March 2018 Whale Sightings

Click here for Map of March 2018 whale sightings.

March 31
Yukusam the sperm whale finds his way south into the Salish Sea! -Photo by Sara McCullagh, March 31, 2018
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Sperm whale - March 31 - Yesterday was one for the memory books! The sperm whale that had been sighted in Johnstone Strait in February made an appearance in the San Juan Islands and I (feeling like I won the lottery) was lucky enough to see him. I've included a link to the BLOG POST I helped write about Yukusam for Maya's Legacy Whale Watching (with more photos and a video that has audio of him echolocating). Never did I imagine I would see a sperm whale (my first ever!) here in the Salish Sea, let alone in Haro Strait as the sun disappeared behind Vancouver Island. Yukusam, you are amazing! -Sara Hysong-Shimazu
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Sperm whale, that is! Yukusam the sperm whale was spotted in Haro Strait last night during our first sunset whale watch & wildlife tour of 2018. Usually living in the deep waters of the Pacific coast, he is a very rare visitor to the island waters of the Salish Sea! Sperm whales are the largest toothed predators on the planet and can grow to lengths of 60 feet. First spotted mid February in northeast Vancouver Island, the sperm whale slowly made his way south. This is the first ever sighting of a sperm whale in the waters surrounding San Juan Island. -Photo of the day and photo below by Capt. Sarah McCullagh, San Juan Safaris
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I was captain onboard J1, which departed Friday Harbor at 4:00 PM and were headed to Swanson Channel to catch up with J pod. As we were crossing Boundary Pass we spotted a huge blow in the pass, followed by a fluke. At first we thought it was a humpback but it was across the pass and we didn't get a great look. We waited 25 minutes with no other surfacing and moved on to J pod. About 20 minutes later San Juan Safaris reacquired and confirmed it was a sperm whale Yukusam off Turn Point, Stuart Island. After a 35 - 40 minute dive, J1 and Forever Wild spotted the next surfacing offshore of the Turn Point lighthouse. -Jeff Friedman, Maya's Legacy
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Yukusam the sperm whale near Turn Point this evening. -Photo by Val Shore, March 31, 2018
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Here is a shot from Saturday, our new visitor "Yukusam" making an appearance off Turn Point...an amazing encounter, if a little brief! -Photo by Joe Zelwietro, Prince of Whales, March 31, 2018
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Scott Veirs of OrcaSound.net shared THIS BLOG POST, with links to listen in to the incredible vocals heard from "Yukusam" the Sperm whale as he traveled down Haro Strait last night, after being seen off Turn Point by several whale watch boats
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In case you missed it: the sperm whale nicknamed Yukusam was echolocating in Haro Strait for over 3 hours on the evening of March 31st! This is the same whale that was seen in Johnstone Strait in mid-February (the first confirmed sperm whale there since 1984), and we believe this is also the first documented sperm whale in Washington's inland waters. This 5 minute clip encompasses a nice variety of the clicks we heard from him this evening! Pretty special! -Monika Wieland Shields
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After receiving several reports throughout the morning of J pod on the west side of San Juan Island, Dave, Darren, and Lodie met at Snug Harbor and left in the boat just before 1300. We got on scene ten minutes later about three quarters of a mile northwest of the Lime Kiln lighthouse. We shut down on the edge of the scene to get a sense of what the whales were doing. A large, tight group of whales approached slowly from the south. This was all of the J11s, J14s, and J19s and they filed right by the boat in a nice pass and then began heading west across the strait....See full summary and photos at Center for Whale Research Encounter 22.
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April 1 - Report this morning 4 orcas traveling north a few hundred yards off Haceta Head OR at 9:30 AM. -From Ann at the Whale Museum in Depoe Bay.
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J31 spyhop. -Photo by Gary Sutton, March 31, 2018
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Orca soup off the west side of San Juan today! Mostly in the middle, don't know of any close to shore but you can see lime kiln way in the distance. Saw J17s, L87, J22s and a few others. We didn't see the 16s. -Cassie Barclay
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J Pod sighting Haro Strait 8:50 am. Feeding/playing/spy hopping/breaching. -Tracy Paterson
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March 31st was another awesome day on the water with probably 14 mammal eating orcas. They were heading from Campbell River to Comox with many of them very, very close to the Vancouver Island shores. -Peter Hamilton
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March 31- North Saratoga Passage - HI! Just wanted to report seeing two Grays in Crescent Harbor last night just after high tide (starting at about 6:30PM) (March 31) feeding until sunset. One was much farther and couldn't be captured well. Gray whale #44 Dubknuck feeding in the shallows in Crescent Harbor just after high tide and until sunset, just feet from Kes and his family, their first experience! His little ones will have this beautiful connection with #44, an experience they can hold with them through out their lives! Our family's first whale watching experience! Spectacular animals! -Kes Andrius
(ID by Alisa Lemire Brooks, ON)
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Gray whale #56 fluke topside. These were taken on the North end of Camano Island (Utsalady Bay) on Saturday about 1:30 pm. Underside fluke of Gray 56 - Utsalady Bay, North Camano Island. Photo by Theresa Howard Jenkins, March 31, 2018
(IDs by Alisa Lemire Brooks, ON)
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March 31- Saratoga/Possession - 2:44 p.m. - Spotted a blow off Baby Island. Headed south off Camano state park. -Sara Wright
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A beautiful sunny spring day! On our first trip of the day, we went out to Camano Head, where we caught up with gray whale #531 as she was foraging for delectable ghost shrimp. We then found #22, Earhart, on the east side of Gedney Island, close to shore and blowing bubble blasts as she surfaced. Turning east, #49, Patch, gave us some great looks at his namesake marking and a nice tail fluke. Further southeast, Shackleton was in deeper water. On the afternoon trip, we found #22 again, and were treated to even nicer tail fluke up dives after she turned away from the shallow Snohomish River Delta. #49 was also in that area. As we headed back to Langley, we found an unidentified gray very close to shore, just south of Sandy Point. This whale was in such shallow water that he/she was on the side, with one pectoral (front) flipper up in the air, and at times, showing both the front pec and one side of the tail flukes. The backlit blows really showed the lovely heart shape of a gray whale's exhalation. Another wonderful day on the water! -Bonnie Gretz, volunteer naturalist.
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11:02 a.m - 22 and 53 south side of Gedney. 49 to the east and we found 531 between Camano Head and Gedney. -Renee Beitzel
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March 31 ~ 7:00 p.m. - On Saturday evening, just before sunset, my daughter, girlfriend, and I were on Samish Overlook and we saw a HUGE whale in the water, very near the shore, just south of Colony Creek...I remember the moment, looking below and seeing what looked like a long dark spear moving perpendicularly away from the coast. It took me a moment to be sure that it was something, and I asked my daughter, who has sharper vision, if she saw it, and she said, "it's HUGE". We saw it moving about near the surface or just under it, on and off for a few minutes. Then we saw it no more. We tried to compare it to a long vessel that was anchored just north of Colony Creek...It looked much bigger than 20-30 feet to me. So, my hunch is that the whale was 40-50 feet long. At first it was swimming at, or near the surface, straight as an arrow, perpendicularly away from the coast fairly fast. It looked just like that, a long thin arrow moving away from the coast. It was as though it might have moved in to chase a seal, which had escaped by going onto the dyke, and the whale now was heading back out to deep water. It stopped about 200-300 ft from shore and stayed near that area, resting, swimming in small circles, occasionally diving deep enough to be out of view. Then we saw it no more. -Myron Shekelle

March 30
7:30 p.m. - two gray whales were feeding in approximately 30 feet of water, tails in the surface water. They worked the drop off there for about a half an hour slowly moving south. (Really fun to watch). They were approximately 3 miles due west of Kayak Point, 300 yards off Camano Island. This is the 3rd year in a row that we have spotted them. -Mike Fox, Camano Island
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Gray whales - 1118 - #53 changing directions heading South. #21 still slowly heading North.
1100 - 2 grays along the South East side of Camano Island. ID's: #53 Little Patch and #21 Shackleton. Heading North. -Angela Nicholson
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10:15 a.m. - 49 Patch and 22 Earhart together on northwest side of Gedney. -Renee Beitzel
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9:45 a.m. - Video, Gray feeding off north side of Gedney. -Report and video by Lori Christopher
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March 30 - North Saratoga - 7:30 p.m. - Gray whales Whidbey Island near the seaplane base! -Photo by Valerie Rodriguez, March 30, 2018
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6:34 p.m - Hey all, They were back tonight...2 grays in Utsalady Bay, North Camano Island. -Photo by Phil Kezele, March 30, 2018
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3:54 p.m. - Blowing spotted off Utsalady Point. Looks to be milling around for the last 40 minutes or so. I think only 1 whale. Exciting to see one from my house! I think there may have been two, they stayed in one spot for about 4 hours. Fun. -Dean Kayler
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11:57 a.m. - I see blows at Cresent Harbor. Polnell Point. -Terica Ginther
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March 30 - 3:55 p.m. - Observing gray about 50 yards from shore on side feeding with pec in air. Gray was northbound at Mabana last seen in front of boat launch. Initially headed south then turned back north. Pec fin of gray whale 531 - Saratoga Passage. -Krista Paulino
(ID by Alisa Lemire Brooks, ON)
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Grey whale 125 yards off Bells Beach at 2pm today. It was heading towards Langley. -Rick Lessley
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We were fortunate to quickly find 2 of our "Sounders" just south of Langley, #49 Patch, feeding with #22 Earhart on the west side of Hat/Gedney Island - their shallow dives giving us many great views as they slowly traveled southbound. We then headed towards Cama Head and found #53, Little Patch, who seemed to be on a mission towards the north. So we headed on into Port Susan and discovered #21 Shackleton feeding along Kayak Point. He was very close to shore, only a few people on shore watching as he meandered back and forth. So good to see 4 of our gray whales - on a very welcome sunny day with no wind - is spring finally here? -Jill Hein, volunteer naturalist.
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#21 Feeding just north of Kayak Point at around 1:30 today. -Photo by Gary Lingenfelter, March 30, 2018
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Two grey whales off Everett spotted this afternoon at 1:45 pm. About 2.5 miles north of Everett Naval base. They surprised us by popping up right next to the boat. Traveling very slowly. But not diving very often, so they didn't appear to be feeding. 47 59.919'N 122 16.152'W. -Photo by Russ Waughmab, March 30, 2018
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8:31 a.m. - Seeing some action in Mutiny Bay. Possible Minke Whale. -Lisa Caron

March 29
Bigg's/Transient killer whales - T002C1 and T011A bonding on March 29th off of East Sooke. -Photo by Mark Malleson
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Very THANKFUL for our industry friends for the "heads up" of Transient Killer Whales off Sooke today! Two very special pods T11's & T02C's, Matriarch T11, T11A (born 1978) and T2C1 (born 2002), Matriarch T2C (born 1989) with her youngest T2C4 (born late 2016), T2C2 Tumbo (born 2005) were interacting and hunting the shores. Interesting to see "Rainy & Rocky" travelling very close together. -Paul Pudwell
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March 28 - San Juans - Approx 4:25 p.m - Two handsome fellas (T124C and T49A1) came by McCracken point on Henry Island. They were headed South down the back side of the island. -Photo by Dana Zia, March 28, 2018
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T124C and T49A1 this afternoon in Spieden Channel. It's fascinating to see two dispersed males from different family groups hanging out together, which is not uncommon. These two have been traveling throughout BC and Washington waters together for at least several days. -Photo by Monika Wieland Shields, March 28, 2018
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March 28 - Admiralty Inlet - First orcas of the season! After spending some time with gray whales #21 Shackleton and #22 Earhart, we raced around Whidbey Island to catch up with the T37As and the T99s! We were surprised with a sudden close pass as the orcas left a kill, birds picking up scraps in their wake, and raced toward Hood Canal. Then, they slowed in an apparent resting line as they rounded Foulweather Bluff. What a great day, despite the rain!
11:28 a.m - They seem intent on heading into Hood Canal. Now past Foulweather Bluff on the NE side. T37As are here too.
11:00 a.m. - At least the T99s possibly others with them. They're heading straight for Foulweather Bluff now.
10:50 a.m. - Chilkat Express on scene with ~10 orcas in Admiralty Inlet. South of Bush Point aiming towards Hood Canal. Will update with IDs shortly. -Justine Buckmaster
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12:10 p.m. - It looks like they've gone into Hood Canal, halfway to the bridge.
11:25 a.m. - they seem to be over near the west side of the entrance to Hood Canal now, way on the Jefferson/Kitsap side. -Susan Berta & Howard Garrett, Orca Network
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11:28 am. - These are the T99s and T37As, in Puget Sound. -Bart Rulon, Chilkat Express
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10:45 a.m. - Orcas in Admiralty Inlet heading south off Mutiny Bay, mid-channel. Looked like a take-down a minute ago with circling whales, one big fluke in the air, lots of gulls swirling over. -Susan Berta & Howard Garrett, Orca Network
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We saw around 8 orcas heading south in Admiralty Inlet about a half mile south of Bush Point at 0950. -Brian McLaughlin, Shellfish Biologist, WDFW
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Unidentified killer whales - March 29 - 6:45 p.m. - At least 3 maybe 4 orcas just passed Lagoon Point (Admiralty Inlet). Heading North. One large female 2 or 3 much smaller. They were traveling. -Merilyn Ohlson
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Coastal killer whales - March 29 - 3:00 p.m. - I spotted a lone male orca just south of Depoe Bay today, off little Whale Cove, Rocky Creek. -Tammy Shelton
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March 29 - At about 0830, Jim Maya got a report of killer whales heading north in Spieden Channel. Tom and Melisa were notified, met at Snug Harbor, and left aboard "Morning Star" at 0930. After a bit of searching, "Morning Star" found the T37As and T99s at 1024 as they slowly headed north about half a mile south of Turn Point, Stuart Island. -See full summary and photos at Center for Whale Research Encounter 21.
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5:07 p.m. - 2 (grays) and a cute seal right outside Langley Whale Bell park. -Photo by Jami Cantrell, March 29, 2018
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3:24 p.m. - 723 and 531 feeding against shore halfway between Langley and east point.
2:26 p.m. - #49 Patch east of Gedney. -Renee Beitzel
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1:08 p.m. - Headed northwest closer to Whidbey side now passing hidden beach
12:05 p.m. - The grays we are watching are now directly across from Hidden Beach (Whidbey) on Camano side.
11:55 a.m - Slowly northbound up Camano's west side.
11:44 a.m - 3 spouts confirmed w/spotting scope. Prob best viewing from Camano Island state park right now
11:33 a.m - Grays in middle of Saratoga passage...visible from Hidden Beach. Unsure of direction yet. -Toby Berry

