May 2021 Whale Sightings

Click here for Map of May 2021 whale sightings.

May 31
BIGG'S TRANSIENT ORCAS - Mon, May 31 - Haro Strait (T46Bs, minus T46B1s) - 07:59-08:48 - Center for Whale Research Encounter #31: "… Hanna was onshore in Oak Bay and, in the still air, actually heard the animals before she saw them, roughly the same time that Mark and Joe slowed at the cardinal buoy at the east entrance to Enterprise Channel. She dialed the Mike 1 crew in, and they began the encounter at 0759 at 48° 24.7 N / 123° 17.3 W as the whales surfaced roughly 800 metres off the bow, moving out of Baynes Channel toward Brodie Rock. Even at a distance, T046B2's distinct notch gave the crew a clue as to the matriline, and on the next breathing cycle, the T046Bs were confirmed, still traveling southwest. The dispersed T046B1s were not present, making a total of five Bigg's killer whales. …" [See CWR Encounter #31 https://www.whaleresearch.com/2021-31 for full summary and photos]
*
Mon, May 31 - Northern Puget Sound (T65As, T77 and T77E) - 11:30 - Off south end of Maury Island, 11:30pm, 5/31. -John Troup
*
~20:30 - Just got a report of Bigg's orcas headed south from Dilworth around 8:30. -Amy Carey, Sound Action
*
19:58 - Past Vashon ferry terminal, east side, closer to island part of channel. -Sonya Chin
*
19:55 - At 755 a large bull and mid-size went about 40 yards in front of my kayak bow roughly where the triangle is in the picture [just NE of northern tip of Vashon]. -Ron Sorrell
*
19:41 - Orca pod heading south just between Blake Island and Vashon heading toward Vashon Ferry. -Steve Hardy
*
20:01 - Looks like they did go east side (of Vashon).
19:34 - Watching from Beach Drive and they are now just past Blake. Still southbound.
19:26 - [orcas] SB headed toward Blake Island. -Zach Ward
*
18:40 - [at 18:22] Puget Sound Boating reported pod of orcas just off Magnolia Bluff heading towards Elliott Bay. I saw them from my patio. Breaching and blowing!! My first sighting. Too far to get a camera shot. Boats are following super far and safely away from them. 15 min ago SB. -Karen Downey via Noelle Morris
*
15:39 - 2 orcas headed south, west of shipping lane in Kingston. -Charlie Falla
*
14:15 - [orcas] Heading W/SW across channel towards Kingston. I only saw two or three. -Carissa Jo
*
13:45 - [orcas] One is close to Mukilteo side heading SB directly across from Possession Point. -Jodi Krause Poissant
*
13:20 - [orcas] Approaching Possession Point on Whidbey side. -Joe Dreimiller
*
13:15 - [orcas] Mid channel in front of Mukilteo State Park, southbound. -Jim McKinlock
*
13:09 - Orcas right now being seen from Mukilteo ferry! Southbound. -Brian Cronin
*
16:09-16:26 - Ariel Yseth called at 16:09. She thought she saw someone early in the call, but wasn't until 16:23 until she saw a male, who she believes is T65A2 who surfaced moving southbound slowly about 1 mile SW of Richmond Beach. "Mr. one and done" is going on very long dives. While still on, she spotted another at 16:26 also on the east side of the Sound. She hadn't seen the others for a bit who were 3/4 of the way across the Sound.
15:57 - One orca southbound 1/4-1/2 mile or more off Richmond Beach. Others appear further across.
14:52 - Still slowly surfacing in same spot. Line of sight is Sunset Ave to halfway between Eglon and Apple Tree Cove.
14:48 - One orca slowly southbound a few hundred yards off the dive park in Edmonds. Passing the ferry terminal shortly. Viewing from Sunset Ave.
13:06 - [orcas] Quick southbound travel. Just east of midchannel. Halfway between Clinton and Glendale. Viewing from Mukilteo Lighthouse. -Ariel Yseth
*
13:05- [orcas] Taken at 400mm from the Mukilteo ferry- they were south of ferry lanes, quick movement, long down times. Ferry slowed for them. -Danielle Carter
*
13:42 - Passing Possession Point heading south, east side of channel.
12:55 - Now at the north most ferry line continuing south. Drifting more towards the Mukilteo side.
12:45 - Starting to make the turn to head south between Clinton and Mukilteo, mid channel. Still heading south with long downtimes.
12:31 - Pod lazily heading mostly east and a little south. Many many boats on scene. Still well north of the ferry lines. Mid channel between Hat and Whidbey.
12:16 - Group approaching the south end of Hat Island. Very close to Hat Island short.
12:06 - [orcas] I'm at the end of the ferry terminal. Seeing a group of orcas at the very northwest corner of Hat Island heading south. -Danielle Pennington
*
Transient Killer Whales, the T65As with T77 and T77E, all worked together to chase and eventually subdue a Harbor Porpoise. The hunt lasted a half hour and the valiant porpoise fought hard, nearly escaping several times. Thanks to the teamwork and perseverance of the killer whales, they were victorious in this harsh but exciting to witness dance of life and death. -Justine Buckmaster, Puget Sound Express
*
11:05 - [orcas] Current location on the map [NW of Langley] southbound, grouped up and playful. T65As, T77, T77E. -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
Off Bells Beach this morning around 11:00. -Donna George
*
13:15 - Passing Glendale, east side midchannel, southbound.
11:45 - Appear to have regrouped and are traveling southbound again. Look to be just

east of Sandy Point

now.
11:35 - Pod is between Sandy Point and Camano Head. They did split up so not sure if they regrouped all together.
11:25 - Approaching Sandy Point.
10:55 - [orcas] Approaching Langley close to Whidbey side. -Rachel Haight
*
10:06 - [orcas] Mid channel heading southbound towards Bells Beach. -Michelle Sterett Bernson
*
10:04 - Jim Lovvorn called to report at least 5 orcas off Fox Spit; they've been milling around for a while and are now headed back southbound.
*
08:57 - [orcas] Saw 3 blows through my telescope just north of Camano State Park, northbound towards Cama. -Nancy Culp Zaretzke
*
10:30 - Whidbey side of mid channel, south Bells Beach, SB.
8:30 - Passed Camano State Park northbound, appearing to be out not too far from shore.
8:21 - At least 6 orcas, possibly 2 males, approaching north side of Elger Bay, NB towards Camano State Park, Camano Island side. -Marilyn Armbruster
*
07:21 - The whole group of transients yesterday in Saratoga Passage is now halfway between Elger and Camano Head. Headed Northbound Towards Elger. -Rylee Fee
*
Mon, May 31 - North Puget Sound - 06:29 - Orcas just south of Mabana, northbound. Maybe three or four. Calm waters so very visible. Awesome! -Jean Sheffield Karr
*
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Sun, May 30 - Strait of Juan de Fuca to Active Pass (CA20 (T132), CA54 (T134), and CA177 (T237), T99s, T125A and T128). Sunday 30 May, Awesome Adventure: our California transients, off Washington/BC Sunday - VIDEO! Mark Malleson (Center for Whale Research/Fisheries and Oceans Canada) encountered six killer whales milling in Haro Strait on Middle Bank (USA/Canada border), including three of our less often seen California transients: CA20 (T132), CA54 (T134), and CA177 (T237) - a trio we had last encountered on 4 May 2021 in Monterey Bay! They were with adult males T125A and T128, and young adult female T099B. Maya's Legacy Whale Watching, with naturalist April Ryan, joined them around 11am. The males were initially very social, and then everyone spread out. T099B was with one of the CA females, and CA20 (T132) was following them. After 1pm, males T125A and T128 started to hang back and eventually headed west. The three other members of the T099s - T099, T099C, and T099D - showed up when the group was zig-zagging back and forth over the border. They stayed mostly on the Canadian side for the next several hours, and were visible on the Lime Kiln camera (San Juan Island) for about an hour. The seven whales were on the U.S. side headed toward Turn Point just before 6pm, and then turned left into Canadian waters. By 6:30, they had turned into Swanson Channel, and went though Active Pass (Canadian Gulf Islands). NOTE: Some of our California Bigg's transient killer whales have other catalog ID number designations; if they have been encountered off British Columbia or Alaska, they also have T (Bigg's transient) numbers. For example, CA20 (T132) and CA54 (T134) were spotted in Glacier Bay, Alaska in 1989 with two other whales, CA18 (T133) and CA27 (T135) - our only California transients ever confirmed in Alaska! VIDEO from Sunday, in Active Pass! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRQg4n4Eoqg. Photos: by Captains/naturalists/photographers Alan Niles and April Ryan (Maya's Legacy Whale Watching). -Alisa Schulman-Janiger, California Killer Whale Project
*
20:45 - Sounds like they just went through Active Pass! (Canadian Gulf Islands).
18:00 - Update was Turn Point heading north into Canada.
15:56 - This unique group was reported by friends on the water as T99B, T125A, T128, T132, T134, and CA177, the latter three of which are rarely seen in inland waters.
15:47 - Visible from San Juan County Park with binoculars, northbound.
15:05 - They are about 4 miles SW of Lime Kiln going north (still in BC).
14:28 - There's a group of about half a dozen Ts that have been milling out south of Discovery Island in BC waters. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
We were fortunate to encounter Transient / Biggs Killer Whales today SE of Victoria with one special visitor...A rarely seen outer coastal California orca in the mix of some of our more regular matrilines seen in the Salish Sea. ID's (T028 [T128], T0125A, T099B, T134, T132 & CA177). -Paul Pudwell, Sooke Coastal Explorations
*
GRAY WHALES - Mon, May 31 - Possession Sound - 15:30 - Solo gray headed SB just off the Camano coastline (like 10-20 yds), south Camano… -Jennifer Feldman Spanton
*
Several awesome spyhops from Gray Whale CRC531! SE of Gedney/Hat Island. -Justine Buckmaster
*
12:33 - 2 gray whales south Hat Island heading towards Everett. About mid channel. Right now. -Rob Shults
*
08:45 - Spotted greys across from Priest Point, appear to be northbound, possibly more than one. -Andrea Michelle Young

