June 2014 Whale Sightings

Click here for Map of June 2014 whale sightings.

June 30
The whales were busy on the west side of San Juan today. - Spencer Domico

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It was that kind of a day...Parts of J and L Pods, Salmon Bank and the West Side, San Juan Island, WA. - Capt. Jim Maya

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8:30 - Southern Resident's vocalizing on Lime Kiln hydrophone. Loud calls again now at 8:42 (with ship noise). A tanker coming from the south, enjoyed the quiet ever so briefly. Must be spread out....was quiet all morn then sudden burst of loud calls and echo, been faint to moderate since initial calls. - Alisa Lemire Brooks

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A group of very lively Orcas passed Point Roberts between 5 and 5:25 pm. One large male with four females. Breaching, spy hopping, and lots of tail lobbing. Heading north and travelling close together. - Sandra Scott

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8:30 PM - Pod of 5-8 killers sighted off Depoe Bay Oregon area heading South to North. Seemed to be accompanied by a few common dolphins. Saw dorsal fins, some breaching, dolphins leaping. - Barbara Bechmann

June 29
5:05 - Whales on Lime Kiln. - James Gresham

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6:30 PM - Large pod possibly L pod in Boundary pass just off Pender Island, traveling. We encountered a large pod, could not count how many so thinking that it might be the largest, L pod? - Natalie Fallis

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As we picked up J and L pods on the Canadian side of Haro Strait they were spread out and most were in resting pattern. Taking a little break as they crossed Haro Strait towards the southern side of San Juan Island. As they approached the island they became more active and appeared to begin hunting salmon. Watching them at rest in tight groups, surfacing and breathing in unison is always wonderful. It was amazing to watch. They gathered in the False Bay area with a couple groups of L's further south. One of the females out in front if False Bay started slapping her tail and the whales to the south made a beeline to join up with the others. L92 was with the southernmost whales. - James Gresham

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We were out with the Transient Gangs 101's and 102, as well as the 002C's. We came on scene as the T's were coming together out of Hoskyns Channel (far north end of Georgia Strait), west side of Reid Island. We stayed with them as they rounded Viner Point and headed North up the Reid Isl shoreline. Mostly just swimming, resting, some lazy tail lobs and such. we left them @ 1700hrs Northbound up Reid Isl. Of note to us were some new rake marks for 102 here, and the fact that 002C2 Tumbo was lagging behind the family a bit again. Today he was with 101B alot of the time......looked almost like escorting or staying with him anyways. It was interesting to watch anyways. - Nick Templeman

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T137's in Boundary Pass. They were SUPER mellow just cruising east through the pass in a very close intimate family group. I love seeing them so relaxed....don't get me wrong, breaches are great but it's just so different and calming to see them like this. - Gary Sutton

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Maybe transients -- 7:00 PM - 6-8 whales moving westward just east of Thieves Bay Marina, North Pender Island. We are waiting in anticipation for additional whales. May be a transient pod. - Ken Plato

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Last night around 5pm I saw 2 whales passing my beach so I kayaked out and followed them from Davis Head to the Richardson dock (going counterclockwise around Lopez) off the south end of Lopez Island. I'm fairly certain they were gray whales and had barnacles or other white growth on them. - Thomas (Dylan) Cline

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Whale sighting in Discovery Bay by Adelma Beach. Possible Gray Whale. Very close to the beach at low tide around 11 AM or so. - Aki Valdehuesa Avelino

June 28
Yesterday we were out with the Residents, some of Jpod and some of Lpod, towards the southern end of San Juan Island. Boy did we see some interesting things. We saw J35 and J47 'playing' with a harbour porpoise! We also saw foraging and breaching. We had L118 surprise us with three breaches in a row and L95 seeming to come out of nowhere, coming to check us out. Great day out on the water! - Ashley Keegan, Wild Whales Vancouver

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Incredible day Very curious group of whales. Today was amazing too with more action from J's and L's off the west side near False Bay. Tons of foraging and goofing around. I've attached two pictures of L118 "Jade" breaching. - Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver

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10:08 - Whales on Lime Kiln hydro. - James Gresham

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J Pod is headed back in from Trial Island. Enroute now. - James Gresham

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Transients off Sooke. - Sooke Coastal Expeditions

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Transient Orcas (TO75 & TO75A near Becher Bay). - Andrew Lees

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4:45 PM - West side of Whidbey, between Lagoon and Bush Pts. One male and three females, heading generally south, but circling back for about 10-15 minutes, possibly feeding, birds circling overhead. One spy-hopped. - Deborah Heg

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Humpbacks off Sooke (15 miles west of Victoria). - Sooke Coastal Expeditions

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Thought you might like to see these pictures of a 2 Humpback Whales, Big Mama & her Calf, we encountered off Victoria (south of Race Rocks) yesterday morning! There was actually 9 Humpback Whales reported in the area (including "Split Fin" right off Albert Head) as well as Transient Orcas (TO75 & TO75A near Becher Bay) plus Resident Orcas were first picked up south of Trial Island heading east. We do not usually get this amount of Humpback Whales in our local waters until much later in the season, so this is very exciting. - Andrew Lees, Five Star Whale Watching

June 27
Ts again!!!! 124As (no 124A1). Lots of surface time for most of the encounter and great overcast lighting. Another great encounter with Bigg's killer whales. - Tasli Shaw

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This evening from 6:15 to 6:45 I watched spread out Js and Ls make their way south in Haro Strait from Land Bank's Westside Preserve on San Juan Island. - Monika Wieland, San Juan Island

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6:44 - Just heard them again on Lime Kiln. - Sandy Pollard

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6:31 - Whales on Lime Kiln hydro. - James Gresham

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J's and L's did the west side shuffle. - Melisa Pinnow

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T124A's off of Galiano Island in the Strait of Georgia. - Gary Sutton

June 26
J's and L's came down from East Point and headed down San Juan Island. - Melisa Pinnow

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5 killer whales were reported by an anonymous caller who said the whales were at 46.48 x 124.08, which is just south of Gray's Harbor WA, maybe 2-300 yards off the beach, at about 2 pm.