March 28
Hi we have been watching several (at least 6) Orca traveling south from Boiler Bay in Depoe Bay, Oregon. We drove south to Otter Loop Rd just south of Rocky Creek in Depoe Bay and are still watching them travel south. We spotted them at 6:30 pm March 28th and are still watching them now at 7:07 pm. Last sighting was at 7:30 pm. A couple came in close to shore as an adult gray was about 30 yards from shore. The orca headed south after saying oh wait that gray doesn't have a calf with it. -Kent and Edith Hitchings
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March 28 - At about 1330, killer whales were spotted heading north in San Juan Channel. A few hours later, Dave and Melisa met at Snug Harbor and left aboard "Orcinus" at 1657. At 1704, "Orcinus" arrived on scene with T49A1 and T124C traveling west a few hundred yards off of Kellett Bluff, Henry Island....See full summary and photos at Center for Whale Research Encounter 20.
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March 28 - Port Susan - Got this video of a grey hanging out in our cove at McKees Beach just south of Kayak Point (Port Susan). It was at 2:30pm Wednesday. It was just the one. He stayed about 20 minutes and headed towards Kayak Point. -video by Sara Kortekaas
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6:30 p.m. - gray whale feeding west of Priest Pt./Tulalip. -Lori Christopher
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10:10 a.m. - #21 Shackleton and #22 Earhart south of Camano Head, steadily southbound toward Gedney/Hat Island. -Justine Buckmaster
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9:32 a.m. - Connie Barrett reports a single gray whale heading north past Camano State Park.
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What an amazing gift to say good morning. 2 Gray whales just in front of Bells Beach heading towards Langley on the Whidbey side 730am Wednesday March 28th. Feeding and traveling. -Kristin Carlson
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7:10 -7:30 a.m - Two grays quietly feeding close to shore, while moving toward Langley. The larger's dorsal(?) fin had a fair amount of white stripes and "snow" on it The smaller one was almost all black. (these would be their pec and fluke fins as the feed on their sides- alb). My first sighting of the year! I feel blessed! -Peggy Sullivan

March 27
Yukusam the sperm whale going on a dive near Nanaimo, BC. -Photo courtesy of John Ford, Brianna Wright, and Eva Stredulinsky, DFO. March 27, 2018
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Sperm whale - March 27 - Not sure what they saw off Lummi but we had a sperm whale off Nanaimo today. Same individual that Jared had in Johnstone Strait a couple of weeks ago. Got ID photos and recordings. Last seen heading NE off Pipers Lagoon just before dark. Spotted the sperm whale from shore off north Nanaimo around noon. We (John Ford, Brianna Wright, and Eva Stredulinsky) encountered him a couple of hours later off the entrance to Departure Bay heading south. He proceeded down Northumberland Channel off the west side of Gabriola Island, diving for 30-40 minutes between periods at the surface. He turned back before going through Dodd Narrows at the bottom of Northumberland Channel, and was last seen just west of Departure Bay at dusk. This is the same whale that Jared Towers and the folks at OrcaLab observed and recorded in Johnstone Strait from mid February to March 18 - he was given the name Yukusam up there. -Best, John Ford, Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
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March 27 - Possession Sound - 1:45 p.m. - We saw #53 Little Patch and #383 (photo) near the SE side of Gedney from the Chilkat. At 2:15 we also found #531 feeding in the Snohomish River delta. -Photo of 383 's fluke by Justine Buckmaster, March 27, 2018
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March 27 - North Saratoga Passage - I caught a few pictures of the whales having fun in Utsalady Bay today, these were the best I could get from about a mile away ... looking northwest from Arrowhead point with Whidbey Island in the background. Are these gray whales, they look small to me...thanks so much....Basically, it looked to me they were going down to the bottom (its shallow in Utsalady bay) then the would come back up approx every 1-2 minutes and not in the same location they went down and 'spout' then we would see their black shark like fin raise to the surface but it would rise and fall (up/down) rather than roll and I never saw the classic tails. I understand that grays have butterfly shaped spouts and these seemed to blow more upwards but the wind is blowing around 10mph. I saw two of these one was further south of us in the sunshine so unable to get a good pic, he/she was due west between us and Poinell Point. Gray whale on her/his side feeding in Utsalady Bay, Camano Island. -All the best, Phil Kezele
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Saw one gray back and fluke as we were heading south past Oak Harbor in Saratoga Passage at 3:20. -Robyn Myers
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3:00 p.m. - 2 grays just south of East Point (Fox Spit, Whidbey), heading south very slowly. Around 3 pm, headed into the fog and the middle of the passage now. Couldn't get a good photo. -Susanne Schnippering
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1:10 p.m. - Feeding frenzy over and they look to be heading back south and back out to the middle of the passage
11:14 a.m - Yes, grays. Now positive sighting oh two together up against shore on Whidbey side. Hidden Beach near crane's landing dr
10:15 a.m. - We are in a home north of Greenbank. Seeing blows in middle of Saratoga passage. Guessing a single whale - heading northbound. -Toby Berry

March 26
Global News reports on Orcas in Burrard Inlet, Vancouver, BC.
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12 Noon 3/26 - 2-3 orcas seen from Yaquina Head OR. They were about a mile from shore, with at least one adult male, and were swimming north. No photos. -Reported by Tom Strunk
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March 26 - Possession Sound - 11:30 a.m - #21, 22, 383 moving south with purpose just north of Gedney! Coming down from Camano Head.
10:51 a.m - #53 LP (Little Patch) southeast Gedney and #185 feeding on delta. -Renee Beitzel
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March 26 - North Saratoga Passage - We were on scene again today and it was #44 and #56 again doing very similar behavior to what we saw Saturday although 44 did start heading toward Camano when we were leaving. -Tyrone Reed
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9:30 a.m - Possibly same gray whale from Saturday and Sunday - just at the entrance of Oak Harbor channel!! -Jaretta Smith

March 25
6 Transient Orcas on the hunt really close to shore around 1pm. 86A's!? Photos taken from the breakwater at Ford's cove, Hornby Island. -Louis Jobidon
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March 25 (possible sperm whale) - We had a message from Nickolaus Dee Lewis of Lummi; two Lummi fisherman saw a whale they thought may have been a sperm whale as it had a bulbous head - it surfaced close to their boat and seemed to hover, they said it stuck its head out of the water for awhile - then it went back under and they didn't see it again, they were concerned by its behavior that it might be hurt or sick. This was late afternoon/early evening off Carter Pt, So. end of Lummi. (more of original report below along with Jared Towers reply)
"One of my buddies (Randingo Kinley) just called me and told me they seen a sperm whale or fin whale that appeared to be hurt somehow, wasn't acting normal. Was off Carter Point off south end of Lummi island they may have got the whale description wrong, but said it was a large whale and just how it appeared they did try waiting for it after noticing it, but it didn't come back up after they noticed it, and slowed down to look more at it. Just wanted to send it as a FYI case get any other reports."
Thanks for this Susan and Howie. The sperm whale we had in Johnstone Strait was detected acoustically and or visually almost every day between February 11th and March 18th. Since the 18th there has been no sign of him. Based on comparisons with boat size as well as body measurements estimated from acoustic recordings he was about 45 feet long. His surface and dive behaviour was quite normal and his body condition appeared healthy from photographs and underwater video. Given his long dives, short surfacing intervals and active acoustic behaviour, the best way to confirm if he is around is probably acoustically. I'll be interested to hear if his presence down there can be verified. -Jared Towers, DFO
(Yukusam the sperm whale was indeed identified March 25 off Nanaimo HG)
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March 25 - Mid/North Saratoga Passage - Sunday in Oak Harbor with a gray whale! -Photo by Karen Hlousek
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Matt Stolmeier reports gray 56 was in the Oak Harbor area today.
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Just spotted gray whale in same area of Oak Harbor as yesterday. Just at the channel markers leading into Oak Harbor. It is currently 7:30pm. -Jaretta Smith
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12:18 p.m. - possible grey whale sighting (yes, gray - alb) still here in Oak Harbor- east of Maylor Point. We can see from the seaplane base. -Courtney Wilson
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9:22 a.m - Hey! I'm watching a non orca whale (was a gray whale) in the cove on the Whidbey sea plane base. Next to the exchange. Been here for at least 15 mins...He's staying in a pretty tight radius. Occasionally I will see half a fluke. She doesn't appear to be going anywhere. -Carey Varas
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Feeding this morning (3/25). Still feeding off Maylor Point at 0905 today. Two, possibly three greys at the entrance of Oak Harbor, west of Maylor Point. They were out all yesterday afternoon until night fall at least (3/24). Feeding this morning (3/25). Still feeding off Maylor Point at 0905 today. -Steppe Williford
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Just spotted a gray whale & a juvenile gray traveling leisurely through Saratoga Passage heading north of Baby Island around 10:20 this Sunday morning. Beautiful sight! -Lisa & Scott Pate
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March 25 - South Saratoga/Possession Sound - We were fortunate with weather today, chilly, but beautifully calm water in Possession Sound as we took off in search of gray whales. Soon after leaving Langley we found #531 feeding on the north east side of Hat (Gedney) Island, showing her fluke on shallow dives. A little further to the south we found two more whales, the iconic #49 Patch traveling with #53 Little Patch - fun to see them together as they also fluked on several shallow dives. We were fortunate to have Elliott Menashe from Greenbelt Consulting on board today - educating us on land-slides on both Whidbey and Camano Islands as we viewed them from Mystic Sea. An interesting day for sure. -Jill Hein, volunteer naturalist.
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Hello, On Sunday,...I was sitting on a bench in Hibulb Park, Everett (Legion Park), with a pair of great binoculars. Starting at around 2:30 PM for about 30 min, I could observe blows from three whales between Everett and Clinton, closer to the Whidbey. ...there were spouts from another three or four whales closer to me and in front of Jetty Island. I saw a lot of fluke or fin action... I am very excited to have found Orca Network, read the reports every day, and would like to learn more about it. -Thank you, Barbara Inge Karsch
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She was the only whale. We saw her right after high tide, so probably from 11:30 to about 12:30. First spotted her closer to Whidbey and watched her make her way over to Mabana. I believe it is the same (re; pec photo - alb). This was taken right off the county road where people launch their boats. Think there used to be a dock there long ago. #22 Earhart -Ronda Miller
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11:41 a.m. - gray sighting North of Gedney heading east. -Casandra Renee Santiago.
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10:37 a.m. - #531 northbound at Tulalip. -Renee Beitzel
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10:10 a.m - 3 greys about 1/2 south of Hat island. Looks like two adults and a smaller one. -John Villasenor
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9:00 am - Fred Lundahl called in a report of a single gray whale seen from Langley, feeding off Sandy Pt. then heading across Saratoga Passage toward Camano Island and possibly up toward Langley.
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8:40 a.m - Saw gray whale (back of camera photo shared shows #22 -alb) just past buoys on west side of Sandy Point, Whidbey looking like she was heading across to Camano side kind of west northerly. -Marilyn Armbruster
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Minke whales - March 25 - Minke in Admiralty inlet seen from ferry at 1315. -Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research
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Unidentified cetacean - March 25 - Admiralty Inlet - Possible orca (but more likely minke or a really big Dall's) mid crossing on the 11:00 am Port Townsend/Keystone ferry crossing. I saw the back and heard the blow two times and did not see a large dorsal. I'm pretty familiar with the whales of our area. It was one animal and headed towards PT. Some folks on the ferry said orca but I did not see a dorsal, certainly not a large one. It was definitely bigger than a porpoise. Not a gray. Minke or orca. Too large to be Harbor porpoise. Possible juvenile minke and certain it was alone. Down time ~ 2-3 minutes when we saw it. -Andrea Vance

