May 2019 Whale Sightings

Click here for Map of May 2019 whale sightings.

May 31
Fri May 31 - Got to meet the little white one today! One of the coolest groups on the coast. Here are some shots of little T046B1B with it's real bleached appearance, the cause of which is unknown. Hopefully something like leucism rather than Chediak-Higashi syndrome so this little white whale has a greater chance of surviving into adulthood. T046B1B between mom, T046B1 and the other new calf in the matriline, T046B6. -Gary Sutton
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Fri May 31 ...The team arrived on scene north of Beaumont Shoal, to find the T65Bs, T75Bs, and T75Cs (8 whales in total). The whales were in tight groups, being extremely social. The younger whales were constantly playing, with lots of spy hops and breaches....Full summary report and images at Center for Whale Research Encounter 36.
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Fri May 31 - Large pod of orcas off Tsawwassen BC on Friday at 730 pm. -Yves Tiberghien
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Fri May 31 - Humboldt Bay, CA - Posted to Facebook 09:04 - VIDEO - Orca Pod Spotted in Humboldt Bay this morning. -Cody Hills, MV Madaket
(Working on IDs - alb)
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Gray whale 2256 in Eagle Harbor. -Photo by Bnejamin Doerr, May 31, 2019
(ID by Alie Perez, Cascadia Research)
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10:26 - My daughter says there is a Whale in Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge. Grey or Humpback. Close to city dock, moving inland. -Amy Noel
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09:40 - Marie Waterman, WSF Ops called to relay report from Wenatchee of a gray whale hanging around close to shore off Creosote Point, BI in Eagle Harbor.
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At approx 7:15 am this morning we saw what I believe was a grey whale close to shore just south of Restoration Point on Bainbridge Island. It was traveling north. -Leah Applewhite
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Fri May 31 - ~21:00 - Gray whale. Still in Liberty Bay. Spotted all day long south of Lions park and the Yacht Club marina. Watched it head south towards Keyport and Virginia Point at around 9:00 this evening. -Kelly Walgren-Gyllensten
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Was able to capture this photo between 545p and 7p...Taken from shore at house in cove on Brauer off of Lemolo. Several boats were circling it at the time. -Photo by Kristin White Prendergast, May 31, 2019
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~10:30 - Saw several blows from the same area just south of the marina this morning around 10:30. The whale(s?) moved slowly, first north, then south. -Stephanie Prestek
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05:56 - The whale in Liberty Bay is active again this morning. Staying in the same area just south of Liberty Bay Marina. Looks like it's kind of going in a big circle. -Ashely Nicole
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UNIDENTIFIED SPECIES - Fri May 31 - 4:37 p.m. - Minke now heading south and hanging out in front of our place.
4:30 - Minke whale in Colvos passage heading north towards Southworth ferry. It was spotted at 4:30 in front of Wilson Creek/Driftwood Cove on the Kitsap side....My husband saw it and is pretty familiar with Minkes as we see them in the San Juans periodically. I told him to take a picture. But he is pretty certain it is Minke. -Roxane Jackson Johnson
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PORPOISE - Fri May 31 - 07:28 - Single Harbor Porpoise Going South off of Possession Pt. Park. -David Haeckel

May 30
SOUTHERN RESIDENTS - Thu May 30 - New little J pod calf off Tofino, BC! ...we got word from Tim (The Whale Centre) and Jeffrey Tom (Jamie's) that there were Killer Whales 4 miles off Lennard Light. John and I headed out on the Lil Salty to go out and see who the whales were. We got on scene and determined that the whales were in fact J pod. -John Forde and Jennifer Steven, Tofino Whale Centre
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Thu May 30 - (ID notes from Alie Perez, Cascadia Research: This animal is the same one seen in Penn Cove on the 27th by the Agudas and by John that day as well. And same as seen by Wiese by Edmonds beach. I'm assuming that the sightings today are most probable to be the same individual. I took through the catalog and didn't find a match so I have now made it CRC2256. - Alie
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20:31 - I just heard blows from possibly two whales heading north from liberty bay in agate pass. They were on the move. The reason I think it was two whales is that one blow was big and one was smaller, and they were close to the same time for the 6 times I heard them. My hunch is that they are the same whales seen in liberty bay. -Neal McCulloch
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19:00 - Whales are in Liberty Bay again today. -Dale Mitchell
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17:02 - He's about 100 feet or so I would guess from that big white boat on the right (by marina). We are floating in our kayaks a few hundred yards away so it's sort of hard to tell but it seems like every 10 minutes or so he surfaces and takes three or four breaths with a couple minutes between each and then goes back down again. Moving very slowly. This is the marina in front of oyster park and he is just to the right of it. -Lisa Coffee Sand
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Late report but I observed Gray whale in same location Liberty Bay, just logging at surface/milling about 200 -300 yards south of Liberty Bay Marina & Yacht club. I'm concerned about the whale's condition due to lack of energetic movement or very robust blows. I could audibly hear a few blows today but couldn't see spouts. I did see a couple of surfacings and stress avoidance behaviors when up to 5 boats approached super closely and trapping the whale in between two vessels - I have made a report to Stranding Network and NOAA Enforcement. Those behaviors included changing direction and swimming away, as well as vigorous bubbling from blowhole. -Donna Green Van Renselaar
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13:35 - He is currently out in front of Liberty bay Marina. -Dan Bracher
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Just south of Liberty Bay Marina at 6:45 this morning....I couldn't really tell a direction. It was staying in the area just past the south breakwater of liberty bay marina. I watched for about 10 minutes just before 7am (Liberty Bay gray, now known as CRC 2256.) -Ashley Nicole
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Thu May 30 - Juan de Fuca Strait - Even in the thick FOG today we were excited to encounter 2 Humpback Whales east of Race Rocks Light House. You never know...Cpt. Dan was able to capture a few photos...just after a series of breaches! -Sooke Coastal WW
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Humpbacks in the fog - near Race Rocks. -Photos by Dan Pudwell, courtesey of Paul Pudwell, May 30, 2019
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Thu May 30 - Boundary Pass - ...After a little action from the sea lions our search continued down Boundary pass where we stopped to watch some slow moving harbor porpoise. Out of nowhere, Divot BCX1057, a large humpback whale roared out of the water!!! We hung out with Divot as it traveled east along Saturna and actually brought us to another Humpback whale. After many great flukes we discovered it was Geometry or BCZ0338...Excerpted from Island Adventures May 30 Blog Report
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Thu May 30 - 17:57 - It looked like a dolphin to us. Small fin. On the Bremerton to Seattle ferry....We were on the 5:30 ferry from Bremerton to Seattle. The animal that we saw was headed west. Picture of location to follow. Time seen was 5:57pm. I tried to video but he/she went under so you can't see it. Def not a humpback in my opinion as we've seen humpbacks and this animal looked about the size of a dolphin. It had a small fin and looked black or dark grey in color. A few people saw it on the ferry as well. -Loba Perkins
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Thu May 30 - 17:30 - Small whale headed up Colves passage northbound spouting loud sharp small curved fin like a dolphin. Too big to be a dolphin. Slow back coming out while spouting. Girl Scout camp. Hard to tell because I didn't get closer. I play by the rules. 20 footer maybe. Wasn't a humpback I know that. I heard it spout over my radio it was pretty loud breathing. -Brian Kelly
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Thu May 30 - CA - "Exotic" Ts in CA: T37As, new calf! On 30 May, Jeff Jacobsen, Jim Moore, and Julia Breucker encountered 6 orcas with fetal fold calf, off Fort Bragg! The calf closely associated with T37A2 for hours, grouped with T37A1; T37A, T37A3, and T37A4 were also together. They are typically seen in the Pacific NW...Alisa Schulman-Janiger
T37A off Fort Bragg, California. Photo by Jeff Jacobsen, May 30, 2019 Dave Ellifrit separately confirmed those IDs. Very exciting!!

May 29
Wed May 29 - Lincoln City, OR - Time not provided - 5/29 - 5 orcas milling, then headed south from Lincoln City, OR. Seen from the Sands Hotel. -Robin Goff
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May 29 - Admiralty Inlet - ~18:55 - Maija w/WS Ferries Opsto report 1 gray whale outside of Port Townsend headed NB cross the ferry lanes about an hour ago.
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May 29 - Saratoga Passage - 20:57 - Gray whale 21 Shackleton swimming Saratoga Passage off Baby Island Heights. whale has now angled towards Hidden Beach...middle of channel (BI/Hidden Beach/Camano State Park)
20:43 - Gray whale heading towards Baby Island westbound. Travel mode...viewing from high bank Baby Island Heights. -Marilyn Armbruster
(ID by Alie Perez, Cascadia Research)
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Wed May 29 - Liberty Bay, Poulsbo - 19:17 - Gray whale. Yes still out here just south of Oyster Park (Pouslbo). -Molly Kraft
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18:05 - 18:55 - confirm 2 grey whales, one smaller, one larger drifting/logging at surface just south of Liberty Bay Marina. Followed very closely (from 50-100 yards or so to within 25-30 feet) by large sailboat at slow speed, causing whales to swim away/avoid and change directions several times. When boat returned to marina, whales ceased traveling and logged at surface. Drifting generally south. Seemed lethargic. (did see two bodies/blows at same time?) no but we are fairly certain we saw two whales separated by the boat that was chasing them. The smaller appeared to have a lighter coloration and the larger darker. I'm going with a little less than 100% certainty but double checked this morning with my friend who had binocs and she said yes 2 she was pretty sure and described same as above/ larger dark coloration smaller whiter rostrum/body...One of my photos showed a prominent divet between the head/rostrum and body. Poor quality pic but i'll send later - not sure if it would be an indicator of poor body condition- also one photo appeared to show spinal ridge but again- I'm not a gray whale body condition expert so I'll refrain from drawing conclusions. Gray 2256 in Liberty Bay. -Donna Green Van Renselaar
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15:40 - Hallie Eastman reports the gray whale in the bay just outside of Poulsbo, traveling south toward Keyport.
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14:45 - I took this video at 2:45 pm just south of liberty bay marine and it seemed to be headed for keyport. -Dan Bracher
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13:50 - 14:25 - Confirming grey whale still in Liberty Bay just about 50 yards south of Marina/Oyster Bay Park at Lemolo - 150 to 200 yards out traveling N & S, several surfacings and blows, ladies watching from porch say two whales 1 lg + 1 small possible calf. I only saw one. Pleasure craft/yacht within 50 yards of it...its been traveling back and forth N to south from Keyport area to Liberty Bay Marina. I couldn't tell body condition but it had a somewhat robust blow while I was there as well as several gentle surfacings. The one I saw looked like adult size. I kept missing the blows with camera but did get a surfacing sequence that will hopefully show a little more than that iphone snap of the cam back. The other one reported by locals was reportedly small/calfish. -Donna Green Van Renselaar
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12:20 - Saw this gray whale at 12:20 pm, just east of Liberty Bay Marina, on our way back into Poulsbo Marina. Blows x 2, then surfaced briefly enough to see it was a gray, no hump. Mid bay. Was in same area for blows and surface. Watched several minutes and could not see it again, so don't know direction. -Beverly Steinman
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10:47 - Saw a gray whale 2256 in Liberty Bay, 10:47a Wed the 29th. There didn't seem to be a direction... it had just come into the main portion of the bay as we were headed out - not as far as the first marina. Went across our bow first and we shut everything down. Then was on our port going the same way, but not in the channel. Tall spray, barnacles and grey, no fin. -Dana Brooks

May 28
Tue May 28 - Rare WHITE whale right outside Nanaimo! T46B1B a pale white/gray calf swims surrounded by her/his family members. Beautiful encounter with this unique being!...Our tour on the 28th was filled with a ton of excitement! Not only did we get to see two humpback whales, Heather and Raptor, but we also had an amazing surprise right outside Nanaimo! While travelling back to the harbour we found a pod of orca which had a WHITE whale in it! -Excerpt from Vancouver Island Whale Watch May 28 Encounter Blog Post.
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Tue May 28 - Port Susan - These were taken yesterday, 5/28/19 11:30 +/- from my house at Kayak Point, Port Susan...I think it is Shackleton...has been feeding here regularly since March. Lately, almost every day. Usually comes from the south, moves slowly towards Warm Beach. At low tide, the beach is covered with feeding pits. Here's another shot of the (I think) left top fluke showing the distinctive pattern. Also, she has an orange patch, sea lice, on her right side towards the front. Hope this helps. -Gary Lingenfelter
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Tue May 28 - Puget Sound - Email received 18:21 - Hi, Some type of whale just went past Edmonds Beach heading south. I can't tell what type it is. I have photos which I will add but they are not that great. (Gray whale CRC 2256). -Best regards, Julia Wiese
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~17:50 - A humpback (photos above confirm gray - alb) surfaced in the ferry lane just off the terminal in Edmonds just minutes before the ferry came in. I wonder if it was the same whale?...not certain it was a humpback. Big and dark and time-wise 5:50 pm is right on. -Tony Kliment
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Tue May 28 - Elliott Bay, Puget Sound - 20:20 - The ferry just hit the whale in Elliott bay! 20:30, another surface and movement, no big breath. No photos. We were on a roof in lower Queen Anne and saw it coming into the bay and surface a couple times. We have a really nice pair of binoculars and can see to wear Seattle quite well. It was mid bay, my friend was looking in the binoculars and asked if the whale could get all the way from the last sighting to the ferry. I said yeah, but probably a bouy bouncing in the wake. Then when I looked, it was indeed a literal fountain of blood. The ferry hit the whale. It surfaced right in front of the ferry and then there was a fountain of blood and the whale was in the same spot for about 20 mins with visible bleeding and minimal breaths. Just kind of circles and flailed in the same spot. Would have definitely noticed if it was bleeding that hard on initial sightings. They were normal surfacings and breaths. No other whales, and we were all commenting how glassy the water was, and no real small craft out to speak of in the bay. Just the ferry going to Bainbridge that it intercepted. There was nooo way the ferry captain would have seen it, it surfaced right into the bow of the vessel. You probably wouldn't have even seen it standing on the ferry deck behind the rope. It was a small humpback, humpback for sure. Not a grey, not a minke.
20:10 - Small Humpback in Elliot bay heading in towards downtown. Between LQA and Port cranes. Couple breaths and a dive. -Stephen Sommerfeld
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20:10 - From Olympic Sculpture Park at 8:10pm 8/28/19, we saw a gray? Whale (was the humpback - alb) midway between Pier 71 & West Seattle! No pictures, no video, unfortunately. We thought gray because it was a quick arching surface unlike a more gliding surfacing of a humpback. Can`t recall a dorsal fin, definitely no orca-type dorsal fin: that, I think I would recall. Sorry, so vague, but definitely a whale. Too large for a seal, even a large one! -Cheers, Karen Janssen
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...My family and I were aboard the 4:15pm ferry from Seattle to Bremerton. According to my files, it appears this was at 4:45pm. We were passing Alki Point just near the edge of Elliot Bay. There was an announcement by the ferry staff that a "gray whale was spotted off the bow of the ship." Everyone clamored to see the whale rise to the surface of the waves - then go back down - then resurface again. These photos were taken on a Nikon 1 J3, with an AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm lens, using a FT1 converter which adds more zoom. The second set of photos were taken with the same equipment but in burst mode on the second time and third time the whale surfaced. I so wish it had breached so I could see more of it, but what I did see was still such a blessing. The photos unfortunately might not provide all the clues you all are looking for in the incident that happened several hours later, but I'm happy to share in case these help in some small way. What I did observe: a visible head or nose, some bursts of water...Warmest regards, Megan Burton
Humpback whale Puget Sound outside Elliott Bay. -Photos by Megan Burton, May 28th, 2019 (photos were sent to researchers and do confirm humpback, but do not provide enough detail to confirm same humpback who was struck hours later - alb)