June 25
Wednesday's Wondrous Whales!!!! Sunny, glassy smooth water, J and L pod, caught up with them, sort of spread out, off Eagle Point (San Juan Island) ....heading north, gave the folks at Lime Kiln a thrill....then further up...formed up into groups, breaching, multiple big tail slaps, and a lot of rolling over and showing that beautiful white underside...two young ones, maybe Joy and Cousteau of L pod? Pictures to follow. Very happy group of passengers aboard Mystic Sea. Whoopee!!! - Bonnie Gretz

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4:13 pm - Orcas on the Lime Kiln Hydros. Boats, too. Kara E. Clayton

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3:54 - Calls on Lime Kiln right now! Distant though. - Amber Prewitt

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1:30 - Lime Kiln still very active chatter. FABULOUS! - Kim Merriman

June 24
The Js and Ls did the unexpected today! They came down President's Channel instead of Rosario or Boundary, and looked like they were going to continue down San Juan Channel. Then they did a U-Turn, and came close to shore at Reuben Tarte County Park (NE San Juan Island, near Roche Harbor) at 1 PM, then went west through Spieden Channel. When they reached Haro Strait they fanned out and slowly made their way south against the strong flood tide, with some whales close to shore and others out in the middle of the strait. It took them from about 2:30 to 5:00 PM to fully pass by Lime Kiln Lighthouse! - Monika Wieland, San Juan Island

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I. AM. EXHAUSTED. After striking out with orcas early this morning, ended up with an EPIC (there's that darn word again) encounter from shore at Rueben Tarte. J's and L's came right by the rocks and were literally at our feet. Most of these photos are not cropped - that's how close they were! What a fun place to see them. A first for me! And then caught them again on the west side as they headed south against a big flood. - Katie Jones

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Today the J Pod and (part of) L Pod took an interesting route through the San Juan Islands. They came down into President Channel, milled around across the top of San Juan Channel, some made it to Yellow Island, then everyone turned back north socializing and breaching all the way back north. They actually tucked in behind O'Neil Island and some orcas went on both sides. I've never seen Resident orcas in this area. What a fun experience. Very happy whales with lots of adult play time in between! - Traci Walter

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It's been so great to have the J's and L's around for multiple days now! So many incredible encounters with them. Yesterday was no exception....J's and L's moving north up Swanson channel along the Pender bluffs. Two big resting groups, J's in the lead and L's trailing. Here is a pic of some of the L's in their resting pattern. - Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver

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3:59pm - They are just talking away on Lime Kiln! So cool! - Jean Karlsson

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3:40pm - Calls still on Lime Kiln! - Vickie Doyle

June 23
On our way off island,we meandered to County park at 11:40 and caught glimpses of the SRKW tail-enders and left at 12:18 with leaders at Open Bay (north end of San Juan Island). - Alisa Lemire Brooks

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Daylight is dimming and we still don't have a positive visual contact of the humpbacks from south of Bush Point. Hard to imagine they got by us, but about 9:05 we thought we heard two blows already north of us behind the bluff and out of sight, still heading north from the sounds. - Howard Garrett

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8:06pm - Two humpbacks just passed point no point. They gave a great show with tail slaps and jumping out of the water. They're headed north. - Mary Bright

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7:15 PM - Humpback Whale Admiralty Inlet. Watched what appeared to be a humpback whale breaching off Point No Point in the middle of Admiralty. Breathtaking sight. It was headed northwest up Admiralty. We were at our beach house at Point No Point watching. Tail flukes smashing the water, breaching, just spouting as he/she traveled up the channel. It started closer to the Kitsap side but seemed to move closer to Whidbey as it swam away from us. - Sean Hatt

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About 3:30 pm was driving my 24 foot sailboat south from Oak Harbor to Seattle - just off the Edmonds Marina I saw a whale just about 50 yards off my starboard side - about 40 feet long (?). Did several shallow dives (3-4 times) - blew (breathed) several times - saw its tail but do not remember seeing the dorsal fin. Just one whale. Wasn't certain it was an Orca - seemed grey more than black & white. Had a bump on its head. - Kenneth Johnson

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I didn't see it for myself, but I was talking with a locksmith at our house in Richmond Beach around 11:00am. He was looking out the window towards the water as we were chatting and claims he saw a "big" whale surface. I scanned for 5+ minutes afterwards but never saw anything. Wonder if this was the same animal spotted up north earlier today? - Dave Haas

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0845 - one humpback at 48deg 09'N x 122deg 41'W, about 200 yards off Fort Casey, Admiralty Head, Whidbey Island, traveling south. Observed it sounding three times, then deep dive (flukes clearly in air). - Andy Reay-ellers, r/v JACK ROBERTSON, UofW, Applied Physics Lab

June 22
I was on the delayed 7:25pm WSF Kaleetan to Orcas Island. The whales were headed SSE at a pretty good clip. They were forward and a bit to Port of the vessel when first sighted. - Cindy Wolf

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Up and down San Juan Island, all day long in tight, affectionate groups, and their emphatic puffs of watery exhales accompanied me as I worked. All day long, back and forth. - Alex Shapiro

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The second day of summer brought calm seas and sunshine along with members of J pod into Bellingham Channel at 11:30 am. The whales looked relaxed, a hint of flirtation here, a little play there, a couple of spy-hops to check out the scene and some tail slaps for good measure. Later they turned and greeted us again with Blackberry (J27) trailing kelp, after we circled Cypress Island. A memorable and peaceful encounter for all to appreciate and enjoy. - Sandra Pollard (SSAMN) - Mystic Sea.

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This morning the part of L-Pod that's here (the L26s, L43s, L4s, L47s) went north on the west side of San Juan Island, then they came back by Lime Kiln and Land Bank heading south at about 2 PM. - Monika Wieland

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1:26pm - On the west side of Sinclair (2-3 miles north of Anacortes ferry landing). Five Orcas! Same group.
12:24pm - Orcas south of Cypress Island! - Kathy Halstead

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12:14 - J pod, Bellingham channel (Just North of Anacortes, between Guemes Island and Cypress Island). - Chris Santana

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T049A1 off Victoria. - Mark Malleson

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We had two humpbacks very close to shore, around 7:00 PM going south to American Camp. not sure of exact time. My rock is between eagle point and false bay on san juan island. - Jenny

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I am on False Bay Rd... I can't see the water, but can hear them when it is quiet. At 5:30 pm tonight... in between Eagle Pt. and Mar Vista I'd guess... the loudest blow ever!! - Cher Renke

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5:45 pm - I suddenly jumped at the other-worldly sound of the deepest, loudest exhale I'd ever heard. Looking up, there it was: my first Humpback whale visitor, in all the years I've lived on this point. The whale submerged and swam further away from shore, and I did not see it again. I gasped as I saw the huge body lumber past me, powerful, graceful, and just 50 yards from my feet. A memorable moment, and of course, photos don't do it justice! - Alex Shapiro

