Month Whale Sightings

Click here for Map of Month Year whale sightings.

June 30
5 PM Trip with Captain Gary. Epic evening with J Pod and the K14's in the Strait of Georgia! Beautiful light, beautiful water and beautiful whales! -Photo by Gary Sutton, Ocean Ecoventures WW, June 30
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Well this certainly doesn't happen every day! The T49As headed right into Friday Harbor tonight as we headed home from our evening trip. -Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, June 30
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Day report: On June 30th we got to see many different transient orcas. We met them near Salmon Bank at around 11am. The first whales we saw were the T37As and T36Bs who were joined by T51. They passed very closely to Whale Rocks alerting the one steller sea lion on the rock. Another group of orcas in the distance were the first to enter Cattle Pass against the ebb which included the T99s and maybe some others. All orcas travelled into Upright Channel. We witnessed a predation event near the entrance to East Sound on Orcas Island with the 37As and 36Bs. The others were on the other side of East Sound about 2 miles distant near Peavine Pass. Shortly after they joined together and headed along the west side of Blakely Island and through Thatcher Pass about 6:30pm. Earlier in the day the T49As were reported near Beaumont Shoal. They also came through Cattle Pass and we caught up with them at 8pm near Turn Island. Many long dives - they zig zagged their way right into Friday Harbor. They appeared to be milling/maybe hunting in the middle of the harbor. They took the pass behind Brown Island and into Shipyard Cove where they were milling for quite awhile in the far back of the cove. T37A with youngest calf who has an interesting dorsal fin. -Barbara and David Howitt, All Aboard Sailing
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3:55 p.m. - Marie of WS Ferries relayed a report from the ferry Elwha of at least five orcas in Upright Channel, between Lopez and Shaw islands, heading NW, and that the captain is hearing there are three groups along the channel.
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Saw these beauties at the south end of Lopez island today. I believe T37As and T51. This was about 1:30 in the afternoon. They were definitely hunting. They were circling and going from small island to island looking for seals. They started off in the channel between San Juan island and Lopez island then heading east along the south end of Lopez island. They reached the end of Lopez island and turned around to retrace their route. -Danielle Pennington
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SO MANY transients in the area, was hard to keep track of who was where. We found the T37As and T36 in the morning out at Hein Bank, heading E/NE, while the 49As were over by Victoria. T51 was also out in the Strait at this time, as we could see him to the north. Then we heard reports of the 99's, 36As and Bs too!! The 37As were traveling with T36 at a moderate pace in a tight group when we found them, but later split up as they started to hunt. Most are zoomed and cropped but we did have several close surfacings. T37A3, T37A, T36 and T37A2. Matriarch, 37A and 37A4, sustained an injury to the dorsal at some point last year. -Renee Beitzel
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Seen south of Lopez Island around 11:30am today. Appeared to be hunting at times spread out. There were about 4 total. Heading southeast but changing direction a lot. I was on the Chilkat...-Photo by Karen Sziel, June 30
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T65A2 in Boundary Pass this afternoon. -Photo by Katie Jones, June 30
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12 PM Trip with Captain Gary. T065A's and T075B's again today! They have been hanging out the area for quite a while now. We had them travelling down Swanson channel towards the San Juan Islands. -Gary Sutton
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12:45 p.m. - The M/Y Alchemy is reporting Orcas traveling along side their ship, same direction Southbound heading, (map indicates mid channel between south Salt Spring and North Pender Islands). -Christopher Joyce, Sea Shepherd, June 30
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11:31 a.m. - Just sighted inside Strait of Georgia off Galiano Island heading south. (in Trincomali Channel, SW side of Galiano) We saw at least 3. They went in opposite direction so they were farther away... Orcas were fast though heading south. -Petra Schindler-Carter
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Approx 430pm: Humpback NW, off Dash Point mid water between there and Vashon Island. It was headed north surfacing several times before I was able to get my phone out. Video show it turning south towards Commencement Bay. Thank you for what you do! -Ed Rodriguez
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10:58 a.m. - Humpback Whale sighting circling around Quartermaster harbor. Heading South, towards Commencement bay/point defiance. -Angie Mader
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8:00 a.m. - Whale in inner Quartermaster Harbor. Spotted a small (30') possible Fin whale (was humpback - ALB) cruising around the Burton Peninsula in Quarermaster Harbor at 8 a.m. June 30th. Feeding or traveling. -Joe Wald
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June 30 - 7:00 p.m. - Quartermaster / Vashon. A single humpback whale was sighted near the southern side of the entrance Quartermaster Harbor at 7PM. Multiple sightings of small dorsal fin and one sighting of a (very large) fluke. Whale started in southerly direction and turned NE before diving. Viewed from 38' ketch - S/V Elsa. Three witnesses on board. -Michael Johnson
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Dall's porpoise - June 30 - 11:00 a.m. - Larry Liedtke came into the Whale Museum and mentioned (and filmed) 15-20 Dall's porpoises swimming next to his sailboat. Playing and traveling. He said he was about four miles west of Cattle Point. He said the porpoises stayed with him for about two miles, and I believe he said they were all traveling north. -Report sent by Stephanie Lawrence

June 29
A lovely perspective of a lovely being. One of the members of the Southern residents during an encounter w/Js, L87, & K14s off Salmon Bank. -Photo by Bonnie Gretz, June 29
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Sunset whales on the west side this evening, here's J31 Tsuchi. After coming down from the Fraser River this morning. J-Pod and the K14s went north again just before dark. -Photo by Monika Wieland Shields, June 29
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This is J51 "Nova" breaching in Open Bay at sunset. Mako (J39) and Shachi (J19). -Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, June 29
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7:44 p.m. - tuned into Lime Kiln hydrophone and was hearing echolocation under boat noise. A few minutes later started hearing calls and watched few whales pass northbound on the webcam. By 8:15pm a few more on the webcam. For the next hour listened in heard mostly S1 calls, with some whistles, and a lot of echolocation. At 8:40pm I switched over to Orca Sound for a few minutes heard faint calls, one of which was same descending call as first heard on Lime Kiln when I tuned in at 7:44pm. Back on Lime Kiln at 8:44pm there was a repeating S2 call. Back on OS at 8:55 heard quite a few calls from both Js & Ks. Through out this time on both hydrophones heard S1, S2, S6, and K calls. At 9:22 pm there were still audible vocals on Lime Kiln. Later on Orca Sound heard an array of calls: S1, S3, S10s, S16 and S17s and echolocation. At 10:05pm I made note of really nice loud vocals on OS in mostly quiet seas and have phone recordings time stamped at 10:10pm, I stopped listening just after that. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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June 29: On a gorgeous summer day, we caught up with the leaders of the Southern Resident group around Salmon Bank. They were actively fishing, with many turns and erratic surfacing. We had wonderful looks at big male K26 Lobo, his mom K14 Lea, as well as some of J pod, including one of the calves born in 2015. And the end of our time with them, a large group started surfacing together in the brilliant sunshine, which was absolutely beautiful! -Bonnie Gretz, volunteer naturalist.
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Had such a great day today on the water with an approach and close pass by the J19's and J22's! J16's were out there too along with the K14's...and finally got to see my fave, K26 Lobo pictured here as they headed down island, SJI. -Photo by Renee Beitzel, June 29
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We had a quick look at a humpback whale who was heading down San Juan Channel and out through Cattle Pass on June 29, 2017 around noon. We also saw the Residents-many J's, K14's, and L87 when they were returning from Salmon Bank and heading up the west side of San Juan Island spread in many loose groups. J38 was very active when the Residents all flipped to head south as they approached Lime Kiln Point State Park...tail slapping, a half breach, multiple spy hops while slapping his pec fins on the water. -Barbara and David Howitt, All Aboard Sailing
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T065A2 on the north side of Spieden Island on the afternoon of June 29. -Photo by Mark Malleson
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June 29 - San Juan Channel - a humpback just outside Friday Harbor this morning at approximately 11:30am, heading approximately NE/SE towards Turn Island state park by about 11:45am. -Heather Pereira
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11:30 a.m. - Mike at WS Ferries reports a humpback just outside Friday Harbor marina, heading east in San Juan Channel.
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June 29 - Puget Sound - 7:00 p.m. - We ended our day with BCX1251 "Orion" feeding and cartwheeling close to home...just south of Possession Pt right now. Feeding. No real direction. -Renee Beitzel
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5:20 p.m. - Humpback off President Point, south of Kingston, mid channel. -Joanne Graves
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1:03 p.m. - Humback and her calf feeding in the tide line between the Indianola Bluffs and Hidden Cove. -Cher Greenlaw
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10:39 a.m. - Humpback spotted right here (pin drop just NW of Meadow Point/Golden Gardens) milling about, trending Northeast. -Ben Blankenship
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10:25 a.m. - Humpback northbound about 1000 ft SW of Alki Lighthouse. -Jim McDermott
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9:50 a.m. - Solitary humpback seen about 200 yds off the 5900 block of Beach Drive in West Seattle heading slowly north @ about 2-3 knots. -Peter Tutak
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7:00 a.m - We could hear a whale again this morning. Heading north from Olalla. Claudia Olsen
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Common dolphins - June 29 - 1:30 Thursday. Common dolphins off Point Robinson at Lighthouse, Vashon. (cell phone video posted to Facebook showed approx. 4 dolphins - ALB) -Tracie Jenkins

June 28
12PM Trip with Captain Gary. J Pod!! J17 "Princess Angeline" spyhopping beside, her daughter, J53 "Kiki". They were right around the mouth of the Fraser River. We had some rough conditions initially but things calmed down and we got some great socializing between them. -Gary Sutton, Ocean Ecoventures WW
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A Gorgeous evening with the T65As and the T77Bs in Boundary Pass. That is Point Disney on Waldron Island in the background! Photo by Traci Walter, June 28
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Humpback whales - Central/South Puget Sound - 9:00 p.m. - Several reports of likely humpback off South east shore of Vashon-Maury island. Trending north but they often shuffle here. -Amy Carey
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10:59 a.m. - Humpback from Bainbridge ferry by Blakely Harbor heading south. -Dave Giff
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June 28 - North Puget Sound - 6:45 pm. - There has been a whale past 24 hrs (assuming it stayed after our moonlit watching it and now see it today 6:45pm outside off 186th & Sound View Place, Edmonds. Maybe humpback. -Anaisa Gerbig
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12:05 p.m. - for last hour humpback(s) has been milling/foraging continuously, northbound southbound in same general area. Surface of 4-5 times for about a minute before sounding/fluking for a few. Healthy blows, all only visible with binoculars. From Ocean Ave in Edmonds sight line primarily mid Double Bluff, Whidbey. Probably 2 whales based on times but too far to confirm and have not seen them surface together. Seas choppy, sky clear with some incoming marine air resulting in some haze further west, mild wind.
11:03 a.m. - spotted blows, then gorgeous all-white pec fin waving high in the air, then a pec slap, then deep dive showing fluke. At least 3 miles west of north Edmonds and 3 miles south of Possession Point. Boat obscured view so not sure if diving whale was same as Pec waver or 2nd whale. -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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10:25 a.m. - 2 breaching humpback whales at Possession Bar 15 minutes ago! Orion (BCX1251) was one of them. We just left the scene. -Bart Rulon, Chilkat
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6:53 a.m. - Humpback seen South of Kingston Edmonds ferry crossing; video in about 40 minutes. -Doug Hayman
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6:13 a.m. - Whale north of Edmonds ferry that I could see from the Sounder. Could not pinpoint type with the train flying by. If I had to guess it was a Humpback. -Kevin H Doar
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12:14 p.m. - Minke whale northbound just adjacent to Partridge Point. I'm not on Chilkat just hiking at Ebeys Landing. -Renee Beitzel
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June 28 - Maury/Vashon - There were several sightings of a whale between Glacier and Maury Marine Park. A group of us watched it from 8:30 pm to a little after 9 p.m.. It came astonishingly close to shore on the west side of that passage. Maybe 50 feet from the water's edge? We watched as it migrated slightly north and then east further toward to middle of the passage. It was surfacing, blowing, etc. It was stunningly huge and loud. So unexpected and utterly amazing! -Barbara Weber
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June 28 - central Puget Sound Humpback (reported as: or possible fin) whale sighting June 28 Meadow Point at approximately 7:30 pm, we noticed a large whale surface about 150 ft from our boat. The whale was larger than whales I have seen in the area in the past. We were initially thinking it was a humpback, but the size of the whale, and the fact that in three separate dives it did not fluke, has me wondering if it was in fact a fin whale. Traveling, we saw three dives, ten spouts, no flukes or fin slaps. (confirmed humpback, see report below) -Jason Christensen
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7:10 p.m. - Humpback whale, mid channel between Meadow Point (Golden Gardens, North Seattle) and North tip of Bainbridge. -Photo by Gary Peterson, June 28
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June 28 - Here are some photos from an experience we had with two humpback whales at the south end of Possession Bar on Chilkat Express, the morning of June 28. It was BCX1251, Orion, with another whale that I didn't see the flukes well enough to identify. The two whales breached multiple times in a row, and we even saw several cartwheels that appeared to be aggressive in nature between the whales, with one whale almost landing on top of the other!! BCZ0180, Monarch, doing a cartwheel north of Romeo Buoy on the morning of June 28 -Bart Rulon, Naturalist Puget Sound Express