May 27
GRAY WHALES - May 27 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - 15:40 - Grey whales feeding off Rocky Point in Oak Harbor! -Danielle Rambo
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Mon May 27 - Penn Cove - 08:38 - Saw him (gray whale) among the mussel pens just a few minutes ago. Lazily starting his day. -Photo by Jann Pulfer Ledbetter, May 27, 2019
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07:51 - Gray, last seen in front of the Inn dock heading south. Think it continued and turned east but not sure. I headed east and haven't seen him but he's a sneaky one. Husband took photos from his motorboat and I'll share when I download them.
06:26 - Gray whale west end Penn Cove near Captain Whidbey Inn. -CeCe Celia Aguda
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May 27 - Port Susan - 17:11 - It is heading South toward port Susan Bay Terrace.
17:06 - I can't see it but I can hear a Gray spouting right now. It is between Mountain View beach and port Susan Bay terrace. -Patrick Earley
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12:13 - Just got a call to our office, at least one gray whale in Port Susan off Kayak Point. -Erin Johns Gless, Island Adventures
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May 27 - Upper Saratoga Passage - 15:00 - The whale just passed again heading back towards Harrington Lagoon or Penn Cove. Breached 3 times!!! (Launched out of water and one looked like a roll as well.)
14:15 - Gray whale pasing by Lawana Beach / Harrington Lagoon around 2:15. Heading SE. -Randy Zimmerman Furnas
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May 27 - Lower Saratoga Passage - ~14:28 - We saw a Gray come up twice briefly at 2:28pm about 150ft off the shoreline at Seawall Park (Langley). Just barely surfacing could just make breath hole and a little spray....It looked like it was heading west. -Toni Baffo
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Mon May 27 - Possession Sound - 08:15 - Grey whales off south side of Hat Island at 8:15am. Looked like two of them couldn't get any pictures...Seemed to be heading north on the Everett side of the sound. -Deanna Criswell Cope
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Mon May 27 - Puget Sound - 16:35 - Humpback whale spouts spotted just south of West point near the shipping channel, Puget sound Seattle. Around 415 pm. Maybe juvenile? Not huge. -Noam J Gundle
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Mon May 27 - Admiralty Inlet - 21:47 - Gray Whale spotted east side of Marrowstone Island between island and shipping channel. It was traveling North toward Port Townsend and Admiralty Inlet, but wasn't seen after passing our homes. We are about mid-point on Marrowstone facing water looking at Whidbey. My neighbor saw more and said it was slightly out of water before diving and then we didn't see anymore. -Patti
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Mon May 27 - Penn Cove - To record ID of the gray whale included in last report, photographed by CeCe Celia Aguda and seen later near Harrington Lagoon. The 2019 newbie is now known as CRC2256 per Alie Perez, Cascadia Research.
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Mon May 27 - Puget Sound - ~16:15 - Humpback whale spouts spotted just south of West Point near the shipping channel, Puget Sound, Seattle. Around 415 pm. Maybe juvenile? Not huge. Heading north. -Noam J Gundle
(this report was included in our last sighitng report, including here again with direction of travel - alb)
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15:00 - Humpack. I saw this! I was on my paddle board at the lighthouse (West Point, Discovery). No other images, but we watched it head towards Magnolia. I don't think you can zoom on the video I posted, but I can email the original if it would help. -Lisa Napier
(humpback sighting report in response to Noam's above - alb)
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We saw this humpback just North if the bridge this morning a little before 10:00 am. -Gay McCray
(reviewed a short video of northbound whale - alb)
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DOLPHINS - Mon May 27 - Dolphin? Photo from yesterday at 7pm from our deck at Salmon Beach in Tacoma. The solo dolphin was travelling north of the Tacoma Narrows bridge, then U-turned and headed south. (ID notes by Dave Anderson, Cascadia Research: ..."definitely a dolphin...looks like it's probably a bottlenose, but not quite enough detail to be certain...." ) -Zeno Martin
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Mon May 27 - Out kayaking near Des Moines Redondo Beach when three little guys [surfaced] near us. They went up and down the sound. This was as close as I got. But I am glad I know what it is. Worried it was small whales! -Brenna Botsford (We shared images of dolphins and porpoise, Brenna believes they saw Harbor porpoise - alb)

May 26
May 26 - Gray whale 22 Earhart dives off Hat/Gedney Island. -Photo by Janine Harles, May 26, 2019
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Sun May 26 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait
19:32 - Swung back by here and its still out here.
14:32 - Seeing one for about an hour att Moran Beach, I believe it's a gray. Got fin photos on camera will send them in later tonight. -Jamie Bartram-Cyphe
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May 26 - 12:30 pm - Gray whale. 200 yds offshore Moran County Park Whidbey Island. -Guy Pruitt
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Sun May 26 - N Saratoga Pass/Penn Cove 5/26/19 @ 4:24 pm Grey whale in Penn Cove! It was at the end of the Cove but we never saw him surface again so we think he was headed out. -Stephanie Simms
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10:30 - Good morning. The San Juan Clipper passes a gray whale at Strawberry Point heading from Skagit Bay to Saratoga Passage. I don't know more than that, We could not stop for viewing...James Greenway
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May 26 - Possession Sound - 13:08 - On scene at NE Gedney Island with Earhart #22 (she was still in the area at 14:29). -Janine Harles
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07:10 - Gray whale off NW Hat Island, heading NE this morning. -Photos by Steve DeKoekkoek, May 26, 2019
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Sun May 26 - Haro Strait - Humpback whale headed north from Lime Kiln lighthouse about 5:30 p.m. -Amy Nesler
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Noon - I was on Saratoga Sunday at noon or so and we saw a humpback, apparently feeding, as he went in large circles. We were told his name is Monarch. Humpback reported as Monarch, BCZ0180.
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Sun May 26 - Puget Sound - 20:45 - Single humpback, Carr inlet near cutts island, moving slowly south. -Nick Lowry
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~14:00 - I saw this Whale at the south end of Anderson Island at Lyle Point today...It didn't ever show it's fluke. I wish it had. It was heading north towards Ketron island. These 2 photos showed the most of it I got. -Ann Fitzmaurice
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Sun May 26 - Eastern Juan de Fucat Strait - Good Evening, So yesterday (26th) I stopped at Moran Beach on Whidbey Island and spotted this whale. The heat distortion was horrible on the water and the whale was a bit out there but heres a couple shots I managed to get. Again heavily cropped. I first spotted it around 1pm heading towards deception pass area but when I swung back through at 7:30 pm it was making its was towards the navy base. Resident there stated they see them all the time out there feeding. Saw some blows but mostly fins up out of the water, like it was rolling around. Not a whale but there was also 1 sea lion just floating around out there too. Anyways hopefully these blurry shots will help with identifying who this was. Thanks for all your updates on your facebook page, I hope one day I'll be in the right place to see those Orcas. -Jamie Bartram
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Sun May 26 - Carr Inlet - (Reported as grays, photos show humpback. Possible a gray was in the area as well - alb) I saw at least one, maybe two, gray whales at about 19:30 on Sunday 26 May 2019 in Henderson Bay, just south of Minter Creek....The gray whale(s) appeared to be feeding and first headed north, then turned and headed south, out of the bay. My best view came when looking through binoculars - that's when I identified one - I got a clear view of its spout, head, and back, and then it sounded, giving me a clear view of its flukes. My first view on Sunday night was with my naked eye and at several hundred meters. So, that photo is a humpback? I wondered, given that I could see something that looked like small dorsal fin but I thought that it was just one of the bumps on the back of a gray whale and the poor focus. So, maybe I did see some surface feeding before that...Thanks! Tim Hoffinagle May 25 I love the stillness of the soft rain/mist/fog on the water and lower Olympic foothills. the blues and gray colors and the quiet sounds of nothing, except the exhalations of the orcas slowly making their way out of of Admiralty Straits...This family/pod consists of four whales Mama T101 and her boys T101A, T101B, and T102...mama's got her hands full and she does a pretty darn good job. -Photo by Marilyn Armbruster, May 25, 2019
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BIGG'S TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES - 1858: The San Juan Clipper left them at Lagoon Pt still pointed generally NB traveling at a speed of approximately 4 knots. -James Greenway
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18:57 - T101s are traveling northbound past Lagoon Point, Whidbey. -Rachel Haight
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18:56 - Seeing them (T101s) straight out from lagoon point. -Naina Barnet
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18:54 - Victoria Clipper stopped for orca mid-channel near Lagoon Point North. -Eileen Burdick
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18:12 - Orca. At Bush point now in front of lighthouse. -Gary Shuster
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1753 - T101s passing northbound 1.3 miles SE of Bush Pt. Light. -Photo by Howard Garrett, Orca Network, May 25, 2019
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17:35 - Just sighted them at 5:35 pm as well, between 1 mi. S of Bush Point and the Ruby Princess - glad the fog and clouds finally cleared! -Susan Berta, Orca Netowrk
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Headed to south Whidbey to find orca without much hope thanks to the rain and fog. But then they came around the corner. I love the big boys so three of them together made my heart swoon. As they passed by, Ellie the elephant seal, startled everybody on the beach by coming down from behind us, no one realized she was there, and heading straight into the water as the 101s + 102 passed by 500 yards away. They showed no interest in hunting, though, likely full from an earlier feast of a gray whale. A much needed encounter with orca.
17:36 - northbound approaching Windmill heights area. Passengers on the cruise ship Ruby Princess should get a nice look at these whales!
17:10 - T101s northbound past Limpet Lane, south end Mutiny. Close to Whidbey. -Rachel Haight
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18:01 - Seeing dorsals off north end of Mutiny Bay. Appear to be hunting/milling. -Logan/Lindsey McCune Goheen
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T102 and mom T101 off South Whidbey during their encounter with a gray whale. -Photo by Bart Rulon, May 25, 2019
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T101s Admiralty Inlet/Puget Sound - Sat May 25 - T101s - On the second sailing for MV Saratoga, Puget Sound Express, we came across the T101 pod just west of Cultus Bay, south Whidbey Island. This is a unique pod comprised of 4 transient killer whales, including a Mother, T101, and her three big adult male sons, T101A, T101B, and T102. The sons are 26yrs old, 22 years old, and 35 years old, respectively. It was immediately obvious upon arrival that the killer whales were circling around some kind of prey. We had seen this same family an hour and a half beforehand just a few miles southeast at Possession Point on our first whale watching trip of the day, and they were spread out in a typical hunting pattern.
After watching the family circle around for quite a while, we eventually saw a flurry of activity at the surface with the pod and then the body of a gray whale came up. The killer whales circled around the body as it floated. Shortly thereafter a bunch of air with blood spurted and bubbled out of the gray whale carcass and then the whale slowly sank under the water again while the T101s continued to work on their meal. We did see several tail lobs, tail slaps, and a cartwheel after the body came up to the surface. These are behaviors we often see during transient meals or afterward. To see more photos of this encounter, read a more detailed account, or to see any updates that might come from conversations with whale biologists please visit Bart Rulon's blog post on Puget Sound Express's website at https://www.pugetsoundexpress.com/may-25-encounter-with-t101-biggs-orcas-dead-gray-whale/
This is an unusual occurrence in our area to see a killer whale family feeding on a gray whale. We have witnessed half hearted attacks of transient killer whales on some of our regular "Sounders" in the past but never have we seen an attack succeed. Its likely impossible to identify the whale from the pictures photographer/naturalist Bart Rulon was able to obtain during the experience because so much of the skin was peeled off the gray whale. We do not believe the gray whale in question was one of our regular "Sounder" group of grays that regularly visits us in the spring time, partly because of the apparent smaller size of the body and because of the short amount of time it likely took the pod to kill the whale (less than an hour and a half). This is assuming they killed the whale and it didn't pass away on its own beforehand, which is also a distinct possibility
This year we have seen an unusual amount of new, unidentified, gray whales showing up in the Salish Sea, and Puget Sound. It has also been a year with higher than usual gray whale mortality. It is speculated that the gray whale eaten by the T101 pod might have been a new unidentified gray whale that had been seen in the vicinity of Edmonds and the south end of Whidbey Island over the last week or two appearing to be sluggish, subadult size, and very skinny. -Photographer/Naturalist Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
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Sat May 25 - Near Edmonds...First spotted T102, T101B and T101A near shoreline just south of Edmonds, going south. This was 11:30 AM, May 25 (we were on the Puget Sound Express, which stayed 200 yards away). Whales initially were just hanging around in front of Edmonds, going back and forth. By 12:15 they were heading north, towards the center of the navigation channel. We passed them on our right heading back to P.T. -Cyrilla Cook
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Another striking urban orca image by Kersti. Beloved handsome guy T102 travels into Elliott Bay backdropped by downtown Seattle waterfront, temporary home to a towering cruise liner. -Photo by Kersti Muul, from Anchor Park, West Seattle, May 25, 2019
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So the T101 pod was eating a gray whale when we saw them off Indian Point earlier around 3:30-4:00. ID of the whale would not be very easy because much of the skin was peeled off during the meal, and the gray was upside down most of the time. We did not see the kill, just the aftermath. I will send pics to Cascadia. (see report and images above). -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
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14:58 - T101s. Now off Indian Point, just off Scatchet Head on the south western corner.whidbey, milling. -Trevor Tillman
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12:45 - Amidst the squall, T101s continue north mid channel between S Edmonds and Apple Tree Cove Point. Too early to discern if angling Admiralty or Possession. Good luck, you may want to bring your bumbershoots & vinyl boots!
12:22- T101s are mid channel sightline from and between Kayu Kayu Ac Park, Shoreline and Kinsgston Ferry dock. Grouped up steady northbound. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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11:28 - T101s Currently aiming more towards the mainland side about even with Carkeek probably.
11:20 T101 pod currently grouped up and northbound, mid channel a mile north of Shilshoe. -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
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11:23 - Still seeing them from sunset hill. They are slowly traveling north. Last seen a little north of the whale watching boat pretty much due west of golden gardens. Mid channel closer to Bainbridge.
10:56 - Watching from sunset hill. They are west of shilshole mid channel between the whale watching boat and the sailboat. -Lindsay Walker
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10:22 - Watching from Golden gardens. I think they are midchannel near the whale watching vessel. -Marlena Skrobe
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09:30 - At least three in front of centennial park/lower Queen Anne. Close to lower Queen Anne side. Trending slowly north toward Smith Cove. -Stephen Sommerfeld
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09:36 - Off Elliot Bay Marina now...No direction but trending out..
09;30 - T102, adult Male of the T101 matriline, was making his way into Elliot bay with three trailing behind about 100 yards. A boat came out and crossed in front of him, the group then disappeared and then changed direction, eventually leaving the bay.
09:20 - Stalled out in a dive at grain elevators.. close to that side still heading into bay. From Anchor Park, West Seattle. Around 9:30 heading towards grain elevator. From Anchor Park, WS - T102 has a characteristic left leaning dorsal, pictured here; looks as if he is traveling out of the bay(because of flop) but is actually traveling in. -Photos by Kersti Muul, May 25, 2019
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Donna w/WS Ferries Ops called to relay report from MV Tacoma (WB Seattle to Bainbridge run): C/M reports 1 Orca west of Duwamish light heading eastbound at 09:15.
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09:03 - Orcas are in Elliott Bay. The Bainbridge Ferry is passing them right now. -Jo Jo Nieves
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09:02 - Just saw 3 from Alki Beach by 53rd St...Bainbridge ferry just passed by them. -Salleigh Know
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09:00 - Standing at Alki, halfway between the lighthouse and the public beach. Looking towards the city, Queen Anne, saw 3 huge dorsal fins, no white markings though. They were headed towards the southeast. They appeared several times. What a sight! -Sherri J Thompson
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8:42 - Orca. Just heading north very close to Alki Point. Three or four. -Douglas B Greensway
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8:38 - 3 orca heading north near Cormorant Cove close to the West Seattle shore. -Keith Croney
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WSB reader video: Orcas at Lincoln Park - West Seattle Blog upload of video by Karen Therese
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This was taken around 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 25 near Harbor West on Beach Road SW in West Seattle. Two males and a female spotted. -Laurence Shaw
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07:45 - 3 orcas at Brace Point (east shore, just south of Fauntleroy) headed north, should be in ferry lanes very soon. Super close to shore, should be visible from ferry, ferry dock, Lincoln Pk. -Ellen Cole
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Sat May 25 - T65A2 and T65A5, the T65As were pretty much rocking it all afternoon. T65A chasing Dall's porpoise. T65A6 getting pushed around by T65A4. -Photos by Sara Hysong, Shimazu, May 25, 2019
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15:20 - They are far out but you can see them and the whale watching boats from San Juan County Park. -Dawn Fujino Redmond
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14:00 - The T65As are still around! As of 1400 southbound in northern Haro Strait. They're currently a few miles offshore but should be visible from San Juan County Park and Lime Kiln in a bit. -Monika Wieland Shields
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Trifecta Day 2 - May 25th - Gray whales, a Humpback (Scratchy), and Biggs/Transient killer whales (T65As) out by Henry Island, a curious Steller sea lion and more, including a visit to Friday Harbor, a couple of rain-enhanced breaches - definitely a challenging day photo-wise, and I need a new raincoat! Thank you Puget Sound Express for another great day! -Jill Hein
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Sat May 25 - Facebook video by Robin Franko of feeding gray whale just north of Tulalip, very close to shore around 20:30.
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Sat May 25 - Saratoga Passage - 13:15 - Singular gray, heading north in Saratoga at 1:15pm. Originally reported by a family of 3 that came into Langley Whale Center. I nabbed some photos shortly after. S/he is moving at a pretty decent clip. -Amanda Marie Colbert, LWC/Orca Network Gray whale spouts north of Langley. Photo by Amanda Colbert, Orca Network, May 25, 2019
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Visitors to Langely Whale Center reporting one gray whale near Langley heading north. -Wendy Sines, LWC/Orca Network
(presumably 44 Dubknuck per earlier report unless a 2nd whale came through - alb).
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12:36 - Gray whale CRC44, Dubknuck currently northbound between Sandy Point and Langley on Whidbey Island. -Bart Rulon,
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12:33 - #44 Dubknuck is hugging the Whidbey shore now just north of Sandy Point heading toward Langley. -Justine Buckmaster
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12:21 - Saratoga is now with one gray at Sandy Point (Whidbey). -Trevor Tillman
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~07:30 - Southbound past NW Hat. -Photos by Steve DeKoekkoek, May 25, 2019
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Sat May 25 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - Trifecta Day 2 - Gray whales, a Humpback (Scratchy, MMY0079), and Biggs/Transient killer whales (T65As), a curious Steller sea lion and more, including a visit to Friday Harbor, a couple of rain-enhanced breaches - definitely a challenging day photo-wise, and I need a new raincoat! Thank you Puget Sound Express for another great day! -Jill Hein
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UNCONFIRMED SPECIES - Sat May 25 - Multiple sightings off Cliffside RV park (West Whidbey, on the NAS) this afternoon and evening at sunset...Looked like small brown ridged islands after they spouted. Could have been two or three of them about cause there were spouts very close together in time and a ways away from each other. Pretty neat for us. -Linda Clary