March 24
Southern Residents - J39 "Mako" and J47 "Notch" were hanging out together yesterday evening and did this synchronized pec slap as they were socializing. Too cute! -Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu
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J Pod and L87 were in Strait of Georgia late afternoon on the far side of the strait across from Vancouver and Point Roberts. They were spread out in small groups of 3-4 whales leisurely working their way south. I have never seen them this relaxed and social before. Many different animals breached and surface play, tail slaps, pec slaps and rolling around were nearly constant. Mako gave us a full-on double breach and Nova got some big air as well. We probably saw at least ten breaches in the time spent with them. There was also some PG-13 sea snake play. L87 Onyx. J40 Suttles. -Debbie Stewart
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A few photos attached from our late afternoon trip with J pod. ...We came on scene with J pod around 5 PM in the Strait of Georgia, just south of Active Pass, as they traveled south. They continued south, with lots of play and social behavior. -Photo by Jeff Friedman, March 24, 2018
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Another magic day with Orcas around Hornby and Denman Islands, all day. I recognized the ones in the Lambert channel from last Sunday. I believe the 124A's and 86A's. Saw the Whales feast on a couple seals and spent all afternoon in my kayak. T124A2A, T124D2, and T124D1, T124D and T124D2, (maybe T86A4), (maybe T86A1) with T124A2, T86A, T86A3, and calf (maybe T124A2B), T124A2 and T124A2A -Photo by Louis Jobidon, March 24, 2018 (IDs by Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research)
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Gray whales - March 24 - 2:55 p.m. - We have #531 E of Langley heading toward Camano Head! -Justine Buckmaster
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2:20 p.m. - mid channel at Mabana (Camano), 1 or 2 grays spouting. Northbound. -Krista Paulino
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1:14 pm - Mystic Sea reported to Langley Whale Center: Gray #383 is between Whidbey and Hat/Gedney Islands. #49 & #53 are between Hat Island and Everett.
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Email received 12:41 p.m. from John Storbeck who relays: Got a report of a lone gray whale feeding in the sandy tidal area along north Tillicum Beach on Camano Island WA 98282. N48deg06'24.48" W122deg24'
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12:40 p.m. - One whale on the southern tip of Gedney Island heading north west. -Danielle Pennington
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12:32 - Jaretta Smith is watching a gray whale in Oak Harbor bay, across from the city at the spit that juts out about 1/2 mile from the city streets.
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Over the noon hour we observed two to three grey whales leisurely spouting, diving, and rolling off SW Gedney (Hat) Island. From our vantage point on the 200 foot bluff we saw the greys slowly moving north on the west side. Three observation boats were in the area part of the time. Wonderful to see them. -Chuck Howell
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11:45 a.m - We also saw #21 Shackleton just south of Elger Bay heading SW down Saratoga Passage at about 11:45.
10:35 a.m. - gray whale #22 Earhart feeding along the beach just south of Sandy Point (Whidbey). She's circling, but heading generally south. -Justine Buckmaster
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March 24 - North Saratoga Passage - On Saturday, we had #44 and #56 in and around Oak Harbor. -Brooke McKinley
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Gray whale rainblow near Oak Harbor. -Photo by Sarah Kogler, March 24, 2018
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One of the grays off Oak Harbor today. -Photo by Karen Hlousek, March 24, 2018
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Gray #44 off Oak Harbor today. -Photo by Matt Stolmeier, March 25, 2018
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March 24 - South Saratoga and Possession Sound - About 3:45 pm this single gray came from the southeast in Saratoga Passage, swimming closer to Camano. It passed closest to Pebble Beach, directly across from Langley...S/he continued west, into the central passage. -Photo by Peg Boley, March 24, 2018
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Welcome back Sounder #22 (Earhart), who survived a boat strike last year. Is it any wonder that #22 is named after Amelia Earhart for her pioneering feeding technique? Today we witnessed that first-hand as #22 exhibited the highly specialized (and strategically risky) behavior of feeding close to shore in shallow water, with her pectoral fin and partial 10-12 foot long flukes exposed above the surface as she dug deep in the sediment for crustaceans south of Sandy Point, near Langley. After leaving Earhart we spent some time with #383 between Whidbey and Hat Island, before joining #49 (Patch) and #53 (Little Patch) south of Hat Island. And that wasn't the end of it... We spotted another whale, possibly #21 or newcomer CRC-185 heading towards Everett while stopping along the way to check out ghost-shrimp buffet. So much action in a relatively small space and short time-frame with these magnificent giants who choose to visit us every spring. -Sandra Pollard, Author/Naturalist (Photos Richard Snowberger, Crew)
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It was nice to see the sun again today! It was still a bit chilly in the morning, but with the help of some hot cider (thanks Michael), I stayed out on the bow of the San Juan Clipper to get a good look at some of our Sounders. The first whale we spotted was #22 Earhart feeding just south of Langley in shallow water along the shore of Whidbey Island. We got really good looks at her pectoral fins and flukes as she rolled to feed close to the beach! We also caught up with #21 Shackleton a little further north. Later, on our way back to Seattle, we encountered #531 as she crossed Saratoga Passage to Camano Head. She fluked several times giving us some nice looks at her unique scarring patterns. -Justine Buckmaster

March 23
Unidentified killer whales - March 23 - 10:04 a.m. - just saw it breach, it is an orca. 9:45 a.m - spotted one Orca blow and back traveling east out of Penn Cove at 0945 this morning. Coupeville side. It was very black, just a glimpse of it's back and it's blow. just off the dock at Coupeville. only saw two blows and then it's back. -Kit Rhodes
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March 23 - Saratoga Passage - 11:31 a.m - Two blows and a back 10 mins ago off of Scenic Heights around Balda/Miller (Oak Harbor). No fin, just a long back then it was gone. Seemed to be heading northeast. -CeCe Celia Aguda
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March 23 - Possession Sound - 3:04 p.m. - Gray whale at the clinton ferry dock, heading north and west. Very very close to Whidbey. -Danielle Pennington
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15:02 - Just left #49 and #53 between Everett and Gedney.
13:48 - #185 southeast Gedney, resting. -Renee Beitzel
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One of the whales off of Camano Head now (11:01) is #22 Earhart. Still no ID on the second whale with her. They are steadily southbound. -Justine Buckmaster
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10:38 a.m - Gray 383 feeding off southeast Gedney. Just located 2 more grays together, heading south, just south of Mabana. No IDs yet. -Renee Beitzel

March 22
Elliott Bay, Puget Sound - Approx 5:15 p.m. - Orca off West Seattle ...My boss and others saw them while setting up for a dinner. Elliot Bay by Salty's restaurant. They described the breaches and were certain they were orca. They thought there were 2-3. -Sara Frey
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March 22 - Possession Sound - I live on Hat Island, us along with several other residents, commute regularly to Everett. One of them reported seeing a gray whale near the Coast Guard ship inside the breakwater on her way home, around 5:00pm. It was headed up river, that's all the detail she had....It hadn't gone far, and tide was pretty low so hopefully it didn't get far. -Lori Christopher

March 21
Southern Residents - In mid-day whales were reported inbound in the Strait of Juan de Fuca somewhere near Race rocks, very spread out and taking long dives. Hoping they might be J pod returning, Ken set out in Chimo and headed toward Seabird Point, Discovery Island where they were reportedly heading. However, the whales stalled out near the end of an ebbing tide and were foraging toward William Head on the south Vancouver Island coast. The dives were long, the whales very spread over at least ten square miles, and the situation was at first backlit; but, they were J pod!...Full summary report and photos at Center for Whale Research Encounter 19.
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8:36 pm J Pod - on Orca Sound HPs again. -Jeanne Hyde
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7:08 p.m - orcas being vocal again but a lot of freighter noise. -Alethea Leddy
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6:17 p.m. - Louder calls now but lots of static
6:15 p.m. - Just started hearing faint calls on Orcasound hydrophone. -Monika Wieland Shields
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March 21 - 8:45 a.m - Spotted four Orcas in the Satellite Channel, between Mill Bay, BC and Cow Bay, BC. Identified as T2C, with her newish calf, T2C4, and eldest son T2C1, plus one other female trailing behind (possibly T2C3). Group meandered past slowly, surfacing many times, heading west down the Channel towards Cherry Point, and the Samsun Narrows. Wonderful to see them this morning! They appears to be feeding as well as traveling:three together, and another female trailing behind a little. 48.695512/-123.540502 -Deirdre Zlomanchuk
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Gray whale #22 Earhart, the female who was struck by a boat last year, has returned! We are pleased to see her especially since some years she does not come inland. We will share any health updates by Cascadia Research once they have a chance to observe her and/or see enough photo-documentation. -Photo by Justine Buckmaster, March 21, 2018
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March 21- Possession Sound - Another amazing day on the Chilkat Express with the Sounders! In fact, 'amazing' doesn't quite cut it, today was downright magical. We sat in the presence of 4 gray whales for over an hour while they circled and socialized nearby. We greeted #22 Earhart back to Puget Sound for the first time this year, and it was a relief to see her looking well after last year's boat strike. We also saw #49 Patch, #53 Little Patch, and #383 who was closely escorting #22 Earhart. We saw some really interesting behavior from #383 as #53 Little Patch approached him and #22, including 3 head rises and bubble blasts! Lots of fluking and rainblows as well! The left side of #22 Earhart. Remember, if you see a blow, go slow! -Justine Buckmaster
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1351: we are with 2 grays southeast of Gedney. #383 AND #22 Earhart together! She's back! -Photo by Renee Beitzel, March 21, 2018
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March 21 - Saratoga Passage - 9:19 a.m. - A gray whale just passed Mabana moving towards Elger Bay/ Camano Park...on Camano side. -Lonnie Kaufman
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Harbor porpoise - March 21 - 11:00 a.m - Hi- I was up at West Beach at Deception Pass State Park this morning and saw a lot of what I believe to be harbor porpoises, I have seen them up there before but not so many. They were strung out in a very long line and attracting a lot of gulls and eagles that were flying overhead. It was impossible to count them but there must have been dozens. -Photo by Mary Jo Adams, March 21, 2018

March 20
Coastal killer whales - March 19 & 20 - Coast report phoned in by Reggie, a commercial fisherman. He saw two orcas, one "huge," heading NW just over a mile from shore; March 19th off Queets, (47.54 x 124.40) and March 20th off the Quillayute Reservation.
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March 20 - Saratoga Passage - Photo slideshow by Whidbey Camano Land Trust of two gray whales making an appearance at the entrance to Penn Cove.
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March 20 - Possession Sound - 6:45 p.m. - NE Hat Island there are 2 whales, continued feeding until 8:00+ After-dinner visit by one of the returning gray whale "Sounders" right in front of the house! Incredibly blessed. The FB VIDEO shows their feeding behavior-rolling in the shallows to kick up the ghost shrimp. Lori Christopher -
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4:15 p.m. - seeing a blow in the distance, between N of the Clinton ferry and the Snohomish Delta. Not sure of direction yet. -Susan Berta & Wendy Sines, Orca Network/LWC
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Around 2:15 this afternoon I watched a Gray between Mukilteo and Hat Island. It stuck around for a bit, moving towards the shore and East towards Everett. Sooooo cool! I heard it before I saw it! -Danica Bourne
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We had Patch (49), Little Patch (53), 531 and 383 today plus one we couldn't ID yet! ...they were all between the Mukilteo-Clinton ferry line and Hat/Gedney Island from 10-1pm. -Kristina Trowbridge
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10:54 a.m. - Gray whale...Over west of Everett. Spotted with binochs from Clinton ferry. -Christy Korrow

March 19
Depoe Bay, Oregon - Carrie Newell called in a report of L pod orcas off Depoe Bay on March 19 & 20: Monday the 19th they saw 20 - 25 whales, 3 open saddles, 3 males, 2 calves (one juvenile and one very small calf), right off Depoe bay by the bell buoy, heading south. She then sent this report:
Met them just south of the Depoe Bay buoys in 80 feet of water traveling south at 5 knots. 4 minute dive cycles with 1-2 minutes at surface. Met them on 3-19-2018 at 12:40pm and left them around 2pm just south of Cape Foulweather. N 44 47 640 and W 124 05 044 there were 4-5 males and 2 calves. Assumed L pod from San Juans. Initially doing abreast behavior but 45 minutes later spread out in small groups separated by as much as 1/4 mile. On 3-20-2018 my other captains encountered 5 orcas traveling south at 5 knots in 60 feet of water. 4 females and one adult male. Noon encounter. - Carrie Newell - Whale Research EcoExcursions (Depoe Bay, Oregon)
(Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research preliminary IDs: "L72, L90, definitely there." Melisa Pinnow , CWR took a look later at photos on a passenger's Facebook page and ID'd: "L4s, and the L47s and L72s. The L26s were probably there too but I don't see them in the photos. So it looks like L pod minus the L12s and L54s.")
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March 19 - Howe Sound - Orcas in Howe Sound today: This was about 3:20pm between Keats Island and Bowen Island. They were heading North East up the Sound. That little island behind them is called Hutt Island I think and it looked like they were going to take the passage between that and Bowen. -Photo by Lauren Elizabeth, March 19, 2018
(ID: T49A1 - by Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research)
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March 19 - Spieden Channel - Today I went out on the boat for the first time in nearly a year. First, we came across an eagle enjoying a snack. Then we caught up with the T2Cs heading north along Spieden Island. Tumbo was lagging behind, but the family would pause at times to let him catch him up. Eventually they launched an attack on a harbor seal. Tumbo sat just a short ways off, simply watching his family hunt. He'd surface every so often in the same exact spot and log at the surface, never taking his eyes off his family working without him to make the kill. When the hunt was over, Tumbo headed over to his family to join in on the feast. Afterwards they continued north and we headed home. A beautiful day with a special family of whales, who demonstrate care and compassion for their disabled family member. It's a beautiful thing, T2C1 Rocky. T2C2 Tumbo. -Rachel Haight
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While we were out doing some work with the new Western Explorer II, we decided to have a look at the T2Cs family group of Bigg's Killer whales that were nearby. As we arrived, a hunt on a Steller Sea lion began. Shortly after, something interesting happened. 20+ Steller Sea lions came to the hunted one's defense. They grouped up together watching for the Killer whales, and when they were close enough to the singeled out one, that animal made a break for it swimming at high speed until he got into the raft of sea lions. It was facinating to watch. The orcas swam around the scene for a little while, before turning and heading away from the scene. -Facebook video by Traci Walter HERE.
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8:15 AM - Marie Waterman at WS Ferries relayed a report of at least 2 adult orcas in San Juan Channel, about 1/2 mile east of Friday Harbor, heading NE.
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Saratoga Passage - 6:00 p.m. - Three gray whales seen feeding at Maylor Point. -Photo by Kelly Whitson, March 19, 2018
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Grey Whale came by this morning. Near Baby Island / Fox Spit. -Eric Wittenmeier
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March 19 - Possession Sound
6:04 p.m. - Definitely 2 whales heading towards Hat northeasterly. Currently between Mukilteo and Hat.
5:45 p.m. - at least one gray between Mukilteo/Clinton Ferry lanes and Hat island. Possible two with one more east (north of Mukilteo) with other more mid channel. Seen while aboard 5:35 crossing from Clinton. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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4:35 p.m. - Two Grays feeding south of Tulalip Bay at this moment. Presumably the same ones. -Josh Adams
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1440- #185 slowly making way north now.
Approx 2:13pm - #49 Patch and just now joining PCFG CRC-185 on southeast side of Gedney. Got to meet the newcomer, PCFG CRC-#185! off Snohomish Delta. He/she has got some really beautiful curvy flukes. 185 breached in distance (of course) and then proceeded to travel over to the delta where he/she then began to feed in the shallows and we could see the flukes and pec fins. Fun day! -Photo by Renee Beizel, March 19, 2018