June 21
Lucky us. Whales two days in a row! Who wants to cook supper when you can watch whales from the shore of Galiano Island instead? Not us on Saturday around 6:30 pm, when a larger and then smaller group of orcas went eastward through Active Pass. - Karoline Cullen, Galiano Island

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WOW! Kind of day today. We knew Residents were on west side San Juan Island and there were reports of Transients up north. We went up San Juan Channel to intercept the Ressies as they came up Haro Strait headed north. All of a sudden comes a report of a bunch of Transients at Seal Rock, right at the west end of San Juan Channel, where it meets Haro Strait. We stopped on them. It was the TO49A's and TO36A's swimming together. 7 animals. We watched them take a seal and then here comes J Pod! Spread out across the strait. They were only about a half mile apart and that is rare. We hopped over to J Pod with Granny leading up Haro. Then here comes the J 17's in close to us. We hooked up with them and they started putting on an air show. Breaches and cartwheels. While we were with the J's the T's came into Haro Strait and started moving north right along the shore of Stuart Island. Awesome day. Great conditions. Looks like the J's (at least some of them) went up to the Fraser River and the L's stayed down to the south. - James Gresham

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A bright, peaceful Saturday as J-pod and part of L-pod intermingled and swam in resting lines towards San Juan Island. It was so lovely to witness so many whales swimming so close together and in no hurry at all. - Sara Hysong-Shimazu

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This morning around 11:30 J-Pod and part of L-Pod made their way north through Haro Strait in two big, tight groups - I saw them from Land Bank's Westside Preserve on San Juan Island. Between 2 and 3 PM some (if not all) of the L-Pod whales made their way back south past Lime Kiln Lighthouse. This time they were very spread out and doing some foraging as they slowly passed by. - Monika Wieland

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Back to those wonderful T's today. We were initially heading to the west side to see the residents but got a report of whales up near Thrasher rock off of Gabriola Island. We headed up that way and picked up the T124A's hammering a seal in the distance. When we got closer they were just eating and celebrating. It's the best when you just shut off your engines and watch....they didn't move anywhere for almost 45 minutes we just drifted with them watching them celebrate and chow down. The breacher is T124A2A I believe, missing part of the fluke. - Gary Sutton

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Great day yesterday in Haro Strait with a pod of Transient Orcas & Puget Sound Express. - Susan Marie Andersson

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We saw 2 humpbacks from the Edmonds/Kingston ferry on Saturday, the 9:40 a.m. sailing. - Lisa Brown

June 20
It has just been so spectacular the last few days!! Another treat today as we got to see most of L's with some J's scattered in going through Active Pass and heading into the Strait of Georgia. I would list off all their behaviours but to keep it short and sweet....they did EVERYTHING!!! Such a cool day! - Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver

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A double treat for us on the shore of Galiano Island today. Around 12 noon, one group of about 6 - 8 orcas went eastward through Active Pass. Then around 2 pm, a second group of 10 - 12 went through. The second group displayed many breaches, spyhops, tail slaps, and cartwheels. - Karoline Cullen

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J19 Sachi and J41 Eclipse near the north end of Rosario Strait with Cherry Point Refinery in the background. - Connie Bickerton

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A group passed by Point Roberts between 245 and 315. Travelling quickly. Very spread out. Three large males. One breach! Heading south. So exciting! - Sandra Scott

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Arlene Soloman of Mayne Island BC, called at 1:40 pm to report a pod of 20+ orcas in Active Pass at Helen Pt, heading east between Mayne and Galiano Island. They saw 4 orcas pass by about 2 hours earlier.

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3:57am - Echo and calls LK. - Connie Bickerton

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11:00 AM - 2 transients 1-2 miles off sheringham point lighthouse (about 30 west of Victoria, Strait of Juan de Fuca). 1 male 1 female. no positive I.D. - Daniel Pudwell

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8:40pm - South sound humpback from Anderson Island ferry departed Steilacoom. Distant view of one humpback traveling north along the Steilacoom waterfront from north of Ketron Island to near the entrance to Chambers Bay. Traveling north -- 3-4 breaths then dive (showing back and flukes) then same again a few minutes later. - Scott Redman

June 19
I saw a Minke Whale spyhop! Quick note: Minke whales are the second smallest baleen whale and spend about 90% of their time underwater. We were sitting in the water glassing for killer whales, everything was quiet, when suddenly "Koosh"- there's a Minke Whale 100 yards off our port starring at us, baleen exposed and all! Welp, there's a first for everything. I must admit, for a short second, I was wondering what the heck I was looking at!! So cool ... - Heather MacIntyre

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OK...It just keeps getting better. All of J Pod and most all of the Ls, off of South Beach, San Juan Island, ...Socializing all afternoon and into the evening... - Capt. Jim Maya

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Distant but very lazy and playful whales this evening at dusk off the west side of San Juan Island. Most of L-Pod came in today to join the Js. - Monika Wieland

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Well not many words or pictures could accurately depict what went on today. L's were racing in from out west and J's were pushing offshore very quickly to meet them. Once they joined up, there was mish mash of J's and L's interacting like crazy. Breaching, spy hops and much more but the highlight is always when they start logging on the surface, vocalizing above the surface, pushing each other around, touching and rubbing. Incredible day 3 miles offshore of Eagle pt. - Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver

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8:08pm - calls on LK. - Jill M Rotset

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No Ks and NOT all of Ls (from what I heard) - but a very good chunk of them. Today was epic! Lots of rolly polly behavior and BIG groups of very happy whales doing pretty much nothing. I hope that means they are FULL of salmon. They spent hours off Eagle Point with the Js socializing. - Katie Jones

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We left them at around 7pm off of Eagle Point... Lots of hugging and kissing with the occasional sea snake. No direction. - Spencer Domico

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Alisa and Ed Brooks updated their report: 12:45 pm, watching the meet up of J and L pods, about 1 mile out from South Beach, SW San Juan Island. They first met up at 12:15, with tons of breaches. Sounds like a great whale day off San Juan Island!

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Obviously we have no way of knowing when they last saw one another but heartwarming to know they do greet one another and have "things to say" and activities to share when they come together. Honestly, the breaching and tail lobbing was endless. My only (selfish) wish is that they were closer in or at Lime Kiln.
7:47 - got to County Park a little after 7, looked like they were already well north could see far off distant blows, shimmering bodies and one spyhop. Northbound they go...unless.
6:35 am - Loud calls on Orca Sound. - Alisa Lemire Brooks

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5:57 - I am emailing to report a sighting of a whale, off of Day Island in University Place (south of Tacoma Narrows). It was a smaller whale with a small curved dorsal fin located further down the back. I saw the whale between 8:00pm and 9:30pm. It stayed just off the south end of Day Island, circling the area and puffing air through its blowhole. - Jennie S.