May 24
Fri May 24 - Admiralty Inlet - 18:50 - I saw 4, 3 males and 1 female/sub-adult no ids. The San Juan Clipper left them at 1850, still southbound about halfway down Marrowstone island, spread out across the southbound traffic lane. (I was just told by our naturalist, that they may have been the T101s.)
18:40 - 3-4 Transient Orcas SB, currently at Marrowstone Pt. +\- 2 NM off the point. They are moving generally south at a pretty quick clip. -James Greenway
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Fri May 24 - Juan de Fuca Strait - What a special day with 2 bull Transient Killer Whales T101B (22 year old) & T102 (35 year old) south of Race Rocks! -Photo by Paul Pudwell, Sooke Coastal WW, May 24, 2019
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Fri May 24 - 18:20 - T65a's passing between Jones Island and Mineral Point. -Alan Niles
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17:30 - T65As - Friday Harbor NB - stopped to kill a seal or two at Brown Island.
16:55 - T65As approaching Friday Harbor NB.
We had our ninth Bigg's killer whale encounter of the season this afternoon with the T65As right outside of Friday Harbor. Here are, from left to right, T65A3 Amira, one year-old T65A6, and T65A4 Ellifrit. -Monika Wieland Shields
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15:40 - They must be headed north, a friend who flies with Island Air texted me earlier and report she saw a pod of 6 orcas in Griffin Bay @ 340p. -Brittany Noelle Philbin
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14:00 - T65As nearing Iceberg Point on Lopez Island westbound. -Monika Wieland Shields
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10:50 - am T65As just east Smith Island northbound. MV Saratoga. -Bart Rulon
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Trifecta Day 1 - May 24th - Biggs/transient killer whales, Grays and a Humpback!! Broke the drought on seeing orca, the T65As (family group o 6) were found near Smith Island, a gray by the Navy base on Whidbey, and a humpback (Scratchy) by Lawson Reef. Also some good views of Tufted puffins, harbor porpoise, a California sea lion and Steller sea lions. And some fog. Thank you Puget Sound Express. -Jill Hein
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Amazing day on the water! Started at Smith Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Smith Island where we found a playful group of transient orcas, the T065A's! T65A2 and his unique fluke. Closer to Smith Island we then had a couple of Tufted Puffins pop up next to the boat! On to Whale Rocks at Cattle Pass where we saw a bunch of Steller Sea Lions, bald eagles, Brandt's Cormorants and gulls. We got to see a branded sea lion and a cute interaction with the smallest lion taking on the biggest! Next, we found "Scratchy" the humpback whale! He logged next to our boat for awhile, then we moved on towards Whidbey where we found gray whale #2253! On the way home we spotted a submarine in the distance!! Trifecta day for whales!! -Janine Harles
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Fri May 24 - Burrows Bay - TRIPLE HEADER! We had a fantastic day out of Anacortes, with three different species of whales sighted within the first hour! The first sign of a good day to come was when the downpour of rain ceased just as we started boarding, and held off for the duration of our journey. Not twenty minutes after getting of the dock, we had eyes on our first whale of the day. It turned out to be little 2251, a newly named gray whale that seems to be calling Burrow's Bay home. We spent some time with this little one as he circled the bay, showing off its fluke every now and again. This little one is clearly a fighter, as indicated by the past entanglement scars and orca rake marks on its fluke....Excerpt from Island Adventures May 24 Encounter -Anacortes
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Fri May 24 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - 13:00 - MV Saratoga has gray whale CRC2253 just south of NAS Whidbey. -Bart Rulon
(2253 is a 2019 new whale - alb)
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Fri May 24 - Port Susan - This Gray was spotted of North Tillicum Beach on Port Susan Camano Island today at 0830. -Photo by John C Storbeck, May 24, 2019
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Fri May 24 - San Juans - 14:11 - 2 Humpbacks just outside of Rocky Bay...wasn't there long enough to see (direction). Didn't look like they were in a hurry. -Andy Derksma
(John Boyd ID note: "split fin and pepper")
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14:00 ...two humpbacks heading south in President's Channel close to the Orcas Island shoreline. -Monika Wieland Shields
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MINKE WHALES - Fri May 24 - 16:40 - Minke whale spotted at s. end of Lummi Island. Seemed to be feeding. -Mari Blakeslee Hauser

May 23
BIGG'S TRANSIENTS - T65As Inland Puget Sound - Thu May 23 - 20:18 - Maija from WS Ferries called in 2nd report from ferries tonight of small pod of orca including couple of juvenile heading northbound 1 mile off Restoration Point, believe same pod that was called in off Southworth earlier moving north.
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20:06 - Orcas westbound in in front of Blake island Marina! -Damian Clarke
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19:24. Approaching south end of Blake Island as seen from West Seattle. We are on the bluff above Beach Drive near Spokane and 60th. -Doulgas B Greenswag
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From my sighting at the Southworth Ferry Terminal at 1840, T65As off Southworth - backdropped by northend Vashon Island.. I lost sight of them behind the 1900 ferry at the terminal, heading north towards Blake Island....Just after I shot this about 5 feet offshore was a sea lion that had the most terrified look on his face I've ever seen swimming along in the opposite direction very slowly almost dog paddling. I felt so sorry for him, he looked so scared. -Jolena Tagg
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18:34 - They were mid channel heading north past Wilson Creek (Kitsap) at 6:34. -Roxane Jackson Johnson
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18:30 - Apx 6 orcas NB at north end Colvos on 5.23.19 at 1830. -Cheers, Tim Ferris
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17:05 - Orca. Just passing Al's now. At least 5. Same group of T's that we're here last. -Amy Bliss-Miller
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16:49 - Orca. Just about to Lisabeula, Mid channel, have slowed their pace, but headed north. -Marla Smith
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16:40 - Orcas, mid channel, headed towards Al's Market, Olalla. Viewing from Point Richmond/Maplewood area. -Anika Blake
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16:25 - Orca. Moving up Colvos (NB) but slowly. (Location demarcated as just north of Point Richmond, Kitsap). -Kala Escobar
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16:00 - I barely caught them as they passed Owen Beach around 4pm today. They went by Owen so quick. I was running after them yelling "Orcas!!!" to everyone I passed. -Amber Stanfill
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15:56 - Orca. They are heading up Colvos, there's a boat following but keeping a good distance. Haven't rounded the point yet though 4 still in sight between Dalco viewpoint and Gig Harbor.
15:49 - Ok I see them (orcas), closer to Tacoma just surfaced mid channel near Owens Beach, westbound. Deep dives. 3 for sure mid channel in travel mode, one closer to shore Tacoma side. -Sarah Bradford Honeywell
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15:36 - Orca. West bound almost to the Point Defiance ferry crossing, about mid channel. -Karen Widrig Pickett
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14:05 - Just got a report of 5 orcas heading south from Point Robinson (Vashon). -Kelly Keenan
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11:34 - Orca. Just spotted 3-4 whales off Lincoln Park heading south through the Fauntleroy ferry route. -Mark Root-Wiley
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Thu May 23 - Admiralty Inlet - 11:50 - We just saw them in Admiralty Inlet, gray whales in the vicinity of Hood Canal entrance. They were heading towards Possession. -Kellie Gatz
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Thu May 23 - Possession Sound - 07:00-08:00 - Had a visitor stop by for breakfast. She's heading south along east side of Hat close to shore. -Photos by Lori Christopher, May 23, 2019
(Lori thinks gray 22 from observations, her video & this pec looks to be #22 - alb)

May 22
Wed May 22 - Hi folks, 4 orcas this afternoon at the end of Singing Sands Road, Comox (right beside the ferry terminal) - someone on our local network says on is T124A1...They were travelling, passed 3 sea lions about 100 feet away and showed no interest (the sea lions on the other hand were quite distressed and shouting loudly!). Photos taken wit an iPhone through my Kowa spotting scope - animals were about 150 feet off the shore (where the water drops off) and continued south. Curious as to who they are. (T75B, T124A1, T86A1, and T75C were ID from photos shared with Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research, a few of them below - alb) -Ross Griffith-Cochrane
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Wed May 22 - Possession/Saratoga Passage - Hi Alisa, We had a huge treat this afternoon with this group of orcas - T65As - at Pebble Beach. There were six of them, coming from the north. They seemed focused on the little bay on the north side of the point, almost looked like they were fishing. There were two groups, one of 2 and the other 4. It looked like they were either playing or feeding on the salmon that hand out here. We only figured out the salmon when the otters came up after the orcas left, with salmon in their mouths. #17 is blurry, but it looks like one of the otters has a nice salmon in his mouth. Our biggest mystery other than not identifying them, is what they are doing in #14. Can't ID the grey animal they are circling. I have many more photographs of this encounter, as it continued from 4:50 pm to 6:45. They seemed to be either feeding or just playing. I'd love to know who these lovely beings are, if you can tell. I've lightened up the photos to attempt but I still can't tell...Peg Boley
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17:56 - Connie Barrett from Camano called to report at least 4 orcas in Saratoga Passage just north of Cama State Park between them and Whidbey heading southbound.
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16:53 - Pod grouped up and logged for a bit. Now SB Camano side of mid channel. South end of Elger Bay. -Ariel Yseth
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16:45 - Orcas southbound, have passed Camano State Park and now in the heart of Elger Bay committed to Camano side. -Marilyn armbruster
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14:45 - T65As. They've definitely woken up! Now SB with lots of breaches and tail slaps. -Elizabeth Skinner
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14:35 - T65As. Definitely southbound again with longer downtimes. Approaching Onomac Point. -Kristina Trowbridge
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14:10 - Pod now turned south.
13:50 - T65As. Passing my house - between Race and Harrington Lagoons, they're on Camano side, slowly continuing north. - Jill Hein
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13:55 - They (orcas) seem to have stalled in front of Eagle Crest (Camano), more active also, milling around, tail slapping etc. IE5 still here and also another red rubber dingy WW boat just arrived.
13:30 - Orca. In mid-channel on Camano side out from Onomac Point now and for the past 20 minutes. IE5 is with them. Very long downtimes, heading slowly northbound towards Penn Cove. -Kristina Trowbridge
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12:30 - Orcas look to be milling Camano side north of Cama beach. -Rachel Haight
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11:25 - Orcas trending northbound, now mid channel, just off of Camano Island State Park. -Amanda Marie Colbert, Orca Network
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11:20 - Orca. Viewing from Hidden beach. Whales are quite a distance away, close to Camano side. Still trending NB. -Elizabeth Skinner
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11:10 - T65As. still northbound at Lowell Point, spread out.
10:45 - MV Saratoga has the T65As northbound off Elger Bay Camano Island. -Bart Rulon
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10:39 - Orcas have passed Mabana Shores heading into south Elger Bay northbound Camano side. -Marilyn Armbruster
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09:59 - Stephanie Raymond, Clipper, called to report the T65As northbound in Saratoga Passage at Mabana on Camano side. A gray whale was heading southbound around the same time, the orcas and gray passed by, over, under, around each other...all is peaceful!
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9:45 - 3 orca, possibly 4, in Saratoga Passage northbound across from Langley, very close to Camano. Clipper on scene with them. -Durand Dace
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08:17 - Friend (Tam) that works on the ferry reports a large pod off the Clinton dock! -Alie Hudec
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Kat Hannan called to relay a report from a friend who was aboard the Clinton to Mukilteo ferry and saw at least 3 orcas in very still waters around 07:30 this morning.
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Wed May 22 - Port Susan - We live on Port Susan between Warm Beach and Kayak Point Park. I'm concerned with how late in the year and how frequently there is feeding activity this year. We have seen/heard whales almost daily since April. Also coming in several times a day not just high tides. -Linda Thompson
(Phone discussion confirms whale there this morning...and has heard and/or seen daily - alb)
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Wed May 22 - Possession Sound - When: (today) May 22, 2019 at about 10:45 am. What: gray whale. Quantity one. - Where: South Whidbey Island. 200 yards southeast of the Clinton ferry dock's south slip. The whale appeared to be traveling slowly south. -Kind Regards, Peter Oakley, Langley WA
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Wed May 22 - Saratoga Passage - 09:59 - Stephanie Raymond, Clipper, called to report orcas (they have their own post/thread) and included report they saw gray whale heading southbound Saratoga Passage at Mabana around the same time; the orcas and gray passed by, over, under, around each other...all is peaceful!

