close in to shore. As the L's got to within about 2 miles of San Juan Island, heading towards Hannah Heights, the male orca started making a beeline for the L's. The two females stayed where they were. As the male got closer, about 15 whales lined up in a greeting line to meet the solo male. They met up & appeared to have a greeting ceremony just with the solo male. The solo male was L87, and the two females were J2 & J8. After this J2 & J8 made their way out to the others, then lead them up island slowly. Loved it!!
Sharon Grace
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A great encounter with several L pod whales at Turn Pt. at 3:00 Monday.
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11:00 - heard that L pod was off of Hannah Heights. We drove to West Side preserve, easy to see them to the south, very spread out and milling and moving in all directions. One female in the lead started heading north at a steady pace. We moved to Lime Kiln to the south side overlook. J & L pod were passing us by 11:20am (heard that some of J pod were off Whidbey NAS) 2-5 orca would porpoise in tandem right towards us! Witnessed some tactile behavior, rolls, tail slaps, and some breaches to the north in front of the lighthouse. They streamed by in groups a bit spread out for 20 minutes or more continuing the steady move northward. A stunning and beautiful morning with those majestic beings, such a gift!
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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4:56 - Killer whales passing Eagle Point traveling up island.
Brittany Helen
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Whales passed Eagle Cove at 4:50 heading north fairly close to shore. initially four adults with a large male breaching, followed by three adults and a juvenile! The youngster started breaching repeatedly! Could see others further out also heading north! Spectacular!
Lodie Laurieanne Gilbert Budwill
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We had an exceptionally awesome day on the water today, including a great look at L119 & L77 just north of Henry Island. We also witnessed some exciting mating behavior by L41. Kayak guide Michael identified members of K, L, and part of J pod on his tour today and observed a huge spy hop by an adult male inside Half Moon Bay on the west side of Henry Island.
Captain Brian, Naturalist Aimee, San Juan Outfitters
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12:29 - K's and L's on Orcasound right now.
Pam Ren
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Very exciting to hear that Lpod was making their way back into the Salish Sea. By the time our boat caught up with them, Lpod had met up with Jpod and they were all making their way east up Boundary Pass. They were fairly spread out, and in two groups, one at Turn Point on Stuart Island, the other closer to East Point on Saturna Island. We were with the leader group, which included the J2s, the L26s, J19 and J41, and several others. They made their way around East Point into the Strait of Georgia, where they spread out even more and broke into a bout of breaching, spyhopping, and porpoising.
Tasli Shaw
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12:22 - ORCA AT ORCASOUND.
Robo Lon
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11:59 - Lots of loud repeated S19 calls now at Lime Kiln.
Scott Veirs
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11:45am - 3-5 Orca off Naval Air Station Whidbey.
YG ES Janaan
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10:01 AM - Hearing calls and whistles and buzzing at LK..word is the whales are coming from Victoria!
Breanna 11:48 - They're back, much closer now!
9:45 am - Hearing some squeaks on LK.
Gayle Swigart
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Members of J-Pod were seen off of South Pender Island today. The whales were spread out and moving in an easterly direction. Several individuals were very surface active: spy hopping, lob tailing, rolling over, and even breaching! There were also a number of mature males including J26, "Mike." After spending some time with J-Pod, Captain Jim heard reports of L-Pod off Turn Point on Stuart Island (48°42.140 N, 123°15.687 W). Again the whales were spread out and traveling in an easterly direction. Among members of L-Pod, was L41 "Mega" a 35-year-old male! So, not only did we see whales from one pod today, we ended up seeing two different pods of the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale population!
Naturalist Amy, San Juan Safaris Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours
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At 12:30pm, we observed a pod of 7 or more Orcas feeding and playing next to Smith Island across from the corner of Ft. Nugent and West Beach Road on Whidbey Island. There was a mother and young Orca. The pod stayed in between the two island for more than an hour before heading South. Unfortunately, from the shore we were unable to see markings very clearly.
Sandra Blondin
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7:39 am - Marie Waterman of WA State Ferry Operations called to relay a report from the captain of the ferry Yakima, that 6-8 orcas were headed west, just east of the Rickland bouy, in Rosario Strait.
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Same gang of Biggs Killer Whales again....our Transidentials :-) T002C's, T090's, T100's, T101/102 Gangs. Watched them in the afternoon in an amazing little corner behind Surge Narrows bucking a 7-8 knot flood current to get up to Okisollo Channel (near Campbell River, BC). It was spectacular to say the least!
Nick Templeman

June 24, 2012

8:27am - I started hearing calls on Lime Kiln so we drove down to the southern lookout at the park and watched as all of J pod & L87 streamed northward at a steady pace in the beautiful calm of the morning seas. One female breached twice, 100 feet from the rocks.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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Yeeeeeup, with the whole gang. Beautiful stuff. It was really interesting. We found J2 hanging around off Helen Point at the south end of Active Pass (around 3:15pm), waiting for the rest of J pod to catch up, who were all down the Mayne Island shore further. We waited with her for at least 20 minutes as the rest of the group made their way toward Active Pass, where J2 was waiting. This whole time, Granny was milling around, spyhopping occasionally, and logging at the surface. She also began to tail slap quite a bit, almost like she was getting impatient and signalling everyone else to hurry up (I know, major anthropomorphizing)! She didn't enter the pass until everyone was with her. It was really cool to watch! Once J pod in its entirety made their way through Active Pass and into the Strait of Georgia, they became really animated and started to breach, porpoise, spyhop, and tail slap. Their tight group formation split into various matrilineal groups, where they continued their way toward Point Roberts.
Tasli Shaw, Steveston Seabreeze Adventures
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We spotted at least fifteen members of J-pod just off the west side of North Pender (48°48.22'N 123°19.93'W) traveling north. The whales were very close, almost on top of each other-true family bonding! We identified members of both the J-22's including "Oreo" (J-22)and her son "Cookie" (J-38), the J-17's including "Princess Angeline" (J-17) and her daughter "Polaris" (J-28), along with some other J's "Samish" (J-14). These whales were especially playful today: breaching, cartwheeling, spy hopping, lob tailing, rolling over, and swimming sideways were just a few of the amazing behaviors we witnessed. The cookie family seemed to be showing a lot more dough than their chocolate chip side today. :)
San Juan Safaris
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Jim Richison reported 30-40 orcas off Cape Alava at 9 am, headed north fast, at 8-9 knots, at 48 11 by 124 59, in two groups spread out about a mile apart. He will send pictures when he gets them in a couple of days.
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Gray whale at Pickering Passage (southern Puget Sound) N47_16.798, W122_55.387 traveling South ~18:30
Phill Dionne
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We just got a report from Tina Gurney who sighted a whale (likely a gray whale) yesterday around 7pm swimming under the Harstine Island Bridge from north to south. The whale was gray in coloration, surfaced numerous times, had a visible blow, and no obvious dorsal fin. It was last seen swimming south towards Squaxin Island.
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8:15 am - Minke whale just north of Ebey's landing ~ 1 mile out slowly heading south.
Al Luneman
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I spotted a humpback in the Strait of Georgia near active pass on the 3 sailing. On the 5 sailing back from Vancouver it was right beside the ferry being watched within close proximity! by 2 boats.
Selena Rhodes Scofield
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From our Orca Rock, we watched J pod in Active Pass. They were blitzing along on a fast tide with the occasional tail slap, breach, side swim, and spy hop.
Karoline Cullen
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J pod split into 2 groups just outside and in active pass. I'm on the 3pm sailing from swarts bay.
Selena Rhodes Scofield
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Listening to some chatter on LK since about 10 am :) Lots of echolocation and a bit of "whistling"
Brittany Bowles
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Echolocation on OrcaSound 10:03. All of J pod just passed by Lime Kiln, heading north, in the glistening morning sun.
8:27am - echolocation on Lime Kiln!
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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1:30pm - two orcas, including one adult male, headed slowly east to west past Iceberg Point.
Tom Reeve
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9:30 am - Great close-up S4 calls and a lot of whistling prior to that.
Gayle Swigart
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8:44 am - calls on lime kiln right now, clear no boat noise!
Selena Rhodes Scofield

