May 2020 Whale Sightings

Click here for Map of May 2020 whale sightings.

May 31
BIGG'S TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES - Sun, May 31 - Tofino, B.C. - Transient Killer Whale T073B (1991) came out of Browning Passage this morning. He swam through the harbour and hunted for seals at Round Island. Thanks for the tip Mr. Tieleman! -photo and ID by Jennifer Steven, The Whale Center, Tofino, B.C.
*
GRAY WHALES - Sun, May 31 - Possession Sound - 15:56 - He's not alone, Alice [Moyal] reported three whales sighted from ferry heading to Everett, including #44 "Dubknuck".
15:30 - Dubknuck #44 came around again today. 3:30pm stopped to feed on the NE corner [of Hat Island] then travelled south close to shore. -photo by Lori Christopher
*
Sun, May 31 - Penn Cove - 17:00 - This beauty has been hanging out in Penn Cove most afternoons/early evenings. Put on quite a show! 5/31/2020, 5pm. -Jade Johnson
["Yep this animal is definitely CRC2259." Alie Perez, Cascadia Research Collective]
*
UNCONFIRMED BALEEN WHALES - Mon, Jun 1 - Possession Sound - 19:38 - Spotted a whale, from Mukilteo Lighthouse Park, northbound at the south end of Whidbey Island. Just now. Possible gray. -Anne Dubert

May 30
SOUTHERN RESIDENTS - Wed, May 27 - Tofino, B.C. - A visit from the Southern Resident Killer Whales Jpod off Tofino! We were out in our personal boat looking for sea birds and came across these salmon eating killer whales. J27 is a male born in 1991. It is always a real treat to see these endangered whales. -Jennifer Steven, The Whale Center, Tofino, B.C.
*
Sat, May 30 - 11:09 - Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: Log entry: Master reports 3 orca headed NB up to Rosario Strait.
*
Sat, May 30 - Possession Sound - Had a visitor feeding north of the marina around 11:30. I think it was Dubknuck. Made several passes then headed south. -Lori Christopher

May 29
HUMPBACK WHALES - Fri, May 29 - San Juans - 11:30 - Aiming towards Griffin Bay from Turn Island. (headed SW from Cattle Point)
11:00 - [humpbacks] Relayed report: 2 spotted just now (11:00) outside Friday Harbor, still southbound. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
10:10 - HB nearing Point Caution. [Southbound per Monika Wieland Shields, OBI]. -Alan Niles
*
DOLPHINS - Fri, May 29 - Case Inlet - 14:05 - [dolphins] They're back!! I saw two dorsal fins. There were two heading north again. [From Herron Island, Case Inlet]. -Stephanie Hill

May 28
Thu, May 28 - Possession Sound - ~06:45 - Large pod of orcas this morning spread out between Camano and Everett, heading north. No ID's. Maria was on the 6:30 ferry and saw them heading toward Port Susan. She counted 6-8 but too far to actually ID. Pretty spread out. Transients? -Shari Devlin for Maria Ruiz
*
Thur, May 28 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - Orcas between Ediz Hook and New Dungeness. 3 or 4 miles from the Hook. I think [heading] north towards Victoria and [there were] about 4 or 5. Kind of far away to tell. But they were doing tail slaps. I think there were a couple babies. -Ryan Johnson
*
Thu, May 28 - Port Susan - ~12:00 - We were on our boat in Port Susan this afternoon. We spotted two gray whales. They weren't particularly large, as we have seen in the past. We were near the shallows at the North end of Port Susan about noon today, May 28, traveling northwesterly from near Kayak Point, toward even shallower water, but then westerly toward the Camano Island side of the bay. Regular blow, so didn't stay down long. -Kathy Weber
*
17:45 - Now 3 are at the SE corner again.
13:30 - We saw two NE corner at 1:30.
11:00 & ~12:00 - [gray] Lots of activity all around Hat [Island] today, sightings started at 11:00 of two at SE corner, another sighted on WNW corner about an hour later. -Lori Christopher
*
07:50 - [gray] Saw one this morning about 7:50, traveling north and deep dives, heading up towards Port Susan from the south. -Lori Christopher
*
DOLPHINS - Thu, May 28 - Case Inlet - Could y'all please help me ID these beautiful jumpers?! I'm on Herron Island in Washington on the West side of the island. They are traveling North here. My boyfriend was watching them longer and said it looked like a big one and a smaller one. He said it looked like the smaller one was watching the bigger one jump. The big one would jump several times, then the smaller one would jump once and not as high. -Stephanie Hill
[video sent appears/is likely to be the common dolphins living in S. Puget Sound since 2016. alb/gs].

May 27
Wed, May 27 - Tofino, B.C. - We had T041's and T109C's on Wednesday, too. -Jennifer Steven, The Whale Center, Tofino, B.C.
*
Wed, May 27 - Possession Sound - 10:40 - Orcas spotted outside of Everett, viewing from south Whidbey. 10:40am today. -Eric Olsen
*
Wed, May 27 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - 9:19 - Dennis Flannery, Port Angeles (between McKinney factory and the dump) called this evening to report seeing 3-4 orcas (incl. what looked to be a male, cow and calf, at least. Near the red buoy heading west.
*
COASTAL KILLER WHALES - Wed, May 27 - Siuslaw River/Oregon Coast - Short video clip of Orca on the Siuslaw River in Florence, Oregon, taken from backyard bluff. ["I'm definitely not certain but I'm getting some T165 vibes from this whale." Dave Ellifrit] -Deborah Heldt Cordone
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Wed, May 27 - Boundary Pass - Today we observed a couple humpback whales between Pender and Moresby [Islands]. [See Unconfirmed Species section for further observations from this encounter]. -Ray Andrews
*
Wed, May 27 - Possession Sound - 15:30 - [gray] Saw 3 spouts close to SE corner of Hat. -Lori Christopher
*
07:40 - [gray] One whale, northbound about 300yds offshore just south of marina! [Hat Island] -Lori Christopher
*
SPECIES UNCONFIRMED - Wed, May 27 - Boundary Pass - Today we observed a couple humpback whales between Pender and Moresby. We also observed a very very large whale traveling east along the Canada border, Boundary Pass south of Pender. I have only ever seen a fin whale once before up at Haida Gwaii a few years ago while on a charter excursion. This whale today appears to be a Fin. It didn't have the structure of a Gray as it definitely had a prominent curved dorsal fin. This whale was very long in length, dark upper body. It was traveling East along the surface then below. We did not get to see the tail. Has there been any confirmed sightings? -Ray Andrews
*
COASTAL KILLER WHALES - Wed, May 27 - Siuslaw River/Oregon Coast. Mary Nulty, Florence, Oregon called to report seeing a single orca on May 27th in the Siuslaw River headed west back out to sea. Can see tail and back; marking on dorsal. -photos by Mary Nulty - May 27, 2020
["It's tough to be certain but this looks like it could be T49C to me." Dave Ellifrit]

May 26
Tue, May 26 - Bellingham Bay (T46Bs, T123s) - 20:13 - There was just a pod of orcas in the Bellingham Channel. They hung out just south of the Cypress fish pens for a good long time. It was hard to see how many there were without binoculars from Guemes, but it seemed as though there were 5 or 6. -Libby Hinds Boucher
*
19:30 - About 4 Orca headed south in Bellingham Channel between Cypress and Guemes [Islands]. They hung around for quite a while near the former fish pens (the ones that collapsed and let loose all the Atlantic Salmon a couple years ago). -Kurt McCloud
*
~17:00 - According to reports and photos on NextDoor, there were two adults and two baby orca in Bellingham Bay late yesterday afternoon (around 5 p.m.?). One of the babies was white. Someone on NextDoor said they were transient orcas. Hope this helps! -Virginia Herrick, Bellingham
*
15:39 - Orca by Portage Island! I'm in Bellingham off Eldridge. They looked to be heading southeast. -Jeremy Larsen
*
13:30 - Bellingham Bay - they just passed marine park heading back out (heading south). -Ann McQueen
*
~13:00 - I have photographs of about 8 Orcas near the Nooksack River mouth. One is that young white orca T46B1B "Tl'uk". I'm shooting from Bellingham on the bluff above Boulevard Park with a 500mm lens. The whales are about 1.6 miles from me. There was one big male in the group. They headed wsw out of the bay around 13:00. Let me know if you want any more details. These photos were taken from over 1.5 miles away. -photos by Brad Wellman
*
11:40 - Female orca & two babies sited in Bellingham Bay off Boulevard Park, heading north. Very active. Report received from a friend at 1140am today. "I got to see them for about 5 min from the beach near the old Mt Baker Plywood factory... what a treat! They were full of beans! Breaching, slapping their tails etc. it looked like there was one large whale with 3 or 4 babies... someone said they were the J pod..." Per text from a friend. -Marcia Kolinski
*
14:21 - Several Orcas spotted in the western waters of Bellingham Bay. -Holly Buskirk
*
"White Orca in Bellingham Bay" blog post and photos. -Rys Logan
*
A U.S. Coast Guard Station Bellingham boat crew was conducting training in Bellingham Bay when a pod of orcas appeared! The crew was underway conducting a coxswain check-ride for a qualifying member. #TrainingTuesday. "During a training mission we saw the whales and stayed off 300 yards, and 400 yards from their toward direction. We came to all stops and secured the engines", crewmember BM1 Roy Hawes said. "The whales seemed to have decided to check us out, and came by the boat before heading to deeper water." The Coast Guard reminds all mariners to STAY VIGILANT and #BeWhaleWise on the water! Follow all laws and regulations, particularly when encountering portected wildlife. (More info here: https://www.bewhalewise.org/)
*
Rare sighting! Small pod in Bellingham Bay just off Fairhaven with a breaching juvenile! (Taken with my telephoto). -photos by NW Sailing Adventures, LLC
*
This morning, Tues. May 26, we were setting out from Bellingham to go to Anacortes and heard someone over the radio tell us that there were Orcas outside the entrance to Squalicum waterway. We turned right in our motor vessel (Rangertug 31) and crept over there to see at least 5 whales, one large and four small moving around off the Squalicum Beach. It is my first sighting of whales so I am very excited. No good pictures to share with you, but there was a fishing trawler hanging out and two people in kayaks watching from a distance. Maybe one of them got a good shot. -Merle Silverman
*
Tue, May 26 - Admiralty Inlet (T137s). ~19:00 - I spotted this pod of 4 orcas Tuesday around 7pm while returning from Smith Island. When I saw them, I was inside the minimum distance so I just shut my boats engine off and zoomed way in with my phone to take this video. The location was 1/2 mile north of Pt. Wilson, and the pod was heading west. -Mike Myers
*
16:45 - T137s northbound at PT Wilson. -Christopher Lewman
*
16:10-16:20 - I was able to capture photos of two Orcas swimming North past the beach at Point Hudson May 26, between 4:10 and 4:20pm. This is the first time I have actually seen any. -photos by Mark Wick - May 26, 2020
*
~16:00 & ~17:00 - This photo was taken today 5/26/2020 around 4:00 pm from Port Townsend. The attached photos were taken later - 5:00 (ish) from Fort Worden and the Point Wilson lighthouse area looking north towards Whidbey. They - T137s - stayed near the channel marker as the tide came in for at least 45 min. Couldn't get any close shots. -photos by Betsy Carlson, Citizen Science Coordinator, Port Townsend Marine Science Center
*
~16:00 - This [video] was about 4pm May 26th in Port Townsend. We were standing on the pier and were completely surprised and amazed. They were headed northwest. We watched them all the way to the lighthouse at Ft. Worden. It was quite the surprise as we were resting on the pier from a bike ride. We had been there more than 5 minutes when we heard the blows. They were so close! The pier quickly got crowded and we went on to the point to watch them head out. -Kim Farris Peck
*
~16:00 - [photos of T137s T137A, T137D] -photos by Kyle Porter, Port Townsend
IDs by Gayle Swigart, Orca Network
*
16:00 - Killer whales. Behind Maritime Center, Port Townsend. 4pm, 26th of May. Pod of 4 headed towards Admiralty Inlet. -"chazcodda" photos by Chaz Codda? - May 26, 2020
*
COASTAL KILLER WHALES - Tue, May 26 - Oregon Coast - Video - OSP Troopers had a close encounter of the Orca kind, while on boat patrol Tillamook Bay. ["Looks like it might be the T75Bs and maybe-er the T75Cs. Also, T73C might be in there too." Dave Ellifrit]
*
UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES - Tue, May 26 - Boundary Pass - 11:15 - East Point Saturna Island BC Canada 11:15 am May 26,2020...four females, one youngster. Three babies. They were heading with the tide eastward towards Tumbo Island. -Shirly Sparks
*
GRAY WHALES - Tue, May 26 - Birch Bay - 20:41 - (3) Grey whales in Birch Bay, Washington, going on 45 mins now. -Gerald Patterson
*
19:15 - [gray] Whale spouts visible from shore looking out to the middle of [Birch] Bay. We thought about eight spouts in the 15 minutes we watched. It seemed to basically stay in about the same area as it has been from other reports in the last few weeks. Only the back was seen as it did a slow surface roll. No fin or tail seen. Second hand report by another watching that they saw this Saturday, as well. 1 boat relatively close watching and one kayaker. Both seemed respectful of the whale's presence. From my perspective the photo with the boat was not even aware the whale was near it for a period of time. I'd reported this yesterday with a 6:00pm time. It was actually closer to 7:15pm. The whale did nothing too interesting other than blow, roll and disappear. Maybe 8 blows in the 15 minutes we watched. -photos by Eric Ellingson
*
Tue, May 26 - Possession Sound - 12:00 - Around noon I encountered 3 gray whales off SE Hat Island. The first whale was traveling slowly north over deep water and did not appear to be actively feeding. [Two] whales were both actively feeding in the same general area. It was a very low, -2ft tide, so the feeding was very visible on the surface. It included some nice spy hops and fin waves. I identified one as #44 Dubknuck, a new whale for me. [Two of the photos are of] flukes that show during feeding. -photos by John Judy - May 26, 2020
[CRCID44 "Dubknuck", CRCID22 "Earhart" Per Alie Perez, Cascadia Research Collective: 3rd whale is an unknown.]
IDs confirmed by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network