May 21
Tue May 21 - 19:23 - Orcas are still near Discovery Point lighthouse. There's a Victoria Clipper boat floating near them. -JoJo Nieves
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19:09 - Looking from Alki Ave across to bluffs of Discovery Park, they (orcas) are in the bay proper but, near shore on other side. Trending east some. -Kersti Muul
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18:54 - Orca. Due north of Alki Beach. About 1 mile off the beach right now. -Craig Smith McMaster
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18:05 - From Constellation Park. Orcas Just North of Blakely Rock, south of Seattle-Bainbridge ferry lane, steady NB, mid-channel, appears to be in travel mode.
17:38 - Viewing from Charles Richey Park. Orcas... Mid-channel, continues steady northbound. T65As have been tricky to watch today. -Brittany Noelle Philbin
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17:41 - Orca. NB mid channel, slow pace. Little A6 in the lead, Male in rear. Between Blake and Vashon. Good viewing. -Kersti Muul
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16:35 - T65As just off Fauntleroy Ferry dock steady northbound east side of the channel. Still traveling in same configuration as earlier.
15:40 - T65As have passed Three Tree Point and moved over further east side of the channel. Steady northbound, loosely grouped.
15:20 - T65As are at Three Tree Point rounding the point northbound on Burien side. Loosely grouped (mama and 3 of hers clustered, T65A2 and another traveling together not far away. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, ON
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14:48 - Orcas. Visible from south side Three Tree Point, steady NB travel, mid channel East. -Christina Van Wolbeck Fenerty
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14:43 - from south side of Three Tree Point. ~4 orcas (male included) milling off Point Robinson, maybe slightly more NB, mid channel. -Brittany Noelle Philbin
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13:15 - T65As are mainland side of mid channel heading northbound steady clip between Dash Point Pier and Gold Beach,Vashon. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, ON
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13:00 - watched from Les Davis Pier in Ruston. Last spotted them about mid channel between Browns Point & Maury. Were very active for a few minutes, maybe on a kill. Difficult to say for sure but they appeared to be heading north. -Heidi Armstrong
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Started viewing the Orcas on The Cliff House looking over Commencement Bay for about 5 min. Ran to the Browns Point Lighthouse to see them come out of the bay at a good speed headed for Dash Point. As always it was incredible to see them!!! -Desiree Sauve
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Members of the T65As surface just north of Brown's Point Lighthouse heading northbound up main channel. -Photos by Desiree Sauve, May 21, 2019
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~ 12:55 - T65As exited Commencement Bay very close to Brown's Point side, surfaced south end of the park, lots of squealing in anticipation of close pass, but they went on a long dive bypassing the park and surfaced grouped on north side of the point heading northbound at quick pace. They are taking the east channel between mainland and Vashon. Sweet!
12:43 - After still looking like they were hunting someone (directional changes, lunges, & drifting north spread out0, They are now grouped heading westbound towards Brown's Point with purpose.
12:28 - pod of 6 went deep in Commencement, a bit past the tankers , and have now turned back. They are kind of hanging out mid channel from tankers, making directional changes. Some surface activity as if on a hunt.
12:13 - the pod is deep in Commencement Bay down by the tankers west side of bay, but appear to be moving more mid channel. Guessing they'll turn around soon. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, ON
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11:55 - Orca. Headed into Commencement Bay on the west side. -Brian McGinn, Puget Sound Express
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11:20 - We just saw them (orcas) from BP lighthouse (Brown's Point), way over beyond the Vashon ferry landing, closer to Gig Harbor side, but then lost them. Saw at least four, one really big guy. -Steph Park
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Hi Alisa, Here are some pics from this morning as the T65a's swam past Point Robinson. They were pretty far out from the shoreline, but still so fun to watch, especially the youngsters. They are so bouncy! It was lovely to wake up to their visit this morning, thanks for keeping us all updated! -Cheers~Marla
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T65As passing Point Robinson, Vashon. -Photos by Marla Smith, May 21, 2019
10:00 - Orca. Just cleared point Robinson, mid channel, slowly meandering south.
09:19 - Orca. Nearing point Robinson, mid channel, headed sb in travel mode. -Marla Smith
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06:45 - Mike at WS Ferries called to report pod of 6 orcas heading southbound 1 mile off Fauntleroy in the northbound shipping lanes.
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06:28 - Pod of Orca seen at 0630 crossing between Vashon Island and the Fauntleroy ferry terminal....They were headed SSE. Beautiful sight on a gorgeous morning. -Josh Temple
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06:10 - The Ferry headed from Vashon to Fauntleroy had to stop and wait for the Orcas to pass. -Allison Reynolds

May 20
Mon May 20 - 18:15 - 18:20 - Orca. seen from Mukilteo to Clinton ferry trending more SB into Possession Sound/Puget Sound. We saw them in Possession Sound. They were originally trending NW towards Saratoga then the big male headed South towards Puget Sound. Lost sight of them after a few minutes. -Elizabeth Skinner
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15:19 - T65As are south of Possession Point now, closer to Kitsap side on a kill.
14:00 - MV Saratoga has T65As southbound at Point No Point. -Bart Rulon
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UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES - Mon May 20 - Alert Bay - Received 19:24 - We were fortunate to see at least 5 orcas- friend said 7-9 including 2 babies! Heading north feeding in Alder Bay across from Alert Bay. -Jo-Ann Hawick
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Mon May 20 - Juan de Fuca Strait - 13:58 - Sorry no photo. Single orca traveling east by Port Angeles Coast Guard. -Deb Petty
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Tue May 21 - Sunshine Coast, BC - Posted 10:15 - RARE! Gray Whale at Stillwater Bluffs near Powell River on Sunshine Coast BC Canada. Couurtesy Tideline to Alpine Photography & Adventure. Instagram: @tidelinetoalpine: I am so grateful to have witnessed this majestical Gray Whale up close and personal yesterday while enjoying an afternoon at Stillwater Bluffs on the Sunshine Coast. We also watched schools of fish, jellyfish and sea stars from our seaside perch and had a visit from the Sea Lions nearby which you can hear in the video. Definately a great way to connect with nature and get to know a new friend. This encounter had me giddy with excitement and I hope it brightens your day as well.." FACEBOOK VIDEO -Thanks for sharing! Amanda Shale
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Tue May 21 - Saratoga Passage - 15:00 - Two grey whales mid Saratoga Passage, north of Pebble Beach. Looks like they're resting, no flukes, shallow dives. Just under the surface. Too far away to ID them. -Peg Boley
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09:50 - San Juan Clipper watched 2 great whales mid channel off Elger Bay. They were slowly moving north when we left them. No photos. One of the whales was Patch. -Lauren Ryan Booth
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Mon May 20 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - ~11:30 - Two grays again by Deception Pass! From beach by sand dunes looking towards naval station. They have been hanging out here for over an hour. Spotted something else large black with large dorsal fin in same area as whales. -Deanna Hunter
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Mon May 20 - Crescent Bay, Juan de Fuca Strait - 18:38 - Two whales with distinct grey v shape blows. Here and feeding. Salt Creek Rec area.
18:31 - Crescent Bay. West end near shore. Blows happening. Likely Grey feeding. -Angela Zylla
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Mon May 20 - Port Susan - 12:57 - At least 2, probably grays, closer to Camano spotted from Kayak Pt. -April Bosley
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Mon May 20 - Captain Carl cruised by Deception pass giving us a great photo opportunity before he pushed off shore and up to Lawson reef. Here we joined up with MMY0079 "Scratchy" the humpback whale. He was slowly headed north bound against the tide and giving us lots of good surface activity. As he traveled he gave us many different fluke shots, exposing his tail flukes on his deeper dives. -Tyson, excerpted from Island Adventures May 20 Encounter
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Mon May 20 - ~ 11:30 - Spotted something else large black with large dorsal fin in same area as whales (Off Deception Pass, West Beach area - see gray whale report -alb) -Deanna Hunter

May 19
12:09 - Whales up by Moresby are 65Bs, 75Bs, 75Cs, and T124C. -Sara Hysong-Shimazu
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Took these photos of the T65B + company just just west of Moresby Island. Lots of tail slaps and spyhops. Hunting Stellar's Sea Lion. Note the seal skin on the pectoral fin in the spyhop picture. (photos include 65Bs.) -Dante Aubert
(Sara Hysong-Shimazu posted near same images as these sent to us by Dante. Sara had ID'd the sea lion pelt throwing whale as T65B - alb)
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Sun May 19 - Burrows Bay - 12:34 - We spotted a humpback in Burrows Bay Anacortes. I saw a side view of it & it looked like a humpback to me, we were not at all close so taking that into consideration. We didn't have time to hang out or I would have taken pictures, hopefully on our way back it will still be there and we'll have time to get a little closer. It's fluke was pretty small. -Debby Giard
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GRAY WHALES - Sun May 19 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - 07:37 - Gray whale near whidbey island naval station just south of Deception Pass. it started out west of deception island and I watched it travel south towards navel station over an hour. Hung out around naval station for quite awhile. Unsure where it was headed thereafter. -Deanna Hunter
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Sun May 19 - Port Susan - 11:22 - We had reports of a Gray Whale at Tillicum Beach Camano Island on Port Susan. The Gray was last seen heading cross Port Susan towards McKees beach. Also reports of one or two Grays off Mountain View Beach and Camano Island Country Club beach 2 last night. -John C Storbeck
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Sun May 19 - Possession Sound - Grays: Dubknuck (44), Earheart (22) and Patch (49) at Hat this morning. -Rheama Neas
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09:47 - San Juan Clipper just left 2 gray whales together due south of the east end of Gedney Island, trending west. -Stephanie Raymond
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Sun May 19 - T65As - Started with another Transient Killer Whale predation event! I didn't get photos of the T65As playing with their food, but the playful behavior continued well after the meal ended and I did manage to get one of two spyhops from one year old T65A6! Later, we got a glimpse of Minke Whales (not pictured) at Partridge Bank and Tufted Puffins near Smith Island! Finally, after cruising through Deception Pass, we met up with Gray Whales #22 Earhart and #49 Patch near Hat/Gedney Island. -Justine Buckmaster
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Sat May 19 - Started with another Transient Killer Whale predation event! I didn't get photos of the T65As playing with their food, but the playful behavior continued well after the meal ended and I did manage to get one of two spyhops from one year old T65A6! Later, we got a glimpse of Minke Whales (not pictured) at Partridge Bank and Tufted Puffins near Smith Island! Finally, after cruising through Deception Pass, we met up with Gray Whales #22 Earhart and #49 Patch near Hat/Gedney Island. -Justine Buckmaster
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Sun May 19 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait ... we got a glimpse of Minke Whales (not pictured) at Partridge Bank and Tufted Puffins near Smith Island! -Justine Buckmaster

May 18
BIGG'S TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES - Sat May 18 - 19:57 - Orca. Just crossing the south end of Blakely Harbor headed north. On the west side. Not to Blakely Rock yet. -Douglas B Greenswag
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19:04 - Small pod of killer whales between Vashon and West Seattle heading north. Seen from the ferry. -Kurt Bezoenik
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18:50 - Mike with WS Ferries Operatins center called to report 4 orca transiting northbound between top of Vashon and Fauntleroy in middle of traffic lanes...
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18:45 - Orca. Just spotted them approaching the Fauntleroy ferry lane. -Mike Yov
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19:00 - Orca. Approaching southern Blake West in channel. Calf present. Probably T65As.
18:44 - Orca, 4 at least In ferry lanes northbound, mid channel. -Kersti Muul
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18:04 - Four tightly clustered (orca) traveling NB at steady pace. Approaching Vashon/Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal. I viewed from 150th Street in Seahurst. -Cindy Eckers Waddington
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17:36 - Orcas, 6 Just north of Three Tree Point headed north fast. -Justin Foster
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17:35 - 3-4 Orca moving northbound near the center of the channel off Three Tree Point about five minutes ago. -Jon Beno
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17:18 - Orca. Appear to be more committed to northbound trend, approaching Three Tree Point channel marker.
17:04 - Orca. Definitely still milling with extremely slow trend to the north. Continue to be tight clustered, mid channel, still south of Three Tree Point mid channel marker. -Christina Van Wolbeck Fenerty
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16:44 - 4 orcas, members of the T65As, traveling north off Vashon, north of the light house (Pt Robinson) heading towards Normandy Park -Alison Jones
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16:40 - Orca. Medium pace moving north toward Three Tree Point. Closer to Vashon side. Counting 6 orcas at least. Boat following.
16:25 - Orca. Still feeding off of Maury Island. Same general area, near Maury Island/Vashon connector. -Sandhya Ballal
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16:10 - Orca. Eyes on them! They seemed to have turned NB and are slowly heading back toward Three Tree Point, mid channel -Cayla Wilson
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15:05 - We are at Three Tree Point and they are slowly trending south. They are closer to the Vashon side and they seem to be hunting or feeding. Lots of splashing, tail lobbing and breaching. -Angie Edgmon
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14:50 - viewing 3 orcas (could be more) slowly SB mid channel almost to the top of Maury Island. One is splashing quite a bit so likely hunting.
14:16 - Just saw 4 orcas slightly south of Three Tree Point. Milling. No direction yet. -Sandhya Ballal
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14:10 - Orca. Now appear to be slowly trending south, clumped up, mid-channel, not quite to channel marker. Three Tree Point.
13:02 - Theres 6-8 hunting just north of the Three Tree Point mid-channel buoy still. I think things may be slowing down at the surface while they have a meal. Drifting west, still midchannel
12:40 - Orca. I see! Closely grouped east of mid channel marker! Slowly moving south. Hunting. Three Tree Point. -Christina Van Wolbeck Fenerty
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12:34 - 3 orcas northbound at Three Tree Point (Burien). -Sandhya Ballal
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11:25 - Orca seen from the Fauntleroy/Vashon ferry at 11:25 near Vashon. There were 6 per captain but I only saw one male, swimming toward West Seattle. -Lissa Brod Anderson
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11:24 - Donna Sanderson w/WS Ferries Ops called to report MV Chelan is stopped because 6 orcas are EB mid way between Vashon and Fauntleroy.
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10:56 - They just passed Tilicum village. Directional changes PSE is stopped directly in front of Tilicum . I live directly across at Lowman beach. They aren't south of Blake. -Kersti Muul
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1104 - southbound between Vashon and Southworth. Viewing from Emma Schmitz Park West Seattle north of Vashon.
10:51 from Emma Schmitz Park West Seattle between Blake and Southworth. -Mary Hartman
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10:42 - South end of Blake Is now heading S. -Buzz Shaw
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10:25 - Found them north of Blake island, aiming southeast. 4-5 knots. -Brian McGinn
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08:49 - The SJC received a report, from the Victoria Clipper V, of Orcas in the traffic lanes SB at bouy SG . We didn't see them ourselves so I don't have any other info. (SG buoy is between Skiff Point Bainbridge and West Point, Discovery Park). -James Greenway
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Sat May 18 - Puget Sound - 08:00-09:30 - Grey whale seen 8am Saturday, May 18, 2019, near shore, just south of Haines Wharf Park, near Talbot Road, Edmonds. Hung around for over an hour. I'm guessing it was shrimping as it's the same location so many boats were shrimping last Sunday and Wednesday (May 12 & 15). -Melissa Duits
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Sat May 18 - Possession Sound - Hi Alisa, had a twilight visit last night (18th) to the cove just south of marina on Hat Island. Maybe you can identify? First time this season a gray has lingered to feed here! Was a treat! (gray 22 Earhart). -Lori Christopher
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Sat May 18 - My wife Tina Garcia took this (VIDEO) Saturday from the 11:10 Vashon to Fauntleroy ferry. Posted to Vashon Nature Center Facebook. -Tom Maloney
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Sat May 18 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - ~10:30 - Gray whale seen by West Beach (not at Deception Pass) along the west side of Whidbey Island. -Jill Hein
(ID notes: Alie Perez, Cascadia Research: "Hi Jill! - Thanks so much for the photos. This animal is now CRC2255 because of its repeat sightings going back to May 7th.")
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Sat May 18 - 13:00 - My husband saw one around 1 PM Saturday very close to Picnic Point. It hung out quite a while between Picnic Point and Whidbey Island. -Lisa Villanueva