March 18
J pod & L87 came down from the north. Here is a lovely bundle of members tightly grouped passing Mayne Island, BC while southbound in the Strait of Georgia this morning. -Photo by Yves Tiberghien, March 18, 2018
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March 18 - 6:15 p.m. - some beautiful calls on Lime Kiln hydrophone as J pod and L87 head south down the west side of San Juan Island. -Susan Berta, Orca Network
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After getting out on the water with J-Pod this afternoon, we got to listen to them on the hydrophones for quite a long time this evening. Interesting note: while they sound fairly close to the Lime Kiln hydrophone where this was recorded, they were actually on the far side of Haro! Here's an AUDIO CLIP. -Monika Wieland Shields
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On the morning of March 18th word came in of lots of whales southbound in the Strait of Georgia. J-Pod had been up north for over a week; could this be them finally coming back down? Luckily for me there was still space available for Maya's Legacytrip out that afternoon to go and see! We headed north in nice calm waters to Boundary Pass, and it didn't take us long to spot our first fin: J27 Blackberry. J16 Slick and J50 Scarlet in Boundary Pass. J26 Mike this afternoon in Boundary Pass. So great to see residents again! -Photo by Monika Wieland Shields, March 18, 2018
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J Pod showed up today only 20 minutes from our office! We had to head out and spend some time with them. They have just spent about 2 weeks up in the Strait of Georgia so hopefully they found lots of fish! J27 Blackberry. J22 Oreo. -Photo by Gary Sutton, March 18, 2018
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This morning at 9am, two tight pods came in the same way as ten days ago: closer to shore, heading East toward Saturna - in the middle of the Strait of Georgia. Here are the photos. Can you recognize them? Some are standing. I am very impressed by the super tight family formation in one group (where you see one pod...I thought there were 8 in one pod and 3-4 in the other (which was further and more in front). -Yves Tiberghien (Mayne island, BC, Straight of Georgia)
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Bigg's/Transient killer whales - March 22 - Strait of Georgia - 7:00 p.m. - Orca Sighting. Seen 3 orca, Straight of Georgia by Qualicum Beach. One was a lot smaller than the other two. They were travelling. Watched them resurface over several minutes and blow several times. Travelling surfaced several times. Watched them for about 2 minutes. Travelling in a North/West direction. -Brad Patterson
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18:00 Columbia Beach, BC (north of Parksville) we saw a pod of Killer whales heading North. Looked like 4 whales. -Photo by Maryann Esson, March 22, 2018
(Per Melisa Pinnow: "could be T124As")
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March 18 - T2Cs - 5:30-5:57p.m. - now spread out 2 - midchannel nearer ft Casey and 2-3 nearer Ft Ebey close to Whidbey side viewing from Pt Wilson. -Donna
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5:53 p.m - They are just circling in that area in beautifully calm seas
5:40 p.m. - They drifted back towards Pt Wilson. Between there and channel marker. Not going anywhere. Long down times like up to 8+ minutes sometimes.
5:25 p.m. - They hit the marker west of Point Wilson, moved directionally a little towards mid channel and now have stalled or flipped. Still in Jefferson County side
5:00 p.m. - seeing blows and dorsals approaching channel marker just west of Point Wilson heading westbound into Strait of Juan de Fuca. Exiting Admiralty. Viewed from bluffs above Ebeys Landing across Inlet. -Alisa
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Here they are exiting Port Townsend Bay, taken from the rocks on Pt. Wilson. Near Point Wilson in Fort Worden just before they went around the lighthouse to head toward the San Juans. -Photo by Aki VA, March 18, 2018
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They just headed out at five pm...past the lighthouse left with a tail slap like they were saying goodbye. They were amazingly close to shore! They were on the PT side for several hours - we first spotted them in front of us at Point Hudson. They followed the shoreline and passed just below us at the Science Center pier. Then followed the beach around at Fort Worden, and headed out at the lighthouse. They were logging and feeding north of the orange ferry bouy for quite some time. -Tammy Shelton
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4:58 p.m. - Wow, what a gift. 5 killer whales travelling along the beach at Fort Worden. Large male, 3 females? 1 juv? Just rounded PT Wilson heading north. -Liz Hoenig Kanieski
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4:45 p.m. - 4 orcas right off the pier at Fort Worden, headed to point Wilson now. Swimming very slowly. 3 are keeping together and one large delaying behind. -Emilee Carpenter
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T2Cs - 4:30 p.m. - I was visiting port Townsend and we saw a family of orcas. There was a male and female and at least 2-3 babies. The sifting attracted a lot of people you can also check it out on the marine science center Facebook page. Traveling , one of the kept falling behind and the others would come back to find it . They were very close to the shore and passed right by the pier. -Photo by Mahwish DeSilva, March 18, 2018
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4:28 p.m. - Orcas in Ft Worden now maybe 4-5. Taken from pier. -Photo by Alexandra Redman, March 18, 2018
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3:40 p.m. - I thought I saw 3 (male, female, and baby?) headed north just off Chetzemoka Park, Port Townsend. -Photo by Linda Hanlon, March 18, 2018
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3:38 p.m. - Just north of Chetzemoka Park - watching 5 from the playground area! -Annie Burks
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3:10 p.m. - 3 possibly, 4 orcas Point Hudson north of orange buoy. Looks like they are feeding or logging...Port Townsend side. -Tammy Shelton
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2:17 p.m. - I just saw them in the ferry lane near Port Townsend, they are kind if just staying in one spot. Diving for quite a while and then popping back up. I've seen one big male and then three or four smaller ones. -Kim Walters
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T2C Tasu (born 1998) seen here with her youngest offspring T2C4 (first seen early 2017) & her second offspring T2C2 Tumbo (born 2005). T2C1 Rocky (born 2002). T2C3 Lucy (born 2011) and her mom T2C. Port Townsend waterfront. -Photo by Kim Walters, March 18, 2018
(ID by Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research)
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1:00 p.m. - Bonnie Gretz called to relay a report from her friend who said there are approximately 5 orcas who appear to be southbound into Admiralty near Port Townsend area.
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March 18 - Georgia Strait - Bigg's (Transient) Killer whales spotted between 8 and 9am hunting sea lions. The Orcas spent a few hours in the Lambert channel, Hornby Island, especially near Ford's Cove. A few different families were spotted. After a few kills,the whales continued northbound around 3pm.Pictures taken from my kayak. T100?, T86A3, and T124D. T86A, T124D, and T86A1. T124A2 and T124A2A. -Louis Jobidon
(ID by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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On March 18, sighted one Orca in between Sidney Spit and Sidney heading north. Behavior: Traveling. -Robert Verwoord
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March 18 - Saratoga Passage - We saw grays in Crescent Harbor this evening around 530 ish. -Maria Reyes
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Approx 11:30 - I could see blows from the NEX on Whidbey Island. Look like they are by Polnell Point. Looks like Grey whales. -Grace Seidel
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March 18 - Port Susan - 3:50 p.m. - 2 Grays near Camano right now....Watching from the dock at Kayak Point. Almost appear to be feeding on Camano. To far to tell. No mistake in the heart shapeblows. -Nate Trujillo
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...it probably indeed was just 2 big, 1 medium, and 2 or 3 juvenile grays....they were a good two miles west of me, in the middle of the bay, maybe a little closer to Camano Island than to Warm Beach... Between 2 and 2:30 PM today...a group of three very large cetaceans with several smaller ones, at least two and possibly three of which I believe were their young, some of which I believe were harbor porpoises careening around them, spouting and milling around in the middle of the relatively shallow Susan Bay (Port Susan), between Warm Beach (where I live) and Camano Island.
The big ones never rose very high above the surface, and I never saw a fluke or dorsal fin. They spouted huge spouts at irregular intervals of a minute or so. At one point, all three large ones breached the surface simultaneously, swimming north to south in formation at high speed, something I've never seen gray whales do (I have seen the winter gray whale migration along the Oregon coast several times), traveling from right to left in my field of view, and I got a clear look through the binoculars.
The largest of the three was a good 40 feet from the spout to a point on the back somewhere forward of the dorsal fin at the point where it fully finished submerging after 2-3 seconds with its back just barely out of water--that is, I never saw the dorsal fin, but there was at least 40 feet of back behind the spout before the dorsal fin, and the whale had resubmerged before the dorsal fin could emerge, this while swimming at high speed. Again, I never saw any of their flukes. -Philip Courier
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March 18 - Possession Sound - The one off Jetty Island probably the newcomer. Small/young whale. Very curious. Surfaced really close a few times! -Photo by Renee Beitzel, March 18, 2018
(ID notes by Alie Perez, Cascadia Research: "Just finished taking this animal through the catalog, did not find it.")
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Pacific Coast Feeding Group gray CRC -185 over by Hat Island today. -Photo by Tyler McKeen, March 18, 2018
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Sunshine, blue skies,calm seas and whales! Today we spent time with Sounders #21, #49, #53 and #383 feeding on the bounty of ghost shrimp around the shores of Hat Island. These returning grays have found a secret niche of nutritious food known only to a few of them, which they seek out in the spring as they migrate north. Their presence is always a pleasure to behold, and we are truly fortunate to see these magnificent giants in our local waters every year. -Sandra Pollard, Author/Naturalist - Photo (below) Richard Snowberger, Crew.
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11:30 a.m. - One gray off Jetty island and another at SE corner of Hat Isl. -Lori Christopher
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10:48 a.m. - #53 Little Patch and #49 Patch together offshore just north of Mukilteo. -Renee Beitzel
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10:36 a.m. - Grey whale just NE of the Clinton ferry dock heading west. -Danielle Pennington
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Posted 10:30 a.m. - We have been watching them right north of the Mukilteo ferry for the last 20 minutes. (two gray whales - alb) -Carol Pom-Arleau
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Dolphins - March 18 - 9:29 a.m. - Dolphins (Pacific white-sided) spotted across the Cape Mudge lighthouse at Campbell River. -Photo by Penny Vandyke, March 18, 2018
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March 18 - Puget Sound - So glad I went to Golden Gardens. ...maybe these are actually dolphins? There were definitely two of them, possibly 3. heading north, around 7:30pm. -Video by Kristen Adamson, March 18, 2018
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Dave Anderson, Cascadia Research notes on Kristen Adamanson video (originally reported as orcas): "It's impossible to tell from the video what dolphin species it is. The bodies look like they are too slender to be killer whales, but it could be bottlenose, common, or Pacific white-sided dolphins. Given the proximity to the Elliot Bay sighting, there is a good chance these are the bottlenose dolphins."
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March 18 - (Reported as Dall's porpoise but description fits Harbor porpoise - alb)
Hi! My friend and I just drove over the Hood Canal Bridge and spotted at least 7-8 porpoises. We weren't able to get any photos. We also think they may have been feeding. There were many present in the same area and the water was pretty turbulent where they were, but glassy in other areas....We had thought Dall's because the dorsal fins were short and pointy, almost like a perfect triangle. Not much curve to them, and very small. They were black or very, very dark gray. -Allie Stote

March 17
March 17 - T2Cs, T37As, T99s - 7:10 pm - pods have moved over to Whidbey side and just now passing by north side Double Bluff south end Mutiny Bay, loosely spread with T2C2 trailing behind all. Up until Bush Point they were in steady travel mode, with some lazy tail loves and inverted rolls. After Bush they slowed down and began traveling in resting spread in groups of 1-3s by the time they reached Double Bluff near darkness. Amazing day...which got more amazing watching 5 otters scampering off the beach into the sea just now! T2Cs, T37As, and T99s along their travels down Admiralty Inlet after having spent hours this morning and early afternoon in eastern Juan de Fuca just miles from the entrance. Filmed from various Whidbey beaches along the way. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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1829 - (orcas) just N of Double Bluff on the East Side of the traffic lanes (Whidbey Side). Appear to be moving south, but too far to tell for sure. -James Greenway
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5:55 p.m. - they have passed Bush Point still mid channel in beautiful smooth water and moody sky of sun streaming through dark clouds. So lovely to see how they all move with T2C2 and to watch his movements.
5:00 p.m. - They are still mid channel just south of Lagoon Pt heading towards Bush Point. Grouped up. So many beautiful whales!
3:35 p.m. - orcas are committed to Admiralty so far. Mid channel between Fort Casey and Port Townsend. Steady Southbound.
3:05 p.m. - orcas have turned towards Admiralty and are now moving closer to Point Wilson, Port Townsend. 2-3 WW boats with them
2:25 p.m. - Seeing breaches, tail lobs, illuminated blows 1-2 miles? west of Point Wilson. Whales not going anywhere at the moment . Viewing from Bluff east of Ebeys Landing, Whidbey. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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4:40 p.m. - whales southbound opposite Lagoon Point on Kitsap side. Beautiful backlit blows. -Sandra Pollard
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Here we have T2C1 and lil sister T2C3 playing around. T2C3 ~ she is always so full of energy! These two played the entire time we were with them. We also had the T99 family group with them. Was a beautiful day out on the water~ (east Juan de Fuca) Photo by Marcie Goldberg, March 17, 2018
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9:39 a.m - While aboard the Seattle Clipper, we spotted a large pod of orcas- at least 7 or 8 individuals, including at least one male and juvenile, west of Fort Ebey State Park on Whidbey Island. The pod was swimming southward. Playing/fighting with each other a little bit. Not deep diving. Swimming fast together- sometimes toward each other, but generally headed south and quickly. Time: 9:39 am Date: Sat, Mar 17. -Caryn Taylor
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9:38 a.m - Large pod of Orca headed SW in the strait of Juan Dr Fuca, near buoy SA. Appear to be feeding, very active. Headed slowly toward Point Wilson/Admiralty Inlet. Seen from Victoria Clipper V. -James Greenway
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March 17 - Fred Lundahl relayed this report: 2 grays spotted across from Langley, feeding and heading south closer to Camano side, 6:30 pm, reported to him by Hayden and Caroline and their Dad Red.
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4:18 p.m. - 2 grey whales headed north in Saratoga passage, passing Bells Beach. We are watching from Camano. -Anthony Bay
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Had a gray whale come thru McKees Beach in Stanwood 20 minutes ago. Right about 5:30. Going south. -Sarah Kortekaas
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We left the marina with reports of at least two of our "Sounders" gray whales close by, so we headed south to catch up with #49, Patch. He was surfacing erratically, with very little deep diving, as he was in a fairly shallow area just south of Gedney Island. After he did a nice fluke up tail dive, we turned north into calmer waters. After a good scan with no spouts, we headed back south and caught up with one of our female whales, #531. She too was shallow diving, but did do a couple of nice fluke up dives. Another great day with lovely whales and passengers! -Bonnie Gretz, volunteer naturalist
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While kayaking Mom saw CRC ID #44 - Dubknuck today about 1/2 nm sw of Hat Island. The divot behind his dorsal fin was unmistakable. Spotted around noon. -Boomer Pawkette
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11:45 - Just got a gray whale report from Sunlight Beach at Useless Bay, west of Freeland Whidbey Is. Report relayed by Amy at the Whale Center.
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11:28 am - 531 is back. We are with her right now just north of Hat Island. -Bart, Chilkat Express
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Minke whales - March 17 - 10:42 a.m. - Minke whale southbound moving at a quick clip, mid-channel (toward the Whidbey side) just south of Marrowstone island. -Margaret Marshall
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March 17 - Elliott Bay, Puget Sound - 10:24 a.m. - Hi all, just saw a dolphin off of pier 55 in downtown seattle. Been hanging out all morning between the Argosy boats and the Colman ferry dock. -Kelly Greenwood
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We watched the dolphin swim/circle between Pier 59 (Seattle Aquarium) and Coleman Dock from about 9:15am to 10:45am on Saturday, 3/17/18. -Photo by Dave Glenn
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ID notes by Dave Anderson Cascadia Research: "Dave Glenn sent me the rest of his photos. While none of them were clear enough on their own for an ID, there are enough hints between them to suggest that this animal could be Stump. One of the images, when really zoomed in, shows probable nicks in about the right places, and another one from head on shows the bend in the dorsal fin. Thanks to Dave and the Seattle Aquarium!" -Photo by Dave Glenn, March 17, 2018
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March 17 - 5:45 p.m. - 5 Harbor porpoises together seen from Ebeys landing. Heading north to Fort Casey. -Angela Zylla