June 23, 2012

10am - spotted them from American Camp/Cattle Point overlook heading west from Lopez at a good pace. We spotted L87 around 11:00am at Eagle cove moving steadily northward. The trailers slowed at the north end of South beach, then resumed northward passing Eagle cove about 11:50. We moved up island viewing them from the land bank moving north. We moved to Lime Kiln but they stalled and turned back south and hung out around Hannah Heights. About 2pm they headed north again and passed the lighthouse by 2:30 just as a fierce squall hit with sideways rain, high winds and huge swells. A young one breached 7 times in succession! We made our way to the county park and watched them head north to Andrews Bay area, where they stalled and became very active, breaching, tail lobs etc. They then started moving southward again, so did we. By 6:00pm they were passing Lim Kiln still southerly in groups of 2-4, and they kept coming. I noticed J28 and her babe Star pass, they had not been in the pod earlier so I think they met up north by Andrews Bay (Jeanne said the other group of J's may have been north). We watched what we now believe to be all of J pod and L87 stream by until 8:15. When we left they were still streaming southbound.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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After rounding Cattle Point heading around the west side of the island, we spotted two members of J-pod just outside False Bay. It was an adult female and a smaller whale that looked like a calf. The whales were traveling south but stopped moving and started to dive and surface in one spot. We turned off the boat to watch and see what they were up to. Then, we saw the white underside of the calf's head followed by a squeaky sound. The whale was vocalizing above water! That is something I've never experienced before! The whole boat was silent and focused until the female, who we identified as J-16 or "Slick", changed direction and surprised us by surfacing near our boat's stern. The smaller calf followed, both sticking around for quite some time. It was amazing!
~Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
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7:08 pm - I am pretty sure I am hearing more than just J's today on Lime Kiln hydrophone.
Pam Ren
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J-Pod on Lime Kiln 6:14 PM with some echolocation.
Candice Smith
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7:53 PM - ORCA AT LIME KILN.
4:12 PM - ORCA AT LIME KILN.
Robo Lon
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11:55 am - Orcas at False Bay headed north :)
Melisa Pinnow
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11:00 am - Another group of at least 5 whales headed east to west past Iceberg Point.
10:15 am - at least 5-6 orcas headed east to west past Iceberg Point.
Tom Reeve
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Beautiful calm water today - and right after leaving Anacortes on "Mystic Sea" we found T's at Thatcher Pass ...... 6 or 7 of them, special thanks to Josh McInnes for ID'ing them, they were the T49's (T49A3 was the juvenile, plus T49A3, T49B, T49A1, T49A2). We then headed towards Eagle Point where some J-pod stragglers had turned south, much to our delight, so we spent a half hour or so with Slick and her family, before heading back to port - as the wind picked up and the sunshine turned to the liquid variety.
Jill Hein
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Bonnie Gretz called at 1:30 with a report of 6 transient orcas south of James Island, in Rosario Strait.
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I was looking out from shore and saw two humpbacks. One was about 2 miles off William Head at about 12:24 and after a hour it went through Race passage at about 13:25. The second sighting was about 13:00 about 3 miles east/southeast of Race Rocks. It looked like it lunge fed or did a low breach, twice, before I lost it. Vincenz Eberl

June 22, 2012

Watched part of J pod move up and down the westside of SJI. At 9:50am from the West side preserve watched a mature male moving southbound quickly. Shortly after we some whales turned, we watched J2, Granny and J8, Spieden in the lead in the morning move northward past Lime Kiln. The trailers turned south again so J2 & J8 turned too. We left at 1:10pm, they were Hannah Heights with one of the big males heading northward again. We returned to Lime Kiln about an hour later in the pouring rain and saw J16 and her children J26, 36 and assume J42 was there. J26 gave us that hearty pec slap (the photo used on the last report). They continued north.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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Rain rain rain from the moment we left the dock until the moment we returned. It was well worth it though, we found J pod on the west side of San Juan heading up island. We spent time with J2, J8, L87, J16 and her crew as well as J14 and her crew.
Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver
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Southern residents AND transients today, starting with some playful, tactile behavior from southern resident J pod members, Polaris (J-28) and her calf Star (J-46) near False Bay, San Juan, around 1:00 pm. As 'Mystic Sea' neared Eagle Point around 2:00 pm, three more J pod members came into view before they turned back towards False Bay.
Sandra Pollard, Freeland, Whidbey Island
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2:31 - SRKW whistles on Lime Kiln hydrophone -- but ship noise is rising.
Scott Veirs
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11 am - Dave Ellifrit reports that J pod was heading north, just north of Lime Kiln this morning but just turned south.
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Hearing clicks and whistles at Lime Kiln at 10:32. Now S10s as well.
Scott Veirs
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Transients crowned the day on the homeward trip as they cruised around Pointer Island, Thatcher Pass at 3:30 pm, eyeing up the potential bounty on offer - one unlucky seal copped it while dozens more bunched up together for safety. Despite the rain, passengers were privy to an exceptional educational treat.
Sandra Pollard, Freeland, Whidbey Island
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Marie Waterman of WA State Ferries called to relay a report from the ferry Hyak of three adult and 2 juvenile orcas heading east out of Thatcher Pass at 2:50 pm.
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Having heard reports of whale activity, Captain Craig took us east through Upright Channel and around the north end of Lopez Island where we found 6 Transient Orca Whales surfacing and traveling together in Swifts Bay on the northeast side of the island. There were 2 large males and 2 youngsters in the pod. The whales would surface 3-4 times before diving for several minutes. Transient Killer Whales tend to be stealthier than the fish-eating Resident whales, because they hunt intelligent prey (marine mammals), so they did keep us guessing in which direction to look as they would surface somewhere new after each dive. The whales then began to slowly travel south towards Thatchers Pass.
Amy, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours
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Time: 1400 hours
Where: [general] Out in the Strait of Georgia from Cape Lazo
Where: [detail] exactly six nautical miles north [magnetic] from the Comox Bar bell buoy (50-60 miles north of Nanaimo). My first sighting was the large black fin of the male orca from some 500 metres. As I closed on the pod I saw female orcas and what I believe were two juvenile males [the fins were smaller than the big male but not curved like the females]. All whales were close to the surface and swimming in a random manner. The two juvenile males periodically would lie together on the surface for some 15 seconds before submerging again. The pod did not seem to be traveling in any set direction. I guess that there were approximately six whales in total but there could have been more.
Ted Harper
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A woman studying at the Friday Harbor Labs at about 10 AM this morning was rowing from the dock at the Labs to Friday Harbor. An Orca Whale suddenly BREACHED right near their tiny row boat. She said it 'scared her quite a bit'. She said before she could think and get her camera - it swam away.
Colleen and Tara, San Juan Safaris
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Kari Keiski called from Brown Island, near the Friday Harbor marina, to say 5-6 orcas, all females and juveniles, just went north up San Juan Channel at 10 am, very close to the Friday Harbor side.