May 17
Fri May 17 - ...There was a newish calf in the group that was quite scarred up and light grey in colour that appeared to be with T046B1 who was seen with a calf last fall. I saw a second newer calf that was with T046B. I ended the encounter at 1305....See report and images at Center for Whale Research Encounter 35.
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Here are shots from the spyhop bonanza yesterday (17th) where we had three different killer whale encounters. T124C in the early afternoon followed up by the T090s and T087 feeding just outside of Cowichan Bay and THEN we had the T123's and T124A2's in Cowichan Bay! Great staff trip in the evening with the latter group watching them hunt just outside of the bay. -Gary Sutton
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Fri May 17 - 20:26 - Now orcas have slowed down a bit possibly on a kill just south of Glendale, Mukilteo side of mid channel.
20:13 - Orcas are mid channel southbound fairly quickly. Viewing from Glendale Beach, Whidbey Island. -Marilyn Armbruster
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20:21 - About 5-6 orcas heading towards Edmonds.
19:51 - Orcas between Clinton and Columbia Beach! Appear to be feeding. -Kristen Wagner-Patterson
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19:31 - My neighbor reports orcas in Possession Sound. North of ferry lanes over towards Everett. -Debbie Stewart
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16:15 - IE4 leaving 65A's heading into Port Susan. -Tyler McKeen
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~16:00 - Orca. passed Tulalip about 4:00! IE4 also on scene, they're heading north up Port Susan. -Lori Christopher
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11:46 - 65A's traveling northeast toward Possession Point, a few miles south of Possession Point right now. -Tyler McKeen
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11:33 - I see the orcas from north Edmonds by the whale watch boat. Mid channel. Traveling north. -Michelle Goll
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11:15 - Orca. Kitsap side of shipping lane just north of Kingston but seem to be trending NE. It is pretty foggy just to the north so will lose them shortly. -Sara Frey
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10:18 - T65As again northbound just north of Point Jefferson, Kingston. -Bart Rulon
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10:15 - Several orca very close to shore (west side) between Point Jefferson and President Point Kingston. Heading north. -Chris Beamer Otterson
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09:53 - Orca. My husband is in Indianola and says they see them from there right now. he sees 3, heading north. -Jenne Patrick
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This sighting was at approximately 7:55am today, May 17, 2019, approximately 200 yards off Rockaway Beach just south of the mouth of Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island. The pod stayed for 15-20 minutes and then seemed to be moving North in Puget Sound. T65As hunt a Harbor seal (visible between dorsal and fluke) off Bainbridge Island. -Doug Mackenzie
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07:13 - Donna from WS Ferries Ops called to relay report from crew of MV Walla Walla who observed a small pod of at least 4 orcas as they departed Bainbridge. Pod was just hanging out around Tyee Shoal (just outside Eagle Harbor).
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COASTAL KILLER WHALES - Fri May 17 - 16:18 - Received a call from Steve Hatler - We had another whale sighting in Siuslaw River, Florence Oregon around 14:00-14:30. 1 bull orca in river today, up through the jetty's at least a mile up the river all the way up by the Hwy 101 bridge. Saw a few tail slaps. Orca eventually headed back out the river to the Pacific.
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Fri May 17 - Sooke Harbor - We sent photos of the gray whale in Sooke Harbor to Cascadia for ID. We will include in next report once they've had time to search their catalogue.
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Fri May 17 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - 16:52 - grey whale or humpback? Not sure which at Swantown headed south. -Elizabeth Hajek
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Fri May 17 - Central Puget Sound - 11:33 - Donna at WS Ferris Ops called to relay report from MV Spokane of a lonely little gray whale about 1/4 mile off Edmonds Marina.
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Fri May 17 - Sooke Harbor - I was told you may be interested in this gray whale sighting and could possibly ID it. It was in Sooke Harbor, Vancouver Island this morning. -Photo by Diane Wilson, May 17, 2019
(ID notes Alie Peres, Cascadia Research: "Thanks! I took through the catalog but didn't find this individual.")
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Hi there, Someone on the Sooke Whale Watching facebook page suggested sending our photos of the grey whale that was spotted to you today for identification. This whale was in the Sooke basin (photo taken from Whiffin Spit) around noon on May 17, 2019. I do not have the best camera (and had my 7 month old strapped to me in a carrier) so was not able to get the best shots, but was able to snap these few photos which may help in identification. -Lora Wendorf

May 16
15:08 - Group of 4-5 Orcas fishing off Sandy Point on Waldron Island, heading N. -Photo by Erica Sternin, May 16, 2019
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Th May 16 - Juan de Fuca - 18:36. - We watched them continue southbound at super slow pace. Then after almost entering Admiralty the two guys flipped, heading west now....visible from Ebey's Landing with binos 18:02 - I spotted the 2 bull orcas reported by Trevor...orcas are about 1.5 miles west of Point Wilson, Port Townsend side of mid channel. Steady southbound directionally entering Admiraty Inlet. Watching from Ebey's Landing, Whidbey. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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17:12 - Just left two bull orca 2.1 nm south west of partridge point possibly trending southeast. -Trevor Tillman
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Thu May 16 - Juan de Fuca ...Later in the day we encountered resting Transient Killer Whales near Smith Island. They were identified as T087, T090s, T123s and T124A2s. -Justine Buckmaster
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Thu May 16 - Puget Sound - 13:40 - Orcas have moved SB short distance. NOAA on and off scene quickly. Trending more Westerly
12:20-12:40 - They (orcas) havent moved from their location in an hour. (S Bainbridge) Breaching, other surface activity. Watching from Constellation Point. -Kersti Muul
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12:36 - Orcas to the right of the ferry heading to Seattle! We were leaving Bainbridge and they were headed towards West Seattle. The ferry captain made an announcement! -Sue Bolinger
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11:55 - Orca. straight offshore from Eagle Harbor, mid-channel at least maybe a bit closer to Alki side. Hard to get a picture even with telephoto lens, but looks like they might be feeding - lots of circling, splashing, and jumping. -Jim Reitz
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11:45 - Small pod of orcas off the Walla Walla ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge. Captain said he could see two babies with the group....e were about 3/4 of the way across from Seattle. The outgoing ferry from Bainbridge had just made the turn. This photo from my cell shows how close we were to the island. -Sandy Pavey
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11:49 - Seattle to Bainbridge Ferry is stopped. Looks like they're feeding, circling around, right in the ferry lane- mid channel
11:37 - Finally see them- north of Elliott Bay still SB. More east side sound. -Becca tiger Musser
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11:25 - Orcas visible thru binoculars from Eagle Harbor, well offshore. Approaching ferry lanes, looks like whale watching boat trailing behind them. -Jim Reitz
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11:00 - Approaching Yeomalt Point southbound in the middle of the sound doing long dives. -Christopher Hanke, Puget Sound express
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0910: San Juan Clipper left orcas southbound at buoy SF. 6 individuals, our naturalist said T65A's I believe. (SF buoy is the yellow mid channel buoy between Richmond Beach in Shoreline and President's Point, Kingston, Kitsap peninsula - alb) -James Greenway
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Given their size and power, one can sometimes forget that Killer Whales are also dolphins. Other times, their playfulness and curiosity shine through, such as today when the T65As attempted to ride the bow wave of the San Juan Clipper near Kingston! We had to stop and shut down our engines when they suddenly appeared so close after a long dive, perhaps spoiling their fun...Justine Buckmaster
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We saw them (orcas) on the Kingston Fast Ferry this morning, just south of Apple Tree Cove maybe 300 yards off shore. One looked like a baby! -Andrea Mojzak
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07:17 - Good morning! More orcas this morning from the Kingston Fast Ferry. Grabbed some coordinates from my phone this morning, they were further north, just outside of Kingston...We were also closer this morning and I spotted 3 at one specific time, again I'm not an expert so hate to call out if there was a male or not. They did however seem to be circling/feeding. 47°47'15.7"N 122°28'26.2"W (47.787696, -122.473952). -Tim Hunt
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06:27 - Marie at WS Ferries Ops called to relay report: one of their deck officers just reported about 6-7 whales, just off of Apple Tree Cove Point. Couldn't tell which type, they appeared to be feeding.
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Thu May 16 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - 18:00 - Tonight around 6:00PM I saw a Gray dive off of Washington Park, maybe a juvenile?...this gray was traveling west from Guemes Channel into Rosario. -Lisa Allison Blohm
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Anacortes - What a wonderful day to be out on the water! We left the marina and headed through Guemes channel when a few passangers thought that they had spotted a spout right off the coast of Anacortes in the middle of the channel. We waited for a few minutes before we saw the spot again from a distance and then saw a Gray whale! We stayed with this little gray whale for quite some time and got to see it fluke twice! After we left the gray whale we went along the coast line of WA park and went towards Whidbey Island where we had reports of Orca whales off of Lawson Reef! Once we arrived on scene, we were able to ID these as T87, T90's, and T123's! We spent some quality cruising time with these marine mammal eating orcas before they went into resting mode and we left the scene to go meet up with one of our favorite humpbacks, Scratchy, who was just five minutes away from the Orcas! From a distance we saw Scratchy breach out of the water before we were on scene and once we got on scene we got to see him breach one more time and cartwheel out of the water! We also got to see the humpback fluke multiple times. We then made our way through Deception Pass and then made our short journey back into Guemes Channel. Just as we were about to make the turn back into the marina, a guest said he saw the gray whale again and sure enough the same whale we were with earlier had popped up right outside the marina! We got to see the little whale fluke a few more times before we turned back into home base. It was overall an AWESOME day with wildlife around every corner! -Clare, Island Adventures
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-Watched a single 50-60' Grey Whale swim through Burrows Bay off Anacortes, WA this morning around 10 am. It swam very close along the shoreline following our morning low tide. It passed along the Skyline Marina entrance and hovered along an inlet near Washington Park before heading out towards Guemes Channel. It was so white and splotchy with huge barnacles on its body that we could follow it under water without binoculars as it passed by. I don't have pictures but will never forget it's impressive blow hole sound and spray to match. -Denise Root
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Thu May 16 - Admiralty Inlet - 17:50 - While searching for the possible incoming orcas I spotted two gray whales exiting Admiralty Inlet! Frist sighting they surfaced in tandem about 1/2-1 mile west of Point Wilson mid channel. Saw them one more surface intervel a few minutes later continuing west, a bit spread apart. From Ebey's Landing, too far for IDs or photos. Perhaps two of the Sounders leaving? -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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12:44 - Definitely grays. Two travelling together. Making decent time. Approaching south Marrowstone Island in Admiralty Inlet. Pattern of two blows then a deep dive with fluke.
12:37 - Two whales (possibly grays), north bound near the buoy south of Marrowstone Island. -Margaret Marshall
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Thu May 16 - Possession Sound - Everett - Our Everett season is drawing to a close with just a few tours left, but the gray whale action hasn't slowed at all! The wildlife sightings started before we even boarded, with a curious harbor seal popping up during our crew introductions to say "hello"! As we left and headed out past Jetty Island, it was a bird-of-prey bonanza with at least four mature bald eagles and a pair of osprey. One of the eagles caught a snack and the osprey did its best to snatch it away (to no avail). There were plenty of California sea lions near the Navy base, and shortly after that - our first whale of the day! We quickly realized however, that it was not just a single whale, but gray whales galore as we counted at least five in the area between Everett and Hat Island. The nearest whales were identified as #49 Patch, #21 Shackleton, and #22 Earhart. These whales were among the earliest to discover the rich feeding grounds off Everett nearly 30 years ago, so it was great to see them (and smell them!) thriving in these waters. For a change of scenery, we headed down south of the Mukilteo ferry lane and found another gray whale, #44 Dubknuck, who showed us our first flukes of the day! We saw his tail at least three times and it seemed he was making his way north toward the rest of the whales. On the way back we caught up with our first whales again, including a special goodbye from Shackleton again. This was my last Everett tour of the season and it seemed only appropriate that the last gray whale of the tour was the first one to visit this area back in 1990. -Erin, Island Adventures
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San Juan Clipper saw #22, we just left her at 0954 on the SE end of Gedney headed SE. -James Greenway
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On the 7am Clinton to Mukilteo, a couple spouting, but no visible bodies. -Kristen Wagner-Patterson
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07:05 - another call from WS Ferries, this time Mike re: Mukilteo/Clinton Route. One of their crew reports 6 gray whales spouting north of ferry lanes towards Gedney Island and it is really beautiful.
(response from Lori Christopher to WSF sighting above: "Saw and heard three whales pass the east side of Gedney, southbound just after sunset last night. They do this just about every night. I'm guessing they gather and spend the night together in that area?")