June 27
T123C in Race Pass on the afternoon of June 27th. T123C grasping a harbour seal by the hind flippers in Oak Bay on the morning of June 27. -Photo by Mark Malleson
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June 27 - North Puget Sound - The familiar sound of a Humpback full breach. 10:30 pm, Mutiny Bay. -Heather Nicholson
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8:30 - 9:25 p.m. - I moved to Haines Wharf, north Edmonds and spotted both whales close together first just about 1/4 mile offshore. They continued to circle around anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 mile offshore milling, foraging around together in the waning light. Regular surface patterns with directional changes, sounding showing flukes each time. Gorgeous afternoon into evening. That's where I leave them.
7:00- 8:15 p.m. - Both whales were staying around west side of Possession Bar, and now both have made their way east. One last seen SE of Possession Point, the other is currently 1/4 mile off shore from probably around Haines Wharf, north Edmonds diving in super calm seas.
6:52 p.m. - whale 2 moved on NE. S/he is just out here milling in wide area, quite lazily. Little fishes jumping everywhere!
6:45 p.m. - different whale surfacing further west south of Cultus Bay. Maybe first whale I was watching. #2 (closer to Edmonds whale) is sightline towards Possession Point but well southeast of more on Edmonds side of channel just logging/resting.
6:13 p.m. - nice series of surfacing then subtle dive, showing fluke. Directionally westbound. (close in whale)
6:00 p.m. - 2nd whale much closer to Edmonds. North end maybe 1/2-1 mile offshore, currently southbound.
5:45 p.m. - humpback just woke up and went on slow dive in NW bound direction.
5:40 p.m. - I'm seriously observing a sleeping giant. This humpback is just drifting north in flat calm seas, taking a breath every so often. Harbor porpoise all around, osprey above...feels like a little fairy tale. So sweet. Hope he's full of some energy when he awakes.
5:20 p.m. - finally spotted who might be Orion. From north Edmonds sight line Point No Point closer to Edmonds maybe 2 miles offshore. Just logging, sleepy looking whale. Seas glassy calm, blue sky, warm temps. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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5:09 p.m. - Humpback whale spotted from the Edmonds/Kingston ferry (4:40 run), north of ferry lanes, mid-channel. Slow moving, rolling behavior, lots of pectoral slaps. -Martha Carlstead
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4:12 p.m. - Humpback BCX1251 Orion just northwest of Edmonds now swimming around in circles, but at the surface a lot. Another humpback just west of Richmond Beach/Edmonds (long down times on this one) From Chilkat Express. -Bart Rulon, Naturalist
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June 27 - Central Puget Sound - 2:45 p.m. - While hoping to get a glance of this whale, we went to Olalla. On Vashon side, I saw a dorsal fin twice, heading North in Colvos. It disappeared after that. My assumption was of a humpback. -Danielle Clark
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Report from WA State Ferries from 9:05 this morning of a humpback in the vicinity of Blakely Rock (SE Bainbridge Island), heading south in the south-bound traffic lane.
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Surprise of the day a reported humpack that turned out to be a gray whale! San Juan Channel moving south through Cattle Pass and then out in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. -Report & photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, June 27
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Beautiful late afternoon encounter with a young Humpback whale out at Hein Bank on June 27 -Photo by Traci Walter

June 26
J47, K26, K36, J45, J35, J39, K14, and K42! Beautiful northbound pass at Lime Kiln Lighthouse shortly after 2:00 p.m. - Photo by Robyn Cartwright, June 25
(IDs by Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research)
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Southern Residents - J16 passing by kayakers on the west side of San Juan Island on the afternoon of June 26th. -Photo by Mark Malleson, 2017
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2:20 p.m. - Northbound... Really close at Land Bank. Majority at Lime Kiln. Social, resting behavior...dorsal slap? 5 off Deadman's Bay. -Cher Renke
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2:23 p.m - All north of Land Bank now.
12:30 p.m. - 3 northbound at Land Bank now, very spread and continuing north.
12:25 p.m. - Seeing some blows at Edwards Pt but not north of there as J-Pod and the K14s made their way north. -Monika Wieland Shields
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This is L87 Onyx, J35 Tahlequah, and J47 Notch. It was a bit rolly out there on the water yesterday, but J pod and the K14's were still here! Hopefully, that is a positive sign that there are salmon here for them. A few more Chinook being counted at the Fraser River, so that's also a better sign in the short term. Time will tell how long these guys stay in our inland waters and if other Southern Resident Killer Whale pods come into the area. -Report & photo by Traci Walter, June 26
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June 26 - North Puget Sound - 8:00 p.m. - One large humpback seen in the south end of Brown's Bay in Edmonds. Appeared to be feeding. Been watching in front of the house for over an hour. -Barbara Bosse
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8:00 p.m. - Single Gray Whale (I think) (humpback, see other reports - ALB). Sighted 3 miles north of Edmonds ferry dock. 1/2 mile off shore heading south. Turned WSW followed about 10-15 minutes. -Robert Zwiebel
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6:26 p.m. - Chilkat with Orion again right now directly offshore of Picnic Point. Feeding, lots of fluking. He's feeding so doing his thing. Staying in the same area but a lot of directional changes as he's chasing fish.
9:56 a.m. - BCX1251 Orion is 2 miles south of Indian Point/Posession. -Renee Beitzel
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June 26 - Colvos Passage - 8:37 a.m. - We just saw a humpback whale close to Al's in Olalla. Just one. He breached and slapped his tail...Yes, saw the fin. Swimming in circles, enjoying himself...And we could hear him breathing. Impressive sight! Sorry, no photo. -Claudia Olsen
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June 26 - Puget Sound - Love this guy's big flukes! BCX1251 Orion - Puget Sound, just north of Edmonds. -Photo by Renee Beitzel, June 26

June 25
4:00 p.m - from the shores of San Juan Island - that's J16 Slick with J50 Scarlet and J36 Alki with J52 Sonic. It's been a pretty epic day. -Photo by Monika Wieland Shields, June 25, 2017
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Couldn't have asked for a better day to see J & K pods off of the west side of San Juan Island. -Photo by Melanie Pullman, June 25
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Southbound SRKWs pass humans perched on the rocks at Lime Kiln Lighthouse. K26 Lobo southbound off the west side of San Juan Island this afternoon. J27 Blackberry - Haro Strait off San Juan Island -Photo by James Gresham, June 25
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3:30 pm - Been listening to calls on OrcaSound hydrophone for a while.
2:17 p.m. - Looked like some real nice close passes at the light via webcam.
2:02 p.m. - loud echolocation and some calls on Lime Kiln hydrophone. Boats coming into view on the webcam. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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"That is K42 looking handsome!" Late morning southbound pass at Lime Kiln State Park. -Photo by Robyn Cartwright, June 25
(ID by Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research)
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The beloved J46 Star passing Lime Kiln southbound with the rest of her clan. Sadly this is her first summer without her mom J28 Polaris who died last year. Her younger brother J54 who was not old enough to eat on his own also died. J46 did her best to keep him alive in the days after their momma passed. It is good to see her. -Photo by Robyn Cartwright, June 25
(ID by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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Gorgeous early morning with Jpod and the K14's!. An early start to the morning because J pod and the K14's were coming past Lime Kiln State Park! A gorgeous calm morning out there! These guys were going against a very strong ebb tide. I hope these guys continue to find Chinook Salmon. Counts at the Fraser River haven't been very good. So much work needs to be done to restore the salmon runs in the Salish Sea. Everyone needs to commit to major actions for the salmon or we will loose this precious community of Killer Whales, the Southern Residents. -Video by Traci Walter, June 25
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The Js and K14s did a good old fashioned Westside Shuffle, passing the westside of San Juan Island 4 times throughout the day. Here's a shot from their first trip north in the early morning as J26 Mike did a half breach in front of the Olympic Mountains. -Report & photo by Monika Wieland Shields, June 25, 2017
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10:15 a.m. - lots of action on the web cam. People on the north side are missing some of the action on the south side of the lighthouse. -Kim Merriman
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9:38 a.m. - Welcome back J & K pod! Great way to start the day, listening to them & seeing them on the web cam while drinking my morning cup of coffee. -Jacqueline Slaughter.
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8:50 a.m. - hearing a few intermittent calls. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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8:34 a.m. - Wow! Loads of hydrophone action at Lime Kiln and a few dorsal a spotted on the webcam!! All quiet again now. Sounded like a herd of cattle. -Hannah Tarr
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June 25 - Sunshine Coast, BC - 5:45 p.m. - Orcas off Wilson Creek, south of Davis Bay, Salish Sea, south of Sechelt. Saw two orcas approx 250 yds. offshore at 5:45 this evening. Off Wilson Creek heading slowly south/south-east. One with very large dorsal fin and one considerably smaller. Possibly 1 male or large adult and one much smaller. -Mike Steel
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June 25 - While out of Neah Bay, we had an encounter with a small Orca pod. There were 5 total. They were heading out west, turned back around then headed back out west out of the straits. The encounter happened in the morning around 8 or 9 am. We where excited to get the chance to see this beautiful pod of Transients...These photos were taken with my zoom lens and we were in the safe zone for most the encounter until they decided to change directions.. By the time we realized what they did, it was too late to start our motor and move away from them. -Sandra Watne
(Many photos were forwarded to the Center for Whale Research (CWR) and ID'd as the T73As by Dave Ellifrit. Photo below ID'd by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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June 25 - Juan de Fuca - Saw five orcas including one male, from a ww boat west of Dungeness Spit, heading west in the Strait of Juan de Fuca from 3:54 to 4:52PM. -Carol Derusha
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Saw them (T65As) at Diamond Point on Discovery Bay. We noticed that the harbor seals were huddling together about 10 feet off shore for about an hour. -Photo by Brad Chrisman, June 25
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2:45 p.m. - Finally caught up with the orcas in Discovery Bay. We watched them for about an hour from Gardiner Beach road, they were on the Port Townsend side of bay, so no specifics other than they were headed out and there was at least one adult male and 3 or 4 others in the group. A beautiful day for sure though! -Susan Marie-Andersson
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2:20 p.m. - Beckett Point in Discovery Bay now. Heading out. It looked like west a bit. Around what ever island is that way. -Corinne Jones
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12:45 p.m. - At least two calves playing and breeching. Two adults maybe more. Incredible sight to see here in Discovery Bay... Just watched them in front of the condos at the Worldmark Resort. (On the 101 side of Discovery Bay. If you go past Snug Harbor Cafe heading toward Sequim on 101, it wouldbe the second right). -Jeff Heistand
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11:35 a.m. - My friend who lives at Beckett Point in Discovery Bay said they were heading inland, so there's another chance to see them as they head back out! -Amy Johnson
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10:25 a.m. - Orca Sighting. 5 seen in Discovery Bay off Beckett Point in Discovery Bay. Feeding. 48o004'37" 122o53'20W Rhoda O'Dell
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Hi we were at Beckett Point in Discovery Bay today at about 10am, very low tide, where we had the pleasure of watching five (we think) orca feeding for about half an hour. Four adults and a juvenile. Amazing because they were so close, sometimes not ten feet from where we were standing! (T65As - Photos below) -Michelle Riggen-Ranson
(ID by Alisa, ON, confirmed by Sara Hysong-Shimazu)
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June 25 - Juan de Fuca - ...then saw two humpbacks, Divot and Heather, off Port Angeles until 5:31PM. -Carol Derusha
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Admiralty Inlet - Watching the humpback lunge feeding in Mutiny Bay, Whidbey Island southeast side of mutiny bay off limpet lane from 8:45 until 9:30 pm and at times close to shore..-Report & photo by Marilyn Armbruster, June 25
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8:25 p.m. - Spotted multiple blows off Double Bluff at entrance to Mutiny Bay. Tail seen, appears to be a humpback. -Martha Carlstead
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7:44 p.m. - a series of humpback blows and a fluke with white tips, between Skunk Bay and Mutiny Bay, still heading south at a pretty good clip, seen by Susan Berta, Orca Network
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7:25 p.m. - Three successive blasts of humpback breath blew out of Admiralty Inlet heading south in mid-channel between Mutiny Bay and Foulweather Bluff. -Howard Garrett, Orca Network
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2:35 p.m. - Sightiing, single whale...Bush Point, VERY close to shore, was North Bound, now South Bound. -Report & photo by Marlene Naughton, June 25
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Jan Bell reports a Humpback off Bush Pt, SW Whidbey Island, from 12:55 to 1:10 pm, hanging out closer to Whidbey side.
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Humpback in Manchester this evening...-Photo by Noelle Morris, June 25, 2017
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8:23 p.m. - Pod of gray whales (probably humpbacks) off of Murden Cove on Bainbridge Island. -Jill Cody
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7:45 p.m. - Just saw a humpback milling around in front of North Beach just west of Carkeek. South of the buoy. -Robin Reinhart Harnish
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Around 1:30pm - Close up and personal in Manchester! A pod of humpbacks! There were 4 that I could see, and one baby. -Jackie Magee Miller
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11:00 a.m. - Humpback whale sighting. Out in my boat by Carkeek Park just north of Shilshole Marina on Sunday 6/25/17. Sighted a young humpback feeding. Stuck around for about 60 minutes and continued to blow air and dive every few minutes exposing the tail. It was a wonderful experience. -Tom Donahue
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10:15 a.m - Saw something from the Bremerton ferry around 1015. We saw a tail, so it may actually have been a humpback (reported as orca). It looked as though it was heading south. -Kristen Sanborn