June 21, 2012

3 humpbacks off Beecher Bay.
Josh McInnes
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7:10am - loud S4 calls, echolocation continuing and now a boat...
7:04am - loud echolocation at OrcaSound now
6:29am - calls on Lime Kiln
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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Transients near Friday Harbor. T75 and T75A I have totally confirmed.
Josh McInnes

June 20, 2012

9:51 pm - Hearing J pod calls on the OrcaSound Hydrophone!
Melisa Pinnow
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We first caught up with "Granny" (J2) and one other female and watched as they surfaced and dove under. We then caught up with a male killer whale at 48º 53.31' N, 123º 02.87' W who lob-tailed, exposing the bottom half of his large, fusiform body. Once he surfaced to breath I was able to identify him as "Blackberry" (J27) who is 21 this year. He surfaced a few more times before rolling over, giving us an amazing view of his giant, paddle like pectoral fins. We then started to head back, enjoying the sunshine, flat water, and company all the way to San Juan Island.
~Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
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Humpback whale BCX1060 was feeding in the Juan de Fuca Strait.
Mark Malleson
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I was out with 6 humpback whales off Crescent Bay, lots of lunge feeding, 2 pairs of mothers and calves.
Josh McInnes

June 19, 2012

23:13 - Calls on OrcaSound hydrophone.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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21:58 - Some calls beginning on OS now... hearing them on both.. louder on OS .. coming into range.
Vickie Doyle
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J pod was spread out foraging between Lopez Island and San Juan. J27 was foraging offshore as well as one other female. They were slowly moving towards San Juan heading North.
Josh McInnes
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We found J-pod spread wide apart at the south end of Rosario Strait, and later saw them off Iceberg Point on Lopez Island. Identified J2 Granny and L87 Onyx, and J26 Mike. We saw them again heading up the west side of San Juan Island as we headed south in the afternoon. We also spotted two minke whales between Smith Island and Point Wilson.
Stephanie Raymond, Naturalist, Victoria Clipper III
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On one of the most beautiful days of the year, the last day of Spring, we watched J Pod feeding all day long from South Lopez Island to Lime Kiln Park, on the West Side of San Juan Island. We saw them last heading south toward Lime Kiln, but hear that they went north very early this morning.
Capt. Jim Maya
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We left Friday Harbor and headed down the eastern side of San Juan Island past Griffin Bay. As we came out upon Salmon Bank (48°25.45 N, 122°58.54 W), we found some members of J-pod including Granny! L87, Onyx, was also in the crowd. M/V Sea Lion then turned east towards Iceberg Point. There were at least four more members of J-pod swimming through. Looking at photos of the dorsal fin and saddle patch, we believe we saw J32, Rhapsody, but we would need a view of her right side to confirm. Many sights of tail-slapping and splashing.
San Juan Safaris Naturalist Jenny
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8:27 PM - ORCA AT LIME KILM.
Robo Lon
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7:57 - Scott Studebaker saw a single orca 1.5 miles off False Bay, San Juan Island.
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20:22 - Very faint echolocations and some grunting squeaks and a whistle now and then on Lime Kiln. Now some stronger calls...
Vickie Doyle
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8:03 pm - Just pure echolocations... =D
7:32 - Still a couple different cargo ships going by..one north and one south. =( The calls ended when the northbound ship drowned them out. =(
6:58 - A cargo ship with that noise ought to be outlawed... fix that prop.. my gosh!
6:35 - Calls on Lime Kiln right now.. just started
Vickie Doyle
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L's headed out the strait this morning and J pod is somewhere down the westside. Ken, Astrid, and Barbara just headed out for a late afternoon encounter.
Dave Ellifrit
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3:30-4:30 at least 15 orcas headed east to west past Iceberg Point.
Tom Reeve
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11:50 - Found J pod off Colville island, near Lopez Island, heading west, should be a great view off the west side of San Juan in about an hour!
Sarah Hanke
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12:58 PM - At least 4-6 Orca Whales about 100 yds off the shore going North to South in front of my workplace, The Norwester at Naval Air Station, Whidbey. At least 2 were smaller whales, babies but they were strung out quite a distance from each other! They appear to be spread over quite a distance because the whale watching boats are still North of us some ways. Must be more to come!
Charles Niedzialkowski, Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island
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12 - 12:15 - Sammye Kempbell saw Orcas off Rosario Beach, Deception Pass State Park, heading south
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11:30-12:20 - a very slow dispersed group of at least four orcas just east of Iceberg Point. First travelling slowly east to west, now just milling.
Tom Reeve
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The ferry Yakima reported seeing 6-8 orcas headed south in Rosario Strait this morning at 9:45.
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The T100 Gang and T002C and her calf T002C3 going through Campbell River Southbound yet again! Our resident trasients....or transidentials as i am starting to call them :)
Nick Templeton

June 18, 2012

We witnessed Js and Ls meeting off Cattle Point. Lots of tail-lobbing and breaching! Identified J2 Granny, J8 Speiden, L87 Onyx, the J14s, L22 Spirit, L85 Mystery, and L9 Crewser. On our southbound trip, we found another humpback heading north just past Point Wilson.
Stephanie Raymond, Naturalist, Victoria Clipper III
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It was a fun day for the floating pandas as they took their time passing Eagle Cove, San Juan Island. Early in the morning, they were a mile out and very active. And then in the early afternoon, several waves of them came by from the southeast headed around the bend at the Point, presumably up to Haro Strait. Lots of breaches, tail lobbing and spy hopping! Several of them swam very close to the kelp beds as they rounded Eagle Point.
Alex Shapiro
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Love Is In the Air...Everywhere we looked around!!!! J's and L's were enjoying themselves today, intermingling just off the west side of San Juan Island, Haro Strait (48°32.60N, 123°10.58). There were approximately three different groups spread out and one of the groups had two large males intimately chasing after a set of females. We decided to give them a little privacy and let nature takes its course, so we went on to catch up with "Moonlight" (L83) and her son "Midnight" (L110). The two were cruising pretty fast, porpoising out of the water to keep their speed, allowing us to see the full extent of their black and white bodies. They changed direction on us a few times giving us a little play, both on the starboard side and off the stern. Son was stickin' close to mama, demonstrating the true matriline connection that forms amongst the southern residents. Gotta love them mama's boys! We left them headed north at approximately 3:15PM. Whether it was family love, or a little more-than-friendly love, it was all around today and man could you feel it!
Naturalist Tara, San Juan Safaris
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12:22 pm - Orcas swimming past False Bay, headed south.
12:01 pm - Saw Nugget L55 and Ophelia L27 at Lime Kiln, I wonder what other L pod members have come in?
Melisa Pinnow
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Noon today. At least 7-8 orcas heading rapidly east to west past Iceberg Point. Half near the kelp line and half very far out (only a few splashes visible without binoculars).
Tom Reeve
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10:38am - Orca talk continues on Lime Kiln.
10:31 - a lot of echolocation!
10:30 - Loud resident Orca calls/echolocation on hydrophone.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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10:19 am - SRKWs at Hannah Heights heading North.
San Juan Outfitters
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10:12am - SRKW's vocalizing at LK.
Sharon Grace
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10:11 AM - ORCA AT LIME KILM
Robo Lon
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7:53 am - John Rogstad of WA State Ferries Operations called to relay a report from a ferry captain of at least a dozen orcas in Rosario Strait, very active and heading south.
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Delighted to go off of Henry Island to see J and L Pod families swimming north, with the almost 10' flooding summer tide! They were spread out miles from each other, it was like a whale parade of 50 to 60 or more whales!! The Center for Whale Research folks were out taking photo identifications, so they will post the results. We were grateful to witness breaches, spy (sky) hops, tail lobbing, and foraging behaviors. To see the physically close families with many mothers and youngsters closer to shore, while older females and males tended to be out in Haro Strait, gave guests an insight to the culture and life long bonds these whales share. A group of males brought up the rear and began porpoise swimming, 2 together in synchronicity!!
Caroline Armon, SSAMN, San Juan Excursions, OnBoard Tours
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Transient killer whales T30, T30A, T30B and T30B1 were off Discovery Island and Trial Island near Victoria BC. Three harbor seals were taken with allot of splashing and circling with visible parts of the killed animal present. We arrived at Discovery Island and Trial Island to major Harbor seal Haul outs. The T30s with their new calf T30B1 were there traveling. Their pattern changed and they went into foraging mode. The Large Male T30A was doing long 7 minute dives while the females stayed above the surface. They soon located a harbor seal and two females using short bursts of speed rammed from different directions. There was a lot of fluke slapping and chasing. The group then separated into two units with T30A and T30 feeding closer to Trial Island while the other group went off shore. Typical inshore and offshore behavior. Remember transients as a top predator should not stay in one area while hunting for too long. They consumed three harbor seals within two hours.
Josh McInnes
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The T030's and the T046B's were west bound south of Discovery Island.
Mark Malleson
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Sarah Paturzo called to report seeing 6 orcas around 9:00 am, about 100 yards from shore at the Pigeon Point Light Station, between Santa Cruz and Halfmoon Bay, CA near Pescadero, CA. She said there was one adult male, one subadult male, two females and two juveniles. They were feeding for over an hour. After about an hour the adults were going under for a few minutes at a time while the calves were fluke slapping at the surface.