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5:10pm - [humpback] spotted on southern tip of fox island between Fox Island and Ketron Island (south of Tacoma Narrows). He has must be feeding has been here for awhile. Lots of blows. My friend Cheri took these..We were at her house on Fox island, WA today around 5:00. - Jay-Lisa Matties Gray

June 18
It felt like the good old days today! All of J pod tightly grouped ripping through Active Pass with TONS of activity. Breaches, spy hops, cartwheels......the list goes on and on. Every day we get to spend out there is a privilege but today's encounter was pretty incredible! - Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver

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9:00 PM - Watched at least 10 make their way traveling south as close as 100 feet off Lighthouse Point, Point Roberts toward San Juans between 9 and 10 pm. A number of seals were swimming into the shallows close to shore. - Duncan Hawes

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7:15 - They are HERE! On orcasound! Woooooo! - Katie Jones

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7:13 - Love it when I'm wrong. They are ALL still here going north. - Simon Pidcock

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6:59 - Lots and lots of chatter still. - Katie Jones

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6:13 - They didn't leave! Just heard them on lk. - Traci Walter

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9:53 - Wow!! I think it was 2 cows and 2 calves, We were sailing and got to watch them for about an hour between Vashon, Gig Harbor and Point Defiance. - Michele Riley Campbell
Only two humpbacks have been confirmed.

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They took the same route & time Tues. night as tonight. We spotted the humpbacks off our deck near the tip of Pt. Defiance as they swam south past Salmon Beach. - Kathleen Bradley Reader

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8:16 pm - Still out here..3-4 sprays then the tail up for a dive!
7:57 - The Humpback is by the Narrows Bridge right now, north of it. Spraying and putting on a show with his tail (white between the tail). 2nd night of watching! - Asher Beckett

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6:43 - sorry for dropping off reporting, phone died. We did see them head towards the Narrows then lost them - and now see they did indeed head down. Just a reminder there were without question two whales. Lovely way to end the day! - Amy Carey

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Amy Carey is reporting two humpbacks off the south end of Vashon Island. She posted seeing one at 6pm and just now at 6:30 she reported TWO . Don't know direction yet.

June 17
J Pod spent the last 3 plus daylight hours off the west side of San Juan Island, engaged in a lovely variety of behaviors going against the tide and in the massive churning rip-current just south of the West Side Preserve/Land Bank off what I think is Edwards Point. Totally cool to watch them expend that kind energy and engaging in such forceful currents for such a long time...many breaches. etc. We left them at 9:20, they had not yet committed to a direction. - Alisa Lemire Brooks

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One orca in Discovery Bay (5 miles west of Port Townsend). It seemed to be resting on the waters surface for over a minute. I could also see an aircraft carrier traveling south east through the strait (towards Everett? ) We were wondering if it came into our bay to get away from the carriers noise? It was between my house and Protection Island. After a minute or so, it swam down the bay a bit, dove a little, and exited the bay so close to the cape George shore that I could hear occasional blowing, but not see it. It was a terrific experience, but concerned for its safety/health. - Sharon Mitchel
No identification has been found for this sighting.

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L pod sighted off Tofino! As I am typing (10:18 pm) a group of 10-12 killer whales with open saddles are heading up the coast. The last report was 2.5 miles off sea lion rocks (long beach area). Rod wanted me to send a note. I am sure we will have a more detailed route and photos by the end of the day. Here are a couple of ID shots. The pod was spread out in a long line ranging from off Cleland island to off Tree island when I was out, and the skippers have reported that they are still spread out quite a ways and not moving very much at all. I am guessing there is between 15 and 20 in total. They look like southern residents because of that open saddle on the bull. - Gwen, Strawberry Isle Research on N. Vancouver Island
PS: estimates range to as many as 30 animals...Rod

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8:50 pm. - Anyone see the single whale by the Narrows Bridge? Been circling for about an hr. Large spray, straight up, very slight dorsal fin. (Salmon beach). - Asher Beckett

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10:50 AM - Spotted solid color whale swimming north by Gold Beach Vashon Island. 1 whale, don't think it is Orca, between Sandy Shores and Gold Beach, traveling north. - Chris Roundtree

June 16
1730 to 1830 - One Orca seen south side of Protection Island. Possible male due to size of dorsal fin. Appeared feeding, playing, traveling, etc., lots of back and forth action, no breaching. - Dawn Geiger
No identification has been found for this sighting.

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T065B and T075B skulking along the shoreline of the Oak Bay golf course in the morning. - Mark Malleson

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Two females heading ESE. Location was due south of Seal Bay Provincial Park (across from Powell River in northern Georgia Strait). About 1/4 mile south. It is in the Salish Sea...north of Little River and Comox. Google earth 2350 Seabank road, Courtenay B.C. and it shows where the shore drops off. They were traveling on the high tide along the drop off. - Janet Russell
No identification has been found for this sighting.

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5 different groups of killer whales around! We spent the day with the J22's and J17's moving east through Boundary Pass. - Gary Sutton

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Great day with ALL of JPod, and the T65As... - James Mead Maya

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10:50 - WA State Ferries reports 3-4 orcas in Upright Channel, off Lopez Island, heading NW.

June 15
Saw 4 orcas, swimming close to shore at approx 1:50 Pm. Just south of Strawberry Hill pull out. 1 mile south of Cooks Chasm and Cape Perpetua, central Oregon. - Dee Austin

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So many breaches today, we were lucky! - J pod between Discovery Island and Hannah Heights, San Juan Island, WA. - Bonnie Gretz

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We were off the west side of San Juan island on Sunday and found a lot of orcas. There must have been a lot of salmon because they were breaching like crazy. I attached a composite of a breach. - Richard Malzahn

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7:21 pm - Breaching orcas off Georgina Point Lighthouse in Active Pass - pod of 6-7 including one large male heading towards Tswawassen.
7:18 pm - Heading East towards Georgia Strait. 6 orcas, one big male? leading the pod. - Sheila Hawkins

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Residents on OrcaSound right now at 6:05. Heard a few T calls on OrcaSound at 4:57, and before that at about 4:25 on Lime Kiln was what sounded like one individual repeating a call and moving quickly past, also a T, I think. - Gayle Swigart

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3:32 pm - Hearing lots of calls loud and clear on the San Juan Island mic! - Nicole Soulodre

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3:20 - started faint calls on OrcaSound...getting louder now 3:27
2:03 - started hearing J pod on Lime Kiln. - Alisa Lemire Brooks