June 24
Here's a shot taken on Saturday evening when the Js, L87 and K14s swept past Sooke Bluffs in the fading light, on their way into the Salish Sea. That's Lobo (K26) on the inside! -Report & photo by Val Shore, June 24
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With the of help our local land based sighting network - Sooke Whale Spotting, we had reports of orca coming east past Otter Point. We were excited to welcome some of Southern Resident Killer Whales feeding hard on salmon with huge bait balls bubbling everywhere around Sooke this evening. -Paul Pudwell
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Alaskan Transients - June 24 - Kenai Fjords Sightings: AT126-127 and 129, Also AK pod of 4. IDs by Katie Dunbar, naturalist on board. -Al Lunemann, Coupeville, WI
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June 24 - Juan de Fuca - Traveling on the 7:30 PM sailing of the ferry Coho from Victoria to Port Angeles yesterday (6.24.17) saw two humpbacks and a Minke. Closer to the WA side for sure but sadly I don't have an exact point. -Rani Hunter
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Well, it sure has been humpback heaven lately. Sorry but I've got more breaching humpbacks for you, only this time from the Strait of Juan de Fuca including one of our favorite whales. On June 24, Chilkat Express was on scene with a lone humpback just north of Dungeness Spit when we looked off to the west and saw multiple breaches from other humpback whales about 3 miles away. We didn't waste any time cruising over to take a look, and the breaching continued as we got closer. When we arrived I realized that we had BCX1068, Split Fluke, traveling with a new calf!! The calf was breaching over and over again, and mom was breaching about once for every breach from her calf. Intermixed with the breaches they would slap their pectoral fins on the surface over and over again, until one, or both of them would arch their backs, raise their tail flukes and dive down deeper only to come flying out of the water within a few seconds! Incredibly exciting!! We must have seen at least 50 breaches, if not more, from the time we first spotted them. All the breach photos I attached are from the calf, but I do have one photo with the pectoral fins in the air from both animals! It was hard to choose what photos to send because there were so many of them!! -Bart Rulon, Naturalist Chilkat Express
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June 24 - Haro Strait - Approx. 6:50 p.m. - Humpback with calf passed by Lime Kiln heading north. -Robyn Cartwright
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June 24 - Admiralty Inlet/Mutiny Bay - 8:11 p.m. - Whale sighting ("humpback?) 5-10 minutes ago on southern end of Mutiny Bay. Looked like it was feeding because it was swimming in circles w/blows -not sure what direction it went. -Jana De Long Raasch
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8:05 p.m. - Humpback spotted south Mutiny Bay headed towards Double Bluff. Exciting! -Jeanne Schindler
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June 24 - Central Puget Sound - Humpback in central Puget Sound. Evening of Sat 24th June. Approx 6:50PM to 7:20PM we watched a single Humpback a few hundred yards North of VTS Yellow buoy "SG" (Between West Point and Skiff Point on Bainbridge.) Many fluke slams, lots of fluke waving. Numerous vocalizations. Some dives, but whale was at surface about 50% of the time. We were sailing on a course that took us as close as about 1/4 mile. We slowed the boat and when a bit upwind hove to about 400 yds away. Distance decreased to perhaps 300 yds over 15 mins. Whale then moved closer to Skiff Point and estimated 1/2 mile from us. Sailing charter so I was busy occupied with boat handling, guest safety, etc. Got no photos except distant water disturbances. -Andy Huntley
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2:00 p.m. - Small humpback less than 1 mile off Fay Bainbridge, slowly heading south. -Brenna Sowder
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10:30 a.m. - Multiple blows and what looked like a large fluke seen from the Bainbridge > Seattle ferry between Wing Point and West Point. Appeared to be headed north. -James Rufo-Hill

June 23
East Juan de Fuca - 9:30 p.m. - 4 or 5 orcas heading northwest off central Whidbey's west side at Sierra. -Kathy Rafferty
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We saw some T65A s from a boat near Sucia Island maybe an hour or two after this (so approx 2:30-3:30) It looked looked like they were hunting and we saw a few flukes and bellies. -Kelli Michelle
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Lovely day with the T65As Biggs orcas on Friday just on the east side of Lummi Island! Plus at least 6 eagles. Lots of breaching! -Photo by Bonnie Gretz, Naturalist, Mystic Sea, June 23, 2017
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Approx 1:30 p.m. - 5-6 Orca going in circle off NW side of Lummi Island...We watched from the island for 30 min. And they where still there with about 4 whale watching boats. Locals call the location Seal Rock. And yes there were seals on the rock. -Marcia Bakkom
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June 23 - Juan de Fuca - 4:27 p.m. - 2 sets of 2 feeding and playful humpbacks 7 miles off Port Angeles past couple hours. Near Rocky pile. ID on Split Fin! -Aletha McGee
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"Split Fin" and others at the "Rock Pile" on the morning of June 23rd. -Photo by Mark Malleson, 2017
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June 23 - Possession Sound - 10:48 p.m. - Humpback Whale heard and sighted off Glendale. Heading south towards Possession Point. - Kari Hepworth
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Friday June 23rd @ 9pm mid channel while out sailing we spotted this one out mingling and feeding between Kingston and Meadow Point. Around 8:45 pm - Left side dorsal of the humpback in same area. -Report & photo by Gary Peterson, June 23
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9:30 a.m. - Lone humpback between Pt. Jefferson & President Point Kingston heading north at a good clip. Long distances between surfacing, it was nice and close in. 9:30 AM Friday 6/23. -Chris Beamer Otterson
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June 23 - Central Puget Sound - 8:30 p.m. - Couple of whales north of Blake Island. Not orcas. Seem to be slowly moving north. -Ron Smith
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7:00 p.m. - Humpback north bound Colvos Passage at 1900 passing north end Vashon now..It is in cruise mode! -Tim Ferris
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9:09 a.m. - Humpback (or gray) in/just north of Bainbridge ferry lanes pointed NE. -Andrew Mason Greager

June 22
J pod was outside Tofino today. Nearly 9 miles off shore. Happy to report they ate a lot of fish. They left a trail of scraps for miles. Looks like they're heading down to the coast back home. -Report & photo by Shaun Parniak, June 22
("kinda funny that the proof photo of J pod off Tofino is L87!" - Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research)
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June 22 - Depature Bay, BC - 8:00 p.m. - There was a pod of 3 orcas in Departure Bay (Nanaimo). They did one quick loop and then returned to the channel. I'd say they were in the bay for 5-10 minutes. They appeared to be feeding. They did one small counter-clockwise loop of Departure Bay, then left. -Dan McIver
("These are the T46Bs" ID by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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Hood Canal Humpback! 10:41 am - While waiting for bridge opening on bridge saw humpback breach several times on Northside of bridge. Headed north. Just now another breach. -Ken Shawcroft

June 21
It was a beautiful night out on the water. Great passengers, great whales. Can't beat that. T77s and T75Bs over in the Strait of Georgia. -Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, June 21
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T77's with 75Bs were the Ts going through Deception Pass. -Renee Beitzel
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12:10 am - They appear to be feeding off of south western tip of Allan island.
11:55 am - Orcas traveling north between Biz Point and Allan Island. Too far away to ID count. Several whale watching boats viewing at reasonable distance. -Ann Hazen
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11:30 a.m. - the Transients made it under the bridge against the currents and headed west. -Reported by Sammy Kempbell from Rosario Beach.
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11:00 a.m. - 5-6 Transients/Bigg's whales are fighting strong currents under the Deception Pass bridge to head west out of Saratoga Passage. They are currently still east of the bridge and have made several tries and been washed back. Reported by Stephanie Raymond aboard the Victoria Clipper.
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June 21 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - 8:00 a.m. - Orca Pod (5-7) off NAS Whidbey Island. My office had the delight of seeing Orcas this morning. They appeared to be feeding. They were in the same general area for about 15 minutes. Looked like they were headed mostly west until we couldn't see them anymore. -Sandy Mattingly
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Humpback off Mutiny Bay. Sandra Pollard reports seeing a humpback off Mutiny Sands boat launch at 11:12AM, about 200 yards out, heading south. Surprise, surprise...Could hardly believe my eyes this morning walking along the beach at Mutiny Bay when a humpback surfaced alongside no more than 200 yards from shore. -Report & photo by Sandra Pollard
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8:00 a.m. - a report from WS Ferries of "3 gray whales one mile north of Mukilteo ferry lane, heading north." No further details. (It seems unlikely that there would be 3 grays in Possession Sound right now, and they were a mile away, so possibly they saw blows of orcas or humpbacks? - HG)

June 20
Strait of Georgia - A little patience pays off sometimes when watching whales. We were with 2 Humpback whales in the Strait of Georgia this morning. They were cruising along zigging and zagging and occasionally showing their flukes. On the last surfacing we stayed to watch these two, suddenly out of nowhere they each did a cartwheel throwing their massive flukes in the air! What a sight to see!! This is "Heather" BCY0160. -Report by Western Prince. Photo by Traci Walter, Naturalist, June 20
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North Puget Sound & Admiralty Inlet - 10:23 a.m - Juvenile humpback feeding in Useless Bay, Whidbey right now. -Renee Beitzel
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9:11 a.m. - There is a humpback just north of the Edmonds/Kingston ferry lanes, east of the traffic lanes. Moving N slowly. We believe it is a juvenile. It was 1.6 NM W of Edwards Pt. -James Greenway
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June 20 - Central Puget Sound - At 6:05am this morning I saw a spout of possibly a humpback just off the South end of Blake Island heading West. Humpback or Gray? -Melinda Holliday
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10:23 a.m. - Juvenile humpback feeding in Useless Bay right now. -Report & photo by Renee Beitzel, June 20

June 19
Bigg's killer whales/Transients - T046D and T073A in the Juan de Fuca Strait on June 19th. T046 and T046F west bound south of Sheringham Pt. on the morning of June 19th. -Photo by Mark Malleson, 2017
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Admiralty Inlet - Glorious sunset with single Humpback heading south past Bush Point at 9:15pm, mid-channel of buoy's east side. We kept watching until 9:35pm. Last saw it just south of Bush Point, then did not see it again. Unfortunately, can't say of it continued southward, or not...? -Anna & Pip
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9:15 p.m. - Single Humpback Heading South in Admiralty Inlet, past Bush Point. -Anna Sing Deo
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June 19 - South Puget Sound - 11:40 a.m. - Johnson Pt. Heard the blow then looked and saw a humpback. My husband thought he saw two, one being smaller. They dove under and haven't resurfaced within our view. Wish I could give a direction of travel but I don't have enough information. -Joan Ahre
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Gray (or unconfirmed) whales - (categorizing as gray since reported as gray and further details provided sounds plausible based on description. Leaving open possibility it is one of the humpbacks who has been confirmed feeding int he bay - ALB) At approximately 930PM, Monday, June 19, my wife and I sighted a Gray Whale that surfaced about 100 yards offshore in front of 6358 Barr Beach Rd in the middle of Mutiny Bay. Our attention was drawn to the whale by the sound of his blow hole breath upon surfacing. He seemed to alone and continued north up the bay, surfacing to breath every 2 or 4 minutes, audible for us for the next 20-30 mins. Not sure, but possibly feeding on herring. We seen lots of schools/herring balls in recent days. ...I'm no expert, so yes, it's possible it was a Humpback. It was dusk and the whale was about 100 yards from shore, but directly in front of me. I saw a dark gray and mottled white back rolling forward, accompanied by a two-way blow hole breath. The breath was fairly prolonged and almost melodic. No fin was exposed. If the other sighting was definitively a Humpback, then I would guess I saw the same whale. As I stayed outside and it darkened, I heard the whale return in the opposite direction it came (now heading S by SW), blowing at the same rate as before, but now more like 500-600 yards out. I had no visual of the whale, but could hear it clearly. -Mark Van Hollebeke