June 17, 2012

3:00 pm - Southern resident whales spread out among the whitecaps off Turnpoint Lighthouse, Stuart Island, with a couple of small, tight-knit groups. Tucker the scat dog had his work cut out among the choppy waves on a beautiful bright, sunny day.
Sandra Pollard, Freeland, Whidbey Island
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We met J-pod on the west side of San Juan Island, northbound, along with a humpback whale! I was able to identify J2 Granny, L87 Onyx, the J16s and J27.
Stephanie Raymond, Naturalist, Victoria Clipper III
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J Pod swam by this morning....probably up near Stuart Island by now....
John Boyd
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J-pod was also around the San Juan Islands today, and we caught up with some of the Orcas off Stuart Island (48º 40.025' N, 123º 13.402' W). The whales were spread out and traveling north. We watched as one whale tail slapped in the distance, and another even partially breached in front of our boat! As we saw different whales, we were able to identify "Mike" (J-26) swimming with his mother "Slick" (J-16).
~Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
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Saw J Pod twice and a Humpback! It was initially sighted mid Haro Strait offshore of Henry-ish island. The seas were too rough to see it there, but we caught a glimpse of it on the second trip about 5 miles south of South Pender Island.
Traci Walter

June 16, 2012

We spotted a juvenile humpback whale off of the point at Fort Casey, Whidbey Island (right in front of the fort) heading north. He was fairly close to shore. He came up several times and put on a show. Also lot's of harbor porpoise's and harbor seals.
Denise Minke(?) off Vashon - We had a whale surface right next to our boat while salmon fishing off Neil Point on the South end of Vashon Island on Saturday morning. We spotted him several hours later swimming, and zig zagging with a group of racing sailboats in Colvos Passage near Spring Beach. He did not breach and we could not get a picture of it's tail.
Captain Jim Keith
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We find J pod on the westside of San Juan Island, moving north. Today the family is moving along in two groups and we have the chance to spend time with both groups! Although there is a lot of traveling behavior, there must also be some fish around as there are several turn around and lots of tail slapping today. We cut out to go around the 1/2 mile no boat zone in front of Limekiln lighthouse and the whales put on speed. Both boat and Orcas arrive at Andrews Bay about the same time. The second group has both J-27, Blackberry, and J-34, Doublestuf crusing along together. The massive black fins appear and then disappear below the surface.
Western Prince Whale Watching
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The rain and fog didn't seem to bother J-Podders! Of course they've adapted to their wet ocean world. Over the years I have seen more surface active behaviors off of Henry Island, compared to other areas, so I was very thankful we were able to see J-2, 101 year old matriarch, Granny in the lead of spread out groups. The sprinkles had stopped, the sun broke through the clouds, a whale breached and another's tail fluke slapped the water! Then did Granny vocalize "come here!"? as Balcomb's Orcas porpoised and sped swam toward Granny's groups and Stuart Island.
Caroline Armon, SSAMN, San Juan Excursions
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5:22 pm - just got back from watching J-pod at Middle Bank traveling towards San Juan Island
Josh McInnes
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Rain could not keep us away from the whales today as we departed North out of Friday Harbor. It was a bit foggy as we left, but the further north we went, the clearer it became. Then, just south of Turn Point we spotted J-2 "Granny" swimming along Stuart Island by herself. We watched as the 101 year old killer whale surfaced and dived. The rest of J-pod wasn't far behind her including J-27 "Blackberry".
Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
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1:35 pm - SRKW's are opening for Orcasing right now on orcasound hydrophones.
Sharon Grace
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Calls and echolocation on OS at 1:16. Calls were VERY clear and loud until boat arrived at about 12:55, then they stopped completely. Very close w/no vessel noise yet!
12:40 pm. - (Lime Kiln) Calls and echolocation.
Gayle Swigart
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11am - at least 10 orcas off Iceberg Point on Lopez Island - slowly traveling east-to-west with some milling and a few tail slaps.
Tom Reeve