May 25
Mon, May 25 - Northern Saratoga Passage - ~19:30 - Last night, we had 2 Gray Whales feeding @ Polnell Point in Oak Harbor around 7:30 pm! One fed inside the cove while the other was outside the point. One of them liked to stick its head out of the water. Thank you for all you do! -Greg & Terra Parham , Oak Harbor, WA
*
18:57 - Emily called, she and Steve are aboard their boat "Patience" following along coast of Whidbey at Strawberry Point, just past Mariner Cove, heading towards Polnell Point. They spotted at least 2 gray whales. A smaller one was traveling in about 30ft of water along shore, and a larger one was off to their left further in the channel between N Utsalady Point, Camano, and Polnell Point. They were currently stopped w/all systems shut down to observe the whales, who were just milling and slowly moving southward. Said she would email with some photos of the smaller whale.

May 24
Sun, May 24 - Strait of Juan de Fuca (T60s & T002B) - Center for Whale Research Encounter #29 - "... Mark recognized them as the T060's along with T002B, who he had confirmed the day before by a colleague's photos. ..." See CWR Encounter #29 for full encounter summary and photos.
*
T060G spyhops between T002B and its mom T060 south of Discovery Island on the afternoon of May 24th. -photo and IDs by Mark Malleson
*
GRAY WHALES - Sun, May 24 - Possession Sound - 17:59 - The two grays are between Everett and Hat Island this evening. I was going to say that they need some protection from the boaters that were approaching them, but a large white cabin cruiser is now approaching those boats and must be asking them to stay back. I have been seeing a couple other boats sitting with them recently at an appropriate distance so there are protectors other at times. -Greg Heiss
*
On Sunday May 24th, saw one Gray Whale from Possession Pt. State Park, much closer to the Mukilteo side than the Clinton side. It wasn't blowing it's hole that hard and barely was peeking it's mid section out of the water. Moving at a pretty slow pace. We think there was a baby with it, however it was hard to tell as it was quite a ways. The whale was heading south. -Christa Canell
*
Sun, May 24 - Northern Saratoga Passage 14:50 - Two grey whales in Penn Cove/Oak Harbor Bay. Just off Scenic Heights Rd and headed toward Oak Harbor. -Tara Hizon

May 23
Sat, May 23 - Haro Strait - 20:00 - 2 Transients moved up Land Bank about 8:00 maybe 500yds out. A total of 2 breaths and went half a mile under and did two more and goodbye...Mike Sharadin
*
Fri, May 22 - Nanoose, BC (T46Bs) - [orca] spotted yesterday, May 22, 2020 by Ballenas Island in Nanoose, BC Canada. -video by Nicole Pidskalney [ID by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network]
*
Fri, May 22 - San Juans (T123s) - 16:20 - Another relayed shore report has these whales in the middle of Spieden Channel milling at 16:20; still not conclusive but it does sound like the T123s. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
16:00 - My neighbor, here in Hannah Heights on SJI, just told me that he saw four orcas pass within 300 yards of shore at about 4pm, heading down island. He said they mulled about in front of Hannah Heights for 15 mins, and then passed out of sight heading down island past Pile Point. I rushed out, but I did not see them myself. ["Yes, definitely a second group." Monika Wieland Shields, OBI] -Michael Noonan
*
13:30 - And another one off Jones Island at 1:30.
12:15 - We saw two orcas off Humphrey Head, Lopez Island at 12:15 today. T123A -photo by Sarah Morlidge
ID by Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research
*
11:17 - Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, emailed message: Log entry: Reported from Mari in Dispatch via the vessel. Three orcas were spotted in Thatcher Pass headed WB.
*
~11:00 - Relayed report from a ferry passenger of a small group of orcas heading west through Thatcher Pass; from photo potentially the T123s. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Sat, May 23 - Central Puget Sound - ~19:00-19:30 - Hi all! Tonight at Lincoln Park, saw a breach and a few spouts looking southwest past the Fauntleroy Ferry. Not sure what type of whale it was, but thinking maybe a humpback? it was definitely a breach, and it was a bit far but appeared to be heading northwest (up and around the northern most point of Vashon). Anyone here that was in the area at the time and maybe has insight? (I'd say it was between 7-7:30pm). I moved to Seattle from upstate NY just under 3 years ago and this is my first (and very anticipated!!) whale sighting! it was a great evening for sure :) -Brittany Bowhall
*
14:24 - Whale breached (Launched out of the water. Broad horizontal tail) at 2:24pm, westbound towards Dash Point, 1/5 mile off Redondo, 3 miles south of Pt. Robinson Light. -Yogi Kuddha
*
06:50 - Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, emailed with: Log entry: Master reports a humpback whale in Rich Passage. [Follow up re: direction]: Maybe west...Master was unsure.
*
Sat, May 23 - San Juans - 19:54 - Headed out of cove towards Eagle Point now. Looks youthful and playful, whitest fluke I've ever seen!
19:37 - Beautiful humpback whale at Eagle Cove right now, very close, inside the mouth of cove! Did a mini cartwheel and caught Blake's eye, and twice sailed his/her fluke high! Looks solid white underneath! We have had bait balls really close in to shore lately, perhaps that explains the visit! (Hmmmm...Possibly two) -Lodie Laurieanne Gilbert Budwill
*
GRAY WHALES - Sat, May 23 - Birch Bay - 20:52 - Krista Hammer called. She's viewing from a waterfront house on Birch Bay Village. They first heard and then saw a whale, probably gray whale, who was deep into the middle of the bay out from the Bay Market, in quite shallow water, thought to be feeding, but she didn't have her binoculars. Also saw a/same whale this morning at 8:30 as well as last couple of days. Talked with a neighbor who was told maybe a baby. Krista thought, as she has seen two, one is shorter than another. Whale reported to have been there a few days, and in general, been seeing grays for past couple of weeks. So frequent thinks might be same whale. Of concern, a jet skier was out all over the bay; concerned might hit them and following them around, etc. Hoping enforcement could come out to protect the whales. [Be Whale Wise information provided to Krista- alb]
*
Message from Krista Hammer saying they have seen the gray whale in Birch Bay the last 3 days, the last sighting this morning at 8:30. She said others have said they think it has a baby with it, and they MAY have seen what looked like a 2nd back of a whale when watching it with binocs. She is concerned because now there is a jet skier out there, and she wants to know if someone can come and guard the whale.
*
Sat, May 23 - Possession Sound - 08:50 - Just saw one [gray] whale heading to the south end of Hat [Island] on the east side. Neighbor just went to Everett; they saw two more between south end and barge. -Lori Christopher
*
SPECIES UNCONFIRMED - Sat, May 23 - Puget Sound - 14:24 - Whale breached at 2:24pm, westbound towards Dash Point, 1/5 mile off Redondo, 3 miles south of Pt. Robinson Light. -Yogi Kuddha
[possibly the humpback seen around Central Puget Sound today - alb]

May 22
Fri, May 22 - South Puget Sound - 17:15 - Humpback heading S. into Budd Inlet. On western shore. Very robust blows (3 and then a long dive) and a few tail flukes. (update: We never saw it head out of Budd and were looking. It must have done a wildly long-distance dive to get by ALL of us...) photos Kim Merriman

May 21
Thu, May 21 - Active Pass (T124As) - The T124A's went north in Active Pass today around 3pm and then continued north in the Strait of Georgia. T124As -photos by Rachelle Hayden
ID by Gary Sutton
*
Thu, May 21 - Puget Sound/Alki - Here are a few photos from my Humpback whale encounter on 5/21/2020. - I was out walking my dog on the path along Alki when I spotted a large splash off Restoration Point, Bainbridge Island, followed by a blow and then another large splash. Of course, I had left my binoculars and camera in the car. I "fast walked" back to my car and was able to get a few photos of the whale as it fluked a few times. Images were submitted to HappyWhale for an ID confirmation (no ID currently, I will update if/when I hear back). Happy whale sightings, -photos by Brittany Philbin - May 21,
*
GRAY WHALES - Thu, May 21 - Birch Bay - Gray whale seen from Birch Bay Beach Access - North Entrance. -photo by Amanda Colbert, Orca Network
*
18:00-18:45 - In BVV [Birch Bay Village, north side of the bay] looking toward the State Park [Birch Bay State Park, to the south]. I'd guess more than one [gray whale] by the frequency of the blows, sometimes about 5-15 seconds apart, but don't know enough about the behavior to make that call. It was a long way off, guessing over a mile. -photos by Eric Ellingson - May 21, 2020
*
Thu, May 21 - Northern Saratoga Passage - 06:52 - Gray whale off Blowers Bluff in passage due south of Oak Harbor. -CeCe Celia Aguda
*
MINKE WHALES - Thu, May 21 - Puget Sound/Alki - ~14:00 - Off Alki, close to shore, 2 PM. Smaller and smoother than humpback, bigger than orca, sharply hooked dorsal fin. Southbound. Updated: Sorry, it was a Minke whale not a Fin. It was close to shore, visible without binoculars. I had binoculars and could see the smooth skin. The dorsal fin was exactly like a minke. Size was smaller than a humpback but bigger than an orca. Was steady south bound from 63rd and Alki to Constellation Park around 2pm today. My first Minke! Have seen Orcas, humpbacks and grays before. Knew it was something different. Thanks for taking the report. There was a verified humpback near the same area about 3 hours before my Minke sighting so most think I saw that humpback, but it was truly a Minke. West Seattle had a good whale day today. -Robin Sinner

May 20
T46Bs in Rosario Strait, just outside of Lopez Pass. -photo by Sam Landsman - May 20, 2020
*
Wed, May 20 - Rosario Strait (T46Bs) - Hello, I spotted this small group of orcas this morning in Rosario Strait just outside of Lopez Pass. They were moving swiftly north. [See Photo of the Day for Sam's incredible photo of this encounter. -gs] -Sam Landsman
*
Wed, May 20 - Puget Sound/Tacoma - 17:30 - Spotted a solo [humpback] heading south across Commencement Bay in Tacoma today at 530pm. It was bigger than we had seen before. The fluke was 8-12' wide. It went right in front of our boat at one point and it didn't seem to have much coloration difference along its body. If you're able to determine what it is please let us know. If it WAS a Humpback my daughter will have had 3 sightings with 3 different whales!!! -photo by Dawson Kaminski - May 20, 2020
[reviewed video from Dawson shows humpback dorsal fin, per ALB]
*
05:50 - We saw a humpback at 550am this morning, mid channel, north end of Salmon Beach. The whale was heading northbound. Milled around for about 15-20 min mid channel then slowly headed northwest a bit towards Gig Harbor. Lost track after that. -Teri Fields Mattsen
*
GRAY WHALES - Wed, May 20 - Birch Bay - We saw around 20 blows in 45 minutes. Guessing they were viewed from 1 mile away. Very brief view, a blow then slow roll. No tails seen. Often blows were 5-20 seconds apart then a wait. Most of the water in the area is 30-50' deep, a bit deeper closer to Pt Whitehorn. -Eric Ellingson
*
Wed, May 20 - Northern Saratoga Passage - Not sure if this is the same [gray] whale from this morning, but this one made an appearance this afternoon @ Polnell Point in Oak Harbor. It fed for quite a while. Thank you again for all you do! Greg & Terra Parham, Oak Harbor, photos by Greg Parham - May 20, 2020