June 18
Protection/Gabriola Island, BC - At approximately 1600 hours we spotted a pod of Killer Whales (6 possibly 7 w/Two large males, one baby) circling off the North end of Protection Island, Nanaimo and then travelling SE along the western side of Gabriola Island along beside sandstone cliffs First they appeared to be feeding as they were circling. Then they travelled SE. -Trudy Chatwin
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San Juan Islands - Tonight the T36As and T65Bs were after harbor seals near Flattop Island. Pictured here, one of the juveniles T36A3 breached as a wary harbor seal tried to get as far up onto the rocks as possible. -Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, June 18, 2017
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Today we saw the T65A's and T73A's traveling in a tight group west from Salmon Bank near 3:30pm. Photos attached. We heard the T65Bs and T36As (presumably) were about 11 miles to the north near Kellett Bluff. -Barbara and David, All Aboard Sailing
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This morning...the T65As and T73As were traveling together in the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca. In this photo T65A4 swims with T73A and her youngest. The most recent catalogue has T73A2 born in 2010 (who was present but not pictured here) so I'm guessing this would be T73A3. -Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, June 18, 2017
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North Puget Sound - 5:45 p.m. - Whale heading south towards the southernmost point of Whidbey island, in possession sound. We're seeing it from mukilteo. Looks like an orca! -Tori Shemesh
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5:27 p.m. - Orcas!!!!! At least 2 heading southbound mid channel from Glendale beach. -Danielle Pennington
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5:24 p.m. - A few orcas currently off of Possession Point heading South. -Alexa Lamey
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Coastal killer whales - This email was sent to me from a Hatfield visitor. I wanted to pass it on to you: "Saw your sign requesting info on Orcas. Last Sunday (June 18) at about 11:00 AM we spotted two Orcas swimming side by side seemingly following a small pod of what I think were grey whales north bound from the casino area to the point at Roads End. The whales were stirring up the sand and rolling at the edge of the breakers very close to shore. The Orca fins were unmistakable." -Renee Fowler, Volunteer Coordinator, Visitor Center Assistant Manager, Oregon Sea Grant, OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport OR
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Central Washington Coast - 5:30 p.m. - On Sunday June 18 my family and I were at Kalaloch Beach and witnessed what seemed to be a larger group of orca (at least 6, possibly including 1 adult male) At some points 6 to 10 water shoots were spotted coming out from various spots simultaneously. We watched them for about 3 hours. They were in the same location for over 3 hours we were thinking they were playing and eating. We could see side flippers as if they were rolling around. -Jessica Alwed
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June 18 - Central Oregon Coast - KATU article with video from the Oregon Coast Aquarium of Orcas in Yaquina Bay, Newport, Oregon.
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Phoned in at 3:08PM 6/18/17 - [unintelligible name], called to report seeing 4 or 5 orcas including one adult male, off Waldport OR for about two hours, a few hundred yards from shore, then heading north.
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Emailed at 3:21PM - 6/18/17 - Spotted 3 orca from deck in Sandpiper Village development... 1 large male? 1 medium size and 1 baby .. feeding & playing (jumping) about 1/2 mile south of Driftwood Beach, Waldport, Oregon. They stayed in the same area for over an hour. 1 large male, 1 medium size and 1 small. -Timothy Davis
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June 18 - South Puget Sound - 8:15-8:45 p.m. - humpback off east coast of Hartstine Island, a bit north of Heron Island, slowly moseying north. Not feeding, breaching, jumping...just moseying. -Kathleen Tucker
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June 18 - Admiralty Inlet - 4:00 p.m. - Humpback whale heading north along Bush Pt., Whidbey Island just offshore. Probably same one seen feeding in Mutiny Bay yesterday. -Christopher Thornton
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1:23 p.m. - We found Orion BCX1251! He's feeding just south of Hadlock cut on peninsula side. -Renee Beitzel
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Saw the whale again about 5:50 am passing Bush Point headed north. Heard the blows from the cottage. -Bill Pippine
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Approx 2:00 p.m. - On Sunday we had a small humpback whale breach about 15 feet from our boat near Blakely Rocks. (a bit NE of) So close I could feel the mist from it's spray on my face... The whale was traveling northward. It happened so fast we didn't get a chance to take a picture and didn't see it breach again. -Kai Schwarz

June 17
...29 members of L pod present (the L54s, L84, and L88 were not here today) were in one tight group and appeared to be resting. The whales occasionally pointed different directions from southeast to southwest but overall were moving southwest. Dave ended the encounter at 1625 about halfway between Salmon and Hein Banks with L pod still in one tight group heading slowly southwest. -Full encounter summary & photos at Center for Whale Research Encounter 45
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Southern Residents - Out near Hein Bank on Saturday evening. Mystery (L85), Matia (L77), and Joy (L119). -Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, June 17, 2017
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Short clip from Saturday night of L pod in resting mode, we were out near Hein bank~ taken while on Island Adventures WW boat IE5. Video by Marcie Barney Goldberg, June 17
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...as we headed South to see L pod of the long awaited resident. Beautiful tight resting group of such significance. They were heading south towards Hein Bank when we left them at 4pm... -Barbara and David Howitt, All Aboard Sailing.
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June 17 - San Juans - Salmon Bank, the T65Bs and T36As engaged in hunting a harbor porpoise or, at least, that's what it appeared to be at first. They very easily could have made the kill, but seemed to be either playing with it or having a training session (or both) with the young ones in the group. On several occasions, I observed one of the juveniles on the tail of the porpoise as it came up, while the adults followed slowly behind. Every now and then, the matriarchs and teenagers would engage but the porpoise always resurfaced and kept on going. We arrived at 1517 and when we left at 1545, they were still taunting it! -Renee Beitzel
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We encountered T65Bs and 36As as a tight social group inside Griffin Bay at 1pm. Hard to leave, and they continued to follow us as we headed South to see L pod of the long awaited resident. Beautiful tight resting group of such significance. They were heading south towards Hein Bank when we left them at 4pm. Then found within 2.3 miles the Transients (65Bs and 36As) were fully engaged in predation with a double synchronized breach on two harbor porpoise. (photos below) -Barbara and David Howitt, All Aboard Sailing
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A little video I got on Saturday evening while out with Island Adventures. The T36As and T65Bswere teaching the calf hunting skills with a Harbor Porpoise for at least 40 minutes . When the moms got tired of playing chase then I started recording! We were south in Rosario Strait east of Salmon Bank. -Video by Marcie Barney Goldberg, June 17
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We had a double header today! First the T36As and T65Bs milling in Griffin Bay and off 4th of July Beach, this morning, and then L-Pod off the southwest part of San Juan Island this afternoon. It's always special to see both ecotypes of orcas in the same day, especially from shore! -Photo by Monika Wieland Shields, June 17 The T36As and T65Bs were "milling and killing" this morning right San Juan Island! Photo by Monika Wieland Shields, June 17, 2017
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June 17 - Puget Sound - 7:10 PM - 1 orca headed into Commencement Bay. Just passed by Browns Point heading east/southeast. Closer to the Browns Point side. Looks like a female. -Josh Hollandsworth
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5:18 p.m. - Looks like they're mid channel now heading toward Dash Point.
4:50 p.m. - watched them pass point Robinson hugging Vashon side. Still southbound steady pace. -Neil Hathi
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3:22 p.m. - spotted from Fauntleroy Ferry terminal. Only saw a couple surfaces before they disappeared south of Brace Point. Too far to tell numbers, but at least one male. Appeared to be west side of channel, but sort of difficult perspective to gauge accurately. Still looked to be steady southbound. -Jason Lee Bell
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2:45 p.m. - WS Ferries reports about 6 orcas heading south across the Vashon/Fauntleroy route.
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1:10 p.m. - Watching from Bainbridge Island just south of the ferry, mid channel, traveling south. One just did a spyhop! Large male in the group. -Kimberly Sylvester-Malzahn
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1:02 p.m. - Orca sighting - Just saw 2 orcas very close to our boat and 1 more possibly in the distance in Central Puget Sound off Magnolia bluff. Traveling. 47 degrees 37' 122 degrees 27'. -Karen Slon
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12:30 p.m. - Two maybe three orca heading south. Two close together and one leading the way a bit spread out. West side of channel seen from Discovery. Headed toward Bainbridge ferry. -Karen Sziel
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11:56 a.m. - Whales just south of Port Madison continuing to head south." -Photo by Katie Green, June 17, 2017
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11:45 a.m. - whales continuing to head south. Can be seen from Fay Bainbridge Park with Chilkat Express whale watching boat following. -Sue Larkin
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11:05 - I needed to leave they're still eating same area. Big oil slick from their prey. (Renee Beitzel, Chilkat IDs as the T46s.)
10:50 a.m. - I am still watching them, they are still in same area as 10:30 post. Definitely on a kill.
10:30 a.m. - they look to be on a kill. there's a large slick and swooping gulls between Richmond Beach and Carkeek east side of mid channel. Several dorsals including at least one adult male. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Netowrk
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9:49 a.m. - Moved to Marina Beach in Edmonds and they're both quite far south now, left/south of the mid channel buoy.
9:20 a.m. - A whale bonanza from the Edmonds fishing pier! 2 humpbacks close in traveling south. At least 3 orcas south of ferry on Kingston side, traveling south at a steady pace. -Michelle Goll
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June 17 - Central Oregon Coast - 8:15 p.m. - VIDEO by Dan Haberly of orcas in Suislaw River in Florence, Oregon heading out to sea, at the end of south jetty, just before the end parking lot on the right.
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Not as dramatic as the breaching whale last year, but this time a pod. There appeared to be at least 8 visible.. I believe 2 of them were babies due to their size. They came through the mouth of the river about 7:30 PM. They went approx. 1 mile upriver from the mouth (of the Siuslaw River on the central Oregon Coast). They went back over the bar into the ocean about 8:15 PM and headed north. -Deborah Heldt Cordone
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June 17 - Admiralty Inlet - (Reported as orcas, Facebook video shows lunge feeding humpback - ALB) I was at the beach tonight for sunset and spotted whales feeding and breaching. In Mutiny Bay. -Billie C Barb
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7:50 p.m. - possible minke whale traveling south at Bush Point. Could have been a humpback, just seemed smaller and could not see tail good enough during dive to properly identify. Definitely not an orca. -Bill Pippine
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June 17 - Central Puget Sound - Three possible humpbacks spotted off Normandy Park headiing to Pt. Robinson, Vashon between 6 PM and 6:45 PM June 17th. Definitely NOT orca..very familiar with orca. We only saw one up close from our boat, other two were in distance off Maury Island. It was a relatively small dorsal fin with spout going up 10 ft or so, size of mid to large orca, kind of lumbered along. -Leah Craig
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June 17 - North Puget Sound - 8:09 p.m. - Humpback playing in Edmonds-Kingston ferry lane. -Anglea Zylla
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9:49 a.m. - Moved to Marina Beach in Edmonds and they're both quite far south now, left/south of the mid channel buoy.
9:20 a.m. - A whale bonanza from the Edmonds fishing pier! 2 humpbacks close in traveling south. At least 3 orcas south of ferry on Kingston side, traveling south at a steady pace. -Michelle Goll
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Saw the whale Saturday at about 10:45 am, It was heading east towards Norwegian Point, about 100 yards out from the Hansville shore. -Report & photo by Brad Srebnik, June 17, 2017

June 16
L-Pod! It was difficult viewing conditions on the west side of San Juan Island this evening, but since it's been more than 7 months since these whales have been here, we'll take what we can get! After coming part way in the strait a few days ago, L-Pod made it all the way to San Juan Island this evening, hitting the shoreline and going south around 7:30 PM. This shot is of L91 Muncher. -Photo by Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute, June 16
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WOW! Another great day on the water with our Local Southern Resident Killer Whales of L Pod minutes from our docks today! We found them coming in from the west just past Otter Point. We had a wonderful visit with them feeding on salmon past Sooke and onward to Race Rocks where we seen Sea Lions and Elephant Seals. Finally our local Eagles feeding on some water foul at our docks. -Paul Pudwell
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Looks like Muncher (L91) and Ballena (L90) - Juan de Fuca Strait. Nugget (L55) cruises Juan de Fuca Strait. -Photo by Paul Pudwell, June 16, 2017
(ID by Sara Hysong-Shimazu)
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In case anyone was curious/interested the Ts we had in Rosario were the T36As, T46Bs, T63, T65, T65As, T65Bs, T101s, T124As, and T49C (at least). At least 32 whales. -Sara Hysong-Shimazu
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We left 15+ transients (including T63 Chainsaw) heading towards Smith & Minor Islands around 1500. -John Boyd
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T063 "Chainsaw" in Rosario Strait on the morning of June 16th. -Photo by Mark Malleson, 2017
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June 16 - South Puget Sound - 1:00 p.m. - The humpback was reported by Keller Galvin heading north out of Eld Inlet after two breaches.
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12:40 p.m. - Humpback has now headed north out of Eld Inlet, very close to shore, doing very shallow surfacing series. 3 surfaces and then a long dive. It is heading north toward Hunter Point.
11:30 a.m. - Robust humpback heading south in Eld Inlet. Slow rolling surface right off shore (at my house and me inside without a camera) and it continued south, closer to shore. Heard it 2 more times behind the blocking trees and then saw it surface the fourth time further into Eld. No fluke. -Kim Merriman
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June 16 - 2 Gray Whales at Possession Point reported to the Langley Whale Center today at 12 pm. -Jim Lovvorn
(Reported to docents at LWC as grays but quite possibly humpbacks since they's been documented regularly in that area. North Sound grays left weeks ago but is possible two stray gray found one another -ALB)
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Hi, just thought I'd report these grey whale I saw in Dana Passage (Olympia) on 6/16/17. We saw a single whale several times for a few minutes around 2pm. (This was a confirmed humpback as reported in our June 20th Whale Sighting report -ALB) -Amber Settle

June 15
10:45 a.m. - Matt on WS Ferry Tillikum reports seeing 3 orcas in Harney Channel (between Orcas and Shaw Islands) heading east, 2 adults, 1 juvenile.
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10:00 a.m. - Hi, We were in between Blakely Island and Guemes Island (Peavine passage) when we saw this large group of Orcas (15 or more, with 2 babies). We think the exceptionally large male might be Chainsaw. Peavine Pass, in between Blakely/Guemes 48 35.272 N, W 122 47.617. -Laurie King