June 15, 2012

Cascadia Research conducted surveys with two RHIBs (rigid hull inflatable boats) off the northern Washington coast (15 June 2012) in excellent weather and covering close to 200 nmi. Personnel included Greg Schorr, Erin Falcone, John Calambokidis, and Kiirsten Flynn. Sightings for the two boats included: 12-14 Southern Resident Killer Whales about 20 nmi offshore of La Push, identifications still pending (will be sent to CWR for confirmation) but included members of L Pod including L77 and her calf
• 4 transient killer whales
• more than 50 humpback whales mostly in and around Juan de Fuca Canyon
• 20-30 gray whales feeding in coastal waters mostly north of La Push.
Additionally a medium duration LIMPET satellite tag was deployed on one of the humpback whales.
Surveys were conducted as part of a collaborative research effort with WDFW with support from NOAA.
John Calambokidis
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7:34 pm - And nice and quiet in the background.. so the calls are clear.. and beautiful!
7:27 pm - Orcasound has some calls now, too.
7:14 pm - Just heard calls again on LK.
3:42 pm - Calls on LK now.. =) must be heading south!
Vickie Doyle
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7:25 pm - Awesome calls on LK right now!
2:09 pm - Calls on Orcasound now.
Pam Ren
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1:12 pm - You can hear Orca on Ocra Sound hydrophone now.
Ashley Keegan
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We found the Southern Resident Orca Whales off Pile Point, on the west side of San Juan Island. It was J pod - or at least some of J pod. It was about 6:15 pm. The whales would come up for about 3 seconds with a huge exhale and dove right back down again. We gently followed their path south to False Bay. They continued the same behavior of a short exhale/inhale and down for the next 20 minutes or so. We left the orcas there near False Bay just after 7:00 PM. While motoring back to Friday Harbor the Captain spotted a few Harbor Porpoise. They too were quick in coming up and going back down. Lighting was nice. Water smooth like silk. Temperature mild. Ah......summer - at last.
Naturalist Colleen Johansen, San Juan Safaris Whale Watch
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What a day! We didn't have to travel far, getting to enjoy the company of many members of J-Pod, with the star being "Big" Mike, J-26. We were on the northwest side of San Juan Island at 48° 36.9345 / 123° 11. 8222. Shachi, J-19 was leading a group of other females north.
Jim, Naturalist, Captain
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Just heard one call with ship noise at Lime Kiln 16:49.
Suzy Roebling, Key Largo Florida
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9:00 - 9:20am at least 19 orcas headed slowly east-to-west along South Lopez toward Iceberg Point.
Tom Reeve
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We had an amazing encounter with this large gang of Transients. We picked them up in the am on our first tour Southbound through Seymour Narrows with the flood tide. Our afternoon tour went out into the upper Salish Sea and found the Gang out between Sentry Shoal and the Little River Ferry Terminal. We left them still Southbound @ 1730 hrs. We only left the scene as the S/E wind Was coming up and the tide was turning to ebb. From what I can see we had the T002C's/T050's/T086's/ T100's/ T101's and T102! Which makes it 18-19 animals I think because of the new calf's not in the book!
Nick Templeman
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8:33 pm - I got to see orcas right off point no point. What a blessing. Thanks for sharing your sightings. I would guess they were transients because the seals and porpoises all disappeared when the whales showed up.
Connie Bickerton
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6:30-7:30 p.m. - We first saw the pod of Orcas in Useless Bay traveling south. There was a NOAA research boat closely following them. We believe the pod had around 12 family members including at least two males. Most of them were swimming close together. They went under and surfaced approximately every three minutes. They turned around north of Edmonds and swam back in the direction of Point No Point. At one point, Orcas were swimming both north and south. The pod swam close enough to shore that when they surfaced, we could hear that burst of air come out of their blowholes. The NOAA vessel was with them the entire time. We would've loved to have been on that boat with them. A few times, it looked like the whales surfaced close enough that one of the researchers could've reached out and touched them. It was still a THRILL to observe these spectacular mammals from the beach!
Maria and Geoff
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NOAA researchers left them about 7:50 south of Double Bluff, still headed north. They identified them as the T30's.
5:50 pm - the orcas have continued south, now veering toward Double Bluff and Useless Bay, closer to the Whidbey side now.
4:30 pm - Bush Pt, Whidbey Island - 1st heard a loud blow, then spotted 1 adult male, sev. females and a calf, swimming south mid-channel Admiralty Inlet. GREAT to see and hear whales live and in person!
Susan and Howard, Orca Network
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7:15pm - Went down to Eglon to keep watching them and they turned around and headed north.
6:35pm - just saw them off pt no point.
6:01pm - I can see them from point no point. There are porpoises between me and them. Looks a grey zodiac - research vessel? On them now. South end of useless bay. (The zodiac is NOAA Fisheries whale researchers.)
Connie Bickerton
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3:35 pm - Paul Kukuk called from Lagoon Point to say there were 6-7 orcas in mid-Admiralty Inlet, heading south.
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At 12:10 pm we received a call from Mark Millard and Brian McLoughlin of WDFW, reporting 5 orcas, including 1 male, milling off Partridge Pt, NW Whidbey Island, heading SE toward Pt. Townsend.
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Three Orcas just caused a lot of excitement at North Point, Depoe Bay OR. There were two adults with a young one. They were no more than 50 feet off shore heading toward Boiler Bay.
Jeff Gilligan
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Orcas - four to five, Off Roads End area, Lincoln City, OR. Appox lat/lon 45 deg 00.6' N / 124 deg 01'W at 1015 PDT, Travelling south - no other activity noted. Appears to be one male in pod. Orcas occasionally seen in transiting through this area.
Ken Swaggart
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Rick Anderson called to report that he saw 2 killer whales on the south side of the north jetty of the Columbia River.

June 14, 2012

We watched three ORCAs head south.
Diane Pettey, Heceta Beach, OR

Depoe Bay, OR: three Orcas were seen by many very near shore just to the south at The Village at North Point condominiums [Depoe Bay].
Jeff Gilligan. Forwarded by Jim Rice
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8:37 - Lots of echolocation on OrcaSound now. 7:45 am. - Loud echolocation on Lime Kiln. Sounds like S4 calls again. :)
Gayle Swigart
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8:12 - great series of whistles, echolocation and calls in the midst of cargo ship chugging along... Nice calls now 7:51a. love these mornings...It's so loud and awesome!
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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Today was almost a repeat of the prior day. Onyx L-87 and all of J pod (not J30) passed by Lime Kiln lighthouse starting at 7:45 a.m. going up island. The 4 K pod whales - Cappuccino K-21, Raggedy K-40, Opus K-16 and Sonata K-35 were not present. More at Jeanne's blog Whale of a Purpose.
Jeanne Hyde, San Juan Island
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Just started hearing clicking and nothing else at Lime Kiln 7:43 Pacific.
Suzy Roebling, Key Largo, FL
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2 12 AM - ORCA AT ORCASOUND
Robo Lon
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Today we spotted CA50 and CA50b about 2 miles outside Moss Landing (CA) harbor at around 10:30am. The pair was very stealthy & staying under for 10 minutes at a time. They moved in to just one mile from shore and then turned west. At some point (we did not see) they made a kill... we could see bits and pieces floating to the surface and birds began to gather. We then left the killer whales and headed out 3 miles from shore where we encountered 2 humpback whales. The killer whales traveled through and passed within 100 yards of the humpbacks. No interaction took place as the humpbacks remained in the area and the killer whales continued southwest.
Kate Cummings

June 13, 2012

Onyx L-87 and all of J pod (not J30) passed by Lime Kiln lighthouse starting at 6:55 a.m. going up island. The 4 K pod whales - Cappuccino K-21, Raggedy K-40, Opus K-16 and Sonata K-35 were not present.
Jeanne Hyde, San Juan Island
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We cruised through the Strait of Georgia towards Point Roberts with a view of Vancouver in the background. At 48°57.35'N and 123°05.66'W we found four members of J-pod. Two males and two females were noted, spread apart as they swam in a consistent direction to the southeast. It is amazing how everyone onboard falls silent to hear these massive mammals breathe as they reach the surface.
Naturalist Jenny, San Juan Safaris
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07:40 clicks, now calls, quite similar to S4s. Whoever is calling, they seem to be traveling north in Haro Strait this morning. Alisa heard echolocation calls at 7:01, loud clear calls at 7:06. Just woke up to many calls at 7:07 on the Lime Kiln hydrophones. There were many S4 (J pod, likely) calls repeated, some quite loud. Then only water/wave sounds and birds since 07:11.
Scott Veirs
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7:38 - Echolocation at Orcasound now....
Pam Ren
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Calls started at 7:38am. Orca northbound first heard at LK 1/2 hour ago.
7:01am - echolocation started, now calls on Lime Kiln. really clear & loud calls started at 7:06am quiet by 7:13am. S4 calls!
Alisa Lemire Brooks

June 12, 2012

9:43 pm - Calls starting at Lime Kiln. S4 and more.
Meg McDonald
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About 6:30 pm a dispersed group of at least 7 followed the group in this earlier report.
6-6:15pm - At least eight orcas headed east-to-west along the south shore of Lopez Island, headed toward Iceberg Point.
Tom Reeve
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Our tour took us east to Bellingham Channel where we spent time with at least 7 members of J-Pod, including J26 "Mike" (48°35.11N, 122°40.29W). Initially the whales were spread out across the channel traveling south, although upon our arrival a calf did greet us with two breaches! As the whales traveled through the channel a few individuals lob-tailed while others were suspected of foraging as they changed directions quickly and frequently. By the time we left the whales, 5 individuals had come together and were surfacing in close proximity with each other as they continued traveling south. We even saw "Tucker", a black lab, working with his team of researchers searching for whale scat.
Amy, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours
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1:16 pm - Whales in Rosario northbound towards Alden Bank.
John Boyd
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Sad day today with the beached Humpback Whale in White Rock, BC. It was heavily entangled in fishing gear.
Gary Sutton