May 30
Sun, May 30 - North Puget Sound (T65As, T77 and T77E) - 19:45 - An evening report, 7:45 pm - looks like at least 4 orcas are very slowly traveling southbound - almost to Onamac Point, still on the Camano side. ...SO GLAD to at least spot these guys, my first orcas in about 2 months! -Jill Hein
*
17:40 - Orcas: 2 seen in Saratoga Passage between Whidbey and Camano very close to Camano. Near what I think is a whale watching boat. I am on Whidbey so it's hard to see much. -Lauren Johnsen
*
17:00 - An intense harbor porpoise hunt just ended moments ago, successfully I might add, but the porpoise put up an epic fight! Watched from The MV Saratoga, Puget Sound Express. [Camano side, north of Yacht Club] -Bart Rulon, Naturalist/Photographer, PSE
*
16:50 - Orcas spotted in Saratoga Passage - 450 pm. At least 5. -Kate Andrews Bovey
*
16:55 - They are still there, very close to Camano side. No indication of movement yet.
16:25 - They've stopped, about the same spot.
16:12 - [orcas] Still northbound. [map indicates north of Camano Island Yacht Club, Camano side of Saratoga Passage.] -Danny Habersetzer
*
17:45 - On the hunt in the same area again/still.
17:37 - Northbound?
17:34 - Stopped to hunt again. A little closer to Camano shore. Still off from the yacht club.
17:16 - Now southbound. At least a couple of them.
17:10 - Still still here. Not much action at the moment.
16:52 - Still here. Feeding and hunting and probably scaring the crap out of the 2 kayaks.
16:01 - [orcas] Watching from Camano Yacht Club area. Moving very quickly northbound fairly far off shore. -Matty Leaman
*
15:40 - Just approaching Onamac still traveling northbound. 2 groups of 3. -Marie Heil
*
15:33 - 4-6 orcas, one large male, cruised past Indian Beach, Camano side, northbound, moving quickly. -Sara Wdot
*
15:12 - [orcas] They are passing Cama Beach. Headed north. -Heather Kearsley
*
15:10 - [orcas] Viewing them from Hidden Beach! NB. Closer to Camano side. -Donna George
*
14:13 - [orcas] Watching 3-4 heading NB past Camano State Park. -Brenda Spjut
*
15:03 - They're northbound, passing the Center for Wooden Boats now
14:47 - Lots of surface activity - breaches, spyhops, pec slaps, tail slaps. Still in the same area as my last post.
14:21 - Visible from Cama Beach, currently milling.
13:50 - Seeing two groups of three, one midchannel, the other closer to Whidbey, still NB.
13:47 - Just spotted one male midchannel, closer to Camano northbound approaching the state park. -Serena Tierra
*
13:42 - [orcas] Large spread out pod off Elger. Females mid channel. Males close to Camano in Elger Bay. All headed north. -Ryley Fee
*
13:39 - Now they are closer to Camano.
13:38 - [orcas] Just spotted a group of three just north of Mabana, mid channel heading NE. -Ashley Semanskee
*
13:04 -[orcas] Spotted the 1st dorsal fin headed northbound about mile south of Mabana. Mid channel but like others said, a little on the Camano side. Spotted a few more tightly together but a little closer to Whidbey side. -Jennifer Feldman Spanton
*
12:50 - [orcas] Directly across downtown Langley, much closer to Camano side. -Brenna Murray
*
12:42 - Looks like a gray is feeding just northwest of Camano Head. The orcas sailed right past it.
12:30 - [orcas] Heading north up Saratoga Passage near Camano Head. -Luanne Seymour
*
12:31 - Between

Sandy Point and Camano

headed toward Langley.
12:06 - [orcas] They are closer to Camano now. -Jayn Goldsen
*
11:40 - [orcas] Passing mid Hat Island/Whidbey, n/b, mid channel. -Lori Christopher
*
13:58 - Orcas pretty spread out mid Elger Bay to north of Camano Island Stat Park, mid channel to Camano side.
13:53 - Orcas are still northbound nearing Camano Island State Park, on Camano side of channel.
12:36 - Orcas angled over to Camano side of mid channel about a mile north of Camano Head NB with gray going southbound same area.
11:22 - Mid Hat Island, southside, mid channel, northbound.
11:09 - Northbound Whidbey side, mid Brighton Beach. -Marilyn Armbruster
*
Seeing May out with transient orcas just as we saw the month in with them. The T65As, T77 and T77E graced the shores of Whidbey Island, tightly grouped as they passed Brighton Beach this morning. Impressive as ever, the orcas were a wonderful sight to behold whether seen from the ferries, the shore or from the water, as they wended their way navigating the eddies and currents of Saratoga Passage before continuing northbound closer to Camano Island (photos R J Snowberger, zoomed and cropped from shore). -Sandra Pollard
*
11:07 - We are traveling north on the east side of Whidbey and there is a pod of 5 or 6 orcas heading north toward Sandy Point. -Lisa Villasenor
*
15:05 - Resumed northbound travel on the Camano side in-line with Hidden Beach.
14:45 - Lots of milling and breaching activity on the Camano side. Viewing from Hidden Beach.
11:07 - Just passed the north slip continuing north. Drifting more mid channel away from Whidbey. Very tightly grouped. Counting 7-9 orcas with two big males.
10:59 - Just passed super close to the southern Clinton ferry slip. So beautiful. All grouped up very tightly and surfacing all together. Continuing northbound between Hat and Whidbey Islands. -Danielle Pennington
*
10:43 - [orcas] Viewing from home Mukilteo old town....ferries really diverting out of path . Right in ferry passage but closer to Whidbey..still heading N. ...bit seem to be milling or taking time.. There is a kayaker out in same spot - hopefully they get some great photos! What an experience! East side of Clinton landing. -Mary Ann Macomber
*
10:58 - We saw a blow near the north side of the Clinton ferry dock area a few minutes ago. Hard to see fins from this distance.
10:38 - [orcas] They are just behind the boat near Clinton. 10:38 viewing from Edge Water Beach Park. -Greg Heiss
*
12:30 - After looking at some gray whales we spotted the orcas again briefly and it looks like they are spreading out to hunt for some prey. Still northbound, and look committed to Saratoga Passage
11:00 - We left the orcas just north of the Clinton ferry dock still aiming towards Saratoga Passage.
10:50 - Had to honk at a boat and get on the loud speaker to stop them from motoring right in front of the whales. PWWA alerted both ferry boats with our help so that they could swing widely around the orcas today when they were swimming in the ferry lanes.
10:45 - Still northbound. [near Clinton]
10:14 - Current location northbound aiming for Hat Island. Very tight group. T65As, T77, and T77E again today! -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
10:04 - They are directly south of the ferry line now.
09:46 - [orcas] There's a pod heading toward the Clinton/Mukilteo ferry at 9:46. -Jodi Krause Poissant
*
GRAY WHALES - Sun, May 30 - Saratoga Passage - 13:11 - [gray] Whale hanging out just NW of Camano Head, 400-600 yards off shore. -Ashley Semanskee
*
12:42 - Looks like a gray is feeding just northwest of Camano Head. The orcas sailed right past it. -Luanne Seymour
*
12:36 - orcas angled over to Camano side of mid channel about a mile north of Camano Head NB with gray going southbound same area. -Marilyn Armbruster
*
Sun, May 30 - Possession Sound - ~20:20 - [gray] We saw the blows of a humpback or grey mid channel north of Edmonds from our place on President Point, Kingston, around 2020. Around 2120 we saw really odd behavior of I assume the same whale heading south but mostly staying on the surface. We saw a couple of small blows and never saw a tail. We lost track of it a little after it passed the refinery. It was eaat of the shipping lanes. -Judy Kimelman
*
19:47 - Seeing what I think is the group of the gray whales on the northwest side of Jetty Island. -Caroline Moser
*
17:03 - At least three gray whales still between Port Susan and Hat Island. -Sarah Hartwell
*
~16:00 - At least two grays just south of Tulalip bubble. Approx. 4:00 Sunday. -Steve DeKoekkoek
*
15:15 - Gray whale CRC53 is still here! He is currently northwest-bound at the Clinton ferry landing. -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
UNIDENTIFIED SPECIES - Sun, May 30 - North Puget Sound - 19:15 - At 19:18 Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, emailed to report: Walla Walla, 5/20 1915: Master reports whales at Apple Cove Point - unknow amount and species.