March 16
Bigg's/Transient killer whales - San Juan Channel - A true Pacific Northwest moment this afternoon in San Juan Channel as WSDOT's Washington State Ferry Tillikum passed by transient killer whale T2C1 Rocky. Yes, the T2Cs are still hanging around! -Photo by Monika Wieland Shields, March 16, 2018
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Unidentified killer whales - March 16 - Admiralty Inlet - Spotted three or four Orcas very close to the shore on Marrowstone Point. I heard another report of a sighting here yesterday. -Marty Garcia (emailed at 3:59PM)
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Gray whales - March 16 - Possession Sound - 3:20 p.m. - Gray whale east side of mid channel in westbound ferry lanes closer to Mukilteo. Several surfacing, healthy tall blows, shallow dives, presents top of fluke...aiming in northerly direction. Viewed from the 3:05 ferry crossing from Mukilteo to Clinton...ferry came to near stop. -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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1509: correction, he turned and is stalled out at Ruins.
1502: We are with #44 right now on northeast side of Gedney. He's making his way around the island heading toward Everett. -Renee Beitzel, Chilkat
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1240 Just left #44 Dubknuck. He was heading away from Camano, toward Whidbey.
1224 Positive ID on #44, feeding close to shore off the South tip of Camano Island.
1137 - Another Gray off the Clinton Ferry Terminal. Cruising North in deep water. Diving up to 5 minutes at a time. ID on this last one #21
1115 - sporadic feeding, #49 was further from Hat, unidentifiable 2nd Gray Whale now closer to Hat Island. I don't believe this 2nd Gray is a Sounder. I've got good ID pictures of both left and right side, no match yet.
1043. On the IE3 with gray whale south east of Hat/Gedney Island (Later ID'd as CRC-185, see photos and ID notes below) Feeding back and forth. Spout off in the distance more toward Hat Island is #49 Patch . No ID on closer whale yet. -Angela Nicholson
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Photos of the gray whale who was not a Sounder observed today off Hat Island (along with known Sounders) were sent to Cascadia Research. Turns out it is a known individual from the Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG): "Alie recognized this whale right away as one of our PCFG regulars, CRC-185. Well over 200 sightings of this whale going back to 1996 with most sightings being off S Vancouver Island. Unusual for it to be in this area and will be interesting to see if it sticks around." - John Calambokidis
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March 16 - Saratoga Passage - After a long 8.5 hour busy day on my feet at work, I went for another 2 mile roundtrip beach walk to watch gray whales just east of Polnell Pt as the sun set. Gorgeous evening (3/16) with gray whales #383, #723, and at least one other.
(later ID'd as 56- alb) -Rachel Haight
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5:50 p.m. - They are back tonight as well watching them now! headed in circles towards Polnell Point.
9:00 am. - 3 greys this morning feeding in circles headed east from Polnell Point, headed towards Mariners Cove.... (they are doing feeding circles. Been watching them and smelling them for awhile. 723 fluke - One of todays visitors Saratoga Passage, Whidbey side- between Mariners Cove and Polnell Point. -Marcie Barney Goldberg
(ID by Alisa LB)
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March 16 - San Juan Channel - I saw 4 Orca around 4 p.m. in Cattle Pass, San Juan Islands heading towards open water. 3 were in a pod with a medium and small whale leading and a large following. The fourth whale swam in the same direction about 20 minutes later and was alone. -Jessica Hockstedler
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March 16 - Rosario Strait - 2 Orcas seen today at about 3:23 pm from the beach south of Green Point at Washington Park in Anacortes today. -Photo by Robyn Myers, March 16, 2018
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March 16 - Admiralty Inlet - Spotted three or four Orcas very close to the shore on Marrowstone Point. I heard another report of a sighting here yesterday. They were definitely headed north when I spotted them,and truthfully I think now it may have only been two. The came around the point and headed north,it was about 10am on March 16th. I got some video but they came out of the water again directly west of the point. They appeared to be passing through,I didn't see any more of them after that. I'm just here on a work assignment and this is my first Orca sighting,so I feel pretty lucky! -Marty Garcia
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10:22 a.m - Orca Sighting - At least 5 orcas seen travelling north while approximately 1.5 hours out of Seattle on Victoria Clipper off port side of ship. -Sidney Cheek
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March 16 - Juan de Fuca Strait - A tourist told of seeing a group of orcas from the hiway between Clallam Bay and Bullman Beach (west of Neah Bay) Friday afternoon, traveling west. Watched for them from Bullman, but did not see them pass. -M McElravy
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March 16 - We saw (pretty sure transients) in Burrows Pass of Fidalgo Island. There were 4-5 with a fairly young calf. The pics aren't great (my camera settings were off), but may be able to ID. They only came in for a few minutes, moved up against the kelp on Fidalgo Island a bit, then went back out into the Strait. It was very exciting!! -Thanks, Cindy R. Elliser, PhD, Research Director, Pacific Mammal Research
(ID notes by Melisa Pinnow, CWR of photos below: "These may be the T90s but I don't know their eye patches well unfortunately.")

March 15
Cowichan Bay - Great to hang out with T124C and one of my favourite matrilines, the T124A2's right outside of Cowichan Bay. Here is T124A2, T124A2B and T124C. -Photo by Gary Sutton, March 15, 2018
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March 15 - Juan de Fuca - 5:55 p.m. - I would say about 5 Orcas heading toward Port Angeles from New Dungeness. -Photo by Ryan Johnson, March 15, 2018
(need confirmation but word is T137s were present - alb)
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March 15 - San Juan Channel & Westsound - 9:30 a.m. - 1-2 groups past Friday Harbor (included the T100s, T124s, T101s, and T49s - alb), then about an hour later this group (T137s, T46s and T46Bs) came by and the T2Cs. And the T60s were interisland near Westsound. It is hard to keep track. THIS VIDEO has T137s, T46s and T46Bs in it. T-party palooza up here today!!!! Unreal! -Traci Walter, Western Prince
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March 15 - Admiralty Inlet - 7:25 p.m.- they have moved closer to mid-channel and Kitsap side, but only as far as half way between Foulweather Bluff and Skunk Bay, with slow movement to the south. -Susan Berta, Orca Network
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7:25 p.m. - From Limpett Lane straight out from here at Foulweather Bluff. At the same time one came up near Double Bluff channel marker closer to Whidbey.
7:09 p.m. - From my vantage point they are still north of Foulweather Bluff seems to be at a slow pace and down for longer times still moving southerly.
6:50 p.m. - I see the blows in between south Marrowstone and Foulweather Bluff mid channel, sightline from where I'm standing at Limpett Lane (out Mutiny Bay, Whidbey). I think maybe 5 out there. couple males for sure. -Marilyn Armbruster
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6:15 p.m. - They are still one mile south of Bush Pt, 2 adult males, several adult non-males and several juveniles/calves. They have been breaking up into several small groups, circling around and re-joining each other, hunting/foraging behavior...unfortunately have to leave for a moment so hope others have found them! They are quite close to the Whidbey side.
5:45 p.m. - Orcas are now about one mile south of Bush Point. -Susan Berta, Orca Network
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Claudia Mitchell called in a report of 6 - 8 orcas heading south passing Bush Pt. at 5:15 pm.
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March 15 - Georgia Strait - Report from Reuben Buerge, a WW guide out of Campbell River: 7:50 a.m - About a dozen orca foraging out front Active Pass, Georgia Strait 750am this morning. They were all angled west but spread out. Not making much ground. Saw from ferry.
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Coastal killer whales - March 15 - Orcas from Pt Arena Peninsula Mendocino County Northern California: At 1330 6 orcas, 2 ahead of a tight group of four, at a heading of 170 degrees. Fast travel into the wind with lots of "porpoising" resulting in much white water. We are quite certain there are two males that appear to be traveling together in the group of four. They are approximately 2 miles offshore. At 1405 they were out of sight to the south and into some gloomy weather. -Scott Mercer, Mendonoma Whale and Seal Study
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March 15 - Possession Sound - Day two with the Sounders on the Chilkat Express! Conditions were amazing today and we met up with Gray Whales #49 Patch and #53 Little Patch again on our morning trip. We saw them again in the afternoon and also welcomed #21 Shackleton to Puget Sound for the first time this year! The whales on both trips were circling and milling around the SE side of Gedney Island, likely waiting for the tide to rise so they could feed in the shallow waters of the Snohomish River Delta. -Justine Buckmaster
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1400: We just found #21, just south of Gedney! Justine Buckmaster just confirmed ID. Welcome back Shackleton!
1105 - Patch and Little Patch have split now. Patch still heading for Gedney while LP is circling.
1033 - #49 and #53 heading toward southeast corner of Gedney. -Renee Beitzel, Chilkat Express
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March 15 - Saratoga Passage - 12:17 p.m. - Gray whale heading northwest. Between Forbes Point and Polnell Point (Oak Harbor) -Terra Parhman
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10:47 a.m. - there are definitely two grays, one slightly closer to shore more east, both appear eastbound. 10:44 a.m. - there's a gray whale eastbound in mid Crescent Harbor headed in the direction of Polnell Pt. Maybe 1/2 mile offshore? -Rachel Haight

March 14
9:00-10:00 a.m. - 6 orcas, Northwest Bay, Nanoose Bay. Entering & exiting bay. Appeared to be pursuig sea lions (located on log booms at foot of bay) Not certain if any adult males. Have seen whales in this area before. No photos. -Howard Goshulak
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At around 3:15 pm, we also spotted #53 Little Patch heading north quickly just south of the Mukilteo ferry lanes. -Photo by Justine Buckmaster, March 14, 2018
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1430: #49 Patch circling off Mabana. -Renee Beitzel
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Whale in Saratoga Passage. South west side of Camano, Mabana beach. -Susanne Almberg

March 13
March 13 - Haro Strait - ...in the rain, we were surprised to find whales mid-Haro Strait off the north end of Land Bank at about 1700. The whales were the T2Cs, T46s, and T137s and they had all been reported previously to be among the whales at Middle Bank. The whale watch boat "J1", who had been waiting for us to make sure we got on whales, still had other Ts down south of us in the gloom. We stuck with the northern groups who had been altogether when we first got on scene before the T2Cs split off and were traveling north fast about a quarter mile ahead of the T46s and T137s. T2C2 was not present with the T2Cs and it was not known how far behind the others he was. -Full summary report and photos at Center for Whale Research Encounter 15.
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10:22 p.m. - It seems to be intermittent, but still hearing calls.. they are faint, but I have been listening for a good 2+ hours and they are definitely there
9:24 p.m. - I have been listening for well over an hour now, and I'm starting to hear calls! Faint, but definitley present. -Jessica Wall
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5:48 p.m - Lots of vocalizing and they are getting louder! For a time they sounded like large pack of howling wolves.
5:44 p.m. - Beautiful distant vocals by Bigg's/Transient killer whales on Lime Kiln Hydrophone. -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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March 13 - San Juan Channel - The amount of Bigg's Killer whales in the last few days is incredible!! They seem to like coming in during spring to form social groups. Around here, we call that a "T-party". T for Transient Killer whale, though we use "Bigg's" and "transient" interchangeably as both refer to the fact that these are mammal-eating Killer whales. This the T18's. I became aware of them outside Friday Harbor about 2pm. They worked their way north in San Juan Channel for a portion of the day before heading off to the northeast. A group I just love spending time with. It was really nice to see them today. Hopefully, they enjoy some social time with the other groups and stick around! -Traci Walter
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March 13 - We saw about 5 orcas in Discovery Bay! And quite aways down the bay. We live off Holland Rd, 300 ft up, but could see them in the water. There were spoutings, breaching, diving and two big jumps out of the water. They were there for about 30 minutes (it was around 1pm) and then started heading north....Feeding, circling, a couple of jumps, swimming. 48°00'33.8"N 122°51'13.3"W The above is an estimated location, projecting from our house. What a special 'show' we'll never forget! -Mary & Paul Hootman
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3:05 p.m. - see blows just off middle north end of Jetty Island in the delta, gray is moving about feeding in this area in wide circle. Now viewing from Legion Park, Everett
1:56 p.m. - whale circled back, blows now visible to the east of last update. Whale (may be 2) circling around in general area sightline between here and Priest Point and west of Snohomish River. Viewed from Harborview Park, Everett.
1:45 p.m. - Seeing blows between Jetty Island & Hat/Gedney Island, closer to Jetty. Whale currently moving westerly. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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10:47 a.m. - #383 by himself southeast of Gedney. -Photo by Renee Beitzel, March 13, 2018