June 11, 2012

I wonder if the whales have territorial agreements? We don't often sight the different ecotypes of Orcas-Killer Whales in the same area, at the same time. Since Balcomb's Orcas were out of our range, I wasn't surprised to hear Bigg's Transient Killer Whales were by the D'Arcy Islands at Vancouver Island, Canada. We went for the international tour! T-020, a 49 year old male was with his 44 year old sister, T-021. They were quiet and traveling slowly, appearing to be resting at times, with the 2.5' flooding tide. These whales have managed to share their entire long lives, at times surfacing together, shoulder to shoulder, a beautiful sight!
Caroline Armon, SSAMN, San Juan Excursions
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Just thought to listen at 8 pm - super Loud and clear @ Lime Kiln at 8:05pm .. J pod! Now it's 8:15 and still a few faint calls It is soo cool to sit here at home and tune into our friends there!! Also.. a nice follow along-side T20 and T21 along D'Arcy and Halibut Island near Sidney , B.C. today the male and female slowly sauntering north amongst small rocky islets : seals warily watching us all. ...8:24pm ; still the occasional call
Deb Martyn, Orcas Island, Naturalist for Orcas Eclipse Charters
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10:06 PM - ORCA AT LIME KILN
9:18 PM - ORCA AT LIME KILN
7:51 PM - ORCA AT LIME KILN
Robo Lon
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7:40 pm - Echolocations and much louder! 7:06 pm - Calls on Lime Kiln hydrophones.
Vickie Doyle
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We caught up with T20 "Kwatsi" and T21 "Pandora" 1.5nm south of Kelp Reef (Haro Strait). We followed them as they made their way northward up to D'Arcy island. The pair took deep dives, and during most of the encounter were 200-300 yards apart. Just before approaching D'Arcy, they came together and scoped out harbour seals at the southern tip of Little D'Arcy. No kill was witnessed, but the two did disappear for nearly 10 minutes at one point, and the seagulls started to gather at that time, so one would think they were ripping something apart down there ....
Tasli Shaw
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It was another beautiful day on the water. The sun was out in full shine, the water pure glass. Out in Haro Strait at the very northeastern tip of D'Arcy Island we found two Transient Orcas (48°35.77N, 123°15.61W). We identified them as male T20 and female T21. Fortunately we were able to watch them hunt for a while.
Naturalist Tara, San Juan Safaris
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3 Orcas seen off Lincoln City, Oregon, D'Sands River traveling South, 130 PM, Feeding, 1 large male, no photos.
Spengler's
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6:30 pm - Stephanie Raymond found a gray whale "lounging slowly northward with its mouth open" in the southbound traffic lane off Point No Point, at 47 55.59N by 122 30.9W.
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We were out at Hein bank today and around 1730 we witnessed two minkes (close to the shallow rock in the middle were a buoy is supposed to be) They were swimming up and down in NE-SE direction. They surfaced with 5 minute intervals. One of them was a pretty big one, the other one was not small either. They had dorsal fins.
The Coppes family (onboard sailing vessel Saganat
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Humpback whale BCY0324 "Big Mama" with her newest calf near East Sooke Park.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales
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I saw 2 humpbacks with Prince Of Whales just off East Sooke Park.
Marcie Callewaert
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5:12 pm - Lori Estet saw a humpback from just north of Edmonds, out in mid-channel, heading south.

June 10, 2012

12:15 - orca at Simpsoms Reef, about 1/4 mi north of Cape Arago and about 7 mi south west of Charleston Oregon on Cape Arago highway.
Lester Michael
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Myself and Russ Nicks were coming out of Victoria harbor and right away L pod was in front of us! we were like wow....it was 1030 when we picked them up. We followed for 2 hours and they were at Sombrio beach at 1230 according to a short calculation I made. But they were moving fast westward 9 knots at times in a straight line.
Josh McInnes
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We heard a few rumors of Big Black Fish milling around Lime Kiln so we headed in that direction. As we passed South Beach we saw our first group of dorsal fins break the water surface (Haro Strait, 48°26.27N 123°01.48W). Big "Mike" (J26) somehow made his way into a group of female K's including "Raggedy" (K40) and seemed to be looking for a hot date! He was definitely showing off what he's got, wrestling around, and strutting his stuff. We figured we'd let him continue his pursuit and head west into open water to catch up with Cappuccino (K21). We rode alongside Cappuccino (K21) for a bit. He was just chillaxin' by his lonesome, milling around, doing his own thing. His pace was great for us though! We were able to cut the motor, watch him slowly emerge from the water, releasing large, exuding blows, and glide back slowly into the water. His actions were so smooth it caused passengers to grow silent, awestruck by the size and serenity of this amazing creature, living and breathing beside them. There were also a number of other groups both from J-pod and K-pod spread out in the surrounding area fishing and what not. The Kittiwake got to ride with both Blackberry (J27) and Polaris (J28). We ended up leaving the whales still milling around in the same area at approximately 3:30 PM. All in all, it was another unbelievable day amongst our Southern Residents!
Naturalist Tara, San Juan Safaris
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Happy to see Balcomb's Orcas Sunday afternoon off of South Beach, San Juan Island, spread out and foraging for salmon in a flooding tide. They don't often head east past Salmon Bank, and sure enough, the whales turned southwest and swam across the Strait of Juan de Fuca toward the Olympic peninsula. I have also observed they will then also travel west toward the Pacific, which sure enough they did!
Caroline Armon - CMN, LTG, USCG LM, SSAMN, San Juan Excursions
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1:39 pm - Hearing them on the orcasound hydros now.
Lori Estep
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12:53 - I hear Ks?
Stacey Kerr
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12:53 - K-Pod calls! :-) 12:49 pm - Lots of echolocation on Lime Kiln hydros So awesome....how it led up to it with the echolocation and then....Calls! haha
Candice Smith
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12:25 pm - Faint calls on OS.
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10:33 am - We have Orca (possible L pod residents) off East Sooke/Whiffen Spit, heading west. Yay! First time in a long time. I saw maybe three quite spread out.
Douglas Gradecki
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Possible transients - We had lunch at Point No Point and saw possibly two killer whales up there.
Debbi Moyen
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4:47 pm - Juvenile Humpback about 2 miles NW of the Edmonds Marina.
Rob Miller