May 29
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Sat, May 29 - North Puget Sound (T125A and T128)- 19:11 - Two orcas sighted at 7:11pm 5/29 from Point Hudson, Port Townsend. The ferry is about to dock at Whidbey, the orcas are headed SE, closer to PT and Marrowstone Island than Whidbey. Watched them for about 15 minutes as they headed in from the straight. Seemed to be a straight route traveling relatively fast (I'm not a whale expert). -Colin Keyes
*
19:01 - [orcas] Just saw two (on the side of Fort Flagler) on the ferry going into Port Townsend from Coupeville. -Rachael Kauffold Vlasak photo
*
18:33 - Viewing from Ft. Casey. No movement. Pin in approximate location. [south of Point Wilson, close to Port Townsend side] Just the bigger splashes with bare eyes. With binoculars can see a little more. I see porpoises mid channel and seals up along shore. -Dale Walstad
*
17:12 - [orcas] Directly between Fort Worden and Fort Flagler. Closer to Worden side. -Nicole Satterthwaite Hicks
*
15:42 - [orcas] Watching from Ft. Casey. Slowly northbound still towards Port Townsend. -Victoria Greene
19:32 - Last seen headed back into the Port Townsend Bay Area about 30 minutes ago. Going southwest.
16:54 - Seen from Port Townsend ferry, headed north.
15:29 - More lined up with now, directly across on the Fort Flagler side more, headed northbound to Port Townsend two of them spotted.
15:06 - [orcas] Spotted from Fort Casey!! Northbound. -Shelby Nicole
*
14:53 - 2 miles south of Admiralty Head, Fort Casey, northbound.
13:15 - [orcas] North of Bush Point .5nm on the Whidbey shoreline, northbound, 4 knots. -Christopher Hanke, Puget Sound Express
*
12:30 - [orcas] Just a bit north of Bart's post [just NW of Double Bluff]. I think more mid-channel. -Mike Meyer
*
12:21 - T125A and T128 are just north of Double Bluff. [slowly northbound per Bart Rulon] -Trevor Tillman
*
11:51 - Orca spotted right off Double Bluff. Tide is out but came very close to shore. You can see fin peeking out. My husband spotted the whole body come out of the water and was closer to shore than this. -Kristan McCaskey
*
10:40 - Orca sighting at Maxwelton Beach at 10.40. Two orcas traveling in the channel westbound toward Mutiny Bay. -Dianne Riter
*
Sat, May 29 - North/Central Puget Sound (T65As, T77 and T77E) - 18:30 - At 18:38 Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, emailed to report: Puyallup: 1830 Master reports (2) separate pods of orca, 1 with 2 whales, the other close by with 3-5 whales, both pods heading north. Currently located near Apple Tree Cove.
*
17:50 - Orca pod with baby seen from President Point, Kingston, Saturday 5/29 at 1750. -Judy Kimelman
*
19:01 - [orcas] Seeing blows from Edmonds, Brackett's Landing, Kitsap side. -Joni Barnes Pollino
*
18:45 - [orcas] At Edmonds Ferry Terminal still NB, more on the inland side. -Danny Habersetzer
*
18:27 - Just coming into view from Apple Tree Pt. N/NE, approaching midchannel Kitsap side, ferry slowing. -Donna Green Van Renselaar
*
18:30 - I see the ferry waiting for them too.
18:23 - [orcas] We can see spouting from Kingston Beach. Just a tad south of the ferry line, but more mid-channel now rather than Kingston side. -Heather Wolfers
*
18:23 - [orcas] Slowly headed north, mid channel at Kingston Ferry, 6:23pm. -Rebecca Austin
*
18:20 - 3 or 4 orcas headed north, just west of the shipping lane in Kingston. -Charlie Falla
*
17:35 - [orcas] 5:35 south of Kingston ferry line. (Kingston side) -Jennifer Borba Von Stauffenberg
*
~16:20 - We left the T65As, T77, and T77E eating a meal but starting to travel northward where the blue mark is on the map. [off of Point Jefferson] -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
16:20 - We saw 2 groups split apart, passed Point Jefferson; last seen there about 4:20. Heading north towards Kingston and trending Kingston side. We viewed hunting, spy hops & breaches! photos - "near Point Jefferson around 3:30-4:30! Present: The T65As, T77 & T77E -per Bart Rulon." -Jessica Richter
*
15:57 - Moving more quickly now. Heading north but and still visible from Jefferson point, still seeing hunting behaviors. Looks like there were around 10-12 orcas in this group.
15:31 - [orcas] Still visible from Point Jefferson with a whale watching boat trailing. Hunting behaviors observed with a nice breach. Looks like they stalled again but a general slow northeast movement. -Ryan Richter
*
15:17 - [orcas] Still off point...moving slowly around Point Jefferson. Very close to shore. -Sue Larkin
*
14:21 - [orcas] Just off Point Jefferson, stalled and hunting. -Gary Peterson
*
14:19 - [orcas] Found them! Milling 219pm. [Lisa's map indicates just south of Jefferson Beach] -Lisa Corona
*
10:59 - [orcas] Watching through binoculars from Point Jefferson.....breaches, tail slaps, porpoising.....VERY busy!! -Chris Beamer Otterson
*
10:16 - [orcas] still off Richmond Beach. On mainland side. -Matty Leaman
*
11:44 - Orcas in same general area and continue drifting north.
11:18 - Orcas are north of 10:50 update, now nearing south end Richmond Beach. Still just east of mid channel, drifting north, presume with their meal. From Richmond Beach Saltwater Park.
10:50 - T65A group was spread in 3 groups, stalled their travel and have turned north grouping up with much surface activity just east of mid channel out from Carkeek. Look to be hunting again.
10:30 - As reported they've continued south, spread out now well south of Richmond, continuing on their way so much closer to this side than general travel around herein most days, but are moving offshore still east of mid channel.
10:10 - These trailers resumed southbound. Porpoising and making directional changes along the way. Gulls clearly grabbing snacks. Gorgeous morning.
09:57 - The orcas I am watching were porpoising southbound made it to weather buoy off Richmond Beach and made directional changes, still off Richmond Beach. Looks like hunting, they are stalled here for the moment and gulls swooping.
09:45 - I just pulled up to Kayu Kayu Ac Park and see at least a few orcas just off border of Woodway N Richmond Beach. Heading southbound. Very much on this side. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
*
10:18 - The trailers in the group are at the blue drop pin southbound. [off of Spring Beach area, south of Richmond Beach and north of Carkeek Park]
10:00 - T65As so far, very spread out southbound, north of Shilshole.
09:28 - [orcas] Viewing from shore. See map with approximate red drop pin [location is south of Edmonds ferry lane, viewing from Edmonds]. San Juan Clipper is on scene with them. ["Looks like T65As, left them southbound off Point Wells." -Stephanie Raymond, San Juan Clipper] -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
09:39 - Hey, I'm on the San Juan Clipper and we just left the T65As southbound at Pt. Wells. -Stephanie Raymond, naturalist
*
09:14 - Donna Sanders, WSF Marine Ops, emailed to report: PUYALLUP@EDM [Edmonds] C/M reports 3-5 orca moving in the southbound direction, just west of the SB traffic lanes in EDM.
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Sat, May 29 - Strait of Georgia - 09:56 - One Humpback between Comox and Texada. Closer to Vancouver Island. -Patti and Mark Perepeluk
*
GRAY WHALES - Sat, May 29 - San Juan Islands - 18:50 - Was still in Cattle Pass not making much progress south against the flood. - 18:13 - [gray] It's back in Cattle Pass southbound. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
~16:25 - Looked like a grey whale heading north from Cattle Point into Griffin Bay around 4:25 today. -Jeanne Sept
*
Sat, May 29 - E Strait of Georgia - 20:05 - A gray (two we think) up at Birch Bay right now, has been here and active for about an hour (well, that's how long we've been watching). -Allison Aurand
*
They were in the [Birch] bay both Friday and Saturday night for several hours! Looked like two Grays! -Michael Enright
*
…back home out by the beach at Birch Bay to watch the whales. Never gets old looking at them. FYI "back roll" is about all of the whale you can see as a breach isn't likely in the shallow water. … They have been here for about a week… Location: Usually the north end looking at Birch Point. -Keith Schermerhorn [The Seeing Bellingham Group]
*
Sat, May 29 - Saratoga Passages - 13:12 - Single gray whale heading south mid channel in Saratoga Passage just south of Onamac. -Marie Heil
*
Sat, May 29 - Possession Sound - 10:52 - Grays also headed south from Clinton ferry terminal now! -Alina Chris Sherrett
*
At 10:44 Donna Sanders, WSF Marine Ops, emailed to report KITSAP@CLINTO Master reports 1 Lone Gray traveling southeast of the terminal.
*
Sat, May 29 - Central Puget Sound - 19:17 - Single gray heading north from Carkeek. Hugging Carkeek side but slowly moving mid channel. No photos. -Ellie Mondloch
*
MINKE WHALES - Sat, May 29 - E Strait of Juan de Fuca - Soon, we were on the north end of Partridge Bank and we were getting swarmed by 6-7 minke whales as they aggressively fed all around the boat. -Tyson Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching
*
UNIDENTIFIED SPECIES - Sat, May 29 - E. Strait of Georgia - 09:00-10:00 - We saw at least 3 whales with big spouts from Boundary Bay beach looking due east at 9-10 am this morning. The whales are off Whatcom Co. Not sure what whales? Large, breached right out. Spouts a huge vertical spray so not Greys. Viewing from nearly 10 miles away! Humpbacks or orcas? (updated: Definitely 2 whales, maybe 3 or more. Very distant but two breaching right out. Blow went up strong and vertical. We were viewing with good binoculars but they were far away!) -Anne Murray

May 28
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Fri, May 28 - Northern Puget Sound/Admiralty Inlet (T125A and T128) - ~21:00 - Coupeville ferry dock on May 28th, about 9 pm. They followed the ferry into dock circled for several minutes and then headed back out towards the channel in a SW direction. Daylight was ending, so hard to follow. [Looks to be T125A & T128 (per other video seen). Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network] [video] https://www.facebook.com/1billsfan/videos/10222346954976873/ Bill Pippine Viz
*
Fri, May 28 - Haro Strait & San Juans (T46Bs and T100s) - 18:05 - All photos were taken by high school student Faith Jayaram on 5/28 as part of a summer internship while with Maya's Legacy Whale Watching: We first spotted a mixed group of T46s and T100s which included male T100C (born in 2002) at approximately 6:05pm north of Gull Rock. We stayed with them for about 80 minutes during which they fed on what was presumed to be a Steller sea lion and traveled along the coast of Waldron Island. -Faith Jayaram
*
17:37 - Eastbound in New Channel.
17:31 - Tentatively T46Bs and T100s...they were milling at Danger Shoal in Spieden but no one has eyes on them anymore that I know of
15:22 - Still directly offshore of County Park, 1522, about 2 miles off now.
14:50 - One mile off County Park, northbound, about 7 whales.
14:25 - Another report of orcas 1/2 mile off Lime Kiln heading north. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
Fri, May 28 - San Juan Islands (T65As, T77 and T77E) - 18:30 - 6 orca off Lime Kiln Point Lighthouse. -Paul Rudd
*
15:15 - At 15:22 John Miller, WSF Marine Ops, emailed to report: SUQUAMISH - Orca Report 5/28/2021 - 1515hrs: C/M reports seven orca 1 nm SW of Washington Park on Fidalgo Island, traveling south.
*
13:47 - The same group of Ts from yesterday [5/27] - T65As with T77 and T77E - are currently southbound between Cypress and Guemes aiming for Anacortes 13:45. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
Fri, May 28 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - A single orca in the Port Angeles Harbor Thursday morning!! My husband had just got back from deployment, so the orca and rainbow truly made it the best day ever! Video taken from the bow of the USCGC ACTIVE - at Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles. video - https://www.facebook.com/megan.lee.961/videos/10103279035081225/ -Megan Lee
*
GRAY WHALES - Fri, May 28 - E Strait of Georgia - They were in the [Birch] bay both Friday and Saturday night for several hours! Looked like two Grays! -Michael Enright
*
18:15 - Hi! Small whale in shallow water in Birch Bay across from Richmond Resort. -Colleen Chapman
*
Fri, May 28 - Saratoga Passage - 20:05 - One gray feeding in Saratoga Passage just W of Langley for the past 30 mins. -Anna K. Greenwood
*
18:35 - Allie Hudec called to report gray whale 531 southbound at a quick pace off Bells Beach, on the Whidbey side of Saratoga.
*
16:57 - Blow just south of navigation buoy.
16:17 - One [gray] now west of Baby Island, heading south into Holmes Harbor.
16:02 - Still one [gray] around north of the navigational buoy.
15:54 - Another blow north of the navigational buoy (a second gray?), looks to be heading south towards Baby Island.
15:50 - Gray whale between Baby Island and navigational buoy, heading south towards Baby Island. -Martha Sinclair
*
16:06 - Still southbound closer to Camano, but moving west a bit. Heading away from me (viewing from Camp Diana area) towards Mabana now. Long downtimes.
15:25 - 531 still in Elger Bay, around the same spot [as Marilyn postes].
15:39 - heading south close to Camano. -Serena Tierra
*
17:30 - 531 out from Baby Island Heights Community dock, sb fairly quickly.
17:54 - North end of Bells Beach. Southbound.
14:20 - Camano side of mid channel, northbound.
14:00 - she's angling over towards southend of Elger Bay. Mid channel, NB. -Marilyn Armbruster
*
12:45 - Gray whale CRC531 traveling north at a fast pace north of Langley. -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
Fri, May 28 - Possession Sound - 09:30 - Single gray whale at NW tip of Gedney Island, close to shore at 9:30, seen by San Juan Clipper. -Stephanie Raymond
*
Fri, May 28 - Port Susan - 15:03 - Have seen several grays in Port Susan today. Haven't been able to ID, but there's at minimum 3. -Matty Leaman