June 14
Another beauty out there! We had the T124A's near Zero rock heading north today. This is such a fun group with the two youngsters, T124A5 and T124A2A always playing around. We got surprised by T124A3 who popped up close to us at one point and it has a pretty cool saddle patch (like a type B antarctic killer whale, almost extending to the eye patch). - Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver

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Two females heading ESE. In comparing one whale's marking it appears to have been two from the T49B. The coordinates were: 49 degrees 45" 37N by 124 degrees 56' 54W. That is right by Seal Bay Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. - Janet Russell

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It appears we may have a new Humpback. This whale seen Saturday in San Juan Channel is not in the catalog. - James Gresham

June 13
8:15 - I heard Js on OS. - Gayle Swigart

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8:28 pm - Whales headed toward Lime Kiln from the north. - James Mead Maya

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Ken Balcomb reports J pod was along the west side of San Juan Island today doing the West Side shuffle, and later was spread out from about Snug Harbor to Turn Point, and later heading up Swanson Channel toward Active Pass.

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8:34pm - Echolocations on OS hydrophones. Jim Maya said whales heading toward Lime Kiln from the north. - Vickie Doyle

June 12
J Pod on the west side of San Juan Island. - Dianne Dee Iverson

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A really wonderful encounter with the T124As. Very social, and just about the most adorable calves I have ever watched. T124A5 and T124A2A, both almost the same age, were SUPER playful with each other. It looks like they were having a tail slapping competition at one point, as they furiously slapped their floppy flukes on the water in tandem. They were like little pieces of popcorn bouncing around and breaching out of the water, doing child-like back breaches that would turn into wiggly fluke kicks in the air, cartwheels over top of each other, side twists ... just being hyper kids! Their playful energy seemed to rub off on older sibling T124A4 who joined them in the breach fest. It has been a privilege to encounter so many Bigg's killer whales this season so far. I can't imagine the number of times we must bomb past these guys on our way to see the resident whales. The photos do not do it justice, but it does give you an idea of how much they were breaching! - Tasli Shaw

June 11
Tonight was amazing. The whales were incredible, the water was flat, and there were only a couple other boats out there to experience it with. I got to spend some quality time with my favorite J Pod family as well, the J16s. What a rush, enjoy the pictures. - Heather MacIntyre.

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It's been a great year so far with T's but it was nice to be reunited with, at least a few, residents today. The J22's and J32 were split from the rest of J pod and were hanging out near Sand Heads in the Strait of Georgia. Lots of fishing and zig zagging around but J32 "Rhapsody" was the star of the show today. Spyhops, breaches, tail slaps and pec slaps. They were quite spread but she was having a great time. - Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver

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J-pod went up and down San Juan Island throughout the day, and we had a surprise visit from Split Fin, one of our well known humpbacks! - Prince of Whale Whale Watching

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WA State Ferries reports ten orcas in Rosario Strait this morning at 7 am, heading south.

June 10
Amazing and quiet evening on the water last night. We were the only boat out there for almost all of our trip, it was so peaceful. We shared the evening with the J16s, T086A's, and the T137's. For me, there is just something about killer whales, a profound evidence of culture and compassion, something that's beyond my ability to scientifically quantify... So I just enjoy it. With Legacy Charters. - Heather MacIntyre

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2:30pm - J-pod (at least a part of them) were northbound past Turn Point. J19 and J41 were closer to shore while the J14s were further off. - Sara Hysong-Shimazu

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Feels like I have barely seen Residents this year! It's been all about the T's so far. Got to spend a nice day today with the J22's and J32, though. They were just slowly cruising along and J32 was being her playful self. Here is a shot of some of her showboating! - Gary Sutton

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3:57pm - 3:40 echolocation and faint calls on Lime Kiln. - Connie Bickerton

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12:06pm - J pod calls and echolocation on the Lime Kiln hydrophone. - Melisa Pinnow

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Amazing and quiet evening on the water last night. We were the only boat out there for almost all of our trip, it was so peaceful. We shared the evening with the J16s, T086A's, and the T137's. For me, there is just something about killer whales, a profound evidence of culture and compassion, something that's beyond my ability to scientifically quantify... So I just enjoy it. With Legacy Charters. - Heather MacIntyre

*
More T65As love! Got out with these guys tonight and witnessed one of the most amazing predation events in my 10 years of doing this. The photos don't do it justice, but notice the harbor porpoise lodged in the whale's mouth in the 2 close up shots. - Ivan Reiff

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Beautiful day out on the water! Out with both transient and resident orca. Both were less than 400m from each other! Jpod and the T065As north at Pender Island. Wasn't a fan of how large vessels move through the area and around whales. T065A and T065A5 with large vessel in the background. - Josh McInnes

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Killer whales in Plumper Sound! My first time seeing them in there. And who else but the T65As, our "resident transients". We watched what appeared to be a classroom situation, with a very unlucky harbour seal being the lesson. Mom and baby sat off to the side while the other three kids took multiple passes at the seal. Many powerful lunges and even a sideways karate chop. The finishing blow sent the harbour seal flying in the air. Lesson over, time for recess. - Tasli Shaw

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Well our "resident Biggs", T65A's, were kicking ass again today!! Only the second time I've seen whales in Plumper Sound and they were just hammering a seal! Amazing to see the power these animals can display and really cool to see T65A cruising in circles with T65A5 around the other whales hunting the seal. A live demonstration of how it is done! Got spoiled with getting to see the T137's on the way home too in Boundary Pass. They were the polar opposite of the T65A's.....being super mellow in a beautiful resting line. They were only swimming hard enough to not be pushed up by the flood and were not moving anywhere. Gorgeous day out there. - Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver

June 9
Orca sighting now in front of razor point Pender island. 3 orcas playing. 6 boats. In 9 years never seen them here. - Shirley Wilson

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Members of the T65A's off of Point Doughty, Orcas Island. It was a gorgeous evening trip aboard the Western Explorer and we were with the T65A's for almost an hour. - Chris Teren

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Wonderful day with the whales! First of all transients (T65's) in Peavine Pass at around 1:00 pm, then later a surprise greeting from J pod on our return to Anacortes, including Onyx and (probably) Granny - right in the glare zone - well spread out and traveling at speed. - Sandra Pollard (SSAMN)

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Great day whale watching! J pod members we saw and were able to ID were J22 Cookie and J34 Doublestuf. Saw some common porpoises. Then a group of transient orcas with a newborn calf only a few months old, 4 members total! Watched this group hunt and kill 2 separate seals! Then we saw a humpback whale! And we finished the trip off with J pod, several orcas breached and jumped into the air, and a big male named Doublestuf went under our boat, came up very close, and spy hopped (stuck his whole head out of the water). - Amber Prewitt