June 14
I was wondering if you could identify a large pod of orcas that put on a spectacular show just off the coast from Shirley (Sooke) There was about 30 orcas slowly moving through. It was Wednesday June 14th at about 6-7Pm heading towards Victoria from Sooke down the Juan de Fuca. I was on land, they were only about 200 metres off shore. -Haley McLean
(Photos by Haley below. Many more than used in this report were submitted and sent to the Center for Whale Research. Dave Ellifrit ID NOTES: " Interesting, along with the L12s, J pod and L87 are there too....I see J27, J38, J47, and L87 in the photos. Thanks for the pics. Dave")
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Another special day off Sooke finding some of L Pod (L12's) of the Southern Resident Killer Whales minutes from our docks. They were slowly feeding and traveling west...In the Juan De Fuca Strait and had them all to ourselves for hours...WOW! -Paul Pudwell
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Surprise! After a 2 week absence, J pod & L87 met up with L12s somewhere around Sooke and observed 200 meters from shore off Shirley, BC. They were all last seen heading eastbound but no one else reported seeing them and we don't know how far Js/L87 came in or when they split from Ls. -Photo by Haley McLean, June 14th
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Southern Residents - L Pod L12's at least were last seen off Jordan River heading West at 1 pm today... -Paul Pudwell
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Bigg's killer whales (Transients) - How cool is this? Camping at Salt Creek campground (Olympic Peninsula) and 3 orca just passed us, eastbound. One male, 2 females, too far for IDs, heard 'L pod', but only 3 whales seen. 2 WW boats with them. -Jill Hein
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T103 west bound in Race Passage on the evening of June 14th. -Photo by Mark Malleson, 2017
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Second time seeing this big guy! T63 Chainsaw (born 1978) in Strait of Juan de Fuca, We had to go pretty far west to catch up with this group. -Photo by Renee Beitzel, June 14, 2017
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T063 south of Race Rocks on the morning of June 14th. -Photo by Mark Malleson, 2017
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Case Inlet - 11:50 a.m. - Humpback was at Spencer Cove (north Harstine Island) at 1150am, then headed north. -Nick Wenzel.
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Eastern Juan de Fuca - Humpback spotted off the south end of Lopez Island about 0940 today, 6/14, from our sailboat. It was heading north and east. -Virginia Anderson
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North Puget Sound - "Orion" BCX1251 - becoming a local Puget Sounder? Feeling fortunate to be able to watch this particular Humpback Whale in our local Puget Sound over what I believe is going on weeks now! From foraging, to deep dive hunting, and what appears to be just plain frolicking... Orion covers all the bases! From North Edmonds looking West across PNW's beauitful Puget Sound. (Facebook video shows who looks to be BCX1251 but ID is unconfirmed - ALB) -Stu Davidson
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June 14 - South Puget Sound - 6:00 p.m. - my wife and I saw 2, maybe 3 whales in Henderson Bay heading towards the Purdy Spit. We saw them blow and arch out of the water. We live up in Emerald Shores, so, from the distance we saw them (from our back deck), they appeared to not be Orcas, but possibly Minkes or even Humpbacks. Behaviors: moving, arching out of the water and spouting. -Dennis Arneson
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Juan de Fuca - Lunging humpbacks! Three of them in the same area today lunge feeding, Strait of Juan de Fuca just east of Dungeness Spit. We got mugged by one of them but it was only a fleeting mugging. Never saw flukes because they were lateral lunge feeding. Turns out this is the 2014 calf of BCY0324-Big Mama! -Photo by Renee Beitzel, June 14, 2017

June 13
L-Pod hadn't been seen in Haro Strait since October 28th of last year (our last research encounter of 2016!), but we were hopeful all that would change yesterday with word of inbound Ls off of Sooke. The majority of the pod turned and went back west, but the L12 sub-group did make it all the way "in" to San Juan Island. This afternoon we had them in a resting line off Land Bank, part of a nearly 5 hour encounter with them! -Monika Wieland Shields
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Some great calls as some of L pod is passing by Lime Kiln Pt. and the Lime Kiln hydrophone at 5:55 pm. -Susan Berta, Orca Network
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L22 and L89 came up to Edwards Points and then turned south again while the L12s continued north. They seemed to be resting and milling off the Westside Preserve for the few hours I was there, then finally picked up a bit of speed and passed Lime Kiln around 4:30.
3:39 p.m. - They're still at Land Bank going very slowly. -Cindy Hansen, Orca Network
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4:10 p.m. - They're at Lime Kiln! Got to go to Lime Kiln and catch up as the L12's headed North. Day #2 They arrived yesterday, Monday the 12th, first time since October. -Photo by Cher Renke, June 13,
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2:21 p.m. - Resting line off Land Bank, very very very slow northbound.
1:34 p.m. - Milling at Edwards Point.
12:44 p.m. - Hannah northbound, long dives
11:48 a.m. - L12s at False Bay. -Monika Wieland Shields
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T65A's north of Patos - We had a incredible encounter with the T65A's about 4 miles north of Patos. Shortly after we arrived, the orcas began hunting a harbor seal. The seal spent quite a bit of time lying at the surface while the orcas powerfully lunged in circles all around him. Lots of tail thrashing by T65A. The predation event lasted 25 minutes. We also recorded some vocalizations while they were eating. We were the only boat on scene. -Cheers, Barbara and David, All Aboard Sailing
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San Juan Islands - Approx. 6:25 p.m. - Humpback spotted off starboard side of the 6:00 pm Anacortes -> Friday Harbor ferry. Closer to Anacortes (part of the run). -Laura Davis-Robeson
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North Puget Sound - 4:55 p.m. - My wife and I were on the 13 June 4:40 pm Kingston to Edmonds Ferry and saw several splashes (multiple whales, at least three possibly more) at a distance to the north. Couldn't tell what type they were. No breaches, but several fluke slaps and humps. They seemed to be playing, but could possibly have been feeding, too far to tell. Likely gray or humpback? (Humpback, see report below by Stu Davidson). -Ross Holcomb
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Believe this to be Orion Humpback Whale BCX 1251 that was back-and-forthing for many hours today between Point No Point and Eglon east of the shipping lanes. Nothing cooler than a whale-tail waterfall! Update: 5:00pm he's west of North Edmonds breaching / tail slapping. -Photo by Stu Davidson, June 13
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Haro Strait - 11:40 a.m. - WA State Ferries just reported a gray (possible humpback?) whale heading south in Haro Strait in mid channel, across the Sidney route.
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South Puget Sound - 9:08 a.m. - Humpback south of Bainbridge ferry lanes, towards Vashon. Could only see tail slaps from the ferry. I thought I saw at least 2. -Kim McCormick Osmond
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9:06 a.m. - I just had a friend text me that they are watching whales breach off Alki Beach right now. Asking for more details! He said it looks like more than one but can't tell what kind. -Aubree Mae Renfro
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8:00 a.m. - Mike at WS Ferries reports a probable humpback whale heading south between the Vashon ferry dock and Fauntleroy dock.
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T065A2 snatches a harbor porpoise in Boundary Pass on June 13th. -Photo by Mark Malleson
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Pacific white-sided dolphins - We encountered a pod of about 100 Pacific white-sided dolphins in Queen Charlotte Strait. They were spread out over the span of a mile at first, actively hunting in the mixing currents. At one point I photographed the dolphins frantically chasing salmon right at the surface! I got a few photos of the salmon being knocked into the air but could not identify exactly which species of salmon they were. After a half hour of feeding they all grouped up and started traveling north together. -Bart Rulon

June 12
L12's east bound in the morning in the Juan de Fuca Strait. -Photo by Mark Malleson
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L92 west bound off of Victoria's waterfront on the afternoon of June 12th. -Photo by Mark Malleson
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Early reports of Orca off Sooke from a local fisherman had me on the water before our morning tour and was excited to be one of the first to welcome "L" pod back to the Salish sea. Seems they were foraging close to shore in the kelp beds in search of Salmon. Hopefully the Endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales will find plenty of food to keep them around for a while. We sped off to catch L Pod still fighting a strong ebb and foraging at Race Rocks. -Paul Pudwell
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Today we had several different groups of Killer whales in the area. L pod was heading in from the Pacific, The T2C's were off the west side of San Juan Island this morning, and there was another group of Bigg's Killer whales in Rosario Strait. The T2C's! A very special family group for a number of reasons. Firstly, T2C is the daughter of T2, a female that had been captured in Pedder Bay near Victoria, BC back in the 70's and on her way to be shipped to another marine park when she and another whale were released. It's only because of her release that this group exists. T2 is no longer with us, but this is her daughter and grandchildren. In addition, one of T2C's kids T2C2 "Tumbo" has scoliosis of the spine. He's not able to hunt for himself and his family does the hunting and will share with him. Killer whales are such dedicated family members and this tenderness between family members is quite amazing to see. This family typically hangs out in the Campbell River area, but they have been around in the San Juans the last week. Wonder how long they will stick around! Sure is plenty of food for them. Here's a LINK with more information about this incredible family and the history of T2. -Traci Walter, Western Prince
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Eastern Juan de Fuca - Tonight's Transient Killer Whale encounter was among the best I've ever had! Dozens of orcas were playing, hunting, and feeding together. T123A Stanley was kind of the star of the show as he was in most of the photos I took, but in addition to the T123s, we also saw the T124s, T101s and so many more it was hard to keep track! All photos here were taken on 6/12/17 near Minor Island. -Justine Buckmaster
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5:05 p.m. - Large group of 25 Bigg's/Transients in eastern Juan de Fuca near Smith and Minor Islands on multiple kills, lots of breaches. Circles....literally they were on the East side of Smith and Minor, lots of kills, travelling in circles. -Janine Harles
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North Puget Sound - About 4:30 Marilyn saw a blow as we were coming down the hill towards Haines Wharf. About 4:40 from Haines Wharf park we saw the humpback surface about a mile west of north Edmonds in northerly direction, did not see him surface again, he may have flipped back and surfaced behind some trees in our way. I moved a little bit south and and scouted until about 5:30 but never saw him again. Conditions were beautiful calm, but I was somewhat distracted some by other events. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network & Marilyn Armbruster
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3:02 pm - Orion the humpback (BCX 1251) is off of Edmonds, North of Sunset Avenue, between Edmonds and Possession but closer to Edmonds. -Janine Harles
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South Puget Sound - 9:42 a.m. - Doubled back and appears to be really close to Browns Point now. Down times were about 4 min.
9:26 a.m. - Closer to the Browns Point side still headed east towards the Port of Tacoma. -Cathy Baker
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7:20 a.m. - There was a single Humpback whale off the Point Defiance ferry lane going west to east. Closer to the Point Defiance side this morning at about 7:20 AM. -Nick Schaefer
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June 12 - I've attached photos from the photo expedition I lead up to the Discovery Islands in BC, Canada every year. Besides black bears, brown bears, and thousands of eagles we usually photograph Pacific white-sided dolphins, and humpback whales too. This year we had an amazing experience with two humpback whales just north of Mitlenatch Island Nature Provincial Park, at the very north end of Georgia Strait. We had BCXuk2012#3 (Spotlight), and BCX0565 (Nick) on this particular encounter on June 12. At first they appeared to be resting together, with lots of surface time and swimming slowly, but no deep dives. Then, out of nowhere they raised their tail flukes for deep dives and they started breaching over and over again! They followed that up with hundreds of pectoral fin slaps mixed in with some breaches here and there! The action, went on for at least an hour before they slowed down and things went back to normal again. It was one of the most amazing humpback whale experiences I've ever had!! -Bart Rulon

June 11
5:35 p.m. - Orcas. 1 really large, 1 really small, 3 medium. 1 medium hanging away from the rest. Between Lummi and Orcas just now. Playing in the riptides, going south to north and then north to south. (was T2Cs - ALB) -Rebecca Lawson
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Southern Oregon Coast - 1:03 p.m. - Spotted three orcas (including one big dorsal 4-6 ft tall) off Cape Sebastian, Oregon south of Goldbeach. Hunting or resting. -Greg Martin
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South Puget Sound - 7:00 p.m. - Blows, but moving northbound with purpose through Commencement Bay now.
6:45 p.m. - Humpback is back in front of Owens Beach across from Talequah! A lot of action across from Point Dalco, headed towards Ruston. -Sarah Bradford Honeywell
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3:09 p.m. - Whales on east side of Vashon Island. -Andrea Tanner
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8:10 a.m. - Mike Wilson reports seeing humpbacks off Dash Point, Tacoma. there were 2 heading WSW about 1/2 mile off of the state park at Dash Point. The first time I saw them blowing off the east end of the park and the second time they came up again off the west end of the park. I didn't see them after that. There was also a pod of Dall's porpoise in the area a little later.
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- Juan de Fuca - Beautiful day north of Dungeness Spit with two breaching humpbacks! One of these whales has lots of rake marks from a previous killer whale attack. This individual is known as BCY0523 "Graze"! Taken on 6/11/17. -Justine Buckmaster, Naturalist, Chilkat
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Harbor porpoise in general are pretty shy and not very surface active. It was a treat to get this series of photos from Desiree of these active porpoise observed at Sunset in Commencement Bay, Tacoma. -Photo by Desiree Sauve, June 11