March 12
Haro Strait - 7:08 p.m. - 4 for sure, maybe 5, orcas traveling leisurely to the N/NW between Pile Pt and Edwards Point. One large male. Video taken with phone from shore. So wonderful! Haro Strait, San Juan Island. -Michelline Halliday
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March 12 - Georgia Strait - T100s - In the afternoon. Transient Orcas going up Lambert channel, Hornby Island. I was mostly with the 100's but there was others around, getting to know these guys pretty good. Matriarch T101. T100C -Photo by Louis Jobidon
(ID confirmation by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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A group of 12 orcas came together off Comox, BC in the afternoon on March 12. One of them was porpoising belly up. -Photo by Peter Hamilton, March 12, 2018
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March 12 - 1451- #49 Patch is with him (53) now and another 3rd whale is between Everett and Gedney, closer to Everett. No ID yet. This morning: #53 Little Patch milling by himself just southeast of Gedney. I think another whale was seen at northwest side of island by another boat. -Renee Beitzel, Chilkat Express

March 11
At 1310, J19 and J39 were found 4 miles north of Porlier Pass, east of Valdez Island in Georgia Strait. The two were spread out and slowly traveling southbound. A few whales were visible far to the east, so "Morning Star" slowly worked its way in that direction. Twenty minutes later, J41 and J51 were located. The pair was foraging together and after a bit of milling, a salmon was rammed out of the water by J41. -Full summary report and photos at Center for Whale Research Encounter 14.
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One of those late afternoons in the Strait of Georgia. J49 bellyflopping with mom along next to him. J46 backdrive with Roberts Bank port in the background. J50 in a big wide world. L87 with Mt. Baker. -Photos by Tasli Shaw, March 11, 2018
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An absolutely stunning evening in the Strait of Georgia with J pod! Crawling through all the photos now but loved this one of J37 and possibly J40 in double spyhop mode. This turned into a triple spyhop believe it or not! -Photo by Gary Sutton, March 11, 2018
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T2C Tasu T2C1 Rocky - Reuben Tarte Park, San Juan Island. -Photo by Katie Jones, March 11, 2018
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March 11 - San Juan Channel - 5:27 p.m. - Checking out the San Juan Islands for some boat in camping and hiking yesterday and found this amazing family of Orcas along the way. They were very far when we saw them, cut the engine and waited. The new born was very curious and ended up going under and around the boat several times with his momma looking at us. It was breathtaking as the male ushered them off. Pod of 6 or 7 all together. -Misty Burns Emery
(photos show members of T2Cs San Juan channel)
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Older brother, Rocky (T2C1). This was taken this afternoon as the family cruised past Friday Harbor. -Photo by Sara Hysong Shimizu, March 11, 2018
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For a brief moment in the sun-dappled waters at the mouth of Friday Harbor mother and son paused, side by side at the surface. I found myself wondering at what the moment held between the two of them, but only a small part of me because the moment belonged to them and only them. Tasu (T002C) and Tumbo (T002C2). First time seeing whales from Reuben Tarte and what an amazing encounter it was...Here's Tumbo (T002C2) and his mom, Tasu (T002C) and older brother, Rocky (T002C1). I love seeing them all together and this also shows some of the curvature of Tumbo's spine from scoliosis. -Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, March 11, 2018
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The T002Cs milling and killing for over an hour back and forth. Truly an amazing morning. Check out T2C2!! I thought he had a chunk of seal, but turns out that seal chunk had legs!!! Some kind of seabird, perhaps a common murre? I watched him actually suck it into his mouth before he went underwater, so not sure what happened after that. Fun times with many of my fellow whale nerds on land and on the water! -Photo by Traci Walter, March 11, 2018
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Holy bejeezus, what a morning!!! Absolutely incredible encounter with the T2Cs at Reuben Tarte County Park. They meandered off the rocks for ages, playing and slaying. Awesome to spend the morning with some of my favorite dorcas too! WOOT! T2C2 Tumbo and his curvy spine. T2C1 Rocky off Reuben Tarte Park, San Juan Island And thank you so much to Mr. Phil Green for spotting these guys! -Katie Jones
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2:40 p.m. - T2Cs just passed Friday Harbor southbound still on the San Juan side of the Channel.
12:02 p.m. - T2Cs back by O'Neal going south now, after hanging close to Reuben Tarte for the last long while! Milling and killing like crazy.
10:15 a.m - Looks like T2Cs, still south of O'Neal Island moving slow.
9:20 a.m - 4 orcas NB Point Caution. Reuben Tarte is definitely the new Lime Kiln! The T2Cs were milling and killing out there for over an hour this morning - that male right off the rocks is (appropriately) T2C1 Rocky. Reuben Tarte County Park. (The T2Cs have a remarkable story as a family, both past and present. Read Monika's blog about this family: Part 1: Meet the T2Cs AND Part 2: An Epic Encounter with the T2Cs ) -Monika Wieland Shields
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March 11 - Another glorious day with California grays... Patch #49, Little Patch #53 and #383 graced the shores off Camano Head as they made their way south slowly but surely toward Hat Island in the warm afternoon sunshine. They were not the only Californian visitors - three curious California sea-lions couldn't resist a good look around, and a pair of watchful bald eagles perched on pilings didn't miss a trick. A wonderful weekend of wildlife and nature's best. -Sandra Pollard, Author/Naturalist. (photos below by Richard Snowberger)
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7:08 p.m - Saw from sailboat. Whale halfway between Holmes Harbor and Penn Cove, heading south approximately mid channel. -Doug Lof
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7:00 p.m. - just got a call from Clarence Hein on Whidbey Island just south of Penn Cove, watching a gray whale heading south in Saratoga Passage on the Camano Island side.
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"Sounder" gray whale 49 Patch with a nice "rainblow" exhalation plume along the west side of Camano Island today. -Photo by James Gresham, March 11, 2018
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We saw spouts from two whales around 2:30 from Hibulb Lookout in Everett and later from Mission Beach. -Barbara Inge Karsch
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At 2:00 PM I'm watching through binoculars from my living room. Chilkat is there and I saw at least one whale. They're located at the "skinny end" of Hat Island just north of ferry lanes, they're drifting towards Everett. -Debbie Stewart
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Today was a life highlight, kayaking with a gray whale in the Everett Harbor! -Photo by Steve Smith, March 11, 2018
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12:13 p.m. - I'm on an overlook at the south end of Camano looking toward Gedney, they're still there! (grays NW of Gedney) -Cindi Cochran
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10:47 a.m - #49 Patch and now #383 just northwest of Gedney. -Renee Beitzel, Chilkat Express
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March 11 - 5:00 p.m. - Saw 5 orcas off the coast by Deep Bay BC. Playing. -Jasmina Law

March 10
Gray whales - March 10 - Possession Sound - 10:40 a.m. - Grays 49 and 53 feeding together just southeast of Gedney. -Renee Beitzel
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Due west of Hat Island, 10:15am. Sitting here with Chilkat watching two Grey whales mill about. They are heading northeast. -Gail Greenwald
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8:24 a.m - There are definitely two maybe more.
8:18 a.m - Good morning. One grey whale at the south east corner of Hat Island heading north east. It's a beautiful day and the blows are back lit by the morning sun. A wonderful way to start the day. -Danielle Pennington
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March 10 - 6:05 p.m. - they've turned west into the sunset. Lovely day spent chasing orcas for hours from shore.
5:58 p.m. - They went under the bridge and then came back out. Southbound just south of Deception Pass. -Rachel Haight
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5:45 p.m. - Joshua Edgerton called to report seeing 5 orcas plus a baby go under the Deception Pass bridge from Rosario Strait, then flip back west.
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5:08 p.m. - They're by Bowman Bay. Eastbound possibly headed for the bridge (Deception Pass).
4:41 pm - orcas very close to shore southbound passing Sares head now. -Rachel Haight
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4:00 p.m. - Saw momma and baby from Green Cliffs Road about 4:00 PM- there was one Zodiac boat at the time. They were headed south. -Robyn Myers
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3:38 p.m. - Orcas south of Allan Island, viewing from Sares Head, Sharpe Park. 2 boats on scene. -Rachel Haight
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T2C2 Tumbo in Rosario Strait today. Such a special guy. T2C2 Tumbo in the foreground with his brother T2C1 Rocky. Saturday in Rosario Strait. -Photo by James Gresham, March 10, 2018
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March 10 - (Opening Day!): We left Langley Marina on a beautiful, sunny morning, motoring out on glass smooth water, heading east toward Tulalip, with reports of a few of our "Sounders" gray whales in the area. We turned south toward the Snohomish River estuary, near Everett, and found #49 Patch and #53 Little Patch, as well as a third, unidentified whale. They were heading up into the estuary, which is quite shallow, so we briefly watched them do a little side fluke foraging. We then circumvented Gedney Island, and came back around as the tide came out, bringing the whales into deeper water. We got very good looks at these two whales' identifying marks, and finally (!) a nice fluke up dive by Little Patch. A great day and a great start for our whale watching season! -Bonnie Gretz, Volunteer Naturalist

March 9
...He headed over to CWR where he and Ken watched the whales, who looked like the T2Cs, through the scopes as they rounded Bellevue Point. Dave then left for Snug Harbor and left in the boat a little after 1700. The boat got on scene about ten minutes later to find the T2Cs milling off Low Island. The whales took about a ten minute long dive before coming up right at Sunset Point...Full summary report and photos at Center for Whale Research Encounter 12.
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Bigg's/Transient killer whales - Haro Strait - Nice to end it sitting on shore watching whales at County Park. Here's T2C1 "Rocky". -Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, March 9, 2018
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Unidentified killer whales - 7:03 a.m - Marie Waterman, WSF called to relay a sighting from the Capt of the Chelan of 7-8 orcas off Gravel Point (east of Lopez) heading eastbound.
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March 9 - Possession Sound - 3:55 p.m. - A visitor to the Langley Whale Center reported Ferry captain announced there was a gray whale in the Mukilteo/Clinton ferry lanes. No direction of travel, but he did include they may need to slow or stop for the whale to pass.
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11:13 a.m. - Hello, not sure what type but there is a whale feeding just north of Mukilteo Ferry dock. In the shallows maybe 200 yards offshore. I saw body and a blow twice. (presuming gray - alb) -John Dooley
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Bottlenose dolphin - March 9 - Saw this dolphin at Point Ruston. Wondering what it is. We first saw it around 2pm just outside of the Point Ruston development. It was going towards the Port of Tacoma, and we followed it as far as Cummings Park, till about 3pm. Later, back at Point Ruston, we saw it there again around 6pm. -Wayne Lattuca
("It is definitely a bottlenose and is NOT Miss... The new photos show a really distinctive bent dorsal fin, so it should make confirmation easier." - Dave Anderson, Cascadia Research).
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3:47 p.m. - Dolphin in Commencement Bay, heading west into Dalco Passage. Definitely dolphin, dorsal shape consistent with Pacific white sided dolphin, but appeared very dark, couldn't see the shading to white... has a definite hook to the dorsal fin. It was dark in color. -Travis Goldman
Notes from Dave Anderson, Cascadia Research who reviewed Travis Goldman's photos (before we received Wayne's photo confirming bottlenose):
"We haven't had any reports of the bottlenose for several months. They did seem to like the area between Commencement Bay and Alki Point, so it is in the right area. The dorsal fin is the right shape for bottlenose, and the one picture with more of the body showing looks right for a bottlenose as well, but it would be really hard to say for sure. It doesn't look right for a common dolphin. We still don't have any good ID shots for any bottlenose other than Miss.
The common dolphins that have been seen in the South Sound for the last couple years were recently seen near McNeil Island, so they are still around. Before that, there haven't been any reports since the fall. We haven't personally seen them since late summer, even though we try and make it out on the water at least once each month."
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2:52 p.m. - some sort of whale (dolphin) heading towards Point Defiance, filmed from Ruston Way. There were no white markings, it was a solitary, it looked smaller than an adult orca...It looked dolphinish. It did have a dorsal fin. It looked like a black beluga whale. -Rich DuBois

March 8
Haro Strait - 6:51 p.m. - Ts on the Lime Kiln hydrophones. Very faint at the moment...no telling how long we might or might not hear them! -Jeanne Hyde
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March 8 - Puget Sound - T86As, T87, T124Ds - 11:23-11:35 a.m. - Five orcas headed north. Closer to the Kitsap side. They continued NB passing Eglon. Just as they passed Cultus Bay I sadly lost sight of them. -Photo by Carol Derusha, March 8, 2018
("I can't tell for sure if someone else is there besides the T86As and T124Ds unfortunately." - Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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10:23 a.m. - They do look to be northbound.
10:11 am - At least 6 orcas are just north of Apple Tree point, Kingston stalled out, engaging in a lot surface activity: tail lobs, breaches etc. Maybe on a kill. Looks like this group came from the north, but not certain, could be the others who were NB. -Called in by Sara Frey
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9:11 a.m - Off President Point, Kitsap, heading north toward Kingston on the Kitsap side. They went by quickly, may have been 5-8. Not sure if there were any adult males. Still heading north at 9:15. Lost them in the rain. -Joanne Graves
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9:00 a.m - Several just passed Pt Jefferson Kingston heading north. They were very close in, so much so that I could hear their spouts this morning. T87, T86A1, T86A3, and maybe T86A4 (The tiny one could also be T124D2). -Photo by Chris Beamer Otterson, March 8, 2018
(ID note by Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research: "Looks like T124D")
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7:20 a.m - Orcas seen from Bainbridge ferry, mid channel. Several small groups near each other, no obvious direction of travel. -Mark Powell
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Approx. 7:15-20 a.m. - 2 orcas off Tyee Shoals (which is out from Eagle Harbor, BI) No direction given. were Report from the Bainbridge to Seattle route.
7:00 a.m. - report from the Ferry Chimacum of 4 orcas southbound off Restoration Point (south Bainbridge Island) near Tango buoy (which is off the point). -Mike from WSF
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March 8 - Possession Sound - 1:16 p.m. - a single gray is near northeast corner of Hat Island. About 200 yds offshore. -Photo by Lori Christopher, March 8, 2018