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Noon - J Pod past Jordan River headed West, goodbye for now. - Heather MacIntyre (Or maybe they turned around - see above post by Amber Prewitt)

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Had a pretty special encounter with the T65As this evening in Presidents Channel while out with Western Prince Whale Watching & Wildlife Tours - this group of transient orcas has been more or less "resident" this spring, spending much of the last few months here. The five whales (a mother and her four living offspring) are quickly becoming local favorites! - Monika Weiland

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Great day whale watching! Saw some common porpoises. Then a group of transient orcas with a newborn calf only a few months old, 4 members total! Watched this group hunt and kill 2 separate seals! Then we saw a humpback whale! And we finished the trip off with J pod, several orcas breached and jumped into the air, and a big male named Doublestuf went under our boat, came up very close, and spy hopped (stuck his whole head out of the water). (Note: Also posted in J pod article above) - Amber Prewitt This evening with the T65As in Presidents Channel. - Katie Jones

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4:27pm - 8-10 Orca north of Anacortes, just south of Baker Island. Saw them from the ferry to Orcas Island... Happy girl right here!!! Prob Res. Too far away to id... - Kimberly Sylvester-Malzahn

June 8
Hi - we were headed to Desolation Sound, from Gorge Harbor (north end of Georgia Strait), and encountered a small pod of Orcas on the west side of Hernando Island, about 9:30 am. Two very large males, some females, and we think, a youngster! First time we've ever seen a pod of Orcas way up here; such a delight! Apparently, this pod of about 7 cruised through Pender Harbour a couple of weeks ago! - Katie Bunnell

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J Pod came down Boundary Pass and continued down Haro Strait. Apparently they went up north late last night. They had just passed Saturna when we were notified. We got on them at the bottom of San Juan Channel and followed them to Henry Island. - James Gresham

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7:10 AM - Orcas off Anacortes ferry dock headed west right now. - James Mead Maya

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The T's were in San Juan Channel between Friday Harbor and Speiden Island. Hunting seals as the tide came in and covered the rocks they were hauled out on. All were trending slowly west towards the Sydney area. - James Gresham

June 7
10:24 - What an awesome way to meditate or drift off to sleep! Thank you JPod! I will be hearing you in my dreams! - Debbie Brethauer

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10:21 pm - They were really faint on Lime Kiln, but waiting paid off as they were practically on top of the hydrophone within five minutes! Can't believe how exciting this gets! - Danielle Vance

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10:16 - I love this! I've heard some squeaks and squeals, but also some vocalizations I've never heard before and it's AWESOME! - Kristina Louise Dahl

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10:06 pm - Hearing the whales now! Lime kiln! - Tyler Mills

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9:48pm - Orca sound. Loud!! Awesome!! - Jenny McEachron Gorle

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J pod can be heard vocalizing on OrcaSound hydrophone. Earlier Connie Bickerton started hearing faint calls at 7:17pm on Lime Kiln which turned into a burst of loud activity an hour later at 8:20pm. They were traveling northbound and could be heard on OrcaSound by 8:55 where calls are still audible now at 9:37pm. - Alisa Lemire Brooks

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As we sat watching the water and enjoying food, up pops a humpback whale! Certainly a bonus to the towering mountains, shimmering waters, and dazzling skies. And then wouldn't ya know about an hour later here come some transient (Bigg's) killer whales! They were frolicking and doing lots of high speed lunges and spyhops as they moved south down the island when suddenly they put the skids on so fast and did a very abrupt about-face, turned tail and started cruising toward Victoria. Hmmm, that was interesting... We look south and then BIG SPLASH! Put up binoculars and... HOLY FLYING ORCAS, BATMAN! Here comes J pod up the west side complete with J2 Granny near the lead. Screw dinner theater - this is the most action-packed cafe I've ever had the pleasure of dining at... - Katie Jones

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9:17 pm - Several of J pod appear to be feeding after sunset at Mitchell Point, off of the west side of San Juan Island between Lime Kiln Point and Henry Island. They've shuffled back and forth at least twice, and are still going well after dark. It was a beautiful night, though, and it was magical seeing and hearing the whales offshore. - Tom Hoyt

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3:27 - Residents inbound! Js at Race Rocks. Ken Balcomb is on them. - James Gresham

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Another incredible day on the water!! Spent most of the day with the T86A's, T137's and T124A1. T86A's mouth seemed to be open the whole day and looked to have some damage. After leaving the scene, we got a report that they joined up with another 18 whales!!! We made a quick "U" turn and saw that the T124's, T124A's, T77's and T65A's came steam rolling south, appeared out of no where and joined the party!! 26 Bigg's killer whales! They were in a HUGE hurry bombing through Active Pass and going south. Amazing to such a large group of them! - Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver

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At least 26 Bigg's killer whales today .... a "personal best" for me! We were already privileged to watch the T137s, 86As, and 124A1 be very social at the surface when we got on scene ... but then ... on the horizon we could see two lines of white froth and spray. The spray got closer and closer, revealing at least 15 more orcas speeding towards us from the west, all in one long line of porpoising whales (T77s, T124s minus 124C, 124As, 65As, likely others as well). You could practically hear Ride of the Valkyries playing as they steamed toward us. Totally awesome, fabulous creatures. I'm blown away yet again. T86A had her mouth open throughout the entire encounter, leading me to believe something is amiss ...You can see some water squirting out the side.- Tasli Shaw

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BCY0324's calf was taillobbing Saturday afternoon. - James Gresham

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A glorious day on the water with sunshine, blue skies and seas. Mystic Sea caught up with Big Momma and calf around 1:45 pm off Sidney, Vancouver Island, and watched as the pair chopped and changed direction a few times (plenty of good food hopefully) and gave more than one graceful wave of their tail flukes before taking a deep dive. A delight to see these huge baleen whales in our waters performing their own special ballet. - Sandra Pollard

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2:06 pm - White-sided dolphin near gig harbor today! - Photo by Toby Black, June 7, 2014.