June 10
San Juan Channel - Beautiful evening with the T2Cs - Just north of Flattop Island. -Photo by Monika Wieland Shields, June 10
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The T2Cs are currently our resident Transients. We met them on our doorstep after leaving them at East Point. Reduced sail as their family waits for T2C2, dependent on them and moving very slowly with his condition of Scoliosis. With his slow progress they changed their minds in the flood of Cattle Pass to retrace track to the North. Looked like his family shared the catch of the hunt near Yellow Island. The sunset was amazing. The T2C's are still in our area. -Barbara & David
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Synchronicity in the Strait of Georgia. We were initially with the T124A's and T065A's. Lots of vocalizing and socializing and then we spotted more whales in the distance and as they came together, they started porpoising at high speed!! Lots of interacting after they joined up with the T101's, T123's, T036A's and T049C. -Photo by Gary Sutton, June 10, 2017
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Orca sighting - Active Pass this morning at 9:00 AM...taken from Lighthouse Park on Mayne island looking toward Galiano island. The orca group was going through Active Pass, hugging the coast of Galiano. They then disappeared, probably veering north along Galiano coast. -Photo by Yves Tiberghien, Mayne Island, BC, Canada, June 10
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North Puget Sound - 6:56 p.m. - Same two humpbacks out in front of Presidents Point now. -Corrie Beamer Urquhart
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4:55 p.m. - We're sailing right now out of Shilshole and just spotted one or two whales, humpback. Across from Port Jefferson on east side of shipping channel just south of Richmond Beach or so. -Jan Lewis-Newby
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8:50 a.m. - It appears it's a Mama & baby humpback (unconfirmed mom/calf pair ALB) out front this morning (Pt. Jefferson, Kingston) they go south for a bit, then north, but pretty well staying here. -Chris Beamer Otterson
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8:30 a.m. - Two humpbacks, I believe the same ones as last night off of Presidents Point in Kingston. Much closer in this morning. (to Kitsap side - ALB) -Corrie Beamer Urquhart
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June 9 & 10 - 4:30 p.m. - Minke Whale off West Beach, Whidbey Island, just north of Hastie Lake Rd. We've seen a minke whale late Friday and Saturday afternoon approximately 100 yards out on West Beach. -Ian Landry

June 9
My wife and I took a charter today on the "Red Head" based with Puget Sound Express out of Port Townsend, WA and sighted a transient group. We were located between D'Arcy and Sidney Islands west of San Juan. Attached photo (including just one in report - ALB) of a male with another killer whale. We came upon T49C later on traveling solo-Mike McCarty
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T170 (right) plus another and the Center for Whale Research. T170 is a very rarely seen whale. He was here in 2014 but to our knowledge only seen once. -Photo by Mike McCarty, June 9, 2017
(ID notes by Howard Garrett, Orca Network)
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Boundary Pass - Sunset moonrise sail. The only whales we knew of were way to the North. However we knew that they could get going and head South so we planned accordingly sailing Presidents Channel in the evening light. An eagle caught a fish right in front of us and swam breast-stoke to shore with wings. Waking from the siesta were the harbor seals of the crystal coves of the jeweled islands. Arrived at East Point to a furious flurry of very close whales before they split into a wide sweep across Boundary Pass in the still waters of sunset. And the moon rose full to their distant blows. (Mix of T124As and T65As - the T2Cs split off at East Point). -Barbara & David, All Aboard Sailing
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Active Pass - ...a larger group of orcas was visible off Edith Point on Mayne island on Friday at 130pm, followed by 7 whale-watching boats. They were splashing and very active, probably fishing. Trending South toward Saturna, but quite a distance from shore. -Yves Tiberghien, Mayne Island, BC, Canada
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Haro Strait - Today we found ourselves up in Haro Strait after a report of "many orcas" inbound in the morning. When we arrived they were really spread out with a few individuals traveling alone and others in small groups. We learned that one of them was a really rare transient, T170, ID'd by Center for Whale Research and that he had only been seen once in Haro before but that it had been quite some time. Cool! Then, I was able to ID one of our "regulars", T49C, as he was by himself, trailing behind the rest. Only after going through photos though, did I discover the "others" were the T36As and a few too far to ID. -Renee Beitzel
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This morning some transient killer whales Monika has never seen before passed the west side of San Juan Island. From her photos we identified at least T170, T172, T117A, and T117B, rare visitors to this area, traveling with the T36As and T49C, who are regularly seen. Not only is it awesome to meet "new" whales, it's humbling to be reminded just how little we know about these populations of whales that are our neighbors. By documenting what goes on here, we hope to gain at least a little more insight into their lives! -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
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South Puget Sound - 9:00 -p.m. - Just surfaced in the Tallequah ferry lane again.
8:16 p.m. - Just saw it spout. Headed back towards Point Defiance/Owens Beach, Vason side.
8:07 p.m. - I think they went up Colvos, that big boat looks to be headed back to Ruston that was pursuing them. And it's been a while since I saw the blows, but they were going under for 10 plus min at a time and changing direction.
7:35 p.m. - Blows in front of Point Defiance going towards Owens Beach.
7:28 p.m. - Just saw 2 huge blows off the point of Point Defiance rounding towards The Narrows but still visible from Point Dalco.
6:55 p.m. - Both under for several minutes could go either direction, Colvos or towards Maury. Neighbor says he has seen them hanging out all day here though.
6:45 p.m. - 2 for sure. Lots of time between surfacing, right in front of our house now, smaller one keeps surfacing westbound now, large one has been under for a while.
6:40 p.m. - Just saw one humpback, maybe 2 (because there was so much body), surface and spout twice at point Dalco. Appeared to be headed northeast towards pt. Defiance. -Sarah Bradford Honeywell
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8:35 a.m. - Humpback between Vashon Island and Point Defiance, headed north towards Sunrise Beach. Biiig blows! Saw him for only about 5 minutes, but he was moving very quickly north into the Colvos. (Sunrise Beach is in Gig Harbor). -Gaby Kinner
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North Puget Sound - 8:40 p.m. - Two humpbacks off of Presidents Point in Kingston, about mid channel milling around...One is smaller than the other. I have been keeping my eye out all day for any of them. -Carrie Beamer Urquhart
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8:40 p.m. - We see some right now, off Pt. Jefferson, Kingston, milling around. Not quite halfway across the channel. Looks to be the big and smaller one again. We see the dorsals and the flukes when they go down. -Chris Beamer Otterson
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3:50 p.m. - Sighted a smaller baleen whale just North of the Kingston Ferry. Sharply pointed dorsal, low blow, followed alongside the Schooner Adventuress for about 10 minutes. Believe it was a minke (is humpback, see photo below - ALB) based on size, dorsal shape, and behavior. She was headed South. Blew four or five times and fluked, tried to get a picture for ID but we were broad onto her. -Gabby Edenshaw
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5:44 a.m. - On the Kingston Edmonds ferry and we just spotted a lone whale heading towards the Kingston marina. I googled the difference between a humpback and a gray, and it definitely looked like a humpback. Small dorsal fin, lighter gray color. It was kind of small in the terms of a whale. Swimming pretty fast towards the marina. After the captain announced it, we saw the back breach about 3 times.) -Danny N Karah
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Gray whales - 5:08 a.m. - Melinda Barajas passed on a report from her dad Rick Harris: "Got small grey whale breaching twice just north of ferry lane about 400-500 yard from shore moving south Kingston side. He felt sure it's a gray.

June 8
Bigg's killer whales (Transients) - 5:45 -6:30 p.m. - Orca sighting between San Juan and Shaw Islands. Saw 4 or 5 Orcas (including 1 mature male) traveling. We are staying at Friday Harbor labs and walked about .5 miles north of the labs and saw the orcas coming down from the north and heading around the corner of Shaw. -Myka Estes.
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Today is World Oceans Day! We celebrated by spending time with the Apex predator of all oceans, the Killer Whale! The T65As slowly traveled down the west side of San Juan Island today. -Photo by Traci Walter, Western Prince, June 8
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A wet but lovely day with the T65A Bigg's orcas off Lime Kiln to Hannah Heights. Very slowly moving south, against the tide, perhaps even napping. Some Dall's porpoises were close by, but no reaction from either the whales or the porpoises. Caught a brief glimpse of a humpback off Hannah Heights, but far away. Two very wet and bedraggled eagles topped off another lovely day. -Bonnie Gretz
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Humpback whales - North Puget Sound - 1:30 p.m. - he's been fairly active and closer to Useless Bay now.
12:51 p.m. - Humpback BCX1251, Orion still in Puget Sound (feeding- 7 minute dives) between Point No Point and Useless Bay. -Renee Beitzel
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Dall's/Harbor porpoise hybrid...just south of Lime Kiln. This looked the same size as the others (about 10) though they were the typical b/w color. -Photo by Bonnie Gretz, June 8

June 7
The T2Cs are an incredible family group of transient killer whales that we were lucky enough to encounter this evening. Not only are they descendants of some of the first and most well known transients like T1 Charlie Chin and the white whale Chimo, but one of their ranks is this whale, T2C2 Tumbo, a 12 year-old male who has scoliosis, resulting in a heavily deformed spine. As the rest of his family traveled together, he was trailing about a mile behind. But then they stopped and appeared to pin a harbor seal on the bottom. Once they killed it, he came in to join them in the feasting. It is through their altruism that he has made it this long. -Photo by Monika Wieland Shields, June 7
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The T124As and T101s were traveling together and it was a lovely evening to visit them. Here's T102, T124A3, T101, and T124A1 in Swanson Channel. Seeing them all grouped up together is another poignant reminder of how important it is to protect them and the ecosystem they rely on. T2C1 "Rocky" tonight in Spieden Channel. -Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, June 7, 2017
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Orcas off Lime Kiln at 3pm today. Out pretty far in the strait but they made for a good show. -Julia Wallace
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Coastal killer whales - We received a call from Jesse Logan, relaying a report of 3 - 6 orcas off Heceta Head, OR observed sometime between 5 - 6 pm. He saw lots of splashing and lots of birds, looked like they made a kill off Heceta Head, then they headed north very fast, about 100 meters from shore. He followed them up to Rock Creek but then lost them. He took some distant photos and video which he will send us tonight, and we'll forward on if there is anything identifiable or useful in them.
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Spieden Channel - Humpback, maybe 2, heading East thru Spieden Channel. Last seen between Flattop and Limestone Point area. Dark and light rain over here. -Peggy Mauro
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North Puget Sound - Around 830pm - BCX1251 Orion off the Point No Point Lighthouse. They were further near the Whidbey Island but swim close to the lighthouse. After that they made a turn around and head out. This photo (below) was taken when they head out. I'm sure there was a smaller one too, the calf posssibly. You welcome, I was excited see how close they were swimming to the light house and was able to be there at the right time. Something I did not expected, made my day! -Vang KouKoukachu
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7:43 p.m. - Humpback off Hansville for the past 2-3 hrs. Did a full breach, but I didn't catch it on camera. We saw it from shore. -Photo by Maryann Stigen, June 7
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Dalco Pass - 7:55 p.m. - Another one or the same one on the Commencement Bay side of the Point Defiance ferry lane right now headed toward Ruston near the Copperline apts. A boat just floated over there and the whale dove under but we watched it for maybe 5 or 10 minutes.
My mom and I saw a very clear (gray or humpback?) spout twice today, west side of the Point Defiance ferry around 5:45-5:50 this evening. We didn't get a great look but it was big enough to be a whale. I didn't notice a dorsal, and the only color I saw was darker, similar to a seal...but I'm not sure if that's helpful. Nothing more to add except that the spray from the blowhole was high and significant. Definitely very dark color -Kelli Michelle
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An update for anyone interested - the whale was still active and visible near the entrance to Quartermaster Harbor. We saw it from the 7:00pm sailing. More west side. It surfaced right next to the dock at one point. -Vanessa VanGilder
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11:50 a.m. - Desiree Sauve spotted and photographed a humpback heading northbound off eastern entrance of Quartermaster Harbor off the south end of Maury/Vashon Island (Piner Point). Going north and fast, only saw her/him once.
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Central Puget Sound - 7:00 a.m. - It's back north near the lighthouse. Lots of breaching and tail lobbing.
6:08 a.m. - It's heading south now along Beach Dr SW
5:52 a.m. - The humpback is here again this morning. Just around the bend from the lighthouse on Beach Drive. (Alki, West Seattle). -Tori Mauro
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North Puget Sound - Single gray whale (most likely) headed north and moving fast off Point No Point at 5 PM. -Jim Larkin
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12:05 p.m. - Gray whale reported by WSF heading south off Kingston ferry dock.
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Commencement Bay - 7:00 p.m. - Gray Whale sighted in Tacoma. Just sat down at the Lobster Shop on Ruston Way approximately 7 p.m. on June 6th when I saw a Gray Whale surface one time for several seconds approximately 80 yards away from my outdoor table. Due to lighting conditions, did not get a good look at the entire whale, just saw about 20-25 feet of it. It was heading into Commencement Bay. Could not determine this (behaviors), on surface for only a few seconds. -Edd Burkhardt
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One of the youngest members of the regional transient killer whale population, T2C4, following behind mom T2C Tasu tonight off Henry Island. -Photo by Monika Wieland Shields, June 7
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Tiffany Diamond shared on our Facebook page a beautiful 4 plus minute VIDEO she filmed while aboard the 11:55 WS Ferry sailing from Kingston to Edmonds of humpback pec slapping, breaching, milling in glassy calm waters.
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Common dolphins - June 7 - Central Puget Sound - 1:00 p.m. - still out there, kind of between me and Fay Bainbridge park now, still trending north. There are quite a few of them actually, strung out between Magnolia and Fay Bainbridge, look to be east of mid channel. Coming up and then staying down for quite a bit. Foraging?
12:23 p.m. - These may be the ones I'm seeing straight out from the ship canal, headed northbound, east of mid-channel. (These were definitely dolphins) They had rather long dorsal fins though. I would have almost thought they were orca except for the frequency of appearance and the lack of the breathing pause and discernible blow. (Looking through binoculars). -Sandra Prow
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11:09 a.m. - Pod of Dolphins are still out in Elliott Bay north of Alki. Rather spread out, but still hanging out. -Troy Hightower
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10:50 a.m. - probably those same dolphins are now north of the ferry lane, I can only see them with binoculars from my "perch" above Pier 55. They aren't moving fast and are quite spread out, but do seem to be trending north. Hard to count but I've seen maybe 6 pop up at any given time. (Definitely not the humpback, that's what I've been trying to catch sight of.) -Donita Gier
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10:48 a.m. - Just saw one single (I believe it's a dolphin) headed steadily south at a good clip, viewing from Me-Kwa-Mooks park. Already probably close to the WS/Vashon ferry lane. Also just saw a second one pass the same spot I'm at, so if there is a pod they are spread kinda far apart. Definitely too small for a humpback and no spout seen. I'm almost certain they are the dolphins someone was seeing earlier. -Brian-Nicole Jenkins
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9:55 a.m. - likely Common dolphins in Elliott Bay. South of Bainbridge ferry lanes heading east or northeast. Viewing from Alki, straight out line of sight from Marine Ave SW. Travelling quickly and a single breach. Haven't seen in 8 minutes since, and have no idea how many. Pretty far out since I don't have binoculars. -Jason Lee Bell