May 19
Sun, April 19 - Mayne Island, B.C. - Beautiful humpbacks on April 19, 2020. All photos taken from Mayne Island - deck, Strait of Georgia. There seems to be more whales this year in the Strait!! And there is, of course, much less boat traffic due to Covid-19. -Yves Tiberghien - photos by Yves Tiberghien
*
GRAY WHALES - Tue, May 19 - Possession Sound - 20:00 - Just now watching a single gray travel from the central east side of Hat to the delta. -Lori Christopher
*
Tue, May 19 - Northern Saratoga Passage - 17:00 - We had a gray whale come by Polnell Point in Oak Harbor, WA for dinner, @5:00 pm. That's two visits today! We are not sure if it's the same whale from earlier today. -Greg & Terra Parham, Oak Harbor - photos by Greg Parham - May 19, 2020
*
Tue, May 19 - Possession Sound - I encountered two Gray Whales today. It was around 11:30 or 12:00 PM just past low tide. The general behavior of these whales was a little different than what I have seen previously. The first whale, which I identified as CRC # 22 Earhart, (photos 4348, 4362, 4390, 4395, 4396) was swimming very slowly, over deep water, back and forth between Hat Island and the Snohomish Delta. She almost had the appearance of waiting for something. I hope her tail wave (photo 4395, 4396) was not her saying good bye for the season. The second whale, which I could not identify (photos 4399, 4406, 4408) was swimming back and forth parallel to the edge of the Snohomish Delta at a 90-degree angle to the first whale. This whale was ranging from near the barge on the S end almost all the way up to Tulalip on the N. I came back into this area on a second scan for whales at high tide. I didn't see any animals at all that time. ["The other whale is CRC-2255." - Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network] photos by John Judy
CRC # 22 Earhart IDs confirmed by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
CRC-2255 ID by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
*
07:00 - We had this gray whale in our cove this morning, at 7:00 am. Unfortunately, the photos were taken from our house, 2 streets up from the water. -Greg & Terra Parham, Oak Harbor - photo by Greg Parham - May 19, 2020
*
06:45 - Heading East. I was going north into harbor and lost sight of him.
06:37 - Still there, off mouth of cove.
05:56 - Gray whale off Penn Cove again. Hearing it blow from Oak Harbor. Can't see him yet. I think he's heading into the Cove. -CeCe Celia Aguda
*
DOLPHINS - Tue, May 19 - Case Inlet - 16:15-16:30 - Between 4:15 P.M. and 4:30 this afternoon, I watched two common dolphins with binoculars as they frolicked while trending southbound in Case Inlet between Harstine Island and Herron Island. No pictures this time but it was great to see them again. -Connor O'Brien

May 18
UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES - Mon, May 18 - San Juan Islands - 19:30 - Hi -- I just found your site last night while we were researching the whale pod we spotted off Orcas Island last night, and wanted to report the sighting. Small pod (appeared to be a couple of females, one male, and one or two babies) off the NE shore of Orcas Island, moving east from Point Thompson to Buckhorn Bay. Spotted them around 7:30pm, and they stayed in view for more than 2 hours. Attached video shows one of the babies porpoising out of the water -- quite a sight! -Scot Devereaux
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Mon, May 18 - Central Puget Sound - Matt Ebersole called to report a single large whale last night, Monday, May 18, at 19:40 in N. Tacoma (lives mid bay, up the hill). The whale was first sighted mid channel in Commencement Bay. They watched the whale traveling, surface, and dive intervals with approx 3-4 mintue down times. The whale traveled northwest towards Pt. Defiance. -photo by Matt Ebersole - May 18, 2020
*
Mon, May 18 - Northern Saratoga Passage - 09:12 - It circled/fed and seemed to be moving East or south. I lost sight of him as I headed into Penn Cove
05:43 - Gray whale off Bowers Bluff, north of mouth of Penn Cove. -CeCe Celia Aguda
*
Mon, May 18 - Admiralty Inlet - 17:16 - [gray] About 10 minutes ago in front of the Bush Point Lighthouse. I only have the one picture. It came up 5 times, before my neighbor called me over. That was the only time I saw it. Neighbors said it was headed north, then turned around to south and did that a few times. Then it went under and we didn't see it -Marlene Norton Naughton - photo by Marlene Norton Naughton
2019 NPS newbie #2246 ID'd by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
*
Mon, May 18 - Strait of Georgia - Here are a few photos taken from Mayne Island, facing the Strait of Georgia, or 2 large humpbacks cruising along side by side. Very majestic and quite the show! -photos by Yves Tiberghien - May 18, 2020

May 17
Sun, May 17 - Strait of Georgia - Here are a few more humpback pictures from last Sunday, cruising in the Strait of Georgia in total peace, early afternoon. Always a beautiful view. Later that evening around 8pm, I saw them again in the distance, under Mt Baker, but I had no camera...With good wishes, photos by Yves Tiberghien - May 17, 2020
*
UNCONFIRMED BALEEN WHALES - Sun, May 17 - Northern Saratoga - 14:10 - Trisha Ferrera called to report seeing who she thought was a humpback whale near Skagit Bay. She lives on Mt Baker Circle, Oak Harbor. She saw the beautiful whale today, Sunday 17th, around 2:10pm. She heard him before seeing him. Whale was traveling, taking her/his time going through the bay here on Whidbey Island heading south.
[Reported as possible humpback, good chance this was a gray - alb]

May 16
BIGG'S TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES - Sat, May 16 - San Juans - 08:17 - Email from Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, with report: MV Chelan Master reports via 800 MHz, 5-6 orca headed EB in Thatcher Pass towards Ship Harbor.
*
06:00 - Orcas spotted off the WSF, headed west to San Juan Island at 6:00am. Looks to be a baby possibly? [video sent & reviewed] It's Blakey Island in the background and orcas were headed west. In my excitement I lost track of where we were exactly. -Trent ?
*
Sat, May 16 - Near Anacortes, WA - 08:43 - Hello. We encountered an Orca Pod yesterday, 16 May @ 8:43 am traveling from James Island, across the Rosario Strait to Washington Park, Anacortes. We had overnighted and the weather turned nastier than expected so we headed home early-and how fortunate we were because we saw this wonderful pod of 5-7 Orcas. - We first saw the Orcas in the distance with a small boat stopped and near-we also saw a very large freighter approaching and were concerned for the Orcas so sent a sighting report to "Whale Alert" app. - Once we safely crossed the path of the freighter, we put the engine in idle from afar to watch the action (a ferry, freighter and several smaller boats) - We were pleased to see the huge freighter stop for nearly 20-30 minutes while the Orcas swam (possibly feeding) in front of the freighter. Then they started to move off looking like they were coming our way! - I turned my phone video on to catch-them and then they surfaced near us!....it was amazing! We did not follow and did our best to video but it was pretty rough. - It looked as if there were 5-7 and one huge finned one (hopefully easy to ID) on the left and at least one baby. - Any info you can give would be great and hopefully this information will help in the ID and research of these magical Orcas. Thank you for your continued efforts to save and take care of these wonderful beings. -Best Wishes, Erica Montgomery and Andrew Power - photos by Erica Montgomery - May 16, 2020
T36As, T36Bs, and T63 (And T65 would have been there too.) IDs per Melisa Pinnow.
*
Sat, May 16 - North Puget Sound/Admiralty Inlet - 17:39 - Bradley Coombe, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: Master reports four orca near Port Townsend heading East.
*
Sat, May 16 - Hood Canal - 10:31 - [orca] North from the Hood Canal Bridge to Hood Head Island at this time. -Luke Bogues - photo by Luke Bogues - May 16, 2020
*
COASTAL KILLER WHALES - May 16 - Northern California Coast - My wife (Julie Kelly) braved the rain and saw these orcas today off Patrick's Point in Humboldt County, CA. There were at least 4 of them splashing around for about an hour. We wonder if they are part of the pod seen off Eureka on May 4 by Jeff Jacobson. -Mike Kelly - photos by Julie Kelly - May 16, 2020
*
Sat, May 16 - Central Puget Sound - Amy Carey texted: Report of humpback off Gold Beach, Maury Island, headed south this morning.
*
Sat, May 16 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - I thought I would share some good news. I accidentally stumbled upon two (possibly three) Grey whales feeding in the Strait of Juan de Fuca off Shipwreck Point on the Olympic Peninsula. I forwarded these photos to Alie Perez with Cascadia Research, who has confirmed neither of these whales are a match to our NPS Grey -hales or has an official designation/ID. This made my day when I got out of my car at the beach to discover these feeding Grey whales. -Britt P. - photos by Brittany Philbin - May 16, 2020
*
Sat, May 16 - Hood Canal - 16:00-16:30 - One seen about a mile and one half south of HC bridge. It was out about 300 ft. off the west shore. Surfaced and spouted for about 15 minutes, and then disappeared. -Bill Boston
*
Sat, May 16 - Port Susan - Yay, Saturday treat!! Just had a large solo gray whale swim by our place here on Sunny Shores Rd in Tulalip. Heading up into the shallows about 100 meters off shore. They always seem to head into the shallows on our shore and out on the Camano shoreline. Must be due to the way the currents and tides swirl as the Port Susan bath tub fills and empties. Tide is currently flooding. -Dougie B, Sunny Shores Rd., Tulalip
*
SPECIES UNCONFIRMED - Sat, May 16 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - 15:00 - Today roughly around 3:00 pm we spotted a small group of whales or porpoises traveling west from our view from Ediz Hook facing north! At least two dark dorsal fins and what seemed a spy hop amongst the group. I've checked several websites but nothing recorded yet. Any ideas what these amazing mammals were? -Madigan Winters

May 15
Fri, May 15 - Strait of Georgia/Mayne Island - 14:45 - Here are a few photos take around 245pm today. A pod of orcas in the blue waters of the Strait of Georgia. They seemed really busy. Not swimming leisurely as usual. They were bursting out of the water and back in very fast... Heading south toward the US border...Cheers, Yves Tiberghien, Mayne Island, BC - photos by Yves Tiberghien - May 15, 2020
*
Fri, May 15 - Hood Canal - 12:00 - Kevin Collins reported to me at 12:00 PM that four orcas are just south of the Duckabush River and heading south. Thanks! -Debbie Stewart
*
12:00 - Nadine Woolman, a marine naturalist who lives on Stavis Bay Rd, Seabeck, called to report at least 4 orcas (1 male and 3 females) in Hood Canal, first traveling south, then separated, then definitely hunting/feeding (gulls getting scraps). The male and 1 female separated by couple hundred yards traveling 1/2 mile south of Duckabush River. Exciting to have these guys in Hood Canal.
*
10:30 - Dalziel James called at 10:30 AM on 5/15 with report of orcas in Dabob Bay, headed south.
*
COASTAL KILLER WHALES - Fri, May 15 - Oregon Coast - 11:30 - May 15th @ 11:30, large Male Orca sported just South of Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach. Heading north close to shore beyond breaking waves. Very large Dorsal Fin which seemed to be about 5-6 ft.! Very Exciting since this is my first sighting on the Oregon Coast! -Pat Swanson
*
Fri, May 15 - Mayne Island, B.C. - 20:00 - I should add one more humpback sighting last night. I was walking at 8pm on the Edith Point Ocean Trail on Mayne. I heard and saw at least one large humpback puffing and swimming beautifully several times, far in the distance toward Mt Baker in the Strait of Georgia, opposite Saturna, and probably en route toward US waters. It was very peaceful in the evening light. No boat in sight. As far as I know, this humpback was not signaled on our SGI social media whale sighting group. In any case, it is amazing to witness the increase in humpback visits!! They are here every week, it seems, and sometimes more than once a week. A few years ago, they were very rare in the Strait of Georgia. -Cheers, Yves Tiberghien, Mayne Island
*
Fri, May 15 - Burrows Bay to Rosario Strait - 16:30 - I was at WA Park today at 4:30 for field work when a grey whale came through along the rocks in Burrows Pass! -Trevor Derie, Pacific Mammal Research - photos by Trevor Derie - May 15, 2020
*
I wanted to send in this sighting of a Gray Whale we had during our research - 5/15/2020 in Burrows Pass - a big surprise to us that it came so close! It was travelling from Burrows Bay west out to Rosario Strait. Hopefully to find food elsewhere. Hope you are well! -Cindy Elliser, Research Director, Pacific Mammal Research
*
Fri, May 15 - Possession Sound - I was on the water May 15th. In the early afternoon I spotted this lone Gray Whale feeding on the south end of the Snohomish Delta. -John Judy - photos by John Judy - May 15, 2020 [#2246 per Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network]
*
--The second whale that I was able to ID on May 15th was #723 Lucyfer. It is noteworthy that at times #723 and #22 were swimming in close proximity with synchronized dives and everything. I would normally expect to see #22 paired up with #21 Shackleton. The first photo is a near boat collision with #22 Earhart. I was sitting, motor off, watching the whales when I saw a boat approaching full speed right toward where I thought they would surface next.. I waved and tried to slow the guy down - he just looked at me waved back and kept going. I saw a surface disturbance right in front of his boat. I just cringed. The boat shot through and in this photo the whale surfaced right in his wake. I believe Earhart actually ducked to avoid getting hit by that boat.
Later in the day on May 15th the wind died off. I was able to spot more whales, at least 4. There was one on the Snohomish Delta, I didn't photograph that one, and three more on the SE Hat Island feeding ground. Of the three on the feeding ground, I identified one as #22 Earhart. - photos by John Judy - May 15, 2020
IDs confirmed by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
*
Fri, May 15 - Northern Saratoga Passage - We had just returned from a kayak paddle when a neighbor reported this visitor to our cove @ Polnell Point. Thanks! -Greg & Terra Parham, Oak Harbor, WA - photos by Greg Parham - May 15, 2020
["I can't confirm, but the last image of the pec fin has several markings that match that of another pec photo we have for newbie 2258." -Alisa Lemire Brooks, ON]
*
Fri, May 15 - Possession Sound - 09:00 - Good morning #44 Dubknuck! Enjoy your breakfast! FYI Boat in the background is a Tulalip fisherman waiting to drop shrimp pots. 9:00, just north of the marina. -Lori Christopher - photo by Lori Christopher - May 15, 2020