June 6
S. Krupin reported spotting 3 killer whales early afternoon on board the Miss Anita out of Bodega Bay. The animals were eating a sea lion and teaching a younger calf how to hunt! - JC Smith

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Friday morning 8:45 am - Captain said there was a gray whale next to the Keystone ferry terminal. I saw its knobby back. Partner Chuck said it was a gray. - Cheryl Lowe

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11:00 - Matt and Bo headed to Hein Bank for a look at some of our favorite humpbacks: Big Mama and her baby calf! - Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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We saw four (4!!!) breaches from a minke whale yesterday on Salmon Bank! I didn't manage to catch any of them on camera very well except this one. It's not that great, but you can tell that's a minke belly! - Katie Jones

June 5
J pod had fun today chasing salmon up and down the west side of San Juan Island! They started the morning southbound, passing Lime Kiln and continuing to Salmon Bank, where they foraged for a couple of hours. Then they revisited Lime Kiln briefly only to turn south again for Salmon Bank, where they feasted, tailslapped, and breached for quite a while (frustratingly just out of reach of a shore based camera). Back north again in the evening, not quite to the West Side Preserve before they turned south just before sunset. This photo (a cell phone shot of my camera LCD) is from their afternoon Lime Kiln visit. The orcas seem to be eating well! - Meg McDonald

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6:45 pm - At least 3 orcas along West Beach north of Hastie Lake (Whidbey Island). - Shirley Taft

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4:13pm - And they are talking again on Lime Kiln!! - Jean Karlsson

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11:15 - 11:48 - I can hear them now! I can hear them now! YAY! I have no idea what that sound was at 11:25 a.m. It sounded like a hideously high pitched fire alarm. I've never heard a boat sound like that before...but then my head isn't usually under water. It hurt MY ears. Can't imagine what it does to the whales. Plus, the squeals have awakened my cats - who are now sitting at my computer listening to the vocalizations, too. Funny! - Kim Merriman

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10:56 - 20 Killer Whales sighted today. We have most of J Pod in our waters. Including Granny the 103 year old. - Simon Pidcock

June 4
Ron Bates of Victoria's MMRG says the L12s left today. However, he had a fun report of the Humpback they call Big Mama, with a calf - the 4th or 5th calf she has shown up with over the past years. They were breaching and swimming 1 mile east of Seabird Pt. (the eastern end of Discovery Island, east of Victoria) at about 3:30 pm today.

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FINALLY! Got our up close encounter at Lime Kiln!!! They regrouped on the west side and passed by around 5:30. They were heading north still when we left them at the county park. - Rachel Haight

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2:43pm - I just heard them on Lime Kiln for the 1st time and that was the coolest thing ever!!!! YAYEEEEE MEE!!! - Jean Karlsson

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Larry set out to go fishing off Anacortes, but when the orcas arrived, he called me, picked me up at the dock and off we went. We spent about three hours with the orcas, including J34 Doublestuf, saw close to 10 breaches (none captured) and as we sat dead in the water (no motor), one swam right under our boat! - Eileen Eimermann

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2:17 - Right now, very faint calls. There is also something that sounds like tail lobbing or pec. slapping. - Kim Merriman

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1:12 - Just found some Bigg's Killer Whales off Zero Rock (NE of Victoria in Haro Strait). T36A's. We also got to see 20 resident killer whales. - Simon Pidcock

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12:13am - At least 3 orca are swimming in the Port Angeles harbor right now. Can see their blows and heard tail or fin slaps. Seeing the white water splash. they are 100 yards or so off the parked coho ferry. - Sandy Thompson Watne

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Bret Greenheck, of BLM in Newport, called in two reports of orcas at Yaquina Head. At 1:30 pm, he saw two orcas, an adult male and a female, about 100 yards off, heading north. At 2:30 he saw four orcas, one adult male, two females and a juvenile, about 10-20 feet from shore at some points, also heading north.

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Ron Bates of MMRG relayed a report of one male orca, at 4:30 pm, milling near Devil's Punch Bowl, OR, south of Depoe Bay, no direction of travel.

June 3
3 pm - Rusty Berta and Wendy Sines see a whale blow west of Mutiny Bay, Whidbey Island.

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4:30 - Today I was out at Norwegian Park, in Hansville, with my two little boys exploring and I KNOW I saw a large black animal with a fin swimming in the direction of Point No Point. It was very far out, about the center of the waterway. I watched for a good 15 minutes as it came up to the surface, went back down, came up, just moving about at its own pace with no real hurry or obvious playtime. Nothing at all like the harbor seals we have seen hanging about happily fishing. (too far out for the camera on my phone to get a decent shot). - Jessica Coffman

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5 pm - I saw a blow and a dark whale off Mutiny Bay. - Howard Garrett

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5 pm - Dave Anderson saw a whale off Mutiny Bay.

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Big Mama and her calf were moving north through Haro and entering Boundary Pass. These pics were taken north of Turn Point on Stuart Island. - Heather MacIntyre

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Today: 35 resident killer whales, 4 Bigg's killer whales, and a Big Momma the humpback with her new calf...all within 5ish miles of each other. Not bad Salish Sea, not bad. Never made it down to the residents, but it turned out to be the T137A show for us! Not once but TWICE he made a beeline for the boat from 100 yards away and appeared to inspect the hull. I'm presuming there must have been a harbour seal hiding under us. Wowza. I am SO FREAKING LUCKY and honoured (??? right word????) to see these things. - Tasli Shaw

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Probably my personal favorite shot from the "whale of an afternoon" on June 3rd. From front to back: J2 Granny, J37 Hy'Shqa, J49 Ti'lem I'nges, J36 Alki, and J16 Slick. Photo taken from shore at San Juan County Land Bank's Westside Preserve. - Monika Weiland, June 3, 2014.

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What an amazing blessing today was! Js and Ls off the westside just happy to be together. - Sara Hysong Shimazu

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Epic Orcas today off Lime Kiln State Park on San Juan Island! Members of J-pod and L-pod came within 100 feet of shore (some were MUCH closer than that even!) and swam back and forth several times. It was one of the most amazing Killer Whale encounters I've ever had. It is such an amazing thing, to see Killer Whales in the wild, and in a huge. - Chris Teren

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So if anyone wonders why I get up early, stay up late, freeze, starve, get drenched, run up hills, run down hills, run out of work, keep my bag packed at all times, or in general seem a little crazy....it's for the supreme honor of witnessing moments like this. Today the rest of J-Pod and the L12s (at least) joined in the fun. It was epic stuff on the west side this afternoon. I'm still basking in the afterglow of such an amazing encounter. - Monika Weiland