June 6
Our last two morning tours visited humpback whales...some very elusive and making long dives but with great weather and seas with seals, sea lions, elephant seals, sea otters, eagles and late this afternoon in Juan de Fuca Strait KILLER WHALES...Transients T002C's! -Paul Pudwell
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More spyhoppy goodness from the T65As. -Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, June 6
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Transient killer whales T65A3 and T65A4 off Lime Kiln this afternoon. -Photo by Monika Wieland Shields, June 6
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Approx 1:30 p.m. - Out Kayaking we saw small pod of San Juan park. Went south towards Lime Kiln park. Saw four but to far for positive ID. -Mike Gregory
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Tuesday 6/6. Special day. I was able to watch the T65As do a close pass by of SJ County Park. After they passed, I headed to the land bank where I was scheduled to volunteer as the naturalist for the 2-5pm shift. I assumed the family would've passed the land bank already by the time I got there, but as I stepped out of the car I saw them still slowly heading my way, just entering the northern land bank. Once they made it to the middle land bank where I was, they stopped and stayed there with me. They stalled out there for 3.5 hours, not leaving until I packed up my gear and started walking up the hill. This is my favorite T family, and it was so good to see all five of them looking healthy and vibrant. The kids have all done some growing, especially T65A2 who I refer to as Chaser. I always see him chasing something but have yet to see him catch something. It was magic. Leader is T65A, the sprouter in T65A2 "Chaser" and in the back is T65A3. I think the little one is T65A5 since he/she is always tucked in next to mom. T65A4 isn't pictured but was present. That one loves hanging by big bro A2. Taken from San Juan Island Land Bank. -Ariel Yseth
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Approx 5:00 p.m. - Lot's of Ts. T103 heading North off William Head BC towards Victoria BC. -Josh McInnes
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Case Inlet - 4:45 p.m. - Whale was here all day feeding just north and west of Mcmicken and in the bay.
11:00 a.m. - He, or she?, returned. I think it had an irregular dorsal fin.
8:00 a.m.- Whale (not orca) between Harstine and McMicken Islands in Case Inlet. Whale heading north. Couldn't see clearly, but breathing caught my ear then I spotted it a few times as it surfaced. Not sure what type of whale. Traveling, feeding. I was looking for dolphins that were here 2 days ago when I heard the whale breathe right below the house in the bay. I looked down it was going under about 100' off shore. Definitely a big whale. I ran for my camera and it surfaced 3-4 times in front of the house but looking through my lens I had a hard time finding it each time. I've only seen whales in Hawaii and Deception pass, so this was a treat. (See humpback photo below. Also blurry photos sent of whale lunge feeding - ALB). -David Miller
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Central Puget Sound - 8:45 p.m. - Single humpback off of Alki Beach, heading past Discovery Park now. We thought it may be a humpback, but have only seen orcas, so thought that was what it was. The movement seems consistent with a humpback, from what we know (very little) about whales. -Dana and Mark J. Mauzey
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8:47 p.m. - moving with purpose toward downtown. Mid bay parallel with Duwamish Head.
8:43 p.m. - Breach!
8:40 p.m. - trending eastward toward Seattle. Viewing from Alki at 57th Ave SW, they are straight out from me.
8:26 p.m. - been milling for about an hour a few hundred yards off Alki Beach roughly in front of the Bathhouse. Varying down times and occasional fluking. -Jason Lee Bell
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7:27 p.m. - Heading in to Elliott Bay!
7:17 p.m. - after briefly turning south then milling, whales once again northbound near Bainbridge ferry lanes on outside edge of Elliott Bay. Definitely two whales.
6:31 p.m. - whale passing Alki Point Lighthouse still heading northeast.
6:26 p.m. - moved to Me Kwa Mooks and says whale has passed still trending northeast very close to shore. -Kersti Muul
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7:07 p.m. - It turned around. heading towards the channel marker. Must be feeding... 3 blows and a dive!
6:54 p.m. - Humpback off Alki. Northbound. Just did a terminal dive! -Charles Venally
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Humpback BCX1251 Orion off West Seattle. Heat waves interfere with clear shot of fluke....The sun was sooo bright out there. Just past Me Kwa Mooks. After this shot the two were at a steady clip towards Alki point. -Photo by Kersti Muul, June 6, 2017
(ID by Alisa LB)
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6:25 p.m. - Just spent a very pleasant half hour watching a humpback whale moving north along the West Seattle shoreline...last seen in inbound shipping lanes continuing north toward Alki Point. -Stephanie Raymond
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6:20 p.m. - Mom & calf heading north, passing Cormorant Cove.
6:06 p.m. - Just saw humpback off off of Me Kwa Mooks park possibly feeding? -Terry Blumer
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4:40 p.m. - I'm only seeing one- now moved to the east of Blake.
4:31 p.m. - near north end Vashon ferry. Just to the SW between Blake and Vashon. -Amy Carey
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WA State Ferries called at 3:53 pm to report an adult and a calf Humpback between Vashon and Blake Islands, heading north.
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12:50 p.m. - Saw it again from the ferry. Still hanging out off the south end of Blake Island. -Don Van Doornik
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10:48 a.m. - Whale near Southworth Ferry Terminal. -Bob Bussman
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8:34 a.m. - Humpback spotted at SE side of Blake Island. Now at Vashon ferry dock. Heading north in our sailboat & notified Southworth/Vashon ferry. -Virginia Anderson
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8:05 a.m. - Spotted a humpback from the Southworth - Fauntleroy ferry near the south end of Blake Island. Just milling around between Southworth and Blake Island.
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8:00 a.m.- Humpback Sighitng: A small humpback is diving and resurfacing just South of Blake Island. Feeding? -Kira McElhose
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7:40 a.m. - Mike at WS Ferries relayed a report from the ferry Issaquah of a humpback whale SE of Blake Island.
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Commencement Bay - 7:30 p.m. - It came into the cove at Jack Hyde Park near the rocks (less than 10 ft away from me). Thought it was a humpback but could have been a gray whale? it was Tuesday around 7:30pm. I was on the grass hill and spotted the spout so close to the dock, I couldn't believe my eyes. I believed there was a boat following much too close which is why I think it came into the shallow cove near the beach for a bit. Gray in color, lots of barnacles, no distinct dorsal (I'm a birder, not a whaler) and I remember seeing an orange spot on its fluke. Once it turned the corner, it picked up immense speed and followed the shoreline in the direction of Thea Foss and out of my view. Now that I've done a bit of research, I would say it looked much more like a Gray Whale. -Christina Felty
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Whale spotted in Commencement Bay off of Ruston Way in Tacoma between 7:04-7:11 pm. -Photo by Elliot Alexander, June 6, 2017
(confirmed gray whale by John Calambokidis, Cascadia Research)
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Whale spotted in Commencement Bay along Ruston Way around 6:45pm. Sorry I missed all the good shots but here is the proof. I think it was traveling with a calf. Amazing! -Photo by Gwen Wahl, June 6, 2017 (confirmed gray whale by John Calambokidis, CRC)
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Unidentified whales - (We have several humpbacks and at least 2 grays inland Puget Sound often times at the same time in the same general area. These reports could be either or a mix of both types in close proximity to one another - ALB)
Commencement Bay - June 6 - 7:14 p.m. - Humpback sighted from the deck at Katie Down's in Tacoma. I am by no means an expert, but it looked and moved like the other humpbacks I have seen in the past- saw the dorsal fin. Could have also been a gray whale I suppose. Seemed smaller than a typical adult. Surfaced twice and then dove, so didn't get any photos. -Amanda Jones Martin
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Whale spouts in Commencement Bay this morning. Not Orcas, too far away to identify. Last spouts seen near the Port of Tacoma. Between 10am and 11am. Baleen whales (my guess is 3). Not sure if humpbacks or other, not close enough. Have seen both humpbacks and grays before and could distinguish between those if I could have gotten a closer look. They were viewed from land on Tacoma side of bay, looked to be closer to Pt Brown side of bay. Could see spouts and backs, no view of fins or flukes. -Carol Styner

June 5
It was a beautiful evening with the T65As in Boundary Pass. -Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu
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We had a great sail on June 5th with the T65A's in Boundary Pass. We witnessed a predation event of a harbor porpoise approximately 2.5 miles SW of Java Islets near 6pm. After their meal they breached several times, spy hopped, and tail lobbed before traveling towards the Saturna Island shoreline aiming at East Point. It was an epic encounter. -Captains Barbara and David, All Aboard Sailing
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Matriarch T65A - Around 2:00 p.m. - We had just entered Canadian waters on the Mystic Sea. The research boat that was collecting whale poop was right there with us. -Photo by Roger Rickett, June 5
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Approx 4 transient orcas (including 1 adulte male) sighted near Stuart Island and Turn Point State Park. feeding, traveling, and playing. -Kristin Lock
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Case Inlet - 7:25 p.m. - Humpback whale sighting again along with a bald eagle! -Debbie Canny Wood
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Central Puget Sound - 6:15 p.m. - 1 Humpback passed very near the shore (between the buoys and shore) in Dilworth heading south. I just saw it surface once then it was off. -Aimee Demarest
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11:20 a.m. - passed by Lincoln Park, breached. It was heading north really fast. -Kersti Muul
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Call from Richard at 10:56 AM - a probable humpback whale is tail-lobbing, slapping the water with flukes, repeatedly about 100 yards off the Fauntleroy ferry dock in West Seattle.
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About 10 a.m. - An active humpback was seen off Pt. Robinson, Vashon Island. -Jim Hodgson.
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7:28 p.m. - Humpback whale sighting in Case Inlet again along with a bald eagle! We are on Hartstene island. The humpbacks have been hanging around here for the past 2-1/2 weeks or so. Breaching some, tail slapping but mostly just cruising along eating fish I think. He makes several passes by sometimes all day back and forth. Doesn't seem to be headed anywhere. -Debbie Canny Wood
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9:00 a.m. - I believe a Minke was sighted by multiple viewers around the 3 Tree Point (Burien) area this morning. Several big arches showing rear dorsal great tail slaps. Was first spotted to the south and was heading north. -Nick Miller
(Based on description, photo below, & other reports we are categorizing this as a humpback - ALB)