May 14
Thu, May 14 - Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca - T075C off of Constance Bank on the morning of May 14th. - T075B, T075C and T075C2 on Constance Bank on the morning of May 14th. -Mark Mallesonphotos and IDs by Mark Malleson
"T075C off of Constance Bank on the morning of May 14th."
"T075B, T075C and T075C2 on Constance Bank on - the morning of May 14th"
*
Thu, May 14 - Strait of Juan de Fuca/Clallam Bay - 06:50 - There were 4 or 5 Orcas in Clallam Bay this morning. Not sure if any were males, heading NW at 6:50 AM. -Brent Burns
*
Thu, May 14 - Puget Sound - 12:03 - They're actually still in nearly the same area. - 11:30 - Orcas spotted in Colvos Passage, at least 3 heading north...altho they seem to be hanging out a bit and not moving quickly. I live above Sea Cliff which is near Sunrise Beach. -Janice Rosaire
*
Thu, May 14 - Hood Canal/Dabob Bay - 10:33 - Just got another second hand report that the whales are still in Hood Canal near mouth of Dabob Bay. -Brad Hanson, NOAA/NWFSC
*
Thu, May 14 - Haro Strait - 21:30 - Clicks and vocalizations heard on the LK hydrophone. - 21:09 - A humpback traveling to the north between north edge of Hannah Hts. and Edwards Point. It was too dark to see much, but I heard 5 exhalations with two eerie and wonderful bellows as it went past. Thanks! -Michelline Halliday

May 13
Wed, May 13 - Active Pass (T124As, T86As, and T65Bs) - T124A's, T086A's, and T065B's predated on pinnipeds throughout Active Pass yesterday! They were very successful. -Rachelle Hayden - photos and IDs by Rachelle Hayden - May 13, 2020

May 12
Tue, May 12 - Haro Strait - 13:35-14:25 - Between the north edge of Hannah Hts. and Edwards Point, a humpback traveling slowly to the north. It was a long wait between exhalations and sometimes I could only see its blowhole. It surfaced a dozen times. I didn't see its fluke. Photographed from shore, cropped and enlarged. ["This is "Hammer" who is Claw's (BCX0749) calf from last year." -Jackie Hildering, Marine Education and Research Society] -Michelline Halliday, SJI. -photos by Michelline Halliday - May 12, 2020
*
Tue, May 12 - Hood Canal - 15:40 - I can't believe we have another sighting to report! We are located one mile south of Duckabush River and just south of Hood Point. At about 3:40pm (May 12th) we spotted a gray whale about 30 yards from our house. He was feasting on fish near our buoy for about 30 minutes then he traveled south. -Ellen Proffit - photos by Ellen Proffit - May 12, 2020 [ID cannot be confirmed, per Alie at CRC]
*
Tue, May 12 - Southern Saratoga Passage - 13:45 - A lone gray whale is heading west along Camano Island side of Saratoga Passage. 1:45 pm May 12. We watched it go up toward Pebble Beach and then westward till we couldn't see it. We live in Langley on Edgecliff, and it's 2 miles across the Passage so I can't tell what kind of whale. Most likely gray or humpback. Too far away to see and it was mostly blowing, no tails or flippers. -Luanne Seymour

May 11
Mon, Tue 11 - Cattle Pass to Spieden Channel (T123s) - 20:23 - West End of Spieden Channel, 8:23pm, T123A Stanley. We were all alone out there as the storm approached at 9:00ish. It was a typical Monday filled with the sort of things that wear the mind down. As the zoom meetings persisted, I watched whale reports come in with multiple pods of Bigg's Orcas (mammal eating orcas) and humpbacks swimming through the San Juan Channel (just a few hundred yards away as the raven flies from where I sat). The work day slipped into a beautiful stormy night when @orcawatcher (Monika Shields) sent in an update that the T123s just swam west into Spieden Channel...right towards our docked boat.
This scenario was lining up to everything I have dreamed: Last drop of daylight, rolling storm clouds and apex predators. Snow McCormick and I gathered the pups, our backpacks and cameras and hopped in Holdfast, our tiny boat, to try our luck. The ominous weather looked heavy upon us as we scanned the horizon for Stanley, the 20yr old male Bigg's orca. I'm not sure of the exact dimensions of Stan the Man, but full-grown male orcas are 25feet in length and weigh 12K lbs, so if we to spot the pod from afar he was the one whom we were to see first with his massive dorsal fin.
After a bit of scanning, his enormous 6ft fin appeared above the water line approximately 1,000 yards off the bow. We slowly moved towards the group as they all dove down. Silently we waited and powered down the motor looking towards the horizon thinking we were still a good 500 yards from where we thought they would come back up.....we were wrong. Not three feet from the boat T123, "Sidney" the matriarch herself, surprised us with a big blow that made me jump backwards a foot. Picture a dinosaur creeping up behind you and yelling "BOO!!!" I am so grateful my camera was strapped to me because it very well could have fallen into the drink. After I regained my footing, Snow said, "They are going to swim under the boat! Look down!" I quickly looked over the inflatable tube and inches below the surface was Stanley looking back up at us slowly slipping beneath our toes. It was a mix of adrenaline and butterflies seeing this King Predator gazing up at us at such incredibly close proximity. We remained shut down as the whole pod swam around our boat, sometimes swimming back at us like Stanley pictured here.
At one point they even caught a harbor porpoise for a late dinner (Snow has a picture of them tossing it at one point). After the sky turned to ink, the T123s headed north and we bobbed under the rain filled clouds that decided they were not going to be patient for one instant longer. The water fell from the skies as we docked the boat silently pondering the life altering experience that had just occurred.
We went to sleep that night with Orcas swimming through our dreams...literally. When I woke, I really wasn't sure which part was reality...meeting them on the surface or freediving with them all night. It is inherently human to want to experience this again, but I can honestly say...I'm good. I am so honored the T123s wanted to hang with us for that magical twilight hour and I hope they know we will do whatever it takes to make sure their population stays as healthy as it is today. T123A. -Cy Scammell, PNW Protectors - photos by Cy Scammell - May 11, 2020
*
20:15 - "Stanley" T123A, west end of Spieden Channel on 5/11, 8:15pm. T123A-Snow McCormick, PNW Protectors Co-Founder - photo by Snow McCormick - May 11, 2020
*
19:04 - Relayed shore report is that this group took Spieden [Channel], westbound. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
18:26 - Here they are as they passed the north end of Jones [Island] 10 minutes ago. [VIDEO by Alex as comment on Alan's FB post] -Alex Shapiro - video - comment on Alan's post
*
Thanks to Alex Shapiro for alerting me to killer whales outside Mineral Point, north toward Ruben Tarte. Family composition looks like T123's again. -Alan Niles
*
14:30 - Killer Whales through Cattle Pass. Guess: T123s. Hung out around Whale Rocks for 45 minutes, back and forth between the islands. Large male seen; fairly young orca also seen. Too far off for a good ID. -Dante Aubert - photos by Dante Aubert - May 11, 2020
*
Mon, May 11 - Bellingham Channel - ~20:15-20:20 - Joanne Gray called to report that she and her husband Michael observed at least 2-3 orcas from their home on the NW side of Guemes Island (Indian Village area) ~8:15-8:20pm Monday, May 11th. They look west and estimates the pod was approximately 1/2 way between Cypress Head and Eagle Harbor, Cypress in Bellingham Channel. She first saw at least a dorsal rising which caught her attention, then a few minutes later, the same or another whale (a male) surfaced and they could see the dorsal and back surface further to the north. Pod was traveling at medium pace northbound.
*
Mon, May 11 - San Juan Channel (T18s). 18:45 - More orca. T18's southbound San Juan Channel at Mineral Point. -Alan Niles
*
Mon, May 11 - Hood Canal - ~12:00-13:00 - Good afternoon. We wanted to let you know that we spotted three orcas near the Sund Rock area of Hood Canal today (May 11, 2020) at approximately 12 to 1 p.m. We observed them from the deck of our house, which is set approximately 150 to 200 feet above the water. We saw three clear orca dorsal fins. They rose together in the water and spouted water from their blowholes. If it's helpful to know, they were heading north. This was our first orca siting after living in the Pacific Northwest for a long time, so we are excited to share this news with you. -Best, Annu Mangat & Dale Cotton
*
18:23 - Brad Hanson, NOAA/NWFSC, sent text he just had 2nd hand report that Hood Canal whales were up in Dabob Bay headed north.
*
Mon, May 11 - North Puget Sound/Deception Pass (T101s). 18:00 - At least 2 orcas were swimming in our bay, past Strawberry Island and heading west towards the Deception Pass Bridge at about 6:00 pm this evening. What a thrill! -Diane Parham - photos by Diane Parham - May 11, 2020
*
17:45 - 3 or 4 Orca, first sighted moving east, just off Ben Ure Island. Watched them in the channel for about 15 min. Last seen as they circled closer to the Fidalgo side, heading west. Kept watch for several min, but they didn't reappear. So assume they continued west under the bridges. Always a thrill to see, and surprised to see this close to the pass. But there are good fishing holes under those currents!
*
phone call: 18:25 - Emily Mamales called she is aboard her boat Patience anchored in Cornet Bay by Ben Ure Island. She just watched at least 3-4 orcas, including male, playing in the channel 1st closer to Deception, circling, then moved over much closer to Fidalgo. They may have gone through Canoe Pass vs Deception. -Emily Mamales - photo by Emily Mamales - May 11, 2020
*
16:45-17:15 - Hello! These (maybe two of them, maybe 3?) came by North to South, in between me (Reef Point/Thousand Trails) and Hope Island at 4:45 today, then back South to North heading for Deception Pass (?) around 5:15. I've been here for 14 years and never caught sight of an Orca before this! -Todd Cowles - photos by Todd Cowles - May 11, 2020
T101s ID'd by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
*
15:30 - Hello! Just wanted to report a sighting today. Around 3:30 PM local just north of Rosario Beach on Whidbey Island. A pod heading south along the shoreline of as best I could tell maybe 6-8. Two or three large adults and the rest were juveniles. Pictures are attached that I screenshot from a video. As far as I could tell they were paralleling the coast southbound towards Deception. They rounded the corner and went out of sight before I could tell if they stayed close to shore or went out to deeper water. They were coming in fairly close before a boat with people fishing turned on their motor to maneuver around. Prior to seeing the whales, we were watching seals and dolphins swim around the grass beds near shore as well as some dolphin further out in the channel. -Collin Bolton - photo by Collin Bolton - May 11, 2020
*
Mon, May 11 - Active Pass (T124C and T097) - T124C and T097 came through Active Pass this morning! -Rachelle Hayden - photos by Rachelle Hayden - May 11, 2020
*
Mon, May 11 - San Juan Islands - ~17:00 - Humpback at Elephant Rock (Cattle Pass), yesterday, about 5pm. -Deborah Massarat -photo by Deborah Massarat - May 11, 2020
["This appears to be the humpback whale [BCX0915] "Fallen Knight"." -Erin Gless]
*
Mon, May 11 - South Whidbey - 09:30 & 12:15 - Good Afternoon, I live at Possession Point and saw 1 Grey Whale heading South at about 9:30AM and it was coming up for about 3 times, then coming up, flipping its tale out and then staying down for a while and then a little further South it would do the same thing. Not moving too fast, but not going super slow. Then again at about 12:15 the exact same thing. May have been the same whale but it would have had to have circled back to Mukilteo and started that journey South again so I'm thinking maybe it was a different one. -Christa Canell
*
Mon, May 11 - Northern Saratoga Passage - 09:45 - Hi, I was so excited today. Out on my kayak around 945 I saw whales! I don't know much about them since this is probably only my 2nd or 3rd time seeing them ever. We just moved here last September. We are in Oak Harbor on City Beach (Windjammer Park). The whales we're about 100 feet off shore? So here's my video I took while staying at the shoreline. I would love to know what kind of whale it was if you know. Either way it was an incredible experience! -Kim Schaff - creenshot from video by Kim Schaff - May 11, 2020
[ID'd as a gray whale by Howard Garrett, Orca Network, from Kim's video]
*
Mon, May 11 - Possession Sound - Fred Lundahl called at 13:30 this afternoon: while on annual feeding pit aerial survey they observed 3 grays deep feeding in sand bar between south end of Hat and Snohomish Delta. One looked like Patch [unconfirmed].