May 15
Wed May 15 - San Juans - 09:37 - Hi. We just saw three orcas right as we were leaving Rolfe Cove on Matia Island. They seemed to be headed east. -Emiko Badillo
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Wed May 15 - Possession Sound/Saratoga Passage - 20:00 - T65A family cleared Saratoga faster than anticipated. Spotted them again just outside south end of Saratoga Passage. Some lazy tail lobs, many directional changes. One fine moment: Mom & siblings went one way, little one T65A6 went the opposite...pretty cute. After all that they regrouped and are heading east very slowly. Not sure which side of Hat/Gedney they'll choose. Half dozen Harbor seals hugging the shore, eagle feasting on someone, crows cawing not happy about that, heron & swallows soaring above. Ducklings paddling in water flat calm. I could hear the orcas blow in the distance. This place...
18:24 - T65As south of Fox Spit still slowly southbound heading towards Langley, Whidbey side of channel. Family grouped with T65A2 and T65A3 traveling together flagging behind for a short time then rejoining the others...some tail lobs, inverted rolls. Rainy, but water is very calm. Nice viewing conditions.
17:50 - Finally orcas! In the rain. Seeing the pod mid channel between Baby Island area and Camano Star Park. T65As Saratoga Passage. Some directional changes then aig zagging a bit once they resumed southbound travel, grouped. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, ON
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17:03 - At Indian beach (Camano), still heading south bound on the Whidbey side. -Joan Smith
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16:36 - Looks like they are heading east from Shangri-La toward Camano. -Aaron Gill
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16:35 - Just saw them from Eagle Crest on Camano, still southbound on the Whidbey side, moving fast. -Kristina Trowbridge
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16:10 - Bigg's orcas T65As currently in Saratoga Passage north of Shangri La Shores heading southbound, slowly. -Jill Hein.
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15:29 - Off the Lagoon now. Socializing.
15:06 - Orca. Long Point, Whidbey southbound, less that 1/2 off the point. -Matt Stolmeier
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1:30 - Karen Graham reports orcas are lob-tailing and splashing around the entrance to Penn Cove, off Long Point.
12:30 - Karen Graham saw orcas heading north past Harrington Lagoon on Whidbey Island, toward Penn Cove.
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11:14 - Chilkat leaving the T65As steadily northbound in Saratoga out from North Bluff on Whidbey. Mid channel. -Justine Buckmaster
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10:50 - T65A's mid channel off Cama Beach Camano Island, northbound at 4 knots. -Brian McGinn, PSE
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06:15 - Orca mid channel ferry lanes off of Clinton now...heading towards Langley. -David Haeckel
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Wed May 15 - 09:31 - Judy Tribbet called (I believe docent at visitor center) to report 5 orcas heading southbound off Cape Foulweather, just north of Newport, OR.
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An unknown gray whale swims under the cliffs of Sharpe Park, Anacortes. -Frame grab from video by Charmaine Delmatier, May 15, 2019
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Sighting this morning. I was at hiking at Sharpe Park point and saw this solitary baby whale from the cliff. I highly suspect it's not an orca, but could it be either a gray (probably) or humpback (unlikely)? I never saw any other whales, which makes Hope the mother was swimming deeper the entire time I saw the baby on water's surface...The whale was the size of an orca or smaller, that's why I thought it was a baby. Sharpe Park is just Southwest of Anacortes, might even be in the city limits. It's just north of Deception Pass bridge. Thanks for your help, I'd like to know. -Charmaine Delmatier
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Wed May 15 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - Gray whale sighting. From 1:00 to 1:30 we watched a Gray off of Joseph Whidbey State Park. -Gretchen
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Wed May 15 - What's better than a whale trifecta? How about seeing all four of the Salish Sea's main whale species in one trip?? That's exactly what happened today on the Chilkat Express! We encountered Gray Whale #22 Earhart in Possession Sound, Transient Killer Whale family T65As in Saratoga Passage, Humpback Whale "Scratchy" at Lawson Reef just outside Deception Pass, and at least 4 Minke Whales actively and collectively feeding on a huge bait ball just north of Partridge Bank in the Strait of Juan de Fuca to top it all off! What an amazing day!! -Justine Buckmaster
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Wed May 15 - Saratoga Passage - 16:30 - Feeding off Polnell Shores, Whidbey. -Photos by Terra Parham, May 15, 2019
(Looks like #22 Earhart - alb)
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Wed May 15 - Possession Sound - Gray whale 22 Earhart this afternoon - Possession Sound. -Photo by Justine Buckmaster, May 15, 2019
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11:50 - Made it to Glendale in time to watch Gray 44 Dubknuck surface just out from the beach, still making his way steady northbound close to Whidbey in regular surface intervals as he disappeared around the bend.
11:20 - and from the south heading north surprise pass by 44 Dubknuck off Possession Beach Park! He continued on, we drove up to Glendale...Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
11:00 - We moved to Possession Beach Park to the south and along came those porpoise, still porpoising. Gray 531 followed a short time later now much closer to Whidbey. She passed in front of us approx 100 yards off shore steady travel pace with more frequent shallow surfaces that earlier. Her travel interrupted by a boat maneuvering in her path then following her so she moved offshore. She continued steady southbound towards Possession Point.
~10:30 - gray whale 531 passed by Glendale, Whidbey southbound in steady travel mode. Then along came a sizable pod of Harbor porpoise porpoising!
09:50 - grays hanging out in middle of Muk/Clinton ferry lanes. One trended southbound.
09:26 - at least 2 grays in Muk/Clinton Ferry lanes heading southbound at the moment. Whidbey side of mid channel.
07:40 - Currently while searching for the orcas I see quite a few gray whales blowing in Possession Sound north of the ferry lanes and to the east. And another between west side Hat Island and Whidbey (south of Sandy Point).-Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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We saw a grey off the 7:00 ferry. Headed toward Glendale. -Marq Dean
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MINKE WHALES - Wed May 15 - ...and at least 4 Minke Whales actively and collectively feeding on a huge bait ball just north of Partridge Bank in the Strait of Juan de Fuca to top it all off! What an amazing day!! -Justine Buckmaster
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PORPOISE - Wed May 15 - While watching a gray whale pass along came a sizeable pod of Harbor porpoise (~25-30+) made up of adults w/some calves porpoising at high speed southbound out from us at Glendale, Whidbey Island - no predators in the vicinity. We then moved ~ 2 miles south down the shoreline to Possession Beach Park to wait for the gray and along came the pod of porpoising porpoise....still porpoising! This is the 2nd time in the last week I've seen large pod of porpoise porpoising for extended period of time. Crappy but show these awesome little creatures rooster-tailing it down Possession Sound. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network

May 14
Tue May 14 - San Juans - 13:30 - westbound in Spieden T87, T90s, and T124A2s.
12:45 - Sounds like a few more than 4...within sight of Reuben Tarte still northbound. -Monika Wieland Shields
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11:30 - 4 orcas outside Friday Harbor headed north. -h2o rider
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At about 10am this morning we spotted at least two orcas off the shore at Cattle Point on San Juan Island. They circled a small island with seals on it and headed up north towards Friday Harbor. -Liz Barcheck
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Tue May 14 - Puget Sound - 20:49 - Maija from WSF reporting a small pod of orcas about 1 mile NNW of Alki Point in traffic lanes northbound.
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18:27 - Orca. Mid channel - saw on ferry from Fauntleroy to Vashon. -Gene Kuhns
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15:10 - I lost sight of them at about 3:10. Viewing from Ruston they were headed north past Quartermaster Harbor hugging Vashon. -Kourtnee Marr Lindgren
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~14:00 - From Dalco Passage Viewpoint in Point Defiance...Photo by Kala Escobar, May 14, 2019
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~14:00 - From Sunrise Beach looking at Vashon at about 2pm. -Photo by Jolena Tagg, May 14, 2019
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14:10 - Orca. Heading to Commencement Bay, probably near ferry line (Dalco Pass).
13:40 - Approaching south end of Vashon Island and Sunrise Beach now. Saw the baby breach! -Anika Blake
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13:31 - Orcas really haven't moved, at all! Still far north. Barely seen from Point Defiance.
13:12 - Orca. I saw a breach viewing from Dalco viewpoint. Still way north in Colvos. -Amber Stanfill
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14:10 - Ran down to Owen after they passed Dalco. They hugged Vashon and head northbound. -Photo by Amber Stanfill, May 14, 2019
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13:49 - male with this group isn't mature. From Sunrise, still moving south on Vashon side.
13:25 - from north end of Sunrise Park....moving south still, more mid-channel or slightly closer to Vashon side. They're not to Sunrise yet but moving slowly in that direction. At least 7 present, one larger male, one small calf.
13:01 - viewing from north Sunrise beach park....they're hugging the Vashon side and slowly coming south. No boats with them now. Couple breaches, milling around a lot. -Amy Bliss-Miller
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12:01 - Chilkat leaving the T65As southbound between Sanford Point on Vashon Island and Richmond Point. South Colvos Passage. All grouped together now! -Bart Rulon, PSE
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Noon - We had four Orcas pass by our house @ Olalla around noon. Whale watching boat following closely. Headed southbound. -Susan Goog
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11:40 - Viewing from Al's in Ollala: saw a group of 5 or 6 orca moving south in Colvos, whale watching boat nearby. -Amy Bliss-Miller
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Today was my first trip into the south Puget Sound on Chilkat Express of this year! That's where we encountered the T65As traveling and playing in Colvos Passage. It was such a pleasure to see them after several days of no orcas in our range! Later, we went north to find some of our Gray Whale "Sounders" still hanging out near Everett. We saw #49 Patch and #723 Lucyfer up close and a few others off in the distance. Patch even fluked multiple times! -Justine Buckmaster
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10:36 - They (orcas) are traveling south in Colvos pass about 1.5 miles south of the Southworth ferry terminal. Looked like two large bulls, two cows and a calf. -Matt King
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08:20 - Kitsap Fast Ferry vessel Rich Passage has sighted a pod of orca north of Alki and moving in a westerly fashion, approximately 8:20am. At least one orca repeatedly bobbed its head above water several times before the pod seemed to take to deeper water. -Matt Spurgin
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Didn't see this on twitter but this morning on my commute in from Kingston on the fast ferry we saw a pod of orcas breaching from the ferry. Seems like they/we were east of discovery park. There was a large ship (cargo I think) south of both us and it. Couldn't get a great count but at one point 2 were visible above the water....I texted my wife at 7:40, so it was around there. Honestly it was too far away to tell if they were male, or I didn't really have enough, or a good scale to tell height. They didn't seem to be headed in any specific direction, or at least I couldn't tell if they were headed further any specific way. From the distance we were at we couldn't see fins in the water, just when they breached, and I saw them headed/facing both North and South at different times. -Tim Hunt
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Tues May 14 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - 19:35 - We moved to Hastie Lake, whale was a little closer to that location but still far off shore between Hastie and south end Swan Town, milling back and forth. With some 4 minute down times and occasional 10 minute. 7 exhalations surface intervals. Left the whale heading directionally towards shore at 7:35
18:50 - From West Beach, Swan Town, West Whidbey, Marilyn Armbruster spies the blows and body of a whale, presumably gray heading north. After ~ 10 minute down time whale surfaced again, 7 blows them a dive heading south. Fluke looked like that of a gray whale. S/he is approx 1/2-1 mile offshore between our location and Hastie Lake pullout, probably milling. -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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Tues May 14 - Possession Sound - Posted 15:15 - There was a gray whale milling right off the Edmonds waterfront! Not a Sounder and appears to be feeding back and forth with birds following. Very close to the breakwater
13:38 - #49 and #723 have turned back north and are milling/socializing. We can see at least 4 more gray whale blows in the distance on the Snohomish River delta.
13:17 - #49 Patch and #723 Lucyfer SE of Hat/Gedney Island trending SE toward Everett. -Justine Buckmaster, PSE
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11:05 - aboard the MV Chimacum on the Mukilteo/Clinton crossing and see gray whale blows off the SE end of Hat/ Gedney Island - Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network

May 13
Mon May 13 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - 08:03 - 2-3 gray whale blows visible at West Beach County Park 8:00am (West Beach Rd, Whidbey Island. Just south of Joseph Whidbey SP) Most likely the 3 that have been in the area for days now. -Melinda Killian
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Mon May 13 - Port Susan - 06:00 - gray whale spotted off S. Mt View beach headed north. -Lois Carlson

May 12
UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES - Sun May 12 - 11:05 - Seem to be feeding. Moving slowly. Staying submerged for long periods.
10:35 - Orcas at western edge of Trail Islands heading towards Wakefield and Sechelt. Can only identify one large one smaller on shore side heading to Wakefield. -Martin Michael
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Sun May 12 - It seemed only fitting that yesterday on Mother's Day one of our trips was spent in the company of a mom and calf pair of humpback whales. The mom, Slate (BCX1210), was found with a calf near Victoria, BC, allowing us to also share the awesomeness of Race Rocks Ecological Reserve with our guests, which included the resident sea otter Ollie! -Sara Hysong-Shimazu, Maya's Legacy
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Sun May 12 - 08:32 - Just saw a humpback whale off Mutiny Bay in the northbound traffic lane headed SE, pointing towards Pt No Point. Seen from Victoria Clipper V. -Jason Mihok
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Sun May 12 - WA Coast - 09:42 - A (happier?) outer coast gray whale report from us this morning: 4-5 active gray whales off the Point Brown Jetty in Ocean Shores. We saw spyhopping and a breach! -Monika Wieland Shields
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Sun May 12 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - I posted on fb about not missing the whales yesterday and was asked to send in any shots I may have gotten. These aren't the best quality and are heavily cropped from 600mm focal point. I hope though that it will help with identification. These were taken at Joseph Whidbey State park on 5-12-19 between 1:30 pm/2:00 pm. I don't really know what it was doing but I'm going to assume eating. It stayed for a bit in this area diving and coming back up with lots of blows. Again I hope these photos help and I would love to hear back on what kind of whale (grey I assume) and who it may be. -Thank you, Jamie Bartram
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10:21 - Grays. South of the west beach. More even with the navy base now. -Scott Richards
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9:30 - and the Grey's still here!
07:35 - Grey whale off Westside Beach near Deception Pass! Appears to be feeding and milling around. -Sara Vogan Geiger
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Sun May 12 - Saratoga Passage - 17:19 - At Camano Island State Park - at least one gray moving towards north/Baby Island. Lots of blows and tails! - at Camano Island State Park. -Sara Young
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Sun May 12 - Port Susan - We had a gray whale feeding at Tillicum Beach Camano Island Port Susan this morning about 7AM 12 May 2019. -John C Storbeck
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Sun May 12 - Possession Sound - 09:45 - San Juan Clipper just left a gray whale 1 mile south of the east end of Gedney Island. The whale was staying in that spot, no direction of travel. -Stephanie Raymond
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Sun May 12 - Several dozen Harbor porpoise porpoising frequently while foraging off Suquamish. I see them out there whenever I am there, but never so much surface activity and porpoising. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network

May 11
Sat May 11 - When we got to the northwest tip of Saltspring Island we turned south down Houstoun Passage and around the bottom of Kuper Island into Stuart Channel as we heard they were milling mid channel between Chemanius and Kuper Island. We arrived at 1546 (48 55.1/123 39.2) to see the T123's a half mile to the west of the T086A's and both groups traveling slowly south bound. Within a few minutes the 086A's started to mill as if they had found a seal and the T123's soon joined them. -Full report with images at Center for Whale Research Encounter 33
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GRAY WHALES - May 11 - Possession Sound - 07:48 - 3 in that group. There is another grey whale in the ferry lanes mid channel too. -Danielle Pennington
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07:40 - Just saw backlit blows in Possession Sound. Right off Clinton Ferry Dock and very close in. I didn't see any fins so presume baleen whale (Gray) and looked to be moving to the southeast. LOTS of boats out there. Everyone be whale wise! -Debbie Stewart
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Sat May 11 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - Hi, I wanted to let you know that there were at least two gray whales in the waters off of NAS Whidbey's Cliffside rv park at about 10:30 this morning (Sat 5/11/19). They stayed in pretty much the same location and would dive down then surface at about the same place so I think they were feeding. There was quite a crowd of campers watching them. One man told me he had been seeing one every evening for the past 5-6 days. I watched the whales for about half an hour and they were still there when I left. It was foggy when I set out on my walk on the trail this morning so I did not have my camera to get pictures of them. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks! -Mary Jo Adams
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Sat May 11 - Port Susan - Port Susan between Priest Point and Mission. -Photo by John Barrett, May 11, 2019
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Sat May 11 - Possession Sound - 11pm another one moving northbound from Clinton.
1035 pm - One is now heading up south east whidbey, northbound towards Langley One grey just passed us on south sandy point. Feeding on all the shrimpies ! Cant see it in the video but u can hear it! -Sam Rattet
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We had 531 heading in to delta this morning and another already far in (no ID). Then we went south and found #44, 383, and 723 together in the ferry lanes, heading north! -Renee Beitzel, IA
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Jill Hein reports: 3 grays south of Hat Island, #44, #383 and #723. Back and forth. Red Head left them at 1:15 PM.
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11:44 - Hey! We have 2 grey in the Clinton ferry lane. Mid channel sort of heading towards Hat, but not in a hurry. Ferry workers say they have been here for the last hour or so. -Allie Hudec
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11:44 - I'm sure you've had multiple reports, but either Minkes or Grey's between Columbia and Glendale, off the south side of the ferry to Mukilteo. Spouting and tail slaps galore! -Kristen Wagner-Patterson
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10:11 - Saratoga has encountered #44, #383, and #723 traveling northbound together in Possession Sound just north of Possession Beach, aiming for Mukilteo. -Justine Buckmaster
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Sat May 11- Central Puget Sound - 17:25 - Small gray whale under Agate Passage Bridge headed east. 5:25 pm. No picture or video. -Shawn Keeney
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17:22 - Gray Whale in Agate Passage. Just South of the bridge to Bainbridge. Headed North. -Krisit King
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~16:00 - Spotted small Gray whale west of Agate Pass heading east 5/11/2019 around 4PM. -Doug DeVries
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Gray Whale was seen between Shilshole Harbour and Edmonds Harbour, WA. Single Individual seen twice traveling north close to shipping lanes. 20-25 feet in length. Shallow diving, feeding on plankton and krill. Blew behind the boat, came 6 feet to the port of our sailboat, slow pass underwater. 47°43'51.9"N 122°25'02.5"W. Observed at 13:00 & 17:00. Short Video and Images but no distinguishable features as was underwater. -Chris VR
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11:04 - just saw a whale (I assume a gray, only one blow spout) in Elliott Bay! Playing a little bit north east of shipping and ferry channels, about 400 yards offshore in front of Olympic sculpture park, heading north to Interbay/Magnolia. What a beautiful day! -Dana Reinert
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Sat May 11 - As I scanned to the west back towards Tumbo Island I saw the back of a humpback whale. We worked our way back to the west and came across a pair of humpback whales (BCY0160/"Heather" and BCY00458/"Raptor") at 1055 (48 48.3/123 02.8). They were traveling tight together making less than 2 knots north west bound against the strong ebb current. They circled towards the shoreline of Tumbo Island and seemed to be feeding in the area. -Full report with images at Center for Whale Research Encounter 33
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From there we continued into Canadian waters, and it was just north of Tumbo Island that we came across two humpback whales! It turned out to be Raptor and Heather, two known associates. It was beautiful to see these two socializing, swimming side by side throughout the afternoon. Even more interesting is seeing them back together in 2019, given that they were somewhat inseparable during 2018! -Excerpted from Island Adventures May 11 Encounter Report