May 27
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Thu, May 27 - Haro Strait (T65As minus T65A3 and T65A5, T77 and T77E) - 16:10-16:30 - Center for Whale Research Encounter #29: "… There were persistent but unconfirmed rumors that T77 had a calf with her on May 22nd so Dave decided to head out and see if the calf was there. "Orcinus" began leaving Snug Harbor around 1555 and saw a couple boats with the whales near Kellett Bluff before even reaching the entrance to the harbor. The encounter began at 1610 after the whales had passed the bluff on Henry Island. The T65As plus T77 and T77E were in a tight group heading slowly north. T65A3 and T65A5 were not present. Neither was there a calf with T77. If there had been a calf with T77 on the 22nd that was not T75B4, it was gone now. …" [See CWR Encounter #29 for photos and full summary] https://www.whaleresearch.com/2021-29
*
15:55 - Three Bigg's passing Mitchell Point at 3:55 pm, heading north. -Glen Bruels
*
14:24-14:40 - 5 Bigg's Transients northbound 2 miles south of Land Bank/Westside Preserve. The group had 2 youngsters and a large male and traveled somewhat slowly, surfacing low but often. Members identified were the matriarch T65A (1986), her son T65A2 (2004), her young daughter T65A6 (2018) and traveling tight together T77 (~1981) with her calf T77E (2016).
14:20 - 2-3 orcas northbound slipped by me. I saw them just as they passed out of view to the north at Edwards Point, and I'm assuming they were part of the group that turned at Eagle Cove.
11:29-11:37 - 5 orcas southbound slowly, almost out-of-sight past me, across from Hannah Hts area approaching Pile Point. This group was reported turning near Eagle Cove heading back up island. -Michelline Halliday, SJI
*
14:52 - All 8 whales together approaching Lime Kiln, northbound.
14:30 - Three about a mile ahead of the others close to shore Land Bank NB.
12:04 - Friend on the water says T65As, still with T77 and T77E.
11:20 - T vocals on Lime Kiln hydrophone.
11:00 - Report of 4+ orcas heading south from Land Bank, west side of San Juan Island, 1/2 mile offshore. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
COASTAL ORCAS - Sun, May 27 - Oregon Coast (T49C) - ~09:00 - I observed one orca on May 27th, 2021 at around 9am just outside the Charleston Boat Basin at Coos Bay. Although I have lived just across the water from Charleston, but this is my first observation and it appeared to be an adult. It swam around the area near the ice plant for a few minutes, with dorsal fin often visible, and it spouted a few times, before departing the area, headed North into where the Coos Bay Bar meets the rest of Coos Bay. I struggled with my phone and spotting scope while attempting to get a picture. I have attached some pictures, which were not as good as I'd hoped. -John Chatt
[ID'd as T49C by Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research; and Jared Towers, DFO/Bay Cetology/MERS]

May 26
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Wed, May 26 - NW British Columbia - 15:44 - Breaching orca calf and adult male spotted west of Sarah Island. Appeared to be heading south. Approx. 52.66 degrees N, 128.539 degrees W. -Zak Hinkley
*
Wed, May 26 - E. Strait of Juan de Fuca (T125A and T128) - ~16:55 - T125A and T128 near Eastern Bank, taken at approximately 4:55pm. All photos were taken by high school student Faith Jayaram on 5/26 as part of a summer internship while with Maya's Legacy Whale Watching. -Faith Jayaram
*
… We met the two brothers, T125A and T128, at Middle Bank and sailed alongside until we crossed Hein Bank. We sailed North passing a large group of rare visitors, Sabine's Gulls, near Hein Bank who usually reside in the Arctic. There were some active bait balls on Salmon Bank but no sign of the minkes who were there earlier. Catching the tail of the flood gave us good speed past Whale Rocks and up San Juan Channel where water conditions turned to glassy finishing off a perfect day. -Captains David and Barbara Howitt, All Aboard Sailing
*
Wed, May 26 - Central Puget Sound - ~13:13 & 13:43 - Watching from Suquamish dock. At least 4 Orcas still milling about a mile south of Indianola Dock. We saw them there about 30 min ago, too. No direction detected. -Kimberly Sylvester
*
12:20 - They've passed Fay Bainbridge, moving NB, longer down times.
11:54 - Might be on a kill, activity/milling around in same area.
11:47 - [orcas] Viewing from Shilshole Marina (on pier between marina and Golden Gardens)...straight out, approaching Fay Bainbridge, seem to be steady NB. -Stephanie Schulte
*
10:50 - [orcas] Northbound. [map indicates location east of Rich Passage] -Jessica Crockett
*
10:35 - [orcas] About 5 northbound between yellow and red buoys near Restoration Pt. View from Duwamish Head. -Mary Hartmann
*
10:26 - [orcas] Still headed NB. Nearing south end of Bainbridge. Mid channel. -Tim Peters
*
10:24 - [orcas] Spotted from Alki Lighthouse towards the west by Vashon, heading northbound. -Alice Pearson Rickenbach
*
10:19 - [orcas] Just sited heading north by Blake Island. -Steve Hardy
*
1017 - Viewing from Southworth ferry dock, just miss them again. They look like mid channel from here, line of sight to just north of Shilshole Marina, moving NORTH! -Jim Pasola
*
09:21 - [orcas] Very spread out between mainland and Vashon, just passed Fern Cove, some near SW ferry dock, others approaching tip of Vashon, quietly headed northbound, long down times. -Marla Smith
*
08:15 - Colvos Passage, spotted 2 just north of Lisabuela, Vashon side heading north. -Donna DiGiacomo Green
*
06:09 - Bradley Coombe, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: SEALTH Master reports six orca heading south through Colvos Passage, near Vashon Head.
*
GRAY WHALES - Wed, May 26 - Port Susan - 20:58 - Gray whale at Kayak Point right now headed toward Mckees Beach! Very close to shore! -Linda Martin
*
MINKE WHALES - Wed, May 26 - South Puget Sound - ~18:30 - [minke] Saw another whale tonight around 6:30pm just south of the Narrows Bridge, heading north at the time. -Ryan Dicks
*
UNIDENTIFIED BALEEN WHALES - Wed, May 26 - Central Puget Sound - 10:25 - I saw this reported elsewhere as a humpback, but no additional info. -Jason Lee Bell
*
09:52 - Report of a gray whale 25 yards from shore, in front of new Expedia Campus in Seattle [Elliott Bay], possibly heading north.
*
UNIDENTIFIED SPECIES - Wed, May 26 - Possession Sound - 09:13 - Whales blowing south of Hat Island. I'm on the ferry. Too far away to see anything but blows. -CeCe Celia Aguda

May 25
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Tue, May 25 - Possession Sound and Saratoga Passage (T65As)
20:08 - Just crossed the ferry lines heading south. Clinton Mukilteo mid channel heading south.
20:03 - Orcas just north of the ferry lanes heading south. -Danielle Pennington
*
19:16 - [orcas] They are heading SE from Saratoga Passage into Possession Sound, mid channel. Going slow. Looks like there are 3-4 so I'm assuming it's the same group that headed NW up Saratoga this afternoon. Viewing from near Sandy Point, Whidbey. -Luanne Seymour
*
~15:00 - 1 or 2 popped up briefly, just north of Onomac around 3pm, close to shore, but disappeared quickly without any direction; still waiting to see them again. It's been 15 minutes. We're up on the bluff, so they could be so close to shore below that we can't see them. -Kristina Trowbridge
*
13:49 - Second half of the group is northbound in Saratoga passage 1.5 miles Southeast of east point. T65A, A2, A5, and A6. -Brian McGinn
*
13:00-14:00 - 4 orcas. Viewing from PSE Chilkat Express near Hat Island 5/25/2021 1-2pm and generally NB. -Stacey Crofoot
*
13:00 - [orcas] North side of Snohomish Delta, 1:00. -Christopher Hanke, Puget Sound Express
*
13:44 - Southside of Hat Island about 1/4 way from SE tip. NW bound.
13:15 - Stalled out and milling at approx. location per map [mid channel between east Hat Island and Snohomish delta]. Viewing from southend Sandy Point high bank.
12:40 - [orcas] East of Hat Island. Heading north northwest. -Marilyn Armbruster
*
11:50 - [orcas] They are now north of the ferry lane heading north towards Everett. They were milling around off of Edgewater Park for a bit but are now moving north. -Erin Elrod Birkenkopf
*
11:20 - [orcas] S. of Hat Island between the island and the Mukilteo ferry landing! Headed north! -Matty Leaman
*
~11:10 - At 11:15 Maya Hurd-Lucker called to report seeing orcas in Possession Sound at about 11:10. She was aboard the ferry, which was mid run from Clinton to Mukilteo, the orcas were mid passage/channel near ferry lanes heading southbound toward S Whidbey. She saw at least 4, including a young one/calf.
*
COASTAL ORCAS - Tue, May 25 - Oregon Coast - ~12:10 - Jim Border called to report he is watching 3 orcas (yes thought male(s) in there) from Cape Lookout, Tillamook, OR. The orcas came by the tip of the cape heading southbound.
*
Tue, May 25 - Oregon Coast - Another orca, single, in the Siuslaw River today. He came here twice today (5/25/21). -Deborah Heidt Cordone
*
Tue, May 25 - Oregon Coast - 09:00 - 2 miles off Cascade Head on Oregon Coast…spotted 3 Killer whales (small males). Feeding (sort of heading south), but mostly circling at this time. -Mike Maurice
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Mon, May 25 - Strait of Georgia - 18:25 - One humpback travelling north (from the north end of Texada Island). Updated: -Patti and Mark Perepeluk
*
GRAY WHALES - Tue, May 25 - San Juan Islands - 15:50 - Strong inflow, whale is milling. Much closer to the rocks now.
15:30 - Gray Whale. Cattle Pass between interpretive area and Whale Rocks. Moving south. Showing fluke today. -Fred Horn
*
Tue, May 25 - Possession Sound - 12:45 - Viewing from high bank northend Brighton Beach, gray whale at pin dropped location [SE tip of Hat Island]. Can't tell direction at this time. -Marilyn Armbruster
*
12:28 - There are grey whales right now in the same area [as orcas]. South tip of Hat Island, heading south. -Noah Person