June 9, 2012

Encounter # 26 * L's in Swanson Channel (with photos)
Observers: Dave Ellifrit, Erin Heydenreich and Barbara Bender
After receiving a tip from Jeff Lamarche that L pod was heading south from Active Pass, CWR staff left Snug Harbor at 1145 aboard Shachi to intercept them. We arrived on scene at 1225 near Otter Bay in northern Swanson Channel (48 47.537N 123 20.062W) to find L pod spread out all the way across the channel heading south fast. The whales were too spread out to find everyone there that day but we did see L77 and her new calf L119. Erin H. got a belly shot on L119 and it looks to be a female. We believe eight Ls (the L2s, the L54s, and L84) were not present and were off somewhere else. We followed the Ls as they continued south in Haro Strait in singles and small loose groups and left the whales in Mitchell Bay in front of Snug Harbor at 1448 (48 34.524N 123 11. 534W).
Whales Photographed: L22, L25, L26, L27, L41, L47, L53, L72, L77, L79, L82, L83, L85, L86, L89, L91, L92, L94, L95, L103, L106, L109, L113, L115, L116, L118, and L119
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These are the whales I ID'd. L77, L119, L25, L85, L41, L94, L113, L22, L79, L89, L27, L55, L82, L116, L103, L109, L118, L86, L106, L26, L90, L92, L53, L95, L105, L47, L91, L115 and L87. There were others present as well. All J pod whales but not J30. This was between the hours of 4:30 and 8:00pm from shore at Land Bank and Lime Kiln Pt. State Park. More of the day on my blog: Whale of A Purpose.
Jeanne Hyde, San Juan Island
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Mid-day, L-Pod residents headed south, down Haro Strait with an ebbing tide, spread out in many groups. Off of Stuart and Henry Island, we were thrilled to see L-77 Matia with her new baby girl; L-119! And L-41 Mega looks regal; he is the eldest male in the Balcomb's Orcas, at 35 years old. The whales began to gather closer together and porpoise (fast, lunge) swim! We heard on the radio that J-Podders were off of Lime Kiln State Park, heading north! They turned south though; L-Podders joined them and a community gathering of L and J Podfamilies going back and forth in Haro Strait along San Juan Island, continued for hours! Out at Whale Watch Park, I watched them forage and socialize well into this special day and evening!
Caroline Armon - SSAMN, San Juan Excursions
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9:24 pm - L pod calls at the Orcasound hydrophone. It's so good to hear their voices again!
Meg McDonald
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We had the best show of our lives out at Lime Kiln. We watched different groups from J and L pod for a total of 4 hours, from 4-8, coming in VERY close to shore (we were probably 20-30 feet from the whales that came by the lighthouse) and doing lots of surface activity - I saw a total of 14 breaches throughout the day, and countless tail lobs, pec slaps, spyhops....oh my! It was a party! Never felt luckier!
Kate Schmiett
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Ocean Sun L25 (Lolita's mom) surfaces with an adult male named Mystery L85 behind her. Ocean Sun may have adopted Mystery now that he just lost a female named Alexis L12 who had adopted him when his mom died.
Melisa Pinnow
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The first sighting at Lime Kiln Point State Park was of the southbound J-Pod between 12 and 12:30. Around 2:15, five J-Pod whales headed back north, followed by the rest of J-Pod about half an hour later, all of them pretty close to shore. They met up with Ls north of the lighthouse, and all the whales headed south in Haro Strait at 3:00. Once again, they didn't go far, and were milling close to shore off of Land Bank for the next two hours. It was amazing to watch, with the whales swimming in tight, slow-moving groups amid the choppy water as the wind had picked up. There seemed to be lots of touching and rolling around with each other. Finally, by 6 PM, all the whales headed north once again. You can see some photos I took from today's amazing encounter here.
Monika Wieland, Friday Harbor, WA
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We got early reports of J pod at battleship going south but then L pod popped up in Active Pass! They were heading south around 9 knots....very hard to keep up with but awesome to see. I wasn't able to take any photos, I was just trying to keep up with them.
Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver
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Today we caught up with 3 members of L-pod, a female and her offspring, on the west side of San Juan Island (Haro Strait 48°33'56.84N, 123°10'50.29W). They were headed south right against the shore line, moving at a very quick rate. Within a few minutes of arriving we discovered that the female was L-55 also known as "Nugget" and one of the calves was L-118! We were very excited to see L-118 return home with mama because this calf was just born last year (2011) and can now be given a proper name. It is days like these that really allow us to appreciate our Southern Resident Killer Whales, because although endangered, and battling many threats to their food and environment, mama still returns home with her calves showing us the true strength of the species. We left the group at approximately 3:03 PM still making their way south, to catch up with the rest of the pod.
Naturalist Tara, San Juan Safaris
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2:49 - Oh my gawd. Spectacular. Go away ship... 2:05 p.m. - Starting to hear our orca friends on OrcaSound.
Gayle Swigart
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2:35 - I think we are hearing some S16 K calls.
2:29 - thinking I hear a K like call...
That 2:15-ish burst of dialogue was fantastic!
2:13 - I'm hearing calls on LK too. :) big loudness!
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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9:31 PM - ORCA AT ORCASOUND
12:43 PM - BEGINNING TO HEAR ORCA AT ORCASOUND
12:14 PM - ORCA AT LIME KILM
Robo Lon
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12:12 pm - At LK now, echo and calls.
Meg McDonald
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12:08 - I hear them on Lime Kiln...
Candice Smith
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12:03 - J's at county park (north of Lime Kiln) south bound, Ls at active pass south bound!
Traci Walter
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11:56 - Hearing Orca on the Orca Sound Hydrophone right now!!! So awesome!!!
Ashley Keegan
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11:52 - I can hear them on Orcasound hydros right now...
Vickie Doyle
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Orca talk starts, OrcaSound hydrophone 11:51
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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11:43 - Whales at Kellett Bluff heading South! Yea!
John Boyd
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11:18 - Jpod near Battleship Island heading south.
San Juan Outfitters
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10:35 am - Just got word they're in front of Chemainus (south of Nanaimo) right now.
Susan MacKay
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On the way home we found a humpback in the Strait of Georgia! It was lunge feeding over and over and making close passes by the boat. Here is a shot of a close pass.
Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver

June 8, 2012

Marie Waterman of Washington State Ferries Operations, relayed a report from the crew of the Hyak, of 3 to 5 whales heading south, 3/4 of a mile off Thatcher Pass (west side of Rosario Strait, opposite Anacortes) at 8:50 pm.
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I started out on the Western Explorer and found part of J Pod off Pile Point and False Bay area. Some were actively foraging, some were socializing. On our way back we were looking at seals at Whale Rocks, and in the distance the other group of J's were rounding around Lopez heading up island to where the other whales were. They grabbed our attention far away because of all the breaching, tail lobs, and cartwheels that they were doing! We went back to take a quick peek at this group and they started to porpoise quickly! Saw Granny (J2) in that group as well. After the trip, I headed out to the west side only to have whales again! (oh darn!) This time when I saw them they were very tucked into shore. I got to watch them swim underwater and play with kelp right under me.
Traci Walter
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Meanwhile, L pod was heading south:
I did manage to get out on the skiff to see L-Pod - some K's too, I believe, but haven't had time to confirm from photos. They were incredibly spread out from just above the Little River ferry terminal by Comox to Texada (northern Georgia Strait) and could see breaching down by Denman and Hornby Islands! Also thought there was some splashing almost by Harwood Island. A huge spread! It was like glass and sunny out there so very easy to spot. They would slow down for very short periods of time then pick up the pace again doing about 6 - 7 knots. Guess they got the scent of home territory! Great vocals though, even with the boat noises. The last few passed the North tip of Texada Island about 5 pm. Curious as to what time they made it "home".
Susan MacKay
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We saw 4 Orcas feeding in (north) Georgia Strait on Friday. There were two larger whales quite a ways ahead of two smaller Orcas. They were assumably feeding as they were up and out of the water and then down for 10-20 seconds and sometimes longer, but always surfacing and diving back down. We saw them at 2:35 PM at about Bates Beach area, off the east coast of Vancouver Island, just north of Comox, south of Merville. The larger two were quite a way ahead and last I saw them was just north of the Powell River Ferry Dock on Vancouver Island. The smaller two were about a half mile north of the larger whales. They were all heading south toward Texada Island.
Jo-Ann Hawick, Black Creek
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4:50 - calls on Orca Sound now.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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4:10 - Calls on Lime Kiln. Nice and loud and happy!
Tia Lurie
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10:21 - Starting to hear calls on LK.
Gayle Swigart
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Great to see the J pod crew passing Eagle Cove just after 9am. They had a little one in tow, and rounded the point on their way up the Haro Strait passing close to shore near the kelp beds. A beautiful sight with which to begin the day!
Alex Shapiro
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11:00 am - They're at Cape Mudge (southern tip of Johnstone Strait, at the north end of Georgia Strait) right now - I hope to get out with them when they get a bit closer.
Susan MacKay
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Single grey whale off Point Roberts at 9 pm; travelling slowly and heading North. Breathing every five minutes. A small pod of approximately 12 porpoises was also spotted.
Sandra Scott
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7:50 pm - Spotted a single gray whale off Fort Gardner Bay, Mukilteo. Probably counted 20 + spouts. Just kind of drifting...
Dave Davenport