May 10
May 10 - Southern Georgia Strait - 20:03 - Just saw our fellow from earlier today cruise by heading south.
16:40 - Hi We have a Grey whale off the marina entrance feeding! Point Roberts, WA. -Sandra Scott
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May 10 - Admiralty Inlet - 08:42 - Gray whale spotted off Bush Point heading north- east edge of northbound traffic lane- seen from Victoria Clipper 5. -Jason Mihok
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May 10 - Possession Sound - 10:00 - 2 gray whales SSW of Gedney Island, moving towards Everett slowly. One was identified as Patch. The San Juan Clipper left the whales at 1000. -James Greenway
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May 10 - Port Susan - 23:16 - Whale feeding of North Tillicum Beach been there for at least an hour.
10:08 - We have had 2 Gray whale sightings in Port Susan this morning both were heading south from Tillicum Beach / McKees beach line. No photos...John C Storbeck

May 9
Thu May 9 - Eastern Juan de Fuca - Gray whale off Partridge Point, Whidbey Island. -Photo by Ariel Yseth, May 9, 2019
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11:38 - Out with Puget Sound Express and 3 grays in this area here (off Partridge Point, Whidbey). Having a great trip! -Dave Williams
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Thu May 9 - Port Susan - We had three Grays feeding at Tillicum Beach Camano Island at about 6:30 AM this morning 9 May. They were last spotted crossing to the McKees Beach area on the east side of Port Susan where we lost them. We have been seeing Grays in Port Susan just about everyday for the last week or so. -John C Storbeck
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Thu May 9 - Possession Sound - I saw one (gray) feeding just north of sandy point heading toward Seawall at 9:30 a.m. -Megan Patricia Scudder
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07:51 - 2 or 3 grays heading toward Langley dock from Sandy Point. -Luanne Seymour
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Thu May 9 - Gray feeding near Kayak Point in Port Susan Bay. -Photos by Gary Lingenfelter, May 9, 2019
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A single grey whale was feeding this morning, at about 6:40am, at Sandy Point Beach. I watched for about 10 minutes before it began heading west slowly, towards Langley. This particular spot (about 1/4 mile west of the Point itself) seems to be favorite for the whales, as I is where I usually see them. It sits below the high bluff, just below Wateredge Drive. -Cheers. Jeff Rice
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MINKE WHALES - Thu May 9 - 16:18 - Minke off Libbey Park now, going south. -Photos by David Haeckel

May 8
Wed May 8 - Juan de Fuca Strait - 19:00 - Ken Balcomb called in a gray whale report from his mobile home on a bluff, about 2 miles west of Ediz Hook in PA. It was traveling SW out the St. of Juan de Fuca, today, 5/8.
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Wed May 8 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - 14:00 - Sitting in my car watching the waves at Joseph Whidbey State Park and a gray popped up to say hello. It was traveling slow, long dives about 100 feet off shore headed north. The photo is not great, but look for the dark spot in the water. -Shelly Greybeck

May 7
~11:00 - Beautiful gray whale off Partridge Point, Whidbey. There were three of them there milling. -Photo by Ariel Yseth, May 7, 2019
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Tue May 7 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - 19:15 - Looked like 2 or 3 whales spotted at Nas Whidbey. -Photo by Daniel Snow, May 7, 2019
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14:56 - I just read your post from 3hrs ago today about feeding locations of Grays; I can't tell if it is 2 or 3 but I am up on the cliff at West Beach and there have been grays here since this morning. I didn't take a photo because I am so high up it's not clear. -Tammy Thompson
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Today was one of the most beautiful days I've seen on the great Salish Sea. We found a gray whale...I think the same one from Saturday) near NAS Whidbey, Steller Sea Lions, two very cooperative puffins, a lot of very pregnant harbor seals, and two very elusive minkes around Eastern Bank. -Bonnie Gretz
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~11:00 - Left dorsal ridge one of the three gray whales milling off Partridge Point, Whidbey. -Photo by Ariel Yseth, May 7, 2019
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Tue May 7 - Possession Sound...From there we headed out to Hat island where we found gray whale #49 Patch swimming around with another large gray whale. Neither of the whales were having to dive deep as they fed off the shallows of Hat island. From there we headed south a little ways toward the Mukilteo ferry crossing where we found 3 more gray whales. Gray whale #56 and one other whale were hanging out together and were soon joined by another gray whale that was not identified. We got great looks at this group as one of the whales was hanging out at the surface for long periods of time and they even came over to check out the boat. As they branched off toward the Snohomish River delta we moved off to join up with one more lone gray whale. This time it was #723 Lucy and he was headed into the shallows off of Hat island. We got a few lazy fluke shots from Lucy before he began to head north and we had to make our way south. On our way back toward Everett we came across Patch and his friend for a few last looks with the sun pouring down like crazy. It was a spectacular day on the water and our trip was very successful with all sorts of different wildlife encounters!!! -Tyson, Island Adventures, May 7 encounter report HERE.
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1200 -1500 - Spent 3 hrs observing 5 grays off the east side of Hat Island. Photos to follow shortly (at least 2 fluke under sides.) -Gary Carter
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11:47: IE4 with the gray, due south from the south end of Gedney. Exhalation visible from the MV Suquamish. -Durand Dace
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11:43 - Just saw a gray whale in the distance headed toward Everett from Hat Island. -Missy Main
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10:54 - Grey whales in the Clinton - Mulkiteo ferry lane. And 2 more over by Everett. Can see the blows from the ferry. -Alice Runk

May 6
SOUTHERN RESIDENTS - Mon May 6 - J27 off of Colville Island on the morning of May 6th. -Photo by Mark Malleson, 2019
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Looks like Js ended up heading way out to the banks (So. of San Juan Island). Boats with them on AIS are way offshore of False Bay/south of Discovery Island as of 17:00. -Monika Wieland Shields
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13:56 - (Jpod) Heading past Eagle Point now...Erin Corra
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13:35 - J Pod off South Beach northbound. -Monika Wieland Shields
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Season's greetings to the resident Orcas, nice to see them again. Pod traveling east to west on Monday, May 6th. Several orcas were close to island in Flint Bay, Lopez Island. Lots of breaching and tail slaps. Most boats doing a good job of not interfering with orcas, one commercial smaller boat was right in main orca pathway though...Sally Reeve
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Mon May 6 - E Juan de Fuca Strait - 19:35 - one [gray] whale sighting, appears to be milking around. Moran Beach, W Whidbey...Was able to get a video! He/she is surfacing every 60 seconds or so right now. -Stephanie Salem
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17:20 - Whales are still there, just saw them blowing again. Deborah
~16:45 - due west from West Beach Road, just north of Fort Nugent Road. Looks like at least two whales. Too far away to determine specifics. They were In the area for at least 30 minutes. -Deborah Bias
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Mon May 6 - Port Susan - 08:49 - Just spotted a Whale in Port Susan, about 1/4 mile south of beach 3 on Camano side!...He is just going in circles about 1100 feet off beach 3. -Cindy Todd Stulken
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Mon May 6 - Possession Sound...It wasn't long after we entered Possession Sound that we a clustering of gray whales at the southern end of Hat Island. It turned out to be a group of five, #49, #22, #723, among them. They were socializing in a way that the crew had seldom seen before, so tightly grouped that all whales could have been touching, and rolling at the surface of the water, pec fins and flukes visible above the surface as they rolled. Was love in the air? We may never know for sure, but it certainly seemed plausible...The gray whales were back to their social antics by the time we returned to Hat Island. By this time we confirmed that #22, #49, #53, #56, #531, and possibly #383 were all present. The most incredible part of this second encounter had to have been when Earhart #22 mugged the boat! She seemed content to just hangout right beside us, and as we drifted with engines shut off, she circled the back of the boat. You could count the barnacles on her face, and see her full contour beneath the waterline. An unreal end to a truly remarkable day on the water. -Island Adventures.
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HUMPBACK WHALES - May 6 - N Puget Sound - 11:48 - Just saw a humpback out front of my home on Jefferson Point going North towards Kingston. Fairly good sized. He was close in but I didn't get a good photo of him! -Corrie Beamer Urquhart

May 5
BIGG'S TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES - Alaska transients T128 (L) and younger brother T125A (R) swimming south in Haro Strait after T128 made a kill (less than 5 minutes!). T128 spyhopping and showing off his trophy of intestines. If you zoom in on T128, you can see meat with dark skin in his mouth. -Photos by Ariel Yseth, Spirit or Orca, May 5, 2019
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Jane Cogan called Dave in the early afternoon to relay a report that T125A and T128 had been found near Beamont Shoal. Since they weren't that far away, Dave grabbed his gear and headed for Snug Harbor and left in the boat at 1420. "Orcinus" arrived on scene around 1445 about halfway between the Beaumont Shoal buoy and Seabird Point on Discovery Island...Full report & image at Center for Whale Research Encounter 32.
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Sun May 5 - E Juan de Fuca - 17:22 - Grays at Deception Pass! There were 2 and right about here (map shows off West Beach at Deception Pass). I was pretty shocked to even get to see them! One came super close to shore momentarily! -Jami Cantrell
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1500 - We saw at least 3 whales from the beach at Joseph Whidbey State Park. Not sure what kind because they were pretty far out. They seem to be heading west. No dorsal fins...There's a couple blows that you can see and they come up where you can see backs briefly. There were 3. Kinds far away though. -Tiffany Garey
(video reviewed...presumed to be grays -alb)
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~14:00 - A quick trip to Rocky Point (Oak Harbor) near Naval Air Station WI around 2pm today proved to be a fruitful outing. There were at least two different whales hanging out. Thankfully, I remembered to snag my camera as I ran out the door...A bit about the behavior today, none of the whales ever dove deep enough to show their tail flukes. One appeared to be "spy hopping" which I sort of captured in one of the photos I sent you. Was one of the whales a different species? There is a photo of two whales and they look a bit different, to me...however, I am far from an expert. I know my frequent whale sightings are less than ideal and hate that I am seeing them under such circumstances. However, I have really enjoyed getting to watch them and today was quite the sight with the Olympics in the background...Thanks again for all you do! -Sincerely, Casie McClellan
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Anacortes Trip: ...We found 3 gray whales right off the NAS Whidbey runway and decided to spend some time with them. One animal was identified as CRC-2246 but the other two remained unidentifiable. -Island Adventures
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12:36 - Sarah Barnes reported at least two gray whales off West Beach at Deception Pass State Park about 500 yards offshore. No direction given.
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Sun May 5 - Port Susan - 19:19 - At least 3 gray whales at Warm Beach about 300-500 yards out from the south portion of the beach. -Scott Wilson
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08:59 - There is a gray whale currently feeding off the east side of Camano Island, middle of island, (cross street Mt. View). Seems to be slowly moving south with the tide. -Cheers, Mike Fox
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Sun May 5 - Admiralty Inlet - 08:50 - Report from Al Lunemann of a gray whale north of Ebey's Landing few hundred yards out slowing moving south.
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Sun May 5 - Possession Sound - Off the east end of Hat Island. 5 Grays milling around for over 3 hours (1300-1600hrs). No apparent feeding observed. Fluke slapping, spyhopping, touching/nudging. NPS gray 531. Underside fluke of NPS gray 383. Beautiful face of NPS gray 22 Earhart -Gary Carter
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Sun May 5 - Possession Sound - 19:30 - Grays. 7 distinct blows in my view from Rucker Hill in Everett. Cheers! -Amy Willoughby
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14:57 - Grays 53 and 22 between Everett and Gedney now. Closer to Gedney. (Everett PM Trip)
12:43 - Grays 49, 22, 531 off SE Gedney. 4th whale no ID. (Everett AM Trip) -Renee Beizel, Island Adventures
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12:12 - At least one gray in the ferry lanes, still northbound. Ferry deck full of excited people.
10:51 - Good morning! Around 10:45, Emily McLoughlin reported watching one, maybe two, grays off Glendale beach approximately 300 yards from shore "heading toward the ferry, away from Possession. SO COOL!" Boats were passing on both sides of the whale(s). -Durand Dace
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11:33 - Third whale is 53. We've left them northbound still together.
11:04 - Well we are here now with 3 grays traveling north close to Whidbey. Still south of ferries. #56, 723 and another no ID yet. -Renee Beitzel, IA
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Sun May 5 - Deceased gray whale Harborview Park, Everett. -Photos by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network, May 5, 2019
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09:04 - I'm seeing what looks like a dead gray whale off of Harborview Park in Everett. No movement at all. We called it into NOAA Fisheries & they already knew about it. -Connie Mitchell
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Sun May 5 - Minke whale, not a humpback, ~1/mile offshore between Ebey's and Pt. Partridge slowing heading north noon Sunday. -Al Lunemann

May 4
Sat May 4 - J pod/L87 Georgia Strait. See reports & images in Whales and Dolphins BC Report.
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Sat May 4 - Mike Graff called about seeing at least two males and others about 2 miles off the Port Angeles breakwall at 4 pm yesterday, 5/4. One spy-hopped about 50 yards from some sea lions. No photos.
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Sat May 4 - Burrows Bay - 08:43 - Single Gray (I think) in Burrows Bay south of Anacortes. Not really moving in any direction, seems to be feeding...Spotted from land. Close to shore. Seems to be staying in this area and heading up and down the coast a bit. Saw it slowly head north toward Anacortes last night around 7:30, and now it's back. We've seen it in the same spot for 2 days now. -Josh Kelley
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Sat May 4 - Eastern Juan de Fuca - Out to Dungeness Spit and Hein Bank looking for any kind of cetacean. Finally found two minkes and then two grays at NAS Whidbey. I couldn't identify this one. A lovely calm, warm, sunny day! same whale, other side. never got close to the one further south. -Bonnie Gretz
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Hello Alisa and Friends at Orca Network, Had a great day out Saturday, May 4th, with PS Express (RedHead) out of Port Townsend with Bonnie. Meliss and I saw our first Minke in the middle of the Strait of Juan de Fuca (about 48°17'58.9"N 123°03'42.5"W). We also saw a few Grays off of the bluff on West Beach Road off Whidbey. Unfortunately no Orcas however great day with Bonne, Coleen and Chris. -David Haeckel
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12:35 - Stealthy gray whale! Likely feeding in that area, down for very long times and surfacing for only a quick second.
11:45 - Gray whale appears to be headed back south now.
11:37 - Gray whale appears to have slowed down but still moving north. I also recorded that last down time - nearly 11 minutes!
10:30 - Gray appears to be headed north. No camera on me so no pics, but definitely not the same whale at Keystone the other day.
10:15 - I took dogs for a beach walk and I heard a blow. Gray whale off Hastie Lake turnout. -Rachel Haight
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11:00 - Gray. Just spotted one blow. We are 2 miles north of Hastie Lake. Still headed North. -Krisit McClure Glesman
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Sat May 4 - Possession Sound - #383 was with 22 later in afternoon off SE Gedney. The whales IE4 saw today: #22, 49, 53, 383, 531 and a few unidentified because they were hardly surfacing in the shallows or too far in on delta. -Renee Beitzel, Island Adventures
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11:40 - Seeing at least 4 near Everett at 11:40. -Cindie Lang
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06:40 - Seeing four grays near Jetty Island this morning, their backlit blows are beautiful in the morning sun. -Lori Christopher
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Sat May 4 - Out to Dungeness Spit and Hein Bank looking for any kind of cetacean. Finally found two minkes and then two grays at NAS Whidbey....A lovely calm, warm, sunny day! same whale, other side. never got close to the one further south. -Bonnie Gretz
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Hello Alisa and Friends at Orca Network, Had a great day out Saturday, May 4th, with PS Express (RedHead) out of Port Townsend with Bonnie. Meliss and I saw our first Minke in the middle of the Strait of Juan de Fuca (about 48°17'58.9"N 123°03'42.5"W). We also saw a few Grays off of the bluff on West Beach Road off Whidbey. Unfortunately no Orcas however great day with Bonnie, Coleen and Chris.The Brandt's Cormorant was from another day, just thought it was beautiful. -David Haeckel
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COMMON DOLPHINS - Sat May 4 - I have a lot of photos & video of what really looks to be dolphins (not porpoise) (confirmed common dolphins - alb) in south Puget sound Case Inlet. West of Heron Island, but closer to east coast of Harstine Island. They were feeding on a school of fish, along with a giant pack of sea lions and a seals. The activity was in the morning of Saturday, May 4th, between 8am and noon (yes, it was continuous for that long). -David Morton
We shared David Morton's photos and stunning videos with Dave Anderson, Cascadia Research: "I saw all three of the current common dolphins in the video, Big Back Notch, Top Notch and Cinco. They have been feeding with the California sea lions for a few months in Case Inlet".