May 24
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Mon, May 24 - South Puget Sound - 21:08 - From Dash Point Pier Park this evening, 9:08 PM. -Emily Spanjer
*
21:05 - [orcas] Saw at least 4 heading north to Dash Point Pier area from Browns Point Lighthouse. -LeeAnn Wilson Cummins
*
19:38 - [orcas] East of ferry lanes trending toward Murray, east north east. -Mignon Marie Whitaker
*
19:34 - [orcas] Blows at Anthony's [Point Defiance]! Mid channel. -Sara Geiger
*
19:24 - Just saw male + 2 other dorsals pop up by Pt. Defiance, I thought headed toward Ruston/Tacoma. Viewing from Old Ferry Landing. 7:24. -Stacy Gordon
*
19:00 - At 19:05 Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: 1900 5/24, CHETZEMOKA: Master reports 2 orca whales off TAHL [Tahlequah] headed west.
*
19:00 - [orcas] Viewing from Sunrise. Heading around Point Defiance. -Kristin Alvarez
*
20:02 - A female surfaced very close to shore at Cummings Park. Several more surface nearby, then they turned north.
19:36 - A male and female mid-channel or closer to Owen Beach, several closer to the Vashon side. Many have across the fairy lane and are headed east slowly.
19:07 - Confirmed three females, one juvenile, and one male. Again, trending slowly southwest behind the leaders.
19:06 - Two females and a juvenile across the channel from Owen approaching southwestern tip of Vashon, slowly.
19:01 - Only visualized one male, and two or three females... Or maybe females and the juvenile. Too far for any ID photos. They were trending towards Narrows, there were a few instances as they traveled where one began to exhibit milling behavior, then turned and continued on.
18:40 - Spy hop to the west of the Point Defiance ferry Lane. Saw two females and one male traveling slowly to the west. -Ashley Whitman
*
18:40 - Spyhop! Taken from Dunes Peninsula, 6:40pm. -Cherie St.Ours
*
~18:30 - Photo taken from Dune Peninsula, Pt. Defiance Park, about 6:30 pm before they headed southwest towards the Point. -David Valleau
*
20:52 - Still milling off Browns Point.
20:48 - Have at least 2 males off Browns Point, mid channel.
20:34 - Have some up against Maury, northeast bound.
20:22 - Last time spotting the Ruston group they were heading towards East Channel, northbound, about 10 minutes ago, haven't relocated the group that was deep in Commencement.
20:08 - Ruston group is heading for deeper waters, towards Browns Point.
20:03 - Some right off Ruston at the 1st turnout past Point Ruston.
19:57 - Some deep in the Port.
19:48 - Single male traveling down Ruston not far off shore, the rest are mid channel eastbound.
19:44 - OMG RIGHT OFF DUNE.. FEET AWAY.. EASTBOUND ONE MALE.
19:38 - Group of at least 4 passing through ferry lane lanes, eastbound.
19:29 - At least 3 including bulls just west of ferry lanes & off Dune, eastbound.
19:21 - Can see 2 females trending back towards Vashon. Not committed to any direction yet.
18:50 - Milling in Dalco Passage off entrance to Colvos.
18:42 - Leaders approaching Colvos Passage entrance up against Vashon.
18:38 - Seeing another bull out by the southern channel marker buoy between Vashon & Browns Point, southbound.
18:35 - One bull trailing leaders, has just crossed Quartermaster, westbound, heading for ferry terminal close to Vashon shore.
18:32 - 2 Females have crossed Quartermaster Harbor, up against Vashon, heading towards the Ferry dock.
18:29 - 2 halfway down Maury Island heading towards Quartermaster Harbor.
18:26 - [orcas] From Anthony's, can see them passing tip of Maury Island, southbound. Some closer to Vashon, some closer to mid channel. [video 1] [video 2] video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypcA4NXHAtg - video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qROLEnVSRII Melissa Bird
*
18:17 - [orcas] Viewing from Dune [Peninsula Park], 6:17. Seeing blows super far out, heading towards Quartermaster Harbor. Southbound. -Amber Stanfill
*
18:04 - [orcas] Saw them about 15-20 min. ago, looked to be circling around Maury Island. Could barely see with binoculars from Gino's (across from the south end of Vashon... Tacoma end.). -Emily Spanjer
*
17:12 - 4 orcas passing Gold Beach, southbound. -Dan Hyde
*
16:54 - [orcas] Second pod just passed Point Robinson at 4:54. -Kelly Burns Keenan
*
16:50 - [orcas] Spotted on the east side of Maury Island headed towards Point Robinson. Still headed southbound. -Cindy Brown
*
15:37 - Spotted one male, SB, passing three towers south of Dilworth. -Cindy Eckes Waddington
*
16:49 - The Transients have now passed by Point Robinson and are still traveling southbound.
15:27 - Orcas are at the north end of Vashon moving south along east passage. -Amy Carey, Sound Action
*
14:14 - [orcas] Approaching north end of Blake, east side. Still SB. -Sonya Chin
*
12:52 - (Photo of T065A3 Amira) taken from Constellation Park, WS @ 12:52. -Brittany Philbin
*
14:15 - Viewing from Constellation Park, north of Blake Island. Southbound spread apart. Deep long dives. Others are further south.
12:09 - [orcas] Viewing from Golden Gardens. Going south, 12.09. (I lost them...12.10. Fins still going south. Deep dives....) -Brigitte van Hövell
*
11:00 - We left them right where the map shows [SE of Jefferson Head]. Eating a meal and celebrating the whole visit. -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
13:06 - They're passing Discovery Park now. Headed SB quickly.
12:48 - Just caught a glimpse. Almost to Discovery Park by yellow channel marker.
11:40 - Heading SB again.
11:15 - Group is moving SB somewhat quickly. Still viewing from Richmond Beach.
10:57 - Still in same spot milling about. Lots of jumping and splashing.
10:41 - Viewing from Richmond Beach. Straight across the channel putting on quite the show! -Matty Leaman
*
10:00 - [orcas] Half a dozen? been hanging out with a kill just off Point Jefferson, Kingston, for the better part of 45 minutes. -Chris Beamer Otterson photo
*
06:15 - Group of orcas.. approx..5-7 trending northbound west of mid channel from Shilshole. Milling and working on a kill. (I watched from 6:15-6:45. They were trending north when I left them, closer to mid channel. At least one big male and a baby in the group.) -Sue Larkin
[We could see T65As, T77 at least thanks to photos taken and sent to us by Sue Larkin. -alb]
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Sun, May 24 - E Strait of Juan de Fuca - ~13:15 - Humpback whale BCZ0298 "Split Fin" in the Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, taken at approximately 1:15pm. All photos were taken by high school student Faith Jayaram on 5/24 as part of a summer internship while with Maya's Legacy Whale Watching. -Faith Jayaram
*
GRAY WHALES - Mon, May 24 - San Juan Islands - 15:19 - Headed away from Cattle Point. It went around the corner and no longer visible from the interpretive area.
14:25 - [gray] Moving very slowly south. -Fred Horn
*
~12:30 - Gray whale CRC1364 off of Long Island Preserve near the south end of Lopez Island, taken at approximately 12:30pm. All photos taken by high school student Faith Jayaram on 5/24 as part of a summer internship while with Maya's Legacy Whale Watching. -Faith Jayaram
*
12:01 - Gray whale southbound, Cattle Point, tight to shore. -Sarah McCullagh
*
Mon, May 24 - Port Susan - 16:50 pm - One gray heading north of Kayak Point. Currently feasting, and slowly going along the cove just south of Warm Beach. -Linda Raines Tyner