June 7, 2012

L pod and K40 were in Johnstone Strait late this afternoon and evening. They were all business, which seems to be the way they are every time I see them in this neighbourhood. I left them eastbound off Naka Creek at 19:00 with the end of a big flood behind them. It looked like about 35 whales in total. I haven't gone through the shots in great detail yet but did notice that L119 is still doing well next to L77.
Jared Towers
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L-Pod + for a total of 35 Southern Resident Orca are on their way down Johnstone Strait below Robson Bight at 1600 hrs. We're keeping our eyes out for their arrival! I'll let you know if they make it this far or just zip past.
Susan MacKay
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9:39pm - very audible calls started up again.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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9:40 pm - Definite calls on Lime Kiln right now.
Pam Ren
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Soooooo good to see the Js this afternoon and this evening.
Capt. Jim Maya
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Granny J-2 was in the lead as members of J Pod began to pass by Lime Kiln Pt. State Park at about 5:15pm. Over the next one and a half hours, the whales moved up island sporadically, from close to a half mile off shore to more than two miles offshore. Those I was able to ID were: J2, J19, J41, J14, J37, J45, J40, J34, J17, J44, J27.
Jeanne Hyde, San Juan Island
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8:48pm - Heard one L call (L87?), followed by few louder J calls around 8:49 and then pretty silent except for tugs and tanker moving through Haro.
8:26pm - Calls once again on Lime Kiln Hydrophone.
Alisa Lemire Brooks
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6:34 pm - Calls are starting on the Orcasound hydrophone.
Meg McDonald
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J pod + echolocating and calling at Lime Kiln now.
Scott Veirs
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2:30 pm, reports of J pod +, still west of Victoria, BC, but heading in.
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12:06 pm - Residents off Sooke (south Vancouver Island) heading East :)
Russ Nicks

June 6, 2012

June 5 & 6 - Transient Orcas seen in Tofino area yesterday and today!
Keith Roderick Phillips
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I was trolling off House Rock (NW of Brookings OR), about 42.04, in 48 fathoms. I saw the splashing SW of me, then they (orcas) moved to within 1/8 mile of me. They were feeding, including tail slapping, and I saw the one male breach once. There were either two or three females or juveniles with him.
Gary Smith
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Just north of Active Pass we spotted a killer whale breach in the distance! (48° 53.267 N 123° 17.661 W). It was J-Pod. The whales were spread out, traveling in small groups of three to four. We watched them for as long as we could before having to make the long trek back. ~Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
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Out on Salmon Bank in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we luckily sighted 2 Minke Whales zig-zagging about, foraging, being the unpredictable slinky Minkes they are! I try to imagine I am the bait fish they are after, where would I go?
Caroline Armon, San Juan Excursions

June 5, 2012

We were our on the water last Tuesday (near Craig, SE Alaska) and saw a small pod of 6 orca at appoximately noon at the junction of Ulloa Channel & Meares Passage Lat/Lon: 55 16.726 N, 133 11.703 W, heading south right tight against the shoreline. Did not see any large (male) dorsals. There were 2 calves in the pod. Both small and one was as tiny as I have ever seen! I was not able to get very good pictures as they were close to shore. Dark whales against a dark shoreline on a very gray morning. But I attached what I was able to enlarge in hope you can identify them. Whales transit this area frequently.
Joyce Mason, Craig, AK.

June 4, 2012

Andy Stevens was sailing off Brown's Point, west of Tacoma, about 5 pm, when he saw a gray whale. He stayed with it for two hours. It was swimming well. He said it was much bigger than his 22' boat.
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As we reached Salmon Bank, it took only a few minutes to spot a minke whale in the distance. As we slowed, we noticed that there was more than one minke around. Two surfaced at the same time, giving us an amazing look of their blow holes and bodies. But the minke whales weren't alone. There were harbor seals all around! They would poke their heads out of the water then dive back down. Also in the area were lots of harbor porpoise! We saw their small fins break the water surface in every direction off the boat. Sea birds were around too; gulls, cormorants, rhinoceros auklets, common murres, and even a pacific loon! Truly a spectacular day!
Kristen, naturalist, San Juan Safaris
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June 3 & 4 - It's been awfully quiet out on the water for the past few days, but we did find multiple minkes at Salmon Bank on both June 3 and 4. There were at least two of them present both days, and they were surfacing frequently, skimming the surface with their mouths open but not lunge-feeding. Must have been plenty of food to be had out there, because there were a lot of Dall's and harbor porpoises and harbor seals around where the whales were.
Stephanie Raymond, Naturalist, Victoria Clipper III

June 3, 2012

Victoria Clipper IV reported a humpback headed SW from Hein Bank in the Strait of Juan of Fuca at about 9:45 am.
Stephanie Raymond

June 2, 2012

Center for Whale Research Encounter # 25 * T30's east of Baynes Channel (photos and map)
Observers: Dave Ellifrit
After receiving reports of the T30's and viewing them in Cordova Bay through the scope at CWR, I departed Snug Harbor in Orca at 1635 for a brief encounter. I arrived on scene at 1705 about a mile NE of Baynes Channel (48 27.87N 123 14. 07W) where the whales were milling and gulls were diving to pick up scraps so they had obviously just made a kill. One could even smell the greasy slick from the blubber of the seal or porpoise they had just eaten. I left the whales in the same spot at 1715 as they started moving SW toward Baynes Channel and arrived back at Snug Harbor at 1740. Whales Photographed: T30, T30A, T30B, T30B1, and T30C.
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Today we visited five Orca Whales on the western side of D'Arcy Island (mid-Haro Strait - 48°04.14N, 123°18.21W). As we approached the scene we could immediately tell they were Transients based on their stealthy behavior. Once they went under no one knew when, or where, they would come up next. After continually changing paths they unexpectedly surfaced right towards our boat providing us with a great amount of excitement and the most amazing view! There was one LARGE male, his dorsal fin standing almost 6 feet tall, along with two small calves, and two females. At first, it appeared they were feeding judging by the swarm of gulls hovering over their tracks, waiting to dive bomb any left overs, but after a while, it seemed as though they went back on the hunt as they chose one direction and stuck to it. They eventually gained speed and headed south, surfacing multiple times for shorter dives.
Naturalist Tara, San Juan Safaris
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Dean Troette, Eureka Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, called to report seeing two orcas near Crescent City CA, a female and calf, about 50 yards off the end of the north jetty, heading north, at 12:30 pm.

June 1, 2012

Mary Campbell reports seeing at least 7 orcas about 600 yards from shore at Sekiu, about 10 am. They were heading west and seemed to be feeding.
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Went out with Island Adventures today. Saw some orca and minkes. Granny was one I know we saw and maybe Onyx along with a young one (not the new L babe).
Cathy Miller Scott
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2nd hand report this morning...Whales near Anacortes right now! Most likely L pod, this is the group with the brand new baby:) At 8:10 they passed Strawberry Island along the west shore of Cypress. They are moving fast with an ebb tide, heading south toward Washington Park.
Jill Hein
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The T30s were stalking around D'Arcy Island (mid-Haro Strait) today at around 1:15pm. When we encountered them, they were traveling very slowly, surfacing as a group. There is a young calf in the group, who appears to be the offspring of T30B. They were displaying a pretty classic transient zig-zag pattern of surfacing, but doing so very slowly. They were making their way south for the most part.
Tasli Shaw
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We encountered transient orcas, T30, T30A, T30B, T30B1 and T30C, while on Maya's Westside Charters this afternoon as they traveled south on the west side of D'Arcy Island, BC. We left the scene at about 3:30 as the whales continued south passing to the west of Zero Rock.
Jeanne Hyde, San Juan Island