June 4
South Puget Sound - 11:05 a.m. - Single Humpback cruising north past Stretch Island at 11:05. Got four good looks at the dorsal fin, definitely not a gray or minke. Traveling. -Rob Dickinson
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9:05 a.m. - Since my initial report, I have seen the humpback again heading north. Unfortunately I have to leave soon so I won't be able to see if "Dot" will come back later today. I will be able to share some of my photos later though.
8:15 a.m. - Humpback and common dolphins in Case Inlet today! (south of Herron Island) I was zooming in on the dolphins and then I noticed something bigger behind them. They both seem to be heading south. -Connor O'Brien
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Humpback this morning in Case Inlet. -Photo by Connor O'Brien, June 4, 2017
(Note dorsal dot - ALB)
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Central Puget Sound - 4:10 p.m. - Humpback BCX1251 Orion is now off Tillicum Village, feeding and erratic swim patterns. -Renee Beitzel
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4:00 p.m. - 1 humpback off Tillicum Village, Blake Island. -Christopher Hanke
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2:50 p.m. - Off Blakely Rock right now. It was going North then back down South, so no real direction sorry. South last time we saw it. -Photo by Chelsea Grimm, June 4, 2017
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BCX1251 Orion. Taken about 2pm today just North of Blakely Rock while out sailing, off Bainbridge Island. -Photo by Steve Olson, June 4, 2017
(ID by Alisa LB)
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1:40 p.m. - Humpback off Seattle heading north in Elliot Bay is BCX1251 "Orion". -Renee Beitzel
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10:30 a.m. - Just saw one in the shipping channel. We were just off West Point buoy. It was traveling south. We saw the fluke but from a distance. My first fluke viewing! -Ruth Rogovoy Berkman
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7:06 a.m. - Seeing a humpback breach repeatedly off the entrance to Eagle Harbor moving north. Close to shore. Can see it all the way from Pier 69! -Jason Miwok
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North Puget Sound - 9:11 a.m. - just saw it again a few minutes ago myself. Point Jefferson just south of Kingston. Really been hanging in this area the last few days...looked to be about a third of the way across the channel from the west side. I caught it just as it was flukes up doing a deep dive...I just happen to be looking out the window at the right time!! I have noticed a pattern tho, usually 3 surfaces and then goes deep for a bit. And yes, food must be plentiful! -Chris Beamer Otterson
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Gulf Islands - We had a nice encounter with 2 humpback whales, BCY0160 Heather and BCX1057 Divot at approximately 3pm. They cruised along the shoreline of the Pender Islands taking 4 minute dives on average with many breaths at the surface. We left them nearing Tilly Pt. Photos attached. We later heard on the radio that the 2 humpbacks headed back toward Mandarte where they had been spending time earlier in the day. -Captains Barbara and David, All Aboard Sailing
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Hood Canal - 1:20 p.m. - Gray Whale in Hood Canal. This afternoon (4 June 2017; approx. 13:20 hr), a large (adult?) gray whale swam past our house on Hood Canal. It was swimming slowly, inside the line of boat mooring buoys, in water less than 25 ft deep, traveling in a NE direction, following the shoreline towards the mouth of the Union River near Belfair. Our house is located at 14xxx E State Route 106, Belfair, WA, approximately 5 miles SW of the mouth of the Union River, and approximately 2 miles NE of Twanoh State Park. -Toy Melchiors
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1:15 p.m. - On Hood Canal over the weekend we saw what we believe to be a juvenile Gray Whale. It was at least 30 feet in length and was dangerously close to the shoreline. It did surface further out later on, and no small dorsal was apparent as would be found in a minke and the tail was too large. Unfortunately we could not get our camera up quickly enough either time....It was heading back toward the mouth of the canal, about a mile from Twanoh State Park on Sunday around 2pm. It was a pretty good surfacing and tail slap. We were concerned that it was sick or lost because it was so close to the shore. Hope it gets out of the Canal OK. -George Means
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Case Inlet - 12 Noon - One of the Common dolphins porpoises off McMicken Island in Case Inlet this afternoon. -Photo by Lori Sparling, June 4, 2017
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8:15 a.m. - Humpback and common dolphins in Case Inlet today! (south of Herron Island) I was zooming in on the dolphins and then I noticed something bigger behind them. They both seem to be heading south. -Connor O'Brien

June 3
We headed north with a report of orcas near Pt. Roberts, BC, heading southeast, in our direction. By the time we arrived, the group of Transients (Biggs) had split, with 3 or 4 heading west out of range, but one male, beautiful T101A, was there for us. He was doing large, erratic circles around the five whale watch boats, surfacing a few times in a line, then reappearing in a completely different area! It was a privilege to share some time with this young (mid-twenties) orca as he went about his daily life. Heading home, we stopped to see the last few big Steller Sea Lions at the east end of Sucia Island, growling and preening. They will leave our area very soon to return north to the Bering Sea. One big eagle was spotted, and an osprey with a large branch for nest building was seen just as we left the marina in the morning. Another lovely day on the Salish Sea! -Bonnie Gretz, volunteer naturalist
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Humpback whales - 11:15 a.m. - Spotted a whale tale splashing over and over off of Edmonds ferry. North of Edmonds ferry. Seen from my house window in Edmonds. -Lexi Welch Sampson
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10:08 a.m. - Humpback "Orion" south of Possession Pt. Feeding/Milling. 3 minute down times. -Renee Beitzel
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10:00 a.m. - I'm seeing the humpback milling around same general area as Justines report (below) but maybe a bit further to the SW. Saw it fluke then resurface a few minutes later. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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9:11 a.m. - San Juan Clipper encountered BCX 1251 "Orion" 1.5 miles south of Possession Point moving slowly south and fluking often. -Justine Buckmaster
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6:15 a.m. - Pt. Jefferson, Kingston...standing outside just now taking in the total quiet of this still morning on the water I first heard the blows before I saw them...there are two humpbacks, one big and one small. Close to mid channel milling around. -Chris Beamer Otterson
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North Puget Sound - Taken this evening from Glendale near Possession Point from Whidbey Island, one of the two humpback whales heading south. -Photo by Danielle Pennington, June 3, 2017
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8:34 p.m. - Standing at Glendale Beach we've got a humpback that just fluked. Feeding. I missed a fluke shot the one time we saw it deep dive but the downtime was short - like 3 minutes. This humpback was traveling the fastest I have ever seen a humpback travel. And just like that it was past us to the south. The water was calm enough to see the footprints and judge where it was going to come up. Sounds like I had a lead humpback and Danielle had a trailer (or two). Traveling closer to Whidbey than Mukilteo - just another Saturday night on Whidbey! -Debbie Stewart
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5:29 p.m. - Whale spotted between Possession Point park and Mukilteo, could not ID. It was out in the middle of the channel and seem to be heading North, but hard to tell. -Randy Koch
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4:17 p.m. - I see spouts out front again (Humpback off Point Jefferson). -Chris Beamer Otterson.
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"Orion" BCX1251- taken today in Puget Sound. -Photo by Renee Beitzel, June 3, 2017
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12:00 p.m. - see at least 1 humpback from Sunset Ave in Edmonds diving, no direction of travel. Literally just beyond the buoys of the dive park and going back and forth in that general area. -Michelle Goll
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San Juans - On June 3rd we hung out with a humpback whale known as MMY0009 or MMY0001 "Frankenstein" as it headed south from Jones Island mid strait down San Juan Channel. We left him/her heading south towards Cattle Point at approximately 5pm. The whale would surface with one or two breaths and go down for about 7 minutes before re-surfacing. -Captains Barbara and David Howitt, All Aboard Sailing
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Hood Canal - 8:45 a.m. - Dabob Bay, Hood Canal Whale Sighting. Gray Whale off Bolton Peninsula, Dabob Bay, (Quilcene), WA. 500 feet East of Quilcene Bay channel marker. Hopefully trying to get the hell away from all the Saturday shrimp fishing small boat traffic! S/he was only a couple hundred feet off the South tip of Bolton Peninsula (separates Quilcene Bay and Dabob Bay) swimming West, towards the channel marker. No pics, but a forever memory. S/he was 20 ft off my port bow, heading the opposite direction. -Brian Simmons
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We saw him [gray whale] again on Sunday, heading east towards Belfair again. He did not come completely out of the water, but significantly breached the surface and flipped his tail completely out of the water. -Janene Johnson (8800 block of East State Route 106, Union ,WA)
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7:00 p.m. - The pod of Common dolphins remained in Case Inlet into the evening.
Case Inlet - 6:53 p.m. - They are still out there.
5:36 p.m. - Common dolphins in Case Inlet again today. They have been hanging around between Harstine and Herron for the last twenty or so minutes. -Connor O'Brien

June 2
Bigg's killer whales - Transient Killer Whale T103 off Sooke, BC this morning. -Photo by Paul Pudwell, June 2, 2017
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T124A2B, T124A2, T124A2A, T124A3, T124A4, T124A - Awesome day with the T124A's!! Really restful and then BOOM, a quick kill and an hour of play time! ...this afternoon near Crofton. -Photo by Gary Sutton, June 2, 2017
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Sailing the extra nautical mile we met Transient Orcas, T65A's, within sight of Vancouver. As we approached two humpback whales breached about a mile ahead of the orcas. Returned by way of East Point and found 2 Peregrine Falcons. Evening light by Flattop began painting the picture of sunset. -Barbara and David
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Coastal killer whales - Received a call at 1:40PM from Ivy Reynolds, manager of the gift shop at Cape Meares OR Lighthouse at the same time three orcas were about 1-2 miles offshore from the lighthouse, heading north. Two were adult males. She also said that Travis Korb took a video of a predation event a few days ago from Cape Lookout in which orcas separated a gray whale mom from a calf, then chased the calf to the beach where it stranded, until the the adult gray whale chased the orcas away. The calf was not on the beach soon thereafter.
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4:30 p.m. - It is a humpback. Currently near the entrance to Totten Inlet. It was logging on the surface for some time until it was startled by a barge and started moving again. Traveling slightly north then turning and going south. Cascadia Research has been notified. (Kim ID'd this humpback as the same one, "DOT", who was in Hammersley and Case Inlets the past 5-6 weeks). -Kim Merriman
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We saw a whale (humpback?) that hung around for hours (about 1 pm to evening) near Windy Point/Steamboat Island and points south in Totten Inlet. The whale jumped out of the water about 4 times and smacked its tail several times, other times just seem to float. What a treat!
(This was confirmed humpback included in our previous Whale Sighting Report -ALB) -Knackstedt
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12:30 p.m. - A whale, possibly juvenile humpback is headed west towards Carlyon Beach/ Steamboat Island. I could only watch from afar - would love to hear for sure what it is. Honestly I had just come up from a dive minutes prior and heard a loud blow. I watched it with binoculars from afar and am certain of whale, but not species. Definitely solitary. -Nick Wenzel
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8:15 p.m. - Just this second spouted......way closer to westside (of Sound)
7:15 p.m. - Still out there and spouting away this evening. Just off Pt Jefferson which is a tad south of Kingston...to be exact more between Pt Jefferson and President Point, but closer to Pt Jefferson. -Chris Beamer Otterson
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2:28 p.m. - Humpback off the Edmonds ferry terminal, slowly moving north, east side of the Puget Sound. -Sarah Hanke
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10:50 a.m. - humpback 1 mile off of Presidents Point south of Kingston. -Sherman Page
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9:50 a.m. - The humpback seems to be liking our neighborhood! He/she hung around all yesterday and I see it out there again just now. Closer to our side this morning though. Pt. Jefferson, Kingston. -Chris Beamer Otterson
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Juan de Fuca Humpback this morning off Sooke, BC. -Photo by Paul Pudwell, June 2, 2017
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Gray whales - 9:20 p.m. - Just saw (first reported as an orca) maybe the Gray Whale in front of Alderbrook Inn on Hood Canal. -Ted Harwood
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8:33 p.m. - Gray whale spotted west of Twanoh State park heading west toward Tahuya in Hood Canal. -Tracy Stoops
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8:00 p.m. - A gray whale surfaced close in-Shore along the North Shore, about two miles west of Twanoh State Park and heading westerly toward Tahuya tonight at about 8 pm. -Kevin Stoops
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2:43 p.m. - Gray Whale Sighting. We live at 88** East State Route 106, Union, WA about 1.8 miles east of Alderbrook Resort in Hood Canal. A large Grey whale just breached about 30 feet off our back bulkhead. It was heading east towards belfair and slowly wandering down the coast. Meandering. -Janene Johnson

June 1
Southern Residents - 3:21 p.m. - Can hear them on Lime Kiln hydrophone. ON the webcam too. -Robyn Cartwright
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2:43 p.m. - J pod is vocalizing on the Orca Sound hydrophone. Loud calls. Such nice sounds!
2:32 p.m. - Hearing faint calls. -Alisa Lemire brooks
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5:15-5:35 p.m. - Humpback sighted from our sailboat, just south of Kingston. Many breaches and tail slaps. Was close along the west shore. Now heading south, trending towards mid channel. -Robby Bessey
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2:07-2:20 p.m. - Continued to watch the whale foraging around same general area in regular surfacing and diving intervals every few minutes.
2:03 p.m. - I moved and have better handle on location, s/he just surfaced few times mid channel out from middle of Port Madison. Sight line Transect Richmond Beach Saltwater Park (my location) and Faye Bainbridge Park. Healthy looking blows.
1:47 p.m. - just saw humpback south of Chris's original post. Guessing it's feeding. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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Noon - I don't know if it was the same one or another because the first one I saw went out of my sight to the North.... and then a half hour later I saw one straight out from our house again.
11:30 a.m. - I see a humpback out front close to mid channel.....just north of Pt. Jefferson, Kingston heading north. -Chris Beamer OTterson
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5:45 a.m. - John Miller of WS Ferries relayed a report from the Walla Walla ferry of a juvenile gray whale meandering 1/4 mile from the Kingston ferry terminal.
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Saw the Common dolphins at south Harstine. Very cool and playful animals. -Nick Wenzel