May 23
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Sun, May 23 - Strait of Juan de Fuca (T75Bs) - Bigg's/Transient Killer Whales near Race Rocks Lighthouse today! -Paul Pudwell, Sooke Coastal Explorations
*
Sun, May 23 - San Juan Islands - 12:18 - Marie Waterman, WSF Marine Ops, emailed to report: PWWA reports about 8-14 Bigg's killer whales just south of Shaw in San Juan Channel. Estimate 30 minutes until the pod is in our ferry lanes. 800MHz radio announcement made.
*
Sun, May 23 - Admiralty Inlet area (T65As, T77 and T77E, T90s, T124A2s)
20:36 - Off Mutiny Bay, veering southeast closer to Whidbey.
20:20 - Orcas mid-channel but slightly Whidbey side, bunched up, heading south. Now down for the count. -Howard Garrett, Orca Network
*
18:32 - Now moving a bit more, about 1 mile north of yellow channel marker, this is the southbound group.
18:20 - I'm back at Bush Pt. Past 15 min they have barely moved from marked spot on map [mid Indian Island]. They seem to be logging or at a very very slow speed. All coming up and dropping at the same time. Nice backlit evening blows tho. They are on the Marrowstone side of channel. Hoping they pick up speed soon. Aimed southbound. -Marilyn Armbruster
*
~18:00 - We saw them go around Point Wilson, but lost sight of them after that. They looked like they were headed west at one point. -Kim Walters
*
17:30 - Can see from Port Townsend! Just off shore!!! From the Port Townsend Vineyards. -Kristen Alvarez
*
16:05 - The other group is the T90s and T124A2s southwestbound. See map. [into Port Townsend Bay]
15:45 - Two groups, one southeast bound from the blue marker [off of Marrowstone Point], and the other group northbound from the markers. Southbound KWs are the 65As, 77, and 77E. -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
17:22 - Mid Marrowstone, 5:22.
16:52 - 6-8 East side of Marrowstone. Southbound 4:52.
16:37 - Between Whidbey and Marrowstone. South/Eastbound, slow.
15:53 - [orcas] 5 between Ft. Flagler and Whidbey traveling slowly east. -BryAnn Bingham
*
15:13 - Just watched at least five orca from the east shore of Marrowstone (south of East Beach). Heading north. There were at least five in this group, one looked like a juvenile. -Brian Lowder
*
15:10 - East side of Marrowstone northbound. 3:10. -Benjamin Potter
*
14:46 - Still hanging around mid-channel. Four are spyhopping frequently. Medevac helicopter in area. Maybe orca checking the noise from that? Just south of entrance to Hood Canal. -James Petts
*
14:30 - Orca off south end of Marrowstone heading north fast and very close to shore 2:30pm. At least 5 individuals - possibly 2 males - didn't get photos until they were far away. -hshoins
*
~14:00 - We saw a pod of orca yesterday, 5/23 2 PM, outside of Oak Bay north of Port Ludlow, south of Marrowstone. At least 6 individuals (showed dorsal fins same time) adult and young, put on quite a show. Spy hopping, slapping flukes, couple of breaches. Unfortunately we did not have a good camera and kept well off so no decent pictures. They appeared to be feeding, didn't travel much over 30 min span. -Janette Mestre
*
13:57 - Pod of orca, at least 6 individuals. Adult and young at 47" 59, 189N 1 122" 38, 728. -No Name
*
14:25 - The orcas have moved north almost to south end of Marrowstone Island, still on west side of Admiralty Inlet.
13:45 - We see orcas in Admiralty Inlet, north of Port Ludlow on the west side of the channel. No clear direction of travel. -Susan and Howard, Orca Network
*
13:25 - [orcas] Still southbound between Bush Point and Nodule Point. In the southbound lanes, closer to Marrowstone. -Brian McGinn
*
13:15 - Now mid channel. Still heading southbound. South Lagoon Point.
13:05 - [orcas] Lagoon Point. Closer to Marrowstone. -Cheryl Connor
*
12:45 - [orcas] 6 or 7 southbound toward Marrowstone. -Brenn Ellsworth Goodell
*
12:27 - [orcas] Inbound by Marrowstone Point. 3 or more! -Stacey Crofoot
*
14:25 - Same general area as posted below at time of 13:54. Directional changes, milling and possibly on kills/feeding. I'm now viewing from Shore Meadows/Windmill Pt., Whidbey.
13:54 - About 1 mile south of Bush Pt, southbound.
12:15 - Orcas approaching north side of Fort Flagler, sb. Too far for IDs and count. Viewing from mid Fort Casey. -Marilyn Armbruster
*
12:18 - These killer whales coming in were the T65A pod and part of the T77 pod. Their hunt of a Steller sea lion was unsuccessful! After an hour plus drama the big sea lion made it safely to a patch of bull kelp at point Wilson and the KWs gave up. -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
~12:00 - We saw orcas today from Port Townsend around noon, heading across the top of Marrowstone Island to the sound. -Sarah J. Wright
*
13:10 - Dorsal fin visible near Marrowstone, milling. View from Lagoon to west across Sound.
~11:52 - [orcas] Spotted just south of Port Townsend from Fort Casey, southbound. -Mary C Scales
*
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Sun, May 23 - Admiralty Inlet (T65As, T77 and T77E) - ~12:00 - I was camping this weekend at Fort Flagler. I always spend lots of time on the beach and am always hopeful I'll see whales. I've seen orcas all over Puget Sound but never while I've been out camping and never from Marrowstone Island. Until Sunday. (5/23/21 12ish) Orcas passing my campsite at Fort Flagler around noon today. I didn't know if this was a new group or the one that had been on South Puget Sound all week. This group turned out to be a second/new group, the T65As with some T77s headed in. -Stacey Crofoot
*
11:02 - Marie Waterman, WSF Marine Ops, emailed to report: Johannes with PWWA reports Bigg's killer whales hunting about 1 mile north of the Port Townsend/Keystone route. Whales are SB.
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Sun, May 23 - San Juan Islands - After leaving the gray whale we headed a little ways to the north and joined up with two humpback whales. One ended up being BCX1068 and the other was not identifiable while we were on scene. These whales also gave us some great fluke shots with Lummi Island setting up as a beautiful backdrop. -Tyson Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Anacortes)
*
Sun, May 23 - Strait of Georgia - 09:30 - One Humpback just south of Quadra Island. -Patti Perepeluk
*
GRAY WHALES - Sun, May 23 - San Juan Islands - 16:30 - At 16:46 Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: Tillikum, 5/23, 1630, Master reports possible gray whale 3½ miles N off ANAC near Reef Point.
*
…More reports of whales were coming in not far from Anacortes and so we made a quick trip up Bellingham channel. As we neared the Cone Islands, we joined up with gray whale CRC1364 and got to see some fluke tails before it was quickly headed down the channel and we waved goodbye. -Tyson Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Anacortes)
*
Sun, May 23 - Saratoga Passage - 08:11 - Two Grays heading south in Saratoga Pass off of Sandy Point, Whidbey Island, now. They are in the middle of the channel, too far to get a decent picture. (We didn't see any come through yesterday, and only a single on Friday stirring up the shrimp beds off our beach.) -Mike Moberly
*
Sun, May 23 - Possession Sound - 14:00 - While kayaking in Possession Sound at 2:00 today (Sunday, May 23), I spotted three gray whales approximately two miles east of Hat Island. Two of the whales moved close to Jetty Island, while the third moved north and began diving off the Snohomish River Delta. A photo of this third whale is attached. Do you think you can identify this individual? -Alex Sidles, Seattle, WA
[This is North Puget Sound gray CRC531, a known female. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network]
*
13:03 - Southbound travel mode baleen whale (assume gray) off Clinton Ferry terminal. Two blows, then on a dive. No flukes. Confirmed gray whale but no ID. Very stealthy. -Renee Chamberland
*
UNIDENTIFIED BALEEN WHALE - Sun, May 23 - Admiralty Inlet - 12:03 - Grey or Humpback north of Fort Worden milling in water. Direction unknown. Viewing from Fort Casey. Single individual. NB. Minimal dorsal fin. Too far to see exhalation. -Jessica Keller
*
~12:00 - A little before noon yesterday, 5/23, I was looking towards Pt. Wilson and Fort Worden with binocs. The orcas and 2 ww boats were out from shore there. About mid channel it looked like a baleen whale about the size of a minke. It caught me off guard as I was focused way over. I refocused to see what it was. I knew it wasn't a sea lion as many hang out at FC. I never did see it again. I should have said something at the time altho it was not clear. But it wasn't over at Fort Worden, it was middish channel or so. And that's a pretty large channel there. -Marilyn Armbruster
*
UNIDENTIFIED WHALE - Sun, May 23 - Central Puget Sound/Bremerton
12:39 - Just saw another.
12:25 - I'm pretty sure 2 different ones. From Shore Drive, Bremerton.
11:55 - Saw 2 spouts, one right after the other at 1155 heading towards Bremerton shipyard. Think I saw a dorsal but can't be sure. Still watching. -Ashley Bowler
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Sat, May 23 - Strait of Georgia - Update: May 23, (after looking at my video I can confirm there were two Humpbacks that day - original email indicated one Humpback) This was the original email: One Humpback just south of Quadra Island. -Patti Perepeluk
*
Sat, May 23 - E Strait of Juan de Fuca - …we saw Humpback Whale [BCZ0298] "Split Fin" south of Lopez Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca… -Justine Buckmaster, Puget Sound Express