May 10
. BIGG'S TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES - Sun, May 10 - Bellingham Bay (T123s) - ~18:30 - Hello! My husband and I were returning to Squalicum Harbor from Inati Bay this evening and were suddenly in the presence of a small pod of orcas. They were leaving the bay and headed south. We had just rounded Portage Island on our way to Bellingham. Appeared to be a couple of females, 1 or 2 babies, and a male. Time of day was around 6:30pm. -Michele Bennett
*
16:30 - This photo was taken at 4:30 p.m., just north of Eliza Island, and they looked to be heading toward the opening between Eliza Island and the south end of Lummi. What a thrill it was to see these three in Bellingham Bay today, especially the young one!!! -Jann Ledbetter
[T123s confirmed by Dave Ellifrit, CWR]
*
Sun, May 10 - Hood Canal - 22:45 - Kevin Collins reported to me that he heard orcas by his place in Seabeck about 10:45 PM yesterday (5/10/20). Based on the sound of the blows they were heading north. -Thanks! Debbie Stewart
*
~17:00 - Orca's heading north in Hood Canal from Alderbrook around 5pm. -Dayton Culbertson, Jr.
*
~13:00-17:00, and 19:45 - Hi there! I'm sure you've gotten plenty of reports about the orcas in Hood Canal today but just in case, I'd like to share my observations; For starters, I would like to say that I did all of my viewing from highway 106, between the Skokomish River and Belfair. First spotted orcas traveling East towards Belfair from Alderbrook Resort & spa at 1pm. Traveling fast, multiple boats following. Seemed to just be traveling at the time and I wasn't able to count. From there, they continued nearly to the end of the canal in Belfair, turned around and were spotted heading back west and out of the canal from Twanoh State Park at 4:30pm. Still traveling along the north shore on the Kitsap peninsula side. From there, they continued west, traveling all the way back up to the bend, near the Skokomish River estuary. Seemed as if they were doing a bit of hunting at this time. ~5pm. Lost them afterwards and assumed that they swam around the peninsula and started heading out of the canal. However, I got a report from a friend that they actually turned around and headed back towards Belfair. Spotted at trails end drive along highway 106 around 7:45pm. Being that I was on the opposite shore, I couldn't get the best views for details on which pod it may have been but being that they were in the canal, I'm going to assume they were transients. From videos I've seen posted, the saddle patches were closed to support this. If I were to guess, I would say there were about 5 of them. I've been studying videos my community has posted and it looks as if there was only one male in the pod. Certainly no pale whale, so I can tell you which pod it WASNT. Wishing everyone at Orca Network the best. Thank you for what you do. -Best, Shay Slye
*
16:50 - OMG, 3 juvenile orcas just north of Calm Cove in Union. Heading west. We just moved here. So excited. -Jim Swanson
*
16:00 - Update as of 4:00pm: The Orcas must be up towards Belfair, as I still have many more seals than usual up against the shoreline. I haven't seen them since around 2:00pm. Will report back if I see anything additional.
13:35 - They're now headed towards Sisters on the North Shore (probably across from Twanoh State Park).
13:30 - Reporting in. As I passed Ayres (aka Bald) Point, lots of cars pulled over and folks down on the beach. I am now home, by the mouth of the Tahuya River, and can see them with my binoculars, so they're mid-Canal across from Union. The last sighting, I saw 3 dorsal fins. They are very far from me, so I can't get good photos or video, unfortunately.
Noon - Orcas in Hood Canal! Down by the Great Bend/Skokomish/Union/Potlatch area. At least two, possibly more. Too far away for me to get photos and have my husband watching friends m our place by the mouth of the Tahuya River. Two years ago at the end l of April, T65s went to the area known as the Sisters, hunted, and then left. So exciting!...Yeah, there were two skidoos out and they were being butts. But the boats were great. They just sat, no power and let the pod do what they wanted. I'm hoping they go down to Sisters again so my husband can see them. It did look like there was a littler one in amongst the adults. So direction - first headed south to the Great Bend, then turned to the east, as the Canal bends and heads (NNE) to Belfair. Think that's where they are now. I'm currently at my dad's, right across from Hoodsport, so no visibility beyond the Great Bend (aka Ayres Point, also called Bald Point)....I will be headed back home soon and will report any updates as I observe. Suspect we have a lot of seals as close in as possible. Two years ago, we had 28 up against the beach. -Karla Oma
*
Sun, May 10 - Hood Canal (T65As) - ~18:00 - This was on Hood Canal, Mother's Day Sunday about 6 pm. Looked like 4 traveling south[west] in between Twanoh State Park & Union, medium speed. They were on the west side of the water. Don't know much more than that but was great to see them. I live at E Pebble Beach Lane. Hope this helps. -Nancy Campbell [video from Nancy, taken by her neighbor, shows T65As - ID'd by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network]
*
15:20 - Pictures from Hood Canal earlier today. East of Twanoh State Park near Belfair. T65As. -T.J. Thomas - photos by T.J. Thomas - May 10, 2020
*
~13:00-16:00 - A pod of orcas were in south Hood Canal today, May 10. They headed towards Twanoh State Park at about 1 pm and headed back outbound around 4 pm. Two males and three to four females /juveniles. -Tracy Stoops
*
We saw 3 orcas come through southern hood canal today. They went past Tahuya, through the narrow passageway toward Belfair (out of sight of us) around 1-2pm. A few hours later they came back and headed toward Hoodsport (out of sight again). From shore with binoculars, we think there were just three... One was small, one large, and the other was a bit smaller than the big one. It's the first time in almost 70 years of our family coming to this property that we have seen orcas here. Very special!! -Jill Leslie
*
~12:00-16:00 - This pod of Orcas were in the lower part of Hood Canal. The attached photo was from Sisters Point on the north shore, close to Alderbrook Resort. The pod traveled down the canal around noon and returned about 4pm, when this photo was taken. -Wade Perrow
*
12:00-13:00 - Hello. We watched 7 Orcas, with at least 2 small ones, traveling from Bald Point (The Big Bend) towards Belfair. It looked like they were feeding. I assumed they were transient whales but don't know for sure. -Jenni Klein
*
Orcas spotted near Hoodsport, WA on Mother's Day. -Coltin Tanner
*
Hello! We are located about 1 mile south of the Duckabush River, across the canal and near Hood Point.
*6:30am May 10th
*4 or more Orcas - we think one baby
*Could see the first whales saddle patch
*They were in the middle of the channel
*Traveling South and at a slow traveling pace.
Please let me know if you have any questions! This was our first time ever seeing Orcas in Hood Canal. Thank you! -Ellen and Matt Proffit
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Sun, May 10 - San Juan Channel - Mother's Day humpback whale parade past Point Caution. With a bald eagle as an added bonus. Update: Thank you Erin Johns Gless for identifying these whales. Slate, Split Fluke and Fallen Knight. All three were known to have had calves last year. It truly was a Mother's Day parade!!! -photos by Cindy Hansen, Orca Network - May 10, 2020 BCX1210 "Slate" - BCX1210 "Slate" - BCX1068 "Split Fluke" - BCX0915 "Fallen Knight" IDs by Erin Gless
*
16:00 - Saw solitary humpback in San Juan Channel, May 10 at 4pm today..unfortunately a solo cabin cruiser getting too close. -Albert Berger. -Lopez Island
*
SPECIES UNCONFIRMED - Sun, May 10 - North Puget Sound - 18:25 - Alicia Gohiggin called to report possible orca sighting on the Kingston to Edmonds run. They were on Spokane ferry out of Kingston, approximately half way to Edmonds. The whale did not breach, but they saw blowhole and dorsal fin. Whale was heading west towards Kingston, traveling at pretty good rate.
*
Sun, May 10 - Possession Sound - 17:30 - After this encounter, I took a long trip up Saratoga Passage all the way to Skagit Bay. I didn't see any whales until I was on my way home. Around 5:30 in the afternoon I encountered two more whales, near shore, off the south tip of Camano Island. They were traveling north moving very fast. I saw several more whales on the South end of the Snohomish Delta near the barge. Not sure how many animals were in that group but they appeared to be feeding not traveling. It is notable this sighting was made at mid flood tide. I don't usual see whales on the Delta until full high tide because of shallow water. I did not get photos of these last two sightings - it was windy, getting rough and late in the day.
~12:30 - I was out Sunday May 10th, and took these photos around 12:30 PM off the SW corner of Hat Island. The whales were milling and feeding. I believe that is #723 Lucyfer. -John Judy - photo by John Judy - May 10, 2020 [#723 "Lucyfer" ID confirmed by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network]

May 9
Sat, May 9, - Hood Canal (T65As) - 20:15 - Transient pod observed in Seabeck Bay, off of Misery Point (8:15pm 5/9/2). -Cameron Smithee, DVM
*
20:00 - So excited - several orcas lolling around the entrance to Fisherman's Cove just south of Hazel Point. 8pm. They came north from behind Misery Point, but seem to be content where they are for now. At least 5. A neighbor just told us they had been here for several weeks. Hummmppphhh. I've already called about 10 neighbors along the shore and everyone is excited. -Allen Banks
*
18:55 - Orcas out by Misery Point. A small pod of about 4 or 5 in...Francis Cavanaugh - May 9, 2020
*
Drifting with Orcas 5/9/20- Hood Canal, Bangor. My wife Joanne took this video on the bow of Zebedee, our 21' Arima. Our neighbor Norma called me while I was fishing and said they spotted Orcas near Hood Head Island. I picked up Joanne and went to look for them and they were gone. It was gorgeous out so we decided to head south of the Hood Canal Bridge and we spotted a few dorsal fins heading south. We got to Bangor Naval Submarine Base and thought we had seen the last of them so we headed north and Joanne spotted 2 smaller dorsal fins (dolphins), followed by large black dorsal fins, and we thought, uh-oh there's dinner! Immediately turned off the engines watched them and they swam toward us. Another amazing experience...Thank you Jesus! [VIDEO by Willie Moneda] -Willie Moneda
*
14:04 - 4 of them southbound. 2 are a mom and baby.
14:02 - Orcas in the Hood Canal just north of Bangor base at 2:02pm. -Melissa Oliver
[From video sent by Melissa Oliver: "Looks like T65A3 is the closest one." -Melisa Pinnow]
*
14:00 - They are close to Bangor now. I am in a kayak and haven't been able to keep up. Lost sight about 15 min ago.
13:22 - There appears to be 4-5 Transients in the Hood Canal right now. Spread out across the whole width. I picked them up heading south into the Hood Canal -Kris Clark
*
UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES - Sat, May 9 - North Puget Sound - 08:20 - Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, called to report 2 orcas off Kingston heading northbound.
*
Sat, May 9 - Vancouver Island - An early Mother's Day treat from the comfort of home for my mother in Ladysmith B.C. (Vancouver Island) this afternoon. Her neighbor called to let her know she was watching two orcas (ecotype unknown - no photos) leaving Ladysmith Marina and passing Transfer Beach heading south. -Sandra Pollard (Whidbey Island)
*