March 7
Southern Residents - One or more orca pods came at 3 different times today in the Strait of Georgia, off Edith Point on Mayne island.
Encounter 3: This is the third sighting between 519pm and 525pm tonight. There must be at least 4 Orcas, but possibly more. They are going South toward Satura, maybe 1 km from shore or more.
Encounter 2: Orcas seen further inside Georgia Strait, several miles out of Mayne island with Point Roberts in the back between 411pm and 416pm today. They were mostly going South but some photos show them going North. So maybe they went back and forth? Are they the same as those I took at 520pm an hour later? (closer to shore by then) One middle photo shows 5 orcas on the same photo. So there are at least 5 of them! I am curious to hear more about who they are!
Encounter 1: ...first morning sighting. Maybe it is a different pod from the ones in the afternoon. They seemed to pop up over a wide area, ie at least 4-5 individuals. Heading south as well. No boats around, as for all subsequent visits later today. -Yves Tiberghien (Mayne island, BC)
"L87, J17, and J53 are the only ones I can say are there with any certainty. There is a whale in the pics who is probably J38. I also see a couple other males that might be J27 and K26. There is also another sprouter that could be somebody like K37 or J39. That's the best I can do! Thanks for sending the pics. Cheers, Dave" - Dave Ellifrit, CWR
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March 7 - San Juan Channel - T2Cs - We got a visit from the T2Cs this afternoon! They're such an amazing family group, with 16 year-old male T2C2 having scoliosis but likely surviving thanks to his supportive family. Here he is surfacing on the left with his youngest sibling T2C4 first seen in early 2017. The family of 5 were heading slowly south off Reuben Tarte County Park late this afternoon. Here's another photo that shows the deformed spine and twisted dorsal fin a bit more. It can be hard to capture in a photo but is very visible when you see him surface. T2C2 swims very slowly and his family seems to slow down to accommodate him. Because of his physical deformity he's unlikely to be an efficient hunter; killer whales are known to prey share, especially with family, so the fact that he's lived this long likely means his family members are hunting and sharing food with him. On several occasions I've witnessed him hanging back while his family hunts, then he moves in when they've made the kill. -Photo by Monika Wieland Shields, March 7, 2018
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March 7 - Puget Sound - (T77A, T87, T101s, T124As, T124Ds) - 10:05 p.m. - Just saw at least 5 Orcas headed north towards The Narrows between Steilacoom and McNeil. There was a large male in the group. Couldn't get a picture it was so dark. Heard them before i saw them. -Brandon Simek
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Approx 6:45 p.m. - It looked to me like they were mid channel headed south on the east side of Anderson last I saw. At least the front group. 3 were way ahead of the main group. -Paul Allen
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6:27 p.m. - Heading south north end of McNeil Island. -Lisa Wiksten
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6:02 p.m. - Looks like 4-5 headed past Chambers Bay. -Anita French
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5:59 p.m. - 2 passing the Fox Island Pier, headed south. -Sarah Cardinal
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6:05 p.m. - at least 6 in trail on Fox Island side still heading south quickly.
5:54 p.m. - at least 3 just passed Titlow on the Fox island side headed south toward Chambers. -Ashley Whitman
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Saw 3 separate groups pass by The Narrows headed south plus one male bull (T101A pictured) following far behind, who just passed by 5:55pm. -Photo by Gaby Kinner, March 7, 2018
(ID by Alisa LB)
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5:40 p.m. - Donna Seiber called in a report of at least 7 orcas southbound going under Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
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5:42 p.m. - 2 more groups came through, about another 10-12 total, all southbound to Narrows Bridge.
5:23 p.m. - Females approaching the bend in the Narrows right before Bridge, Males should be at Narrows Bridge or just past.. southbound steadily. Sounds like there's a Group in the Narrows close to Bridge, & a second group back in Dalco still?
5:12 p.m. - All entering Narrows, Males ahead still...females trailing.
4:57 p.m. - hunting behavior from females, boys wandering towards The Narrows. Still off Pt.Defiance at Gig Harbor Viewpoint.
4:53 p.m. - still milling off Gig Harbor Viewpoint in Pt. Defiance, 2 males, few females.-Melissa Burke ("This could be T124A3 but I am not quite sure" - Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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5:23 - New group in between south of end of Vashon and Gig Harbor. Looks like 3 males (one huge one) and two females.
based on my sightings and location presuming these to be T101s plus.
4:55 p.m. - two males next to Pt Defiance cliffs heading in direction of Narrows Bridge. (based on reports and photos presumably these males are T87 and T77A - alb) Females and young milling in front of Owens Beach about half way out toward Vashon.
4:50 p.m. - Can see at least six from the Gig Harbor Landing. Two males together, two groups of females and maybe calves. -Amy Bliss-Miller
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5:15 p.m. - Orcas in front of Salmon Beach heading south now. -Pam Baker
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4:56 p.m. - Mid channel between Point Defiance and Vashon, hunting. Lots of tail slaps.
4:35 p.m. - Heading north towards Colvos passage. -Gaby Kinner
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4:38 p.m. - had about four close to Dalco Passage viewpoint (at Pt Defiance Park) moving west. -Jill Clogston
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4:27 p.m. - Visible from Owen Beach near the ferry terminal Vashon side headed south. Two males, one female? Steady traveling. -Vanessa Atkins
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4:38 p.m. - Males have dissapeared around the bend towards Colvos, other group continued directionally NW all disappeared from my sight very close to Vashon, looked to be choosing Colvos.
4:30 p.m. - Two leading males keeping to Vashon side, mid channel group (male and few females and calf at least) all look to be aiming towards Vashon directionally towards Colvos at the moment. But some directional changes just now. Circling, whales gong slowly in different directions but still moving towards Vashon.
4:15 p.m. - Westbound whales Dalco Pass: large group including at least on bull, females, and young mid channel between southend Vashon and Point Defiance just east of the Vashon/Talequah ferry lanes. Two of the T100 bulls in lead close to Vashon side. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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4:30 p.m. - 3-4 turned north past south end Vashon and now in Colvos passage heading north. Viewed from Owen Beach, Point Defiance.
4:00 p.m. - Mom spotted the orcas straight out north of Les Davies Dive Park, Ruston Way...and I confirmed. They are moving west fast. -Marilyn Armbruster
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Today, at approx 4pm, a pod, small, of orcas. I watched them from Owen's Beach in Pt Defiance Park, to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, then it got dark. I had gone to walk my dog, and really got a treat!!! Someone taking pictures said 1 or maybe 2 babies, a few females, and the boys cruised about 1/4 mile away closer to the Gig Harbor side. Doesn't get much better that that! BABY ORCA. -Patti McAndrews
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Feel like it's been a long time since I've sent you Orca photos. We saw a big pod from Point Ruston starting from Point Robinson, Saltwater, Browns Point into Commencement Bay 3:35...on to Quartermaster Harbor then Colvos where they swam out of view. Moving at a good speed, swimming together at times then a few go this way and that way, them meeting back up to keep moving. Likely T124A members but hard to tell who. T124D and that tiny fin could be T124D2. T102 (born 1984) - Westbound Dalco Passage off Tacoma waterfront. Lone male T87 (born est 1962) - Tacoma waterfront. Thanks for the updates and hard work! Have a good day!!! -Desiree Sauve
(ID notes by Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research)
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4:10 p.m. - Okay, apparently this is a bigger group than I realized, there are a few off Browns Point and a few (inc. 2 males)in mid channel headed toward Vashon as of 16:10.
4:06 p.m. - Belay my last, they have now turned and are headed toward Vashon.
4:00 p.m. - Entering Commencement Bay at 16:00 heading SE
3:28 p.m. - They are South of Saltwater State Park (Des Moines), we are watching from Point Ruston in Tacoma, can't determine much about activity yet. -Tony Collins
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3:40 p.m. - Orca whales. Saw a pod of orcas today at Dash Point going south. -Lucian Johnson
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Approx 2:40 p.m. - Arrived at Point Robinson and was walking to the point when I started seeing fins directly out from south side of the point...spread out. A family of at least 3, including young calf, few others futher towards mid channel. Few minutes later notice two of the big boys already past us on the south side of the park close to shore, one looked to be T102. Those two continued hugging shore southbound went on a dive then surfaced further offshore and east. After some directional changes, circling, a breach and a couple of spy hops by these two they continued moving offshore directionally towards mainland side. All the while fins of several others in groups of 1- 5 were streaming spread out further out to mid channel, some heading SW, others SE directionally towards Browns Point, Tacoma. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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Point Robinson pass by this afternoon. Most of the group was spread out across the channel, saw one sweet baby out in the distance. The only ones that came a bit close to shore for a brief breath was T101A and T101B ( I think!!) here in these pictures. They are such studly dudes!! T102 (not certain, but his dorsal has that distinct curve that I think was his) was ahead of them, but not too close to shore and went for a deep dive when he passed the point. Mom (I presume it was her) was there as well, but didn't get any pics of her. They took long dives and were traveling very quickly. Saw one breach, mid channel. Always a blessing to see them in the wild! -Marla Smith
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2:13 p.m. - Mid channel off KVI beach Long down times. (KVI is between Dilworth and Point Robinson - alb). -Shannon Kachel
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What an exciting day spending the afternoon on the beach with the T101's! I was lucky enough to have two very close passes with these big guys at Dilworth Beach and Point Robinson Beach. T124A and her calf T124A6 offshore Point Robinson. T124A with her calf T124A6. T101 in front. Looks like T124A4 behind. Adult brothers T101B and T101A pass close to shore off Dilworth, Vashon. My adrenaline got going today as they surfaced out of no where 10 yards out from the beach where I was standing. They were so close, I did not get a focus on my camera. Rejuvenating. -Kelly Keenan (ID by Sara Hysong-Shimazu w/T124A4 confirmed by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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1:55 p.m. - From Ferry I can see one group with 2 bulls VERY close to Vashon side at Dilworth point!
1:10 p.m. - One group including two bulls are mid channel south of Blake heading southbound towards Vashon/Southworth Ferry lanes, though east channel (not Colvos) -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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1:38 p.m. - all three groups continued southbound, have passed Brace Point, moved closer to west side of channel.
1:18 p.m. - three more females/juveniles in the same spot as 1:10 update....Several more spread out closer to Vashon ferry lanes and dock. -Oia VanHanen
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1:08 p.m. - Some south end Blake Island heading south. -Buzz Shaw
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12:45 p.m. - Spotted one moving south at steady pace, mid channel, off Constellation Park. -Photo by Lorna Stitt, March 7, 2018
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12:45 p.m. - Mike from WSF called to say they had 10-15 orcas spread across from Alki to Restoration Point heading southbound.
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12:43 p.m. - Found 'em! Between Alki and Restoration Points, ferry Rich Passage is following one group at a respectful distance. -Stephanie Raymond
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11:04 a.m. - We have spread or whales! I've seen at least 9 including 4 bulls. The first group has 2 males, one more adult male southwest of that group with a 4th to the west of larger group. All steady southbound.
10:55 a.m. - Pod of at least 5 including one bull is east of mid channel off Richmond Beach Saltwater Park to the east and Jefferson Head, Kitsap to the west. Steady southbound in mildly rough seas. Cold out here! -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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10:37 a.m - Appears to be several orcas with one large male middle of sound between Point Wells and Kingston heading south. -Darlene Moneypenny
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10:26 a.m. - Orcas heading south halfway between Edmonds and Apple Cove Point. One male and a couple of others. -Sherman Page
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Coastal killer whales - March 7 - Drew Campbell called in a report of a sighting of orcas seen off Washington coast out from Ocean Shores. Approx. 11:00 a.m. - We were crabbing about 1 mile north of Westport, WA and about 4-5 miles offshore when we saw 5-6 orcas for sure, possibly more. No adult males observed. No obvious direction, just going in different directions.
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March 7 - Possession Sound - 8:00 a.m. - One gray spouting/feeding off of Jetty Island, Everett. -Lori Christopher
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Photos of the gray whale that was feeding at Polnell Point. Just the one. We first noticed it around 8am. Walked down to the beach and watched it for about an hour or more. He/she was still feeding when we walked home. -Photo by Terra Parham, March 7, 2018
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7:20 a.m. - Grey Whale feeding at east side of Polnell Point. Very close to shore. -Video by Jeff Humphrey, March 7, 2018
(This is gray 723 - Alisa LB)
(ID by Alisa LB)

March 6
March 6 - Possession Sound - 5:55 p.m. - Good evening! One whale (likely gray) between the Navy ship basin and Hat Island. Moving WNW towards the southeast side of Hat. -Best, Amy Willoughby
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March 6 -Saratoga Passage - 4:30 p.m. - Two whales blowing mid channel between Mabana on Camano Island and Bells Beach on Whidbey. Traveling northwest toward the entrance to Holmes Harbor. Bob Anderson
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3:40 p.m. - Spouting off Mabana beach again. Seem to be 2 of them. Slowly moving from south to north. -Susanne Almberg
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March 6 - Possession Sound - Little Patch 53 off of Possession Point....with them maybe about an hour; we left at 12:30pm. I was on the IE3. -Photo by Kristina Trowbridge, March 6, 2018
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Approx 8:42 a.m. - 2 Grays off south Columbia Beach, somewhat in between Mukilteo ferry and Columbia Beach, tad south, several blows, appeared to be one large and one small gray moving from north to south slowly. -William Wittenmeyer