May 22
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Sat, May 22 - Strait of Georgia (T2Cs and T23Ds) - Rocky and his family along with the 023Ds were together again this weekend in our area. And the sealion haulouts are still quite busy, one of the reasons the Bigg's spend so much time here in the Spring now. -Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions
*
T2Cs near Campbell River. - Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
Sat, May 22 - San Juan Islands (T65As, T77 and T77E, T75Bs, T75Cs) - 15:09 - T65As and T77 and T77E are heading up Presidents Channel. T75Bs are heading up Johns Island.
15:07 - T65As, T75Bs, and someone just figured out T77 and T77E. -Ellie Sawyer
*
12:44 - [orcas] Just passed Point Caution, moving at a pretty good clip. photo - T75Bs new calf-Cindy Hansen, Orca Network
*
12:18 - Marie Waterman, WSF Marine Ops, emailed to report: PWWA reports about 8-14 Bigg's killer whales just south of Shaw in San Juan Channel. Estimate 30 minutes until the pod is in our ferry lanes. 800MHz radio announcement made.
*
16:15 - T75Bs were southbound from Turn Point at 16:15.
13:30 - All north of Reuben Tarte still northbound.
11:55 - Turn Island looking to take the Friday Harbor direction, now reported as more than a dozen whales.
11:40 - Orcas near Fisherman Bay, Lopez Island, going north up San Juan Channel. photo - "T75B was seen last week with a little calf and we saw the youngster we presume will be designated T75B4 traveling with her today."-Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
Sat, May 22 - South to Central Puget Sound (T90s and T124A2s)
20:28 - Milling about in the circle area [NW of Battle Point, Bainbridge] feeding, tail slapping, etc.
20:04 - [orcas] Passed Brownsville Marina hugging Bainbridge side- were heading north but boats drove right at them and they dove. -Meegan Reid
*
20:01 - Pod of orcas, 3-5, just passed Brownsville Marina heading north towards Poulsbo. -Megan Hudson
*
20:00 - [orcas] Still heading north up Port Orchard Bay slowly passing Brownsville Marina. Closer to Bainbridge side. -Mike Maddox
*
~19:35 - Two apparently female orcas spotted in Port Orchard Bay between Illahee and Bainbridge at about 7:35 pm on May 22. They were headed north. -Robert Grow
*
19:28 - [orcas] They passed Ilahee and look to be heading north (on Bainbridge side, viewing from Illahee State Park). -Jerico Onedera Jarin
*
~19:20 - [orcas] Watched them go by Point White, Bainbridge island...Kyle Woyshnis
*
19:14 - Orcas just off Illahee State Park heading north. Beautiful!! -Julie Aoki Nardi
*
19:09 - Five, including male, off Waterman Point, heading NW.
19:03 - [orcas] 3, one male at Waterman Point. Headed in NW direction. -Sue Ellen White
*
19:01 - [orcas] Turning right to head north past Waterman Point towards Illahee. -Brandi Marie
*
18:50 - [orcas] Westbound going through Rich Passage towards Bremerton. -Sara Finlay
*
18:40 - Orca pod off south end of Bainbridge Island, coming through the [Rich] passage. Just south of Point White now. -Laura Earnest Nicholson
*
Rich Passage hugging Ft. Ward side of Bainbridge. -Jan Fuller
*
18:13 - [orcas] They just passed the Fuel Depot; they are heading west in Rich Passage towards Port Orchard. -Christian Hanson
*
19:40 - They have passed Illahee dock heading for Brownsville.
19:26 - Viewing from Manchester State Park at the end, they're just passing the net pens heading into Rich Passage.
18:01 - The whole group is here; they did split up at one point, but they're all back together now.
17:46 - [orcas] They're inside Blake Island, viewing from Manchester, closer to Blake Island. Look like they just made a kill, not really going anywhere at the moment. -Jim Pasola
*
17:39 - [orcas] I could see them from Southworth ferry out past Manchester and turning to the left from there. Time was about 525pm. Pretty good pace. Close together. -Tisa Annette
*
17:22 - [orcas] Saw blows in the distance--looks like they're veering west toward Manchester. Viewing from Southworth ferry dock. -Ashley Whitman
*
17:14 - [orcas] Looks like they went up the west side of Blake Island. Still northbound at a good clip. 5:14 pm. -Hunter Sasser Oetinger
*
17:07 - [orcas] Southworth Ferry dock headed north. -Katherine Aosved
*
17:02 - [orcas] From Southworth. Amazing!! -Susie Alvarez Perry
*
17:02 - [orcas] Southworth. Still northbound. -Loba Perkins
*
17:02 - [orcas] Viewing from W Seattle. They are just south of the Southworth ferry dock. Very far west channel. -Paul Steyn Benade
*
05-22-2021 as the pod exited Colvos. -Ashley Whitman
*
16:52 - It looks like they are crossing over to the Southworth side.
16:43 - [orcas] Just passing Peter Point, mid channel, northbound. -Roxane Jackson Johnson
*
16:35 - [orcas] Passing Fragaria, still heading north. -Kelly Burns Keenan
*
16:31 - [orcas] Approaching 151st on Vashon. Mid channel. Heading north. -Bradley Kramer
*
16:03 - The pod just caught something, possibly a porpoise, across from Prospect Point/south of Anderson Point, closer to Vashon side--multiple orcas splashing and jumping out of the water- beautiful! -Amanda Herberger
*
16:30 - Leaving them northbound, see map [Fragaria], after a very dramatic hunt and capture of two harbor porpoise.
15:59 - Current location northbound [Bart's map indicates near Olalla]. Once again, we have had to educate several other boaters over the load speaker to keep them from parking in front of the orcas and getting closer than 200 yards. They seem to finally be behaving now. -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
15:52 - [orcas] Just south of Al's Market area [Olalla], northbound. -Jason Middleton
*
16:01 - Big kill by Olalla.
15:46 - [orcas] They're just south of Olalla (still northbound). -Melissa Malott
*
15:41 - [orcas] Grouped up passing Lisabuela, Kitsap side, long downtimes, travel mode northbound. -Marla Smith
*
15:39 - [orcas] 4 by Richmond headed north towards Al's [Olalla]. -Loba Perkins
*
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Sat, May 22 - San Juan Islands - 15:00-18:05 - Center for Whale Research Encounter #28: … "Dave headed down to Snug Harbor and, after tip-toeing around a wedding getting ready to get started right near the dock, left in the boat at 1430. "Orcinus" arrived on scene around 1500 immediately after coming out of Johns Pass where a small group of Ts were heading west off the north side of Johns Island. The situation was "busy" and it was another fifteen minutes before Dave could get close enough to get the first photos. The whales zigged offshore a little and then on the next series they zagged back toward the Stuart Island shoreline. It took longer than normal but the whales finally showed themselves to be the T75Bs. T75B has a new calf of the year, T75B4. The T65As plus T77 and T77E were also reported to be heading up President Channel. The T75Bs headed west near the Stuart Island shoreline until they started milling around 1550 about a quarter mile east of Turn Point. …" [See CWR Encounter #28 for photos and full summary] https://www.whaleresearch.com/2021-28
*
We were at SW Spieden last Saturday [5/22/21] when a pod surfaced 20' behind our boat as we were retrieving a shrimp pot. We turned the motors off immediately. An orca pulled on our shrimp pot towing the boat for approximately 10 seconds. Our commercial pot puller started shuddering, grinding and then started stripping out. Our line went from vertical to 30° and not due to being stuck on the bottom or due to currents. The pot was approximately halfway up when it started towing us. We were thinking curiosity, shrimp scent or playfulness? -Theresa B. Murry
*
Sat, May 22 - South to Central Puget Sound (T90s and T124A2s) - 15:41 - [orcas] Grouped up passing Lisabuela, Kitsap side, long downtimes, travel mode northbound. -Marla Smith
*
15:37 - [orcas] They are visible from Lisabuela on Vashon but hugging the other side of the passage. -Grace McRae
*
14:56 - [orcas] Viewing from Dalco Passage Viewpoint in Point Defiance [Park]. Heading into Colvos Passage. -Louisa Holmi
*
14:55 - [orcas] Just north of Sunrise Beach - Up Colvos Passage. They were moving fast with deep dives at the time. -Stephen Curran
*
14:23 - [orcas] Off of Fort Nisqually at Point Defiance headed north right now. -Tracy LeBlanc
*
15:05 - Heading up Colvos, just south of Point Richmond channel marker.
14:20 - [orcas] Approaching tip of Point Defiance, seen from Gig Harbor Viewpoint. -Lucas Dambergs
*
14:20 - Still drifting NW mid channelish.
14:13 - Stalled out off Salmon Beach mid channelish, maybe on a kill, direction changes, drifting towards Gig Harbor proper.
13:57 - They are slowly making their way north & have passed Point Evans channel marker, more mid channel.
13:44 - [orcas] Have crossed under Narrows Bridge, northbound, approaching Salmon Beach, Tacoma Side. -Melissa Bird
*
14:56 - Just passed Sunrise Beach (Colvos), maybe 5 + bull. Boats leapfrogging a bit, but not in the way. Heading quickly north.
13:37 - [orcas] Viewing from Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Went north under Narrows, possibly 6? Traveling really fast between lots of boats. -Stacy Gordon
*
13:33 - [orcas] Just went underneath Narrow Bridge. -Cassidy E. Arimoto
*
From the Narrows Bridge! Watch the whole video! Feel free to fast forward to the 30 second mark! They aren't visible again until around that point! https://www.facebook.com/jami.cantrell.1/posts/4059100647471511 -Jami Cantrell
*
13:30 - [orcas] From Narrows Bridge 1:30 headed north. -Terri Sue Samuels
*
13:25 - [orcas] About to go under the Narrows Bridge, northbound. -Morgan Eagar
*
13:22 - [orcas] Northbound towards Narrows Bridge. Seen from Hidden Beach. -Angel Smersh
*
14:42 - Viewing from Dune Peninsula, northbound and close to GH side. Approaching the opening of Gig Harbor. 2:42.
13:10 - [orcas] Closer to Narrows Beach, look to be committed towards the Narrows now, 1:10. -Brooke Casanova
*
13:05 - [orcas] Watching from Titlow. Heading towards narrows. Went under mid channel then haven't been up yet. -Katie Crepeau
*
13:25 - About to pass under Narrows Bridge. Northbound. 1:25pm. Closer to Gig Harbor side.
13:12 - Closer to Gig Harbor side. Getting closer to passing under bridge. Headed north.
13:02 - [orcas] Viewing from Titlow Beach right now. They just passed Days Island and coming north towards Narrows Bridge. -Paige Goehrig
*
12:35 - [orcas] You can see them from Fox Island fishing pier - 12:35, now headed towards Narrows Bridge. Big amount of boats following them. -Laura Alexander Wittig
*
12:46 - [orcas] They've passed Chambers Bay and heading toward the Narrows. -Stephanie Marie
*
12:38 - [orcas] Passing Sunset Beach [Sunnyside Beach?], almost to Day Island. Closer to the UP [University Place] side than Fox Island. -Jodie Peters Lawson
*
12:35 - [orcas] Viewing from Chambers Bay now! 5 or 6, traveling north towards Narrows Bridge, closer to Fox Island side. -Allyson Corbo
*
13:54 - Just saw 3 surface, still near Salmon Beach, heading north.
12:20 - In between Fox Island and Sunnyside Beach, closer to Fox Island, 12:20, heading north.
12:05 - Just past McNeil [Island] heading north.
11:58 - [orcas] Front side mid channel of McNeil Island traveling north. -Cherie StOurs
*
11:49 - [orcas] Visible from Pioneer Orchard Park in Steilacoom! Heading north. -Wendy Davis
*
Taken from Steilacoom sometime between 11:30-12. -Ashley Francis
*
11:43 - Confirmed sighting just north of Ketron Pier heading quickly north to McNeil. Viewing from Saltar's Beach [Steilacoom]. -Trey Dyer
*
12:02 - They slowed down and milled a bit, still south of the Chambers Creek railroad bridge, trending north.
11:51 - Traveling at a good pace, passing Sunnyside Beach in Steilacoom, now, with the male trailing.
11:47 - Mid water past Ketron, definitely closer to Steilacoom than Anderson Island. Still northbound...
11:42 - 2 boats in the lead and whale watching boats trailing, almost to the tip of Ketron, northbound still lots of breaches.
11:29 - [orcas] Northbound Between Anderson Island and Ketron, boats behind them. Lots of breaching and splashing! -Belen Bilgic Schneider
*
11:50 - Still northbound as we leave them. See the map [north of Ketron Island]. Very playful after a meal. We had to educate several irresponsible boaters to respect the regulations.
11:15 - Current location northbound. T90s and T124A2s. [Between DuPont and east Anderson Island's Oro Bay, closer to mainland. -gs] -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
11:05 - [orcas] Viewing from Dupont Bluffs. 11:05, heading north on the east side of Anderson Island. -Allison Cameron
*
10:40 - [orcas] South point of Ketron [Island] headed to Solo Point.
10:20 - We have them in sight too of Anderson Island, east side by Nisqually Reach Preserves. -Debbie Englert Zeck
*
10:31 - End of Anderson, east side.
10:23 - Still center south side of Anderson.
10:11 - [orcas] West side of Anderson Island on south side moving towards east side Anderson. -Carole Fouts
*
10:17 - In front of Tolmie at 10:17 followed by only one boat. Looks like they made a kill on the shores of Anderson.
10:00 - [orcas] Just spotted north end of Anderson Island at 10:00am moving towards Tolmie. photo - "while they were moving from Devil's Head to Anderson Island then making a kill on the Anderson side." -Lorrie Dozier Hall
*
09:25 - Big male and at least one more whale just passed Taylor Bay heading south between Johnson Point and Key Peninsula, towards Nisqually. Moving fast.
09:21 - I'm seeing the big male off of Taylor Bay, heading south fast. -T.j. Smith
*
From Joemma dock...Tina McKail
*
09:18 - Also viewing from Joemma this morning. Looks like they are heading south through the Nisqually Reach. -Jason Peter
*
08:25 - We just watched them from the south end of Herron Island. There looked to be around four? One big male. Heading south. We saw them at 8:25 am until we couldn't see them anymore! -Karen Dorans
*
08:10 - Last sighting around 8:10am. [SW of Herron Island]
07:54 - [orcas] Midway on Herron Island near shore. Still heading south. 7:54 am. -Liz Wolk
*
08:12 - East side of Harstine in Case Inlet. Closer to south end of Heron Island now, continuing southbound.
07:22 - Orcas are still in Case Inlet. Just off of the north tip of Harstine Heading south. -Jerilyn Evans
*
COASTAL ORCAS - Sat, May 22 - Oregon Coast - 18:15 - My wife and I watched 3 Orcas kill something (guessing a seal) about ½ mile off shore of Cape Kiwanda, almost directly in front of Haystack Rock. This took place Saturday, May 22 at 6:15 PM. They stayed in the same spot for about 35 minutes, presumably eating their kill and celebrating. We saw several breaches and some spy hops. Dozens of birds were attracted to the kill and were swooping in for scraps. Finally, they swam north to the Cape and spent about 10 minutes in shallow waters between the gap formed by the cape. A dory boat went close to them, then they moved around the cape to our north, out of view. It was a thrill to watch this take place so close to shore. -Pete Stoll
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Sat, May 22 - E. Strait of Juan de Fuca - The adventure started with humpback whale sighting near McArthur Bank, none other than Split Fin, Big Mama's 2006 calf returned from a winter abroad. -Island Adventures Whale Watching (Anacortes)
*
GRAY WHALES - Sat, May 22 - San Juan Islands - 14:00 - Grey whale spotted near Towhead/Sinclair Island 2:00 pm. -NW Sailing Adventures, LLC
*
Sat, May 22 - Northern Saratoga Passage - ~18:05 - I spotted two grays at the mudflats at about 6:05pm!! They moseyed down toward Mariners Cove, slowly turned around and headed into the channel but then turned again and went back toward the mudflats before veering south and across toward Camano. Thrilled that they paid us a visit tonight!! -Marianne Parry