*
Sat, May 9 - Boundary Pass/Saturna Island - Humpback closeup. -James McLarnon, Vancouver - photos by James McLarnon - May 9, 2020
[ID'd by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network as BCX0837 "Tempest"] humpback BCX0837 "Tempest" taken from Saturna Island -photo by James McLarnon - May 9, 2020
*
GRAY WHALES - Sat, May 9 - Hood Canal - 07:45 - There was a gray whale in Dabob Bay this morning at 7:45 AM (5/9/20). Far up in Dabob Bay off Red Bluff, heading further up into the Dabob Bay side where it splits. Spotted it breaching several times as it moved north, just off shore from Red Bluff. About 7:45 AM, then it hung out for 15-20 mins before I[t] was gone. Didn't see where it went. -Mark Nowlan
*
Sat, May 9 - Northern Saratoga Passage - 18:37 and 18:44 - 5/9 6:37 p.m. and 6:44 p.m. spotted 1 whale blowing, heading northbound past Woodland Beach, Camano. I'm viewing from high bluff, but believe it to be a gray whale. After 2nd sighting, saw fluke as it dove. -Krista Paulino
*
07:45-08:15 - I had help from CeCe (who originally reported the gray via ON messenger this morning, about 45ish minutes before I found him). She was in what appeared to be a sea kayak and helped me locate the whale from the bluff at Scenic Heights. At the time, he was almost centered in the Harbor with the marina behind him. At first he was moving north and would pop up about every 2 minutes to exhale/inhale. As he made his way into more shallow water he started to feed. I got a few photos from Scenic Heights Rd. before heading back down to Windjammer Park since he kept getting closer to the public access point. By the time I got down to the park he was still definitely feeding and at one point couldn't have been but 200-300 yards off the park. I viewed from 7:45am-8:15am when he appeared to start heading back south, out of the harbor.
[ID'd as CRCID #2259 by Amanda Colbert and confirmed by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network]
*
08:57 - He is by Polnell Point now.
07:39 - He's circling north again. Closer to the channel. Almost off the barrier area.
07:25 - He is in the middle. He's feeding. Spinning. Look to the red channel marker. He's to the right. West of the channel. Turned to head out. Between channel and west shore.
07:13 - Now in the harbor.
06:37 - Gray Whale at mouth of oak Harbor. Feeding. -photos by CeCe Celia Aguda
*
Sat, May 9 - Mid Saratoga Passage - 17:02 - Karen Graham called from Hidden Beach to report first seeing a gray whale at 16:28 from Greenbank Beach, the gray whale was between Camano Island and Fox Spit, but closer to Greenbank heading northbound directionally towards Hidden Beach. Now at Hidden Beach and can hear the whale but cannot see the whale.
*
Sat, May 9 - Possession Sound - A gray whale has been eating all day between Priest Point and Hat Island, Everett, Washington. At around 8:20pm a small boat showed up and altered the whale path. The boat did slow down and hang around for 20 minutes. -Tuan Nguyen
*
15:47 - Tyler Thompson called to report who they believe was a gray whale in Puget Sound off Everett, about one mile off the Everett Marina towards Hat Island. Whale not moving very fast, almost stationary, then it was gone.
*
14:30 - [Gray] Hard to ID from iPhone video, but this one cruised by about 2:30 today (Saturday). Looks like a couple of patches on the right side...? Lori Christopher
*
UNCONFIRMED BALEEN WHALES - Sat May 9 - Central Puget Sound/Elliott Bay - 19:16 - We saw a whale tonight in Elliot Bay - maybe a juvenile humpback or grey. It stayed in the bay, got close to the docks by the aquarium where we were...It did a sort of lap around the bay, close to the waterfront side. When we left, it was heading back inwards. -Chelsea Myers
*
Sat, May 9 - Northern Saratoga Passage - 13:00-14:00 - Never sent a whale sighting in before, so I hope I'm getting everything you need. Location: Crescent Harbor 48.289069,-122.619447. We had what I believe to be a juvenile humpback whale circle around our sailboat at approximately 100m. I've never seen a humpback whale in Puget Sound, but I've seen them before with the Navy. This looked just like one, but smaller. I saw him swim through water that couldn't have been more than 10-15 feet deep, pulling very close to shore. Lost sight of him as he headed south into the Saratoga Passage. -Jimmy Brokaw
[gray whale CRCID #2259 was documented in that area in the morning from ~06:00-09:00. -gs]
*
Sat, May 9 - Elliott Bay - 12:20 - Maija, WSF Marine Ops called with third party report; possible whales (not species) in Elliott Bay, by the great wheel off downtown Seattle waterfront. No details or description and cannot confirm but wanted to give us the heads up. She alerted MV Kaleetan who was near Seattle to see if they could verify.
[possibly a gray whale seen later in Duwamish River and again in Elliott Bay. -alb]
*
Sat, May 9 - Mayne Island, B.C. - Photos of humpbacks, visiting peacefully, the Strait of Georgia on May 9. All photos taken from Mayne Island - deck, Strait of Georgia. -Yves Tiberghien - photos by Yves Tiberghien - May 9, 2020
*
Sat, May 9 - Possession Sound - 15:09 - East side of the island [Hat/Gedney] about 15 minutes ago. Heading southbound and stop to feed in the Cove...The red dot is where it stopped to feed. First saw just north of that headed south. -Steve DeKoekkoek - photo by Steve DeKoekkoek
[Alisa, ON, ID'd fluke as #44 "Dubknuck"]

May 8
Fri, May 8 - Haro Strait (T101s) - Center for Whale Research Encounter #26: "... Dave was on the phone with Ken to report who the whales were when T101B suddenly surfaced right beside the boat and began riding the bow. Dave turned the boat off and T101B began milling in the area right off Bellevue Point. And then T101B came back to the boat and decided to hang out right beneath it again while he waited for the others. He surfaced once on either side of the boat but went back to hanging underneath it. This went on for about a minute before T101B shot off as T102 passed. ..." See CWR Encounter #26 for full encounter summary and photos.
*
Fri, May 8 - Boundary Pass/Saturna Island (T101s) - ~17:00 - Photos from cottage deck of transient orca close to cliff and another nearby. Location south shore of Saturna with group of four heading in easterly direction about 5 pm on May 8th. T101, T101B -James McLarnon, Vancouver - photos by James McLarnon - May 8, 2020
*
Hey Friends, Here is a cool shot of T101 spyhopping just East of Spieden Island from afternoon. Photo was taken by PNW Protectors Co-Founder Snow McCormick. -Cy Scammell
*
Morning spent in the garden followed by a mad dash to see the T101s cruise up the west side. Doesn't get much better. -Sara Hysong-Shimazu
*
Fri, May 8 - Puget Sound - 15:43 - Four orca mid channel off Dilworth Point at 3:43, heading south quickly. -Richard Staehli
*
Fri, May 8 - Northern Saratoga Passage - Gray whale at entrance to Oak Harbor. Been within the harbor entrance for at least 25 minutes. Staying around the first 3 entrance buoys. Went into the harbor fully! -photos by Jennifer Greer
*
Fri, May 8 - Possession Sound - 16:00 - Don saw two grays today traveling between south end of Hat [Island] and Everett. -Lori Christopher

May 7
T49As in Haro Strait - photo by James Mead Maya - May 7th, 2020
*
Thur, May 7 - Haro Strait (T49As) - Nice morning on the water today. T49A1 and T49A2 between Kellett and Kelp. -James Mead Maya
*
From down island, to miles off shore...at first all together and then a split...two stayed way behind the others and ended up coming in close, while the rest of the family stayed miles from shore and continued on disappearing from view. It was T049A1 and T049A2 who split off from the rest of the family this morning. -Jeanne Hyde
*
~10:15 - Reliable secondhand report of orcas northbound off Land Bank (west side of San Juan). -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
08:00-10:15 - At 10:46 Brad Hanson, NOAA/NWFS texted: about 0800 we had a group of 7 KWs--1 male--off Hannah Heights northbound. We went up to Land Bank and watched until about 1/2 hour ago [~10:15]. Angling towards the Canadian side of Haro. Should have brought a camera up....maybe 65As? I alerted Giles to them and she was going to try to get out. Jeanne Hyde was at Land Bank too.
*
Thu May 7 - Rosario Strait - 10:03 - Bradley Coombe, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: KITSAP Master reports one orca in Rosario Strait traveling South.
*
COASTAL KILLER WHALES - Thur, May 7 - Oregon Coast - 14:20 - Approximately 1 1/2 miles offshore at Three Arch Rocks, Oceanside Oregon, there was a male killer whale sighting. He was not stopping. He was going straight North along the shore. Much like the shape of C-25 ORCA. From looking at all of the fin pictures in the Canadian publication, I would have to believe it to be a fairly large male. -KP Ives
*
14:20 - At 2:20 p.m. on the 7th of May 2020, Oceanside Oregon, about a mile and a half off shore, outside of the Three Arch Rocks, a tall slender dorsal fin of a killer whale heading North. -Daciden Ivoets
*
Thur, May 7 - Western Strait of Juan de Fuca - ~12:45 and 15:00 - Saw two separate gray whales along the Straits of Juan de Fuca just east of Sail Rock along the shore, and also a sea otter about 3 miles east of Sail Rock. The first gray was westbound. Picked him up about 2 miles east of Sail Rock, and he continued west until he reached Sail Rock, where I assume he was feeding, as he remained there for 2 hours. I moved over to Sail Rock to get a few better pics, and he just milled back and forth, so I am assuming eating. The 2nd gray was a surprise, as I was taking pics of the otter when he breached to the right of the otter right near a rock. Maybe he was too close. That was at mile marker 5. He was heading east at that moment then turned and headed west and continued going west, and never saw him again. First whale I picked up around 12:45 and 2nd whale was about 3 pm on 5/7/2020. The first gray had a really obvious white patch on left side of peduncle, second whale was very white. Sea otter was wrapped in kelp near a rock outcropping. Thought he was sleeping but later could see he was eating. Was very light colored (I actually thought it was a seal at first as I was driving.). He was really huge. Only saw the one. -Alethea Leddy
*
Thur, May 7 - Northern Saratoga Passage - We had two (possibly three) Gray Whales visiting us this morning @ Polnell Point in Oak Harbor, WA. These two swam around for a while, then headed toward Mariner's Cove. After they left, we saw a possible third spout near Polnell Point. Thanks! Simply awestruck. -Greg & Terra Parham, Oak Harbor, WA - photos by Greg Parham - May 7, 2020
["One of the animals is 2258. Not sure I could confirm ID on the other one." -Alie Perez, CRC]
*
09:49 - 2 Gray Whales! They have been regulars here for several weeks and are thrilling to see and hear! We are 170 feet up. Polnell Point in the background. -Suzanne Sewester
photo - "We are 170 feet up. Polnell Point in the background."
photo 2 - "They roll on their side and feed on the bottom scooping up ghost shrimp."
*
Thur, May 7 - Port Susan - 13:30 - Hi! I know we aren't doing live whale sightings so I wanted to share two grey whales off Kayak Point about 1:30pm today. Looked like a mother and her baby. (added info per Hannah: They were headed north into the crook of Camano Island (toward Stanwood). It looked like they were feeding. They stayed in the area for about 30min before they swam north and we couldn't see them anymore. They were very playful. The smaller one likes to flip their tail out of the water a lot. It was super cool to see! Thanks for letting me know about the smaller one. They were both so in sync when they came up for air, and yes, the other one was much smaller. I love to learn new things. I'll have to read about greys more, I don't know a lot about them. Hope you all have a great day!! Thanks for doing what you guys do!) -photo by Hannah McCullough
*
13:07 - We live in the very NW corner of the historical boundary of the Tulalip Rez. I was just asking Susan if she knew if the Grays were still present as we had not seen them in a few weeks, after seeing them daily in April. We just watched two big Grays swimming up into Port Susan, showing lots of tail as they sounded for the depths. Heading to feed on ghost shrimp in the shallows of the estuary, no doubt. Gorgeous day! -Douglas Barlow
*
Thu, May 7 - Port Susan - 10:00-11:00 - We had 2 grey whales in here at the south east end of Camano in Port Susan sound on May 7th. I think I forgot to let your group know. They were going south between 10 and 11. One very large and one a bit smaller. I wrote it on the calendar but then forgot. But we have not seen whales since that day so I have a feeling that the time has passed for their visits. I hope this has been helpful. -Terri and Tom Smith

May 6
Wed, May 6 - Howe Sound - I just wanted to report a sighting of a small pod of Orcas last night (2020-May-06) in the Harbor of Gibsons BC - Howe Sound. The small pod of Orcas appeared to be 3 or 4 individuals, with one appearing to be pretty young. We captured a short video clip via a iPhone - not that great, but it is what we had on us at the moment to try and capture this moment. -Cheers, Tim Rockford
*
Wed, May 6 - San Juan Islands - 18:57 - [orca] Now eastbound in Spieden Channel. [comment on Barbara Howitt's sighting] - Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
18:30 - Hello, we have a house on Davison Head Drive on SJI and saw 4 Orcas swim by at 6:30 this evening. They were in Spieden Channel about 150 feet offshore of Davison Head. A second group were about 200 yards past the first group- closer to Spieden Island. Could only see 2. -Thanks, Mary Anne Butcher
*
17:15 - brief glimpse of orcas northbound off Smuggler's Cove (west side San Juan Island) and then they disappeared around the corner- maybe 3 or 4 animals based on the blows heard. -Barbara Howitt
*
Wed, May 6 - Possession Sound - 15:16 - Donna Sanders, WSF Marine Ops, emailed a report: Master reports 1 gray whale within 1 mile of the MUK terminal.
*
Wed, May 6 - South Puget Sound - ~11:30 - Hello! We have a gray or humpback just north of Sunnyside Beach in Steilacoom. First sighted about 11:30 am today (5/6). Seen surfacing 3 times in very choppy water close to the shore. We live on the hillside above, and our view of the shoreline is screened by trees and houses, but we got a close enough look to confirm that it's a gray or humpback. It seems to be feeding and not heading in a specific direction at this time. -Tari Norris, Steilacoom
*
11:28 - Hello! While out for a walk in Steilacoom, WA, we spotted a whale spout and saw the body at the surface at 11:28am. We were too far to see much to determine if it was a grey or a humpback whale. I did have binoculars. The whale was moving north and was just south of the Anderson Island ferry terminal. We followed it moving northward until we lost sight of it spouting just past the Chamber's Bay Golf Course. It wasn't too far from the shore as it was moving. It was low tide as well. It seemed to be moving very quickly and it was traveling alone. Thanks for keeping track of all the whales and doing all you do to protect them. -Diann Sheldon
(5/8 update from Diann: "I thought it was a gray whale by what we could see of its body. It is always a treat to be in the right place at the right time to catch them!!)