May 3
Fri May 3 - Strait of Georgia - 15:39 - I was just able to ID L87 and Jpod up this way today. They are currently foraging south of the Little River Ferry terminal in their usual Chinook spots. Maybe with the closure they are finding more? I wish them all good luck hunting today. -Nick Templeman
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Fri May 3 - There were more than 50 (!!) Bigg's/transient killer whales reported in the Salish Sea today! We encountered a group of 17 of them this afternoon in San Juan Channel, including 5 little ones less than 2 years old! This photo is of T49A1 and T123D. This afternoon we encountered the T49As, T65Bs, T75Bs, T75Cs, and T123s just south of Friday Harbor in San Juan Channel. Between 1:30 and 2:30 PM we followed them as they traveled north to Yellow Island...a memorable encounter with a group of 17 transients..., 5 of which were under 2 years old! So many fins!-Monika Wieland Shields
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Well that's a trip for the record books! Outside of Friday Harbor we encountered not one, not two, but five families of our Marine mammal-eating Bigg's killer whales traveling together in a big tight group. Besides just the sheer number of them being so amazing to see each family also has a new calf under the age of two! It's no joke that the Bigg's are going through a baby boom with the ample supply of food here for them! Not to be outdone we saw some amazing eagle action on the trip as well. T75C1 keeps with mom T75C and their buddies today. Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, May 3, 2019. T49A5 with mom and friends. She's sure getting big! Photo by Jeff Friedman, May 3, 2019 -Maya's Legacy WW
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Jane Cogan called Dave at home in the early afternoon to relay a report of a large group of transients heading northwest up San Juan Channel. Dave grabbed his stuff and headed to Snug Harbor and left in the boat around 1440. "Orcinus" arrived on scene at 1505 about a mile and a half southwest of Jones Island. The T49As, T65Bs, T75Bs, T75Cs, and the T123s were in a single tight group traveling slowly northwest and appeared to be resting...Full report & image at Center for Whale Research Encounter 31.
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Fri May 3 - Penn Cove - 10:38 - Gray whale was still slowly heading east.
10:23 - Gray in Penn Cove. Long dives. Either heading east or making slow circles. Between Monroe Landing and the Wharf. His back appears briefly. -CeCe Celia Aguda
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Fri May 3 - Saratoga Passage - We live about 800/900 north of Hidden Beach. On the water. I have not been keeping a number count of the gray whales who feed in front of our house - I guess I thought everyone else was. But we have had quite a few during the day that we can, and do, watch and enjoy. When the tide is out we can see all the holes the whales have dug to get to, or stir up, the ghost shrimp. Many mornings there are quite a number of new holes showing that the whales were in digging through the night. I take many pictures of the trails of holes to send kids and grandkids. However, that does not help you with a number count. Not sure how I can help you or if you would even like input - if you have specifics please let me know. -Diane Billingsley
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Fri May 3 - Port Susan - 17:42 - At least one Gray appears to be feeding near the Country club on Camano....Watching thru binoculars from the other side of Port Susan at Kayak Point. -Nate Trujillo
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17:00 - Hi, just wanted to report that I saw a whale "minke" I believe. It was south of Livingston Bay, Port Susan. I don't know if it was in trouble or not since the depth in that area can be 2-10 feet deep. This was around 5pm 5/4/19. -Zach Blakeslee (sounds like a feeding gray whale - alb)
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Fri May 3 - Possession Sound - Several sounders still around...Today we had #22 Earhart (by herself), #49 Patch and #531 (together) between Gedney and Everett. Some interesting behavior from all three of them today! #22 was logging a LOT while they were around and seemed to keep watch of their movements when they came near. Then we found #383 hanging out with #723 Lucyfer on the SW side of Gedney. For the afternoon we had #531 on the delta as well as a few too far in for IDs and then #723 joined along with #56! A first for me seeing him this season. -Renee Beitzel
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11:43 - here is two grays just north of the ferry lanes. But interesting report...could be something else out here for sure! -Tyler McKeen
(Those two grays were #383 and #723 - Renee Beitzel)
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2 grays were headed south at that time, no orcas out here and I've been at work on the ferry since 5am....I was about 1/2 mile from the grays, had a great view and I'm sure they weren't orcas. -Melissa Simmons, WSF
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10:10 - I am new to this area & live up the hill from Old Town Mukilteo I am seeing 2 large, black animals swimming near the ferry lane between Muk & Whidbey. Unfortunately, my binoculars aren't strong enough (putting that on my shopping list!) so I couldn't see the detail. One of them breached which is what caught my eye and then I spotted 2 of them and watched for about 10 minutes. They were quite black, however. I was on a whale watching tour last weekend and saw several gray whales. These today seemed much blacker & smaller, but our home is at approximately 6th & Park in Mukilteo, so I wasn't close enough to get a good look. -Beth Lewis
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13:15 - At least one grey whale right off Beach Camp, North Edmonds. Feeding & diving. Right now. -Photos by Heather McRae Tabisola, May 3, 2019
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Fri May 3 - South Puget Sound - A Gray whale was Northbound just below the Narrows airport at about 7 pm 5/3. I did not see if he continued under the Narrows Bridge or not. A boat was chasing him and the boat continued North. I did get pictures from Day Island with a zoom lens....Not very clear but hopefully helpful. -Karen Caldwell
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17:00 - Spotted a gray whale, and got photos, from Chambers Creek Park (Chambers Bay Golf Course). We were on the pedestrian bridge over the train tracks and watched the whale progress from right to left, toward Ketron Island, then back toward us. This gray whales extremely damaged/injured fluke is revealed as s/he dives in southern Puget Sound. -Lisa Holliday
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Fri May 3 - S Puget Sound - 09:25 - I just received a call from an islander (Anderson island) saying there was a humpback at the Steilacoom dock at 9am. No direction of travel. -Belen Bilgic Schneider
(reported as humpback, a gray was confirmed in the area later - alb)
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07:00 - The ferry crew saw it on the Steilacoom side at 7:00 am also. Fun that it is hanging around. Of course, I was on the 7:30 am. Missed both! -Lane Sample
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May 3 - Haro Strait - I saw a lone humpback heading north mid channel off Lime Kiln at ~ 4:30 today. -Karen Sziel

May 2
Tue May 2 - I got a lead from folks using binos at the Land Bank on San Juan Island. Orcas, one big male for sure. They were found in Haro, moving north toward Moresby Is. 137s. Here are T137A, and T137B - Turn Point. -James Maya
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Thu May 2 - Rosario Strait - ~14:00 - one gray spotted off of Shannon Point/ Washington Park where Guemes Channel meets Rosario Strait. -Laura Domela
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Thu May 2 - E Juan de Fuca Strait- 14:17 - At least one gray off Moran County Park southbound.
10:41 - At least 2 grays off Moran County Park (West Whidbey). -Rachel Haight
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07:28 - Stephanie Salem reports seeing blows of at least 2, possibly 3 gray whales off Moran Beach, West Whidbey heading south. (in between Deception Pass SP and NAS Whidbey)
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Thu May 2 - Possession Sound - 16:00 - gray whale feeding on delta off Jetty Island as seen from north Everett. Also seeing at least 2 more west of Jetty Island near public boat ramp. Now seeing another blow so total of 4 gray whales. -Sandra Pollard
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Thu May 2 - South Puget Sound - ~18:35 - A smaller whale headed North towards the Narrows Bridge below the Narrows airport at about 6:35 pm 5/2. Only got a little clip of the spout...Karen Caldwell
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DALL'S PORPOISE - Thu May 2 - Next to the dock at Snug Harbor...Dall's porpoise! -Photo by Jim Maya, May 2, 2019

May 1
SOUTHERN RESIDENTS - Members of J pod around the San Juan Islands. -Photo by Justine Buckmaster, May 1, 2019
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Wed May 1 - 20:24 - Terrible pictures but we left the 8:05 ferry from Orcas just now and saw 6-8 orcas. They seemed to be hanging around right outside the ferry terminal. Once we got going we lost sight. Made our day! -Amanda Nesbitt
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19:48 - Maija with WSF called to relay report 1 orca in Upright Channel and 6 others in Harney channel...all just milling about.
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16:45 - Orcas south of Orcas Island heading west. Seen from Friday Harbor to Anacortes ferry. Probably 6 to 8, one male and one juvenile. No ID yet. Seen with Dorothy Rosenbladt. -Bob Rosenbladt
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5/1/2019 What a wonderful May Day it was! We encountered Southern Resident Killer Whales in Rosario Strait socializing and generally being playful. We realized quickly that it was J Pod when while we were watching the main group at a distance, three individuals approached us quite closely. They were L87 Onyx, J37 Hy'Shqa and J49 T'ilem I'nges. Shortly after passing us, they joined up with the rest of J Pod, and while I wasn't quick enough to capture photos, we witnessed cartwheels, spyhops, lobtails, and breaches! Later we found a couple of Minke Whales near Anacortes. -Justine Buckmaster, Puget Sound Express
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07:58 - Orcas milling West side of Orcas Island. Below Mt. Constitution. Presumably J pod. 10 or 12. May 1. -Mareth Griffith
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COASTAL KILLER WHALES - Wed May 1 - Oregon - 08:37 - Dawn Keller called to report 3-7 orcas off Yachats, OR. They are on the bluff and observed the animals about 1/4 mile off shore and saw a lot of fins and spouts, slapping in the water, churning water, seals hugging the shoreline. Hunting? Pod was traveling northbound.
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GRAY WHALES - Wed May 1 - E Juan de Fuca - 14:19 - I believe there is two grays possibly three off of West Beach Road (west side of Whidbey Island, west of Oak Harbor, near Swantown). Lots of spouts and breaches. I believe they are headed south. -Shannon Heuvel
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14:29 - We moved down to West Beach Road now. On Whidbey side. At least half a mile out. Don't need binoculars to see. My sister in law Shannon messaged you too.
13:32 - We are at Rocky Point Beach (West Whidbey) and there are spouts, more than likely grays. Thought I would let you guys know. -Alishia Mountcastle
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Yesterday (May 1), I was out at Rocky Point which is just down the beach from Moran SP and watched one, maybe two, gray whales. They seemed to be swimming close to the surface as I only saw blows and the occasional dorsal fin. They or It was moving north toward Moran in about 20-30 minutes. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera but they never dove deep enough for a tail fluke. I hear they are out there again this morning and hope I make it out there in time with camera in hand to snap some more photos for you guys. Thanks for all you do for the whales!! -Sincerely, Casie McClellan
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12:53 - one whale. Lots of birds, maybe feeding? Staying in a small area, surfacing every few min. (video confirms gray - alb) One blowhole sighting, same place (off Moran Beach, West Whidbey)
11:08 - presumably more grays!...Little guy came up once and didn't come back up, so I assume he/she is moving through. (off Moran Beach, West Whidbey). -Stephanie Salem
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1:20 - Popped up 100 yards off Coupeville ferry on right side, safe! Phew.
1:18 - And yep he's crossing ferry lane now and ferry heading out.... Did a big surface right before departure so hopefully captain saw that.
1:15 - I walked over and let ferry know... Current path of travel puts him right in the ferry lane about departure time.
12:55 - Slow westbound travel towards ferry.
12:53 - And now he just popped up right in front of me of course.
12:30 - saw a breath, not a sign of anything since. Drove to the beach 1.5 miles west of where I last saw whale, haven't seen anything.
1228 - whale stopped feeding and started traveling west close to shore,
11:28 - (Alisa asked if whale looking still near death) Probably not. I know feeding behaviour and when I first got here, super close to shore, not moving, not feeding, and saw the fins and how thin. Shortly after he resumed feeding and has just been seemingly doing that. I could've caught him in a nap, or break or something?
10:23 - Oh he's so skinny He's practically on the beach. He could be dying. He's trying to feed in the shallows but very slow moving. Part of his pec is injured but healed, not sure if orca bites or what So he's still currently slowly swimming in shallows but he doesn't look good. He's small too, maybe a juvenile. -Rachel Haight
Wed May 1 - Admiralty Bay - Alie Perez, Cascadia Research: "Took the best right through the catalog and didn't find a match".
(For a brief time it was thought this whale might be near death, all stranding coordinators were put on alert. The emaciated whale with severe pec fin injuries eventually left the bay and swam towards deeper waters of Admiralty Inlet, s/he could not be relocated after swimming off. - ALB)
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10:06 - Looks like he is definitely headed south now...but taking his time rolling I front of the houses, lol!
09:45 - do you watch other whales? I think there is a gray just off the coast of Whidbey by Keystone ferry....South of keystone ferry, in front of the development, rolling in the shallows. (photos below) Jennifer Holmes
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08:55 - Kat called to relay report from Marcus Raymond who observed a gray whale close to the Coupeville ferry. The whale was heading out towards the channel more directionally northbound.
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May 1 - South Puget Sound - 18:20 - It's a gray. It had gone south into Eld. I saw it coming north out of Eld. It headed east and is currently heading south into Budd. Deep dives. Saw it surface 6 times now. Just heard "woo hoos" from some house near the top of Cooper Point on the western shore. I have contacted Jessie.
18:05 - Scott says he saw a whale's blow out front of Boston Harbor. 10 feet high. Only one surface/back. I'm looking and haven't seen it. Super choppy. It headed north out of Eld. Then went east across Cooper Point spit, hung a south into Budd for a few surfaces and then headed north toward Dana Passage. -Kim Merriman
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MINKE WHALES - Mon May 1- Rosario Strait - There are in fact two minkes here just south of the ferry lanes (off Anacortes). Whether or not they're the same ones is up for debate. Seen at 12:00 pm from the Saratoga. -Justine Buckmaster
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08:06 - Mike at WSF Operations called to relay a report of 2 whales (reported as minke) breaching off Shannon Point, Anacortes.