March 5
3:45 p.m. - 6-7 orcas heading east in Active Pass. -Brook Speed
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March 5 - Puget Sound - 5:42 p.m. - Looks like there are two whales, Harbor Point (Mukilteo), and 1/2 mile north of Shipwreck heading towards Edmonds (southbound). -Jeannette Conover
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March 5 - Eastern Juan de Fuca/Admiralty Inlet - around 12:15 pm- We saw a grey whale off Ebey's Landing beach, Whidbey Island, about 50-yards offshore. It appeared to be a small whale - perhaps 15' of surface was visible when it surfaced. It was alone. We scanned the area with binoculars but didn't see any other whales nearby. The location was where the northern end of the hiking trail comes down the hillside to reach the beach. We watched the whale for about 15-minutes, and it moved in about a 100-yard area, surfacing occasionally...The fact that the grey whales present only part of their body is very interesting. That was our experience as we didn't see a head (or eye) or tail at all. The 'blow' was perhaps 10' high, not very tall. It was moving n/nw but not at any speed, more it was covering an area about 100-yards across, it seemed. The tide was ebbing. We didn't take photos, I'm sorry. The whale had a mottled grey, green, white-spotted surface color...-Bron Richards

March 4
J27 Strait of Georgia, just north of East Point, Saturna Island, BC. J26...same time & place as the other lovely big guy above. -Photos by Jim Maya, March 4, 2018
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...At 0745, Dave spotted blows in Swanson Channel. Nearly all of J pod was traveling in two tight groups off of Stanley Point on North Pender Island. The lead group was made up of the J16s and J17s. The trailing group was made up of the J14s, J22s, J27, J31, and J46. K21 was further out in the channel and paralleling the two groups by a few hundred yards...Full summary report and photos at Center for Whale Research Encounter 11.
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The stars aligned yesterday and we were able to get out and spend some time with the endangered southern resident killer whales! They were very spread across the Strait of Georgia but it looked like all of J Pod was present and possibly K Pod members but no positive ID's on those. For sure, we had J16, J50, J37, J49, J26, L87, J38 and J22 in this photo doing an inverted tail slap! -Photo by Gary Sutton, Ocean Ecoventures, March 4, 2018
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Southern Residents - Resident orca northbound through Active Pass - report from this morning. -Jill Hein
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3/4/18 - 1:50 a.m. SRKWs on the Lime Kiln hydrophones...It's been a long time - welcome back! Update - I did hear at least some J and K calls and way too much ship noise! Another update - Onyx' call on what I recorded. Yes (heard on OrcaSound), but it wasn't as long a time as LK, and I last heard them on LK (which could have been trailers)...-Jeanne Hyde
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Matriarch T137 (born 1983) - Approx 4:0 P.m. - 5-6 Orcas northbound in the Lambert channel. Bigg's killers (Mammal eaters) Hornby Island T137's (I'm guessing)...her son T137A (born 2002), T137D (born 2012). -Photo by Louis Jobidon, March 4, 2018
(ID by Alisa Lemire Brooks, confirmed by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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Gray whales - March 4 - 11:04 a.m - Grey whale between hat island and Everett. -Danielle Pennington
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10:25 a.m - Island Explorer 3 on scene with one gray (not yet ID'd) south of Hat Island. -Erin Johns Gless
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March 4 - Saratoga Passage - 6:00 p.m. - one gray traveling west by Pebble Beach, towards Mabana. -Peg Boley
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4:54 p.m. - Watching blows in Mabana area on Camano side from Camano Island State Park to the south end, they appear to be heading north. -Shelley Greybeck
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4:35 p.m. - Turned out to be two of them: 53 & 723...after much circling and zig-zagging they are now on their sides flailing and thrashing while feeding below the sandy bluffs about 1-2 miles north of Mabana, Camano Island. Viewing from Whidbey.
3:45 p.m. - who looks to be gray whale #53 Little Patch in Saratoga Passage mid channel circling around slowly making her/his way north about a mile south of Fox Spit. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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3:13 p.m. - I see the gray whale, s/he is mid channel heading northbound between Langley and Fox Spit. -Marilyn Armbruster
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1:15 p.m. - Spouts just west of my shop in Langley (1st street) looks to be heading West up Saratoga Passage. -Marie Lincoln
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"Looks like we can add Patch, #49, to the roll call! He was the whale feeding off the Snohomish River Delta this morning." -Photos courtesy of Tyson Reed, Naturalist for Island Adventures. Report relayed by Erin Johns Gless

March 3
K33 east bound off of East Sooke park on the evening of March 3rd. -Photo by Mark Malleson, 2018
(see link to Center for Whale Research Encounter 10 in SRKW section)
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...I left Victoria harbor on Mike 1 at ~1715 and arrived at Secretary Island as the lead whales K27 and K42 passed by the south tip of Secretary Island traveling east. I could see that the bulk of the animals trailing were closer to shore and fairly grouped up.
Full encounter summary report and STUNNING magic hour photos of Js and Ks at: Center for Whale Research Encounter 10.
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4:58 p.m. - T2Cs, I see them at County Park, now, maybe a mile offshore just hanging at the surface. -Monika Wieland Shields
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Bigg's/Transient killer whales - Transient Orcas at Point Roberts, WA. Today around 4pm there were at least 4 orcas off shore viewed from Point Roberts Lighthouse Park heading up the Strait towards Deltaport BC. They were transients and were hunting poroises - twice we saw a porpoise tossed high in the air by a whale. One whale had a larger dorsal fin than the others. They moved quite quickly past the Point then circled around an area offshore where we had earlier seen porpoises. The orcas were blowing and surfacing frequently. Very dramatic. We watched for about 20 mins. -Anne Murray
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March 3 - 8-9 Transient Orcas southbound, Lambert channel (Denman/Hornby Is)...around 9am. -Photo by Louis Jobidon, March 3, 2018
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March 3 - Unidentified 4th gray off Snohomish Delta - 5:19 p.m. - Just saw a blow! We are at Legion Park looking straight out into the flats toward Camano (directionally) -through binoculars. We are looking west northwest north end of Jetty Island flats. First sighting of the season (not on our boat). We have seen multiple blows-we think they are feeding in the flats. Too far for phone photos but very cool! Harley thinks there is just one, but I'm not sure. -Sharon Clark
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March 3 - 4:57 p.m. - can confirm 3 gray whales - 53, 56, & 723 -moving south from Possession Point mid to west channel!
4:12 p.m. - Still south of Possession Point. Seemed to have slowed down. Lots of dives. Viewing from Sandy Hook! -Troy Hightower
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The grays are here in numbers...it was a beautiful day out there watching them travel all snugged up together. Here are gray whales 53, 56, & 723 while southbound in Possession Sound from just south of the Mukilteo/Clinton ferry lanes to just north of Possession Point. There were times I thought I was seeing three, and turns out all three were there. Confused as there turned out to be a 4th up near Everett.
3:33 p.m. - these beauties (grays) have rounded Possession Point and are currently on the south side of it hugging Whidbey side, heading west.
2:55 p.m. - these looks like 3 grays are maintaining steady southbound, still west of mid channel. Approaching Possession Point. They are sticking close together, often surfacing in tandem.
1:50 p.m. - 2 grays still steady southbound west of mid channel at about Glendale, Whidbey. Viewing from Mukilteo Lighthouse Beach.
1:18 p.m. - finally see the grays heading southbound mid channel right in middle of Mukilteo/Clinton Ferry lanes. .-Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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At 12:15 p.m. - 2 grays #56 and Lucyfer? Mid channel heading south between Hat island and ferry lanes.
11:44 a.m - Now seeing multiple grays on the south side of Hat/Gedney Island. Viewing from Brighton Beach, Whidbey. Gray #53 Little Patch goes on a dive north of Mukilteo.
10:48 a.m - Gray still heading towards west side of Hat Island, but still a tad north of. (Back of camera photo sent by Marilyn looks to be of #56 - alb)
10:34 a.m - The gray whale is heading east between Hat/Gedney Island and Tulalip, so aiming towards northside of Hat but currently still southeast of Sandy Point.
10:08 a.m - Spout southeast of Langley between Sandy Point, Whidbey and Camano Head. Whale is heading east. -Marilyn Armbruster
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Here's a positive ID shot for the 3 that we can confirm for sure today - 53, 56, and 723. Great to see a trio together so nice and early in the season! -Erin Johns Gless, Island Adventures
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Spotted two Gray Whales swimming south along the middle of Saratoga Passage 3-miles north of Langley @ 8:30 am on Saturday, March 03, 2018. Traveling through. -Paul Wolcott

March 2
Bigg's killer whales; 8 orcas spent the day (all day) around Hornby and Denman island. Pictures taken from my kayak. T100C (l) & his mom T100 (r). T100F's right side. T100F's left side. T124A4 and mom T124A. -Louis Jobidon
(IDs by Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research)
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March 2 - Possession Sound - 2:20 p.m. - the gray whale just off of Jetty Island is there again today, just saw a spout. -Lori Christopher
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March 2 - Saratoga Passage - 3:58 p.m. - Gray (s?) now heading NW. Saw a blow about a mile north of Pebble Beach. Saw one blow then looked like another blew behind that whale but cannot confirm 2.
3:20 p.m. - Seeing blows off what I think is Pebble Beach, Camano. Possibly 2 whales and look to be heading westerly. Viewing from Whidbey side. -Marilyn Armbruster
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2:10 p.m. - Blowing again straight out from the store but further out closer to Camano now.
2:00 p.m. - Whale just spouted in front of my shop fairly close in then dove and gave a nice view of its fluke. Heading east. -Marie Lincoln, Chocolate Flower Farm/Garden Shed shop, First street, Langley

March 1
North Puget Sound grays have arrived! "We were so excited to watch them with the setting sun behind their blows! The first two were taken while they appeared to be feeding just west of Langley." -Photo by Peg Boley, March 1, 2018
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March 1 - Saratoga Passage - At 5:15 pm today, we had our first sighting of grey whales (we think there were two, because they blew the same time) in front of Langley. We could easily see them from Pebble Beach on Camano. They seemed to be feeding just NW of the town, then moved out into Saratoga Passage. Feeding just NW of Langley, then moving SE towards Hat Island. Watched them for about 30 minutes. At first they seem to be feeding just NW of the town of Langley. When two boats passed, they moved off, towards Hat Island not coming up as often...the whales (we were aware of two blows at one point, but the photos look like just one) moved away from Langley towards Hat Island. What a thrill - the water was so calm, and their blows were so loud. -Peg Boley
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4:27 p.m. - Currently we see spouting in Saratoga Passage at Mabana Beach area. The sun was in our eyes,no photos. Lots of big spouts You could barely see the whale from time to time. We could see the wake it left as it moved closer to Camano and south. With the sun in our eyes like that we can only guess that it was a grey whale slowly feeding as it went along. -Susanne Almberg
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4:00 p.m. - At least two smaller whales traveling close to the surface going south through Saratoga Passage. They were first observed from Camano near mid channel off of Mabana and last seen just south of Langley. Observed blowing at regular intervals for over an hour. They appeared to be slowly traveling south at a shallow depth. Even when not breaking the water it was possible to follow them through their wake on the calm surface. -Bob Anderson
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1:30 p.m. - Gray whale Saratoga Passae off Hidden Beach southbound. 14-16 minute down times 2 short breaths. Unable to ID. (possibly 1 of the 2 reported off Glendale this morning) -Eric Rosemore, Mystic Sea
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March 1 - Possesssion Sound - 3:00 pm. - S/he was feeding off their until I left around 3pm!
2:15 p.m. - Gray whale is still in same general area off Jetty Island in general out from north end of the Everett Marina. Cruising back and forth rolling around engaged in typical feeding behavior. Gulls and other seabirds swooping in feeding as well. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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2:00 p.m. - 1 grey Whale still in delta feeding. (Snohomish Delta). -Carl Williams
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12:05 p.m. - First of the returning grays that we could with confidence say was one of the North Puget Sounders due to location and feeding behavior. This whale fed off the Snohomish Delta all morning and well into the afternoon. I can confirm this gray whale is rolling in the mudflats off Jetty Island, presumably feeding on shrimp buried in the sand...a technique we know the "Sounders" have perfected. Been watching this behavior for the past 30 minutes. And her/his blows look very robust! Viewing from Legion Park in Everett.
11:20 a.m - Gray moved out from Jetty Island maybe 1/2 mile westbound movement, but may just be circling around. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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10:49 a.m. - Confirmed!! We can see the blow from east side of Hat, just south of Tulalip, near the sand bar marker. One individual heading north. -Lori Christopher
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10:50 a.m. - I can now confirm blows off Jetty Island about mid way up Jetty Island. The whales is just hanging in same area. Too far for IDs but is blow of big whale for sure!
10:10 a.m - Saw first blows not far offshore of Jetty Island about mid way up. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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9:02 a.m. - Happy March 1st! I'm in the Everett Rucker Hill neighborhood and can see whale blows (from one whale) between Hat and Jetty Island, closer to Jetty than Hat. I'm a marine mammal biologist and knowing the area and time of year I suspect it's a gray whale however, the blow is not defined enough from my vantage point to say it's v-shaped or not. -Amy Willoughby
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7:30 a.m - 2 grays around Glendale, Whidbey Island. 3rd hand report from Eric, Mystic Sea relayed to him by Langley Harbor Master who heard from a boater this morning.
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Jeannette Conover and her husband are caretakers of Possession Point Park and report seeing a whale (initially thinking orca) northbound off Possession point towards Mukilteo/Clinton at 7:00 am. After some discussion they believe it was a gray whale.
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Unidentified whales - March 1 - North Puget Sound - 12:00 Noon - From the ferry leaving Kingston I saw 3 blows about a minute apart. Could not see any signs indicating what kind of whale. (No view of dorsal, fluke, back) Closer to Kingston side, north of ferry lane, unable to determine direction of travel. -Connie Bickerton