May 5
Tue, May 5 - Mayne Island, B.C. - Photo of orcas also visiting on May 5, 2020. All photos taken from Mayne Island - deck, Strait of Georgia. -Yves Tiberghien - photos by Yves Tiberghien - May 5, 2020
*
Tue, May 5 - Hood Canal - 18:45 - Admiralty Inlet. Heading north. 3 adults. 1 juvenile [or smaller whale]. Passing the East Beach Marrowstone Island area. [Two miles south of Marrowstone Point] -Bob Triggs
*
17:50 - Kathleen Waldron called to report seeing orcas. She lives on the south end of Marrowstone Island near Indian Island on Oak Bay. 4-5 orcas (incl one w/large dorsal) going east. They just passed the channel marker heading towards end of Marrowstone heading east. She also saw a couple of seals hugging the shore. Exciting for her, it was her first time seeing them there in the 7 years she's lived on Marrowstone.
[probably T65As exiting - alb]
*
15:01 - May 5 at 3:01 pm we saw at least 3 orcas from the Hood Canal Bridge, off Shine Tidelands Park. They were about 100 yards north of the bridge, headed northbound. -Al Miller
*
14:05 - On May 5th at 2:05pm, we had three, possibly four orcas pass by our place on Hood Canal. We are about 3 miles south of the Hood Canal bridge. They were traveling north towards the bridge. One large orca by itself and two, possibly three smaller ones a couple hundred yards away. We watched them for 30 minutes as they made their way towards the bridge. Picture of the larger orca attached. -Mark Beyer, Port Ludlow
*
Tue, May 5 - Haro Strait - Observed and photographed from shore. At 11:05 am I observed 2 humpbacks traveling to the north just past the northern end of Hannah Hts. The humpbacks only surfaced a few times then made a hard left just south of Edwards Point heading west away from the island. Both humpbacks had small white markings on the trailing edge of their dorsal fins. I only saw one fluke and it looked all dark with no markings on the underside. Not much information for an ID but the whales were stealthy today. -photos (all) by Michelline Halliday - May 5, 2020
[ID Notes: "...I would say BCX1333 "Ghost" is the fluker (she seems to have more scarring on the dorsal, and what appears to be maybe additional scarring along the spinal ridge than she did last year), and the other with the more pointed dorsal (pictured on the left of the photos with both whales in the frame) I am undecided. Erin and I have a suspicion this second whale is "Zephyr" (the 2011 calf of BCX1057), but MMX0132 "Uluka" is also a possible contender, so not a certain match either way." -Tasli Shaw
"My confidence level is high with "Zephyr" as Tasli said, but agree it's hard to be certain." -Erin Gless]
*
Tue, May 5 - Snohomish Delta - 16:30-19:00 - I went up into the Snohomish River Delta area about 4:30 PM, May 5. It was high tide. I was hoping there might be a whale or two up in the shallow water feeding. I didn't at first see anything, but I shut my motor off and listened and heard some whales not too far off. Before I left at 7:00 PM I had enjoyed multiple encounters and identified that there were at least six whales in the area feeding. I was not able to get photos of all of them. #22 "Earhart" left underside fluke, #22 Earhart" top left-side fluke, #22 "Earhart" top left-side fluke and top left pec fin, on her right side, feeding -John Judy
[IDs by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network, except photo where noted as ID'd by Alie Perez, Cascadia Research Collective]
*
The next set of photos must be prefaced by saying I did not and do not approach the whales closely. If you are an avid whale watcher, like me, they will, on occasion, approach you. That's what happened here. I was sitting, motor off, actually drifting away from the whales when #723 Lucyfer decided he would make an approach. He was feeding as he came toward me; obviously not bothered by my presence at all. #723 "Lucyfer", #22 "Earhart" -photos by John Judy
(IDs by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network (except where noted). ID'd by Alie Perez, Cascadia Research Collective)
*
Tue, May 5 - Possession Sound - 07:48 - Tonight there were at least two grays just west of Priest Point near Everett. We haven't seen them for a week or so. -Greg Heiss
*
Tue, May 5 - Nisqually Reach/South Puget Sound - 19:15 - Just reporting a whale sighting in the south sound, west of Anderson Island. Just milling about right now. Species: Unsure. Gray? Minke? (update from Shingo: I said I saw it "west of Anderson Island" but "north of Tolmie" is probably a better description of where the whale was. I only noticed one but a neighbor said he noted two.) -Shingo Y.
[confirmed as gray whale from Shingo's video by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network]
*
17:22 - Rhema and I are looking at a Gray Whale at Tolmie State Park! Feeding close to shore in the center of the bay! -Tia Hoca
*
17:00-17:37 - I was at Tolmie from 5:00 to 6:00 and heard the gray whale blow right when I made it down to the beach at 5:00. I spotted him/her straight out from the beach, just out past the anchored sailboat. S/he surfaced at mostly 5-minute intervals, one 10-minute interval, and a couple at 2 minutes. S/he was slowly moving northwesterly up Nisqually Reach the last time I saw and heard him/her at 5:37. -photos by Gayle Swigart, Orca Network - May 5, 2020
*
15:15 - [gray] As of 3:15 in South Puget Sound off the mainland between Tolmie State Park and Butterball Cove, facing SW side of Anderson Island. Continues to surface. -B. Gross
*
Tue, May 5 - Birch Bay/Eastern Strait of Georgia 12:20 - Gray whales in Birch Bay! Looks like 3 Individuals! -Joel Fletcher
*
Tue, May 5 - Saratoga Passage - 17:00 - I was out fishing yesterday off Snatellum/Snakellum Pt. (Whidbey Island) and was able to snap a few photos. I'm certain he was the only one in the area. [ID'd as #56 by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network] Observations: (Please note observations were at least from 200 yards and photos were taken with telephoto lenses)
--Single grey whale leaving Penn Cove
--Fed for about 30 minutes off Snatellum Pt. just off green buoy
--Spy hop 1x
--Breach 1x (did not get the breach on film) -photos by Erik Anderson - May 5, 2020
#56 ID'd by Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network

May 4
SOUTHERN RESIDENTS - Mon, May 4 - Northern California Coast - 12:53-18:00 - Monday, 4 May, off of Eureka. Left them about 7 nmi SSW of Trinidad Head, still all scattered in subgroups. I did get some scales from a fish kill by K33, heard crunching on hydrophones, a fair bit of chasing and milling. Some long dives too, depths of 200-300', no wonder we weren't catching any halibut.
Present in photos were:
K4's: 37, 22, 33
K13's: 20, 38, 34 (would 13 be off with 27 and 44?)
K14's: 14, 26, 42, seems that 36 would should be in the mix too... ??
Who else might have been there that we didn't find? -Jeff Jacobsen
K37, K22, K38, K26 - photos by Jeff Jacobsen - May 4, 2020
*
Mon, May 4 - San Juan Islands (T123s) - 15:28 - They just spent 1.5 hours on a Steller at Reuben Tarte but it got away! They are now westbound through Spieden [Channel]. 13:15 - T123s near Yellow Island northbound in San Juan Channel. T123 "Sidney" -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute. Photo by Monika Wieland Shields - May 4, 2020
*
As we worked on the boats earlier this week a friend alerted us to whales in the harbor and we dropped everything to see who it was. Just to the north we found one of our favorite families, the T123s. This family of four is one we see regularly and after several weeks of being off the water it felt good to be out there again. The whales cruised up San Juan Channel and it wasn't long before the hunt was on! The whales had found a Steller sea lion. The hunt took over an hour and the sea lion continue to defend itself until it reached a small bay near Reuben Tarte park. Even as the whales continued their assault the sea lion moved in shore and into the shallow bay. Eventually, as the sea lion got close to shore, the whales abandoned the hunt and continue on their way. Did the whales allow the sea lion to get away or was it simply lucky enough to get into waters too shallow for the whales to want to follow? T123 "Sidney" and T123A "Stanley" had both stranded previously so perhaps they were simply wary of the shallow water. We will never know for sure, but it's fun to speculate! The sea lion was a branded individual and so some of our friends were able to provide further information about the adult male Steller. His brand is 183R and he was originally branded for tracking purposes off the Oregon Coast. He's 18 years old and with an average lifespan of 20 years 183R is definitely an old, mature bull. He's been seen for the past decade here in the San Juan Islands hauled out at Whale Rocks and Green Point. He escaped this encounter and we're hoping we'll see him again in the future."T123 "Sidney" in a full-on leap." "Family portrait of the T123s." "T123D "Darcy" breaching next to her mom." "T123A "Stanley" during the hunt." -Maya's Legacy Whale Watching, photos by Maya's Legacy Whale Watching - May 4, 2020
*
Mon, May 4 - North Puget Sound/North Hood Canal (T46Bs, T128, T125A) 18:15 - [orcas] Lagoon Point 6:15 pm. Heading north. T125A, T46Bs -Dianne Brätz
*
18:11 - I believe this is the pod of transient Orcas including the grey-white calf Tl'uk. Observed at least one male, three females, and a calf. The pod was moving north, at a medium pace, approximately 100-150 yds off Lagoon Pt. on the west side of Whidbey Island. Photos were taken from the beach looking west toward Marrowstone Pt. and Pt. Wilson. Some tail slapping. [This batch, T46Bs, T128. Some posted to our FB page has T125A, as well. T46Bs, T128, T128, T46Bs -alb] -Lachlan Pope
*
18:08 - At around 6:08 pm tonight we observed a good-sized pod of Orcas swimming by Lagoon Point, Greenbank, Whidbey Island. They were very close to shore, maybe coming within 30 feet as they rounded Lagoon Point. There were a couple of little guys making tale slaps and one large orca with a notch on its dorsal fin. One of the younger little guys looks pale gray in some of the photos which makes me think he might be the little white orca we have heard so much about. See image below! Hard to tell if it is just the lighting. Very exciting! In some of the photos you can see Fort Flagler across the water. T46Bs, T128, T46Bs-Jessica Gallo
*
~17:00 - Saw an Orca pod at Bush Point today (5/4/20) at about 5pm heading north. There were at least 4 and maybe more. VIDEO by Jackie Pritchard. T46Bs, T125A, T128 -Jackie Pritchard
*
15:09 - Just saw Tl'uk and family (maybe 10 or more?) in north end of Hood Canal. Playing and having a great time for a couple hours. So fun to watch! -Joanne Rayl Moneda
*
15:03 - Carolyn Berry called to report orcas near Port Ludlow been circling for at least 1/2 hour to hour. 6 that we see, 2 males one with big notch in fin and the white one with them. Spyhopping and tail slapping. Last we saw they were southbound then headed back north, between Port Ludlow and Twin Spit, Hansville. Not moving very fast. Seen by a lot of people from water and shore.
*
~15:00 - [orca] I spotted 4 this afternoon about 2 miles North of the Hood Canal Bridge around 3 PM on 5/5. I got one really poor picture while coming off of plane and going into neutral. They were transiting North. -Russell Avocato
*
14:44 - Just spotted a pod of Orcas in the Hood Canal heading north towards bridge, on the Kitsap side of the canal. -Lesie Boyd
*
~13:00 - I think I can report a sighting of a transient pod in Hood Canal off Driftwood Key, Hansville, on May 4 about 1pm. They stayed for about an hour. Being new to this, there seemed to be 7-8 members, 2 large bulls (one with a very large notch out of the dorsal), several females and "the gray baby". -Jim Fasano
*
12:50-14:00 - This afternoon in Hood Canal between Twin Spits and Tala Point. Tl'uk and 8 more orcas were playing around. Our location and our kayak path is in yellow started at 12:50pm and we started heading back home at around 2pm" T125A, T46Bs -photos by Willie Moneda
*
Some of the T46Bs visited Hood Canal! The white baby, Tl'uk, was with them. It shows up clearly in the first video, right at the beginning. Just before the black dorsal. They started near the mouth of the Coon Bay Harbor and slowly moved NW. They were around for 2+ hours. -BryAnn Bingham
*
Mon, May 4 - Hood Canal (T65As) - 10:00 - Hi! A group of 5-6 orcas passed my home at approx 10 AM on the Hood Canal heading South. I live approximately 4-6 miles south of Bangor Base via the waterfront. I've attached pictures that include what I could get of their markings. One of them seemed very large with a tall dorsal fin, another looked like a possible juvenile. There was a bald eagle that circled them as well for a bit, thinking that could maybe mean they were chasing some salmon? Thanks for all you guys do! T65As Cheers, Ali Carson
[confirmed as the T65As by Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research]
*
May 4, late afternoon, heading slowly south about a mile south of the Jefferson/Mason county line. Pod of 4, including one very small one. Sadly, they were closer to the other side of the canal, but was able to get a few pictures anyway. T65As -photos by Tom Michalski - May 4, 2020, Brinnon WA
confirmed as T65As by Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research
*
I live on the water at Big Beef in Seabeck. On the morning of Monday, May 4, 2020 my girlfriend and I spotted orcas across the Canal in Dabob spouting and jumping. Later that afternoon we got in my boat to look for them. We found them on the east side of the canal a little North of Holly in the Lilliwaup area. There were 6-7 whales. They were in process of killing a seal. We got too close and my girlfriend was taking a video when the aggressively encircled my 18' Bayliner. A large male also went under and rubbed against the hull. It was exhilarating and very scary. We have many pictures and videos and would be happy to share our experience with any scientists etc. it was fascinating. -photos by Charlie Feinstein - May 4, 2020
*
10:30 - Just saw (1030) 2 adults and 2 children, just south of Bangor base wharf. Last seen heading South, going around Point No Point (Toandos Peninsula). -Roger Diehl, US Navy
*
10:25 - Orcas in Hood Canal now, they were near Hazel Point at 10:25AM headed South. -Randall Kimball
*
Mon, May 4 - San Juan Islands - 12:46 - Humpback northbound San Juan Channel between Jones Island and Mineral Points. -Alan Niles
*
Mon, May 4, Northern Saratoga Passage - My wife and I were kayaking today @ Polnell Point, in Oak Harbor, when this Gray Whale popped up and scared the daylights out of us! It sped by and didn't hang around at all, bypassing the cove in Polnell Pt., where they often feed. From my iPhone photos. Sorry we didn't get any better pictures. Thank you! -photos by Greg & Terra Parham, Oak Harbor, WA
*
08:35 - Hi again, there's a second grey now, 8:35am, about mid-channel, halfway between Camano and Whidbey, headed towards Polnell Pt.
08:06 - Looks like it's headed to Skagit Bay, closer to Camano Is.
07:43 - Milling around but appears to be headed toward Mariners Cove.
06:45am reporting a single grey whale between Polnell Pt. and Mariners Cove WI. Glassing from Harrington Lagoon so tooo far for any pictures. -Erik Anderson
*
Mon, May 4 - Southern Saratoga Passage - Looking through my photos, there is another thing I found interesting. The morning of May 4, 2020, I took a number of low tide photos of the whale feeding pits. As I've been looking at them more closely, I've noticed a pattern I've never seen before. See the photo attached. In addition to the usual feeding divots, there seems to be a pattern that looks like the gray whale was using both its pec fins as a balance on the sand as it reached down forward to take a bite! Note the smaller divots on either side of the main divot on all 5 feeding pits??? gray whale feeding pits photo by Barbara Brock - May 4, 2020
*
~16:30 - Monday, May 4 about 4:30 PM 2 gray whales put on quite a show for the neighborhood. The tide was in, and the whales were feeding in shallow water right below the bluff. They fed very vigorously for quite some time. The vigorous feeding, and close proximity to the bluff and vegetation, made it challenging to take ID photos. -photos by Barbara Brock - May 4, 2020
*
Mon, May 4 - Port Susan - ~10:00 - We had more grey whales in Port Susan sound this morning, May 4th. At about 10 AM they were going north. There were 3. 2 went as far as Kayak Point and appeared to be foraging. One turned around and came by our place on East Camano heading out of the sound. We have watched for most of the day but did not see the others return. We probably just missed them. -Terri and Tom Smith, South East Camano Island.