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4:25 - I quite simply haven't the words to describe today. Easily one of my best shore encounters ever with J pod and... L pod! That's right! Those little sneakers popped into the islands last night. Our day started bright and early...only it wasn't so bright this morning. Lots of fog, mist, and wind. After sitting on the west side of the island for three hours with nothing materializing, it was time to go to town and grab breakfast. Midway through the meal we get the report: lots and LOTS of orcas at Eagle Point northbound which then ensued the unhealthy shoving down of food and running for the door (we did remember to pay ). Upon reaching the west side at Land Bank we saw J2 Granny, J19 Shachi, J41 Eclipse, and J26 Mike meandering up the coastline. They looked as if they might come close into shore which then caused us to go huffing and puffing quickly up the hill to drive down to Lime Kiln Lighthouse. While scrambling down onto the rocks at the light, Granny came by with the other three, but instead of continuing north, they turned and went back south. OH NO! We made the wrong decision to leave Land Bank which turned quickly into regret and shaming ourselves for not being patient. BUT! That's when things began to change. As we looked to the south, we began to see more and more and MORE orcas rounding Edwards Point. They were in very tight, playful groups and they were so close to shore! Oh...if only they keep coming this way... And did they ever! They came in close at the lighthouse. They were practically at our feet as they socialized and frolicked in the silvery afternoon sun, adrenaline pounding through our systems like a happy wrecking ball, squeals of exuberance. - Katie Jones

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JPod, LPod, Humpbacks and T137s under sunny skys. Best day playing hookie from work. - Connie Bickerton

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1603 - Hearing some whistles again on Lime Kiln. - Vickie Doyle

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3:49 - Oh my gosh I don't even have words for the EPICNESS that happened at Lime Kiln this afternoon. One of the best shore encounters in my 8 years here. I had 15+ orcas 100ft off shore of me stall out at the surface. Video and pics coming.. Eventually when the shock wears off. - Traci Walter

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2:06pm - I am hearing a symphony of Whales on the Lime Kiln hydrophone right now. - John McKenzie

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2:02pm - Calls again on Lime Kiln! - Vickie Doyle

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12:39pm - J's on the Lime Kiln hydrophone! - Melisa Pinnow

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11:37 - Woohoo! L Pod has come n and joined up with J Pod. We now have over 50 of the 80 Southern Resident Orca in our waters. Let's get K Pod in and have a Superpod. Hope they hang around. - James Gresham

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11:31 - Over 50 Resident Killer Whales sighted this morning. J Pod and L Pod. Welcome back L Pod!! Bigg's Killer Whales also sighted this morning. - Simon Pidcock

June 2
10:27pm - Hearing vocalizations on Lime Kiln hydrophone 10:27 p.m.! Not sure who... - Susan Vennerholm

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10:02 - Orcasound.net. J Pod live at Lime Kiln. Beautiful calls. - James Gresham

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They were foraging up and down San Juan Island! So great to have them back!! The J22s were headed south, but they're feeding- they've been going up and down Island all day. When I saw them, they came from the south, headed past LK north, then turned around and went back south! - Heather MacIntyre

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9:56 - Amazing echoing calls on Lime Kiln. Seas so quiet, J pod calls reverberating, cavernous! Alisa Lemire Brooks

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Whale excitement today on the shore of Active Pass as 10 - 12 whales went quickly eastward around 6:30 pm. There were a few breaches and a couple of tail slaps. - Karoline Cullen

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9:15 - The whales turned south and passed Lime Kiln a little while ago. Still spread out over several miles. - Meg McDonald

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8:23 - Some echos, clicks and squeals on Lime Kiln, sound like they're coming closer! - Danielle Vance

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8:20 - Lots of whistling going on right now... - Dave Haas

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7:39 am - Orcas on the Orca sound hydro!!!!!! Love their squeeks!!! Eeekk. - Jamie Grundhauser

June 1
10:14 - I've been listening for about an hour now. Every time it gets quiet and I think they're done they start up again. So beautiful. - Tracy Graunstadt

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9:50 - Two hours of primarily echolocation and now conversations! Love J pod days. - Alisa Lemire Brooks

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9:49 - I can hear them finally. This is my first time hearing the squeals. - Barbara Clibbens

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9:49 - Loud and clear! - Susan Marie Andersson

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9:49 - Calls on orca sound! - Casey Fitzgerald

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9:45 pm - Great calls and clicks on Lime Kiln again. - Susan Berta

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Really excited to share this one with you all. What a spectacular sunset pass by J Pod last night. Lots of "dorcas" or "orcaholics" if you will, were in attendance. And no one really left until it was so dark, you could barely see. The clicks you hear in the video were live streamed by Lime Kiln's hydrophone that you can listen to with any wifi ready device. The hammering sounds, are echolocation they use to find fish. There is a special appearance by a River Otter as well that was playing in the kelp beds. - Traci Walter

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A great way to start Orca month (June) with Granny - J-2 - leading a large J-pod group by Henry Island. Many T's in the area on the west side of Orcas Island....whales all over....calm seas, sunny skies = paradise. - Jill Hein

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J2 "Granny" leading the way. Her great grandson J45 is behind her and great great grandson J49 is at the back. - Tasli Shaw

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Around 11:30 AM I watched the J22s and J14s head north close to shore past Lime Kiln Point State Park. I believe the rest of J-Pod that was present was already further north. At 3:30 PM I saw a very distant group of transients from Reuben Tarte State Park - heading from Presidents Channel towards Flat Top Island, then a bit later heading across and around the north end of Spieden Island. From 8:30 to 10:00 PM very, very spread out J-Pod whales headed south past Lime Kiln - at least the J14s and J16s were present. It got too dark before we could see if the rest of Js came down with them! - Monika Wieland, San Juan Island

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9:19 am - WHAT?? Two mornings in a row... LOVE this place!! J pod headed up island again! - Erin Corra

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About 8am - A fairly large (10+) pod of orcas travelling east to west past Iceberg Point (Lopez Is.) - very dispersed. - Tom Reeves

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T100C near Flat-Top Island, heading east. - Jill Hein

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5:40 - Stephanie Raymond called from the Victoria Clipper with four Transients off Partridge Point (west side of north-central Whidbey Island). She saw one adult male and three females or juveniles heading roughly NW.

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There were over 20 Bigg's Killer Whales and 16 Resident Killer Whales in our waters today. We decided to spend our time with the the northern groups of Bigg's with just a couple of other boats just south of Nanaimo. The whole time we were with them they alternated between eating Pacific Harbour Seals and socializing. The youngsters were packing seal carcasses with them and clearly very happy about it. - Simon Pidcock

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The first breach caught us all by surprise since T124A2 nearly hopped in the boat with us. - Andy Scheffler

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On the way to J Pod we saw a dinky little Minke at Salmon Bank yesterday. Look at the gulls for size perspective. - James Gresham