May 3
BIGG'S TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES - Sun, May 3 - Strait of Juan de Fuca/Discovery Bay (T46Bs+) - ~09:15-11:30 - A pod of orcas came into Discovery Bay, May 3, at about 9:15 a.m., heading south to the bottom of the bay. They started back out about 11:30 moving very slowly. They would submerge for quite a while then come up and spout and roll 4 or 5 times then dive deep again. I believe it was T46[B] pod because we saw the gray young one. There were about 8, two with huge dorsal fins and the rest much smaller. They headed towards Protection Island then turned towards Cape George. After that we lost them. -Karel Reeves
*
Sun, May 3 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - ~14:30 - [orca] I saw a small group of 4-5 individuals near Protection Island around Sequim. They had been reported earlier in the day in Discovery Bay. I got some video of them; I was pretty far away. I don't know how old they were. The glimpses of them was very brief. They were swimming along the coastline between Protection Island and the shore coming from Discovery Bay, heading up the coastline, so I would have to say north? Towards Port Angeles. -Craig Barron
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Sun, May 3 - Elliott Bay - 16:33 - Hello! I am sitting by the beach at Expedia Group and have spotted a humpback in the bay!! -Troy Dobbertin
*
Sun, May 3 ("SCUBA", 2019 calf of BCX1193 "Zig Zag") - Hi all! I wanted to let you know that I had a VERY fun sighting last night in Burrows Pass near Anacortes of all places (I've never seen a humpback swim through there!). With Tasli's help, we were able to ID the whale as Scuba, Zig Zag's 2019 calf. So great to see this little one back! -photo by Erin Gless (photos Tyler McKeen)
*
Sun, May 3 - Possession Sound - 7:46pm 2 grays travel north to south between Marysville and Hat Island too far for pics. -Lori Christopher
*
06:54 - Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, emailed to report: Master reports a single gray whale in Possession Sound headed SB. Suquamish - Vessel reporting at 0654.
*
Sun, May 3 - Elliott Bay (reinclusion of sighting to add uncertainty of species). [Mon, May 4] - Yes, down in Elliott Bay - not certain on humpback, potentially grey whale. We only saw the spout and no tail. Two breaths and they were spaced out by a few minutes. Seemed to be heading south towards Alki, but from the two moments we saw them it's hard to say for certain.
16:33 - [Sunday] Hello! I am sitting by the beach at Expedia group and have spotted a humpback in the bay!! -Troy Dobbertin

May 2
Sat, May 2 - San Juan Islands (T99s) - 14:18 - Confirmed T99s now that I've looked at photos. T99B was there.
14:07 - They did take Spieden and were last seen heading west through the Channel.
13:30 - Looks like maybe T99s, aiming Spieden. [reply to Alan Niles]. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
13:08 - Orca north bound San Juan Channel between Jones [Island] and Mineral Point, at least 4, no adult males. -Alan Niles
*
Sat, May 2 - Hood Canal - 12:38 - 4-6 orca in Hood Canal heading south from Ayock Point. -Mitch Bogrand
*
10:20 - This morning we had (what I assume to be) a big transient Orca off Hood Point, heading south. My neighbor only saw one whale, but there may have been more. -Jen Nehr, Seabeck, Wa.
*
UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES - Sat, May 2 - Howe Sound/Darrell Bay - Saw 4 killer whales off Darrell Bay in Howe Sound today. 1 had a massive dorsal fin and 2 babies, no identifying features of the other one. -Alicia Colbourne
*
Sat, May 2 - Southern Saratoga Passage - 13:30 - On May 2 at 1:30 pm two grays fed in the waters off Pebble Beach, then across to Langley. The photos were taken with a cell phone into bright light, so they are dark and hard to see. I believe one of them was Earhart once again. -photos by Peg Boley - May 2, 2020
[Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network confirmed #22 "Earhart" in two of Peg's photos/unID'd, on the other dorsal]
*
Sat, May 2 - Mayne Island, B.C. - Humpback on May 2, 2020. All photos taken from Mayne Island - deck, Strait of Georgia. -Yves Tiberghien - photo by Yves Tiberghien - May 2, 2020

May 1
Sat, May 1 - Strait of Georgia - ~17:30 - Hi. Reporting a sighting in the Malaspina Straight just past Powell River, BC, May 1st, 2020 around 5:30 pm. I believe it's a transient pod based on online info. The largest male has a distinctive curved dorsal fin. They approached within 5 meters of our sailboat while feeding, we think. I have other photos, etc., but these are closer shots. T49As and T18s -Cheers, photos by Kimberly Arnold
ID'd by Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research
*
Fri, May 1 - Strait of Juan de Fuca/Discovery Bay (T46Bs) - 20:00 - Greetings! Last evening, May 1st, around 8pm, I saw 2 groups of orcas. They were in an area of the Strait of Juan de Fuca between the Miller Peninsula, aka Diamond Point, and Protection Island. Probably a total of 10 in all. Just a guess. -Carol Tangwall
*
Friday evening, we saw at least 6 orcas very close (100 yards) to shore. The white one was one of them. They sure looked like they were fishing, but I understand they only eat mammals. Anyway, they stayed in front of the house [at Diamond Point] for at least half an hour, with four of them mostly staying together. Swam into Discovery Bay and then back out, which is when they hung out by the house. -Dr. Kelly Watson
*
~16:15-20:15 - A pod of orcas came into Discovery Bay. There was only one with a huge dorsal fin, about 4 medium sized and about 4 or 5 smaller. I did not see the white baby but someone at head of bay got a picture of it. There were maybe 9 or 10 in the pod. They headed south to end of bay and then left about 8:15 - 8:30 heading out towards Protection Island. They were traveling medium speed going into bay and leaving. Spouting and rolling as they entered but no breaching. I have never seen that many in the bay at one time so it was exciting. -Karel Reeves
*
16:00-19:30 - Several groups of orcas, estimated at 10-12 individuals, were heading into Discovery Bay yesterday, May 1st, around 4 in the afternoon, and came back out about 7:30. The large male stayed out in the deeper water, and two separate groups did a closer pass. One of the groups had Tl'uk and another younger orca in a tight group. On their way out, several pushed bait into shore and surfaced 20 ft. off shore. There was a large male visible about a mile offshore. We've been having regular sightings every 10 -14 since late February. T46Bs -photos by Rich Kiepke
*
Some friends are in San Juans by Anacortes. Heading back from Saddlebag and there are 4 orcas between Saddlebag and Huckleberry Islands. They are Heading south now past Hat Island towards the Swinomish slough. One large, one medium, and two smaller ones. Seemed to be feeding and not in a rush to get anywhere. -Brad Hanson, NOAA Fisheries
*
~1:00 - Hello just wanted to share that we saw about four Orca from a distance off the shore of Guemes Island (48.5339977, -122.5634236), in between it and Saddlebag Island, yesterday around 1 o'clock. -Ben Fehrer
*
12:30-13:15 - Hi, between 12:30 and 1:15 PM on May 1, 2020, 4 orcas were observed SE of Guemes Island, between Huckleberry and Saddlebag islands, just west of Padilla Bay. They were moving slowly and quite separated at times, changing directions as if feeding and not appearing to be in a rush. Three bald eagles and some seagulls swooped down several times as if looking for scraps. There was one large orca, one medium and two smaller fins. Two other boats were in the area, but all kept a good distance. I was thinking, that during this period of less boat traffic, they must be enjoying the quiet. I stopped my engine and depth sounder. The pictures below are with a 10 x zoom, so I was not as close as you might think. They gradually came together as a group and headed south along Hat island, towards the Swinomish Slough, and were lost from my view. Although close to Anacortes, I did not see them head for the Guemes Channel, which would be the most open way to return to more open waters. In 30 years of boating out of Anacortes, this is only the third time I've seen orcas this far in. [anonymous report] unID'd Bigg's KWs. -photos by anonymous reporter - May 1, 2020
*
Fri, May 1 - Bellingham Bay/Chuckanut Bay - 09:00 - This morning at about 0900, we observed a group of three, plus a fourth about 100 yards ahead of the three. All were at the mouth of Chuckanut Bay, about 0.2 mile WNW of Chuckanut Island. Our location was from our window on Chuckanut Drive, about 0.9 mi from the whales. The sighting lasted only a few minutes and consisted of 3-4 breechings and blows. Given the proximity to many homes and boats, perhaps you received additional sightings? -Thanks, PN
*
Fri, May 1 - Hood Canal/Dabob Bay - 15:15-15:30 - Between 3:15 and 3:30 today, May 1, 2020, 3 orca passed us by. One male and two others. They were smaller than the male, and of the two, one was smaller than the other. Lindsey Beach, on Dabob Bay (off of the north end of Hood Canal, near Quilcene). They had evidently been up the bay. They were headed south back towards Hood Canal. At this same location, we saw 4 orca, 1 male, 3 others, 1 a lot smaller, on March 24, 2020. -Marvin S.
*
GRAY WHALES - Fri, May 1 - Hood Canal - Heard from a few on the south shore of Hood Canal that there appears to be a baby with the gray whale that has been there for a few weeks. I have images of the adult. Haven't seen a calf. -Teri King
*
Fri, May 1 - Northern Saratoga Passage - Hi, I saw a grey whale while kayaking under 100m from the shore north of the mouth of Mariner's Cove. It was headed north. It was huge (over 30') and covered in barnacles at the nose. It was kind of playing around for a bit, it seemed. It turned a few times, and we saw a pectoral fin circle through the water. I hope this info helps. -Ty Tuin
*
13:10 - Got a call from MaryJo Adams; she again observed a gray whale in Crescent Harbor today around 1:10 pm. Someone else she talked to there said they had seen two, but she only observed one during the time she was there. It was over toward Polnell Point. She tried to get photos, but due to distance and sun she doesn't think they will turn out, but will send them if they do. (-sb)
*
Fri, May 1 - Possession Sound - 10:27 - Hello, just saw a few blows south of Hat [Island]. Headed South! -Thank you, David Haeckel