May 21
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Fri, May 21 - (T123s) - 18:10 - Headed S into Griffin.
18:06 - Passing Turn Rock.
17:55 - [orcas] Passing Friday Harbor. -Fred Horn
*
20:07 - Past Point Caution going at a pretty decent speed. Abeam of Yellow now on San Juan side.
17:27 - [T123s] Passing Point Caution southbound. On the Shaw side of the channel. -Cindy Hansen, Orca Network
*
16:30-19:30 - All photos were taken by high school student Faith Jayaram on 5/21 as part of a summer internship while with Maya's Legacy Whale Watching. All pictures were taken between 4:30pm and 7:30pm, and the orcas stayed fairly close to the harbor for the duration of the tour; at one point, they were just off of Cattle Point. Unfortunately, I'm not certain of direction of travel or more specific times.
*
16:50 - They are feeding on a seal just north of Yellow Island.
16:10 - All 4 of the T123s are heading south between Jones and Orcas Islands. -Emily Calkins
*
Fri, May 21 - San Juan Islands - The T123's Biggs orcas, who we'd seen on our morning sail, were now reported as Southbound at Jones Island. We sailed North and met them as they rounded Yellow Island, also watched by a bald eagle on the reef. They continued South at speed on the ebb and crossed to Turn Island. They hunted harbor seals for quite some time again watched by a bald eagle on Turn Rock channel marker. They then changed course to head North and came in the South entrance of Friday Harbor. They travelled inside Brown Island surfacing next to the breakwater in front of a crowd before heading out the North entrance. There was a brief and energetic charge pitching a Steller sea lion into the air near Point Caution. The sea lion escaped and was seen close to shore while the T123's continued their travels North into the sunset. photo - "T123's passing Yellow Island" - photo - "Orca whacking a Steller sea lion near Pt. Caution" - photo - "T123's heading north into the sunset" -Captains David and Barbara Howitt, All Aboard Sailing
*
Northbound on the flood and a nice close hauled sail through the Wasp Islands with bald eagles watching as we sailed between the islands. After we came through Spring Pass we picked up a report of orcas at Sandy Point. We met the T123's just North of White Rock and sailed alongside to Point Disney. They continued on the Waldron shoreline and we left to sail across Presidents Channel and follow the Orcas Island shoreline to return. Behind us the whales changed their minds about traveling north and remained near Point Disney for a few hours before heading South to Friday Harbor. A beautiful sailing day with whales. -Captains David and Barbara Howitt, All Aboard Sailing
*
17:05 - Northbound from Turn [Island] towards Friday Harbor. 15:25 - T123s milling between Flattop and Waldron. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
Fri, May 21 - South Puget Sound (T90s and T124A2s) - 20:45 - Sunset Orcas! Herron Island ferry dock at 8:45 Orcas NB. 5/21/21. -Stacey Crofoot
*
19:25 - [orcas] We're seeing them from Joemma State Beach looking southwest towards the southern tip of Harstine. Northbound. -Jason Peter
*
18:00 - [orcas] The same pod, again, traveled east in Dana Passage toward Johnson Point, then changed course and headed to Case Inlet. -Charlie & Pam Rhubart
*
18:05 - They just passed the southern point of Harstine, east side, heading north! Dana Passage!
16:33 - [orcas] They are heading north in Peale Passage to Harstine Bridge! -Brenda Hites-Willis
*
15:31 - Seeing all of them clustered together just outside Boston Harbor, possibly on a kill with lots of surface activity. KOMO News chopper Air4 is overhead. [video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-k3akVp-Cs -Durand Dace
*
15:22 - At Boston Harbor Marina far out. 5-6 orcas. -Felicitous Chick
*
15:28 - They stopped and turned north, look like in pursuit, just been circling for the last 10 minutes.
15:18 - [orcas] Grouped up tightly moving steady towards Budd Inlet. They just blew through pretty large group of harbor porpoises. Viewing from southern tip of Harstine Island. -Jim Pasola
*
15:05 - [orcas] Cruising south along Cooper Point into Budd Inlet. -Katie Lassiter
*
16:20 - Animals are heading west - in front (south of) of Harstine and Squaxin Islands. They are angling toward the pass between those islands and Hunter Point and back to the Hope Island area. Looks like the sheriff is on site as well as many boats/kayaks. And the chopper.
15:20 - Viewing from Eld Inlet (west shore) they have crossed in front of Harstine Island and heading s. east toward Boston Harbor and Budd Inlet. Very calm waters. They are in travel mode.
14:50 - After exiting Totten Inlet, they circled around Steamboat Island and then headed behind Hope Island where I lost sight of them. As they exited Totten, and while they were deep in the inlet, they were VERY active. Lots of breaches, tail slaps, cartwheels, body rolls, etc. I was watching from Steamboat Island Bridge.
photo - "From noon. As they headed north from Carlyon Beach Marina - that's Hope Island in the background. I'm standing on the Steamboat Island Bridge."
photo - "At noon, the orcas headed into the marina at Carlyon Beach. Bull on the inside with the boats, females on the outside on the other side of the log boom - thick with seals. They tried to nudge them off the boom...which they were successful at doing. Here's the bull."
photo - "Here's one of the females. Lots of scared seals already in the water and under the bridge."
photo - "This was around 3:00 when they were heading out of Totten Inlet back toward Steamboat Island and the back side of Hope Island (where they hung out for a long time) before heading east toward Boston Harbor and Budd Inlet." -Kim Merriman
*
14:03 - [orcas] They are about to leave the [Totten] Inlet. Close to the [Steamboat] Island now on far side. -Chay Norbom
*
15:19 - Looks like they're headed to Johnson Point.
15:08 - In front of Boston Harbor.
14:48 - Headed south next to Squaxin Island.
14:27 - North of Hope Island. They seem to be playing in this area.
14:21 - They are headed south along the Hope Island.
13:22 - [orcas] Sighting in Totten Inlet. -Ben Witten
*
14:58 - They are past Steamboat now. time? - Orcas in Totten Inlet heading east. -Harold Redman
*
12:15 - [orcas] Hunter Point to Hope Island at least five. -Jim Chamberlin
*
11:50 - We left the orcas still northwest-bound towards Squaxin Island/Squaxin Channel.
11:45 - Still westbound. [near southern tip of Harstine Island]
11:30 - New location. [moved back westward in Dana Passage]
11:19 - Killing and milling. See map. Southbound. T90s and T124A2s again. [Just north of Henderson Inlet in Dana Passage. -gs] -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
10:00 - [orcas] Off south end of Herron Island at 10:00 am. Closer to Harstine than the Key Peninsula! (southbound) [video https://www.facebook.com/OrcaNetwork/posts/10165559276325601 -Karen Dorans
*
10:25 - They are motoring past Joemma State Park heading south closer to the opposite shore.
10:06 - Visible from Joemma State Park to the north heading this way.
09:10 - [orcas] Spotted blows up against the north end of Harstine Island. Not sure but appear to be heading south. Viewing from Vaughn area. -Jim Pasola
*
07:45 - [orcas] Still circling around between Rocky Bay and Treasure Island. -Erik Bjorn
*
GRAY WHALES - Fri, May 21 - Admiralty Inlet - 13:21 - I think you already know this, but I just saw what I think is a gray whale [confirmed] in Mutiny Bay to the south from Bush Point inward from Double Bluff. -Suzanne Strom-Reed
*
10:45 - Chilkat Express has the gray whale northeast of Lagoon Point. -Christopher Lewman, Puget Sound Express
*
8:45. It is now about a mile further north (towards Bush Point).
8:40am. Whale (maybe grey but I don't know) in Mutiny Bay, 2 miles south of Bush Point, heading north, quite close to Whidbey Island. I spotted it surfacing to breath. -Mike Meyer
*
UNIDENTIFIED BALEEN WHALE - Fri, May 21 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - ~12:00 - Spotted a whale from the Dungeness Spit light tower. Around 12:00 noon. Surfaced twice. Saw a spout about 15 minutes later, further west. Assuming it was a gray whale, but not sure. -Miriam Jones

May 20
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Thu, May 20 - South Puget Sound (T90s and T124A2s) - ~21:00 - Spotted them at last light from Victor. After 9PM on 5/20/21. Milling between Rocky Bay and Treasure Island. ----A few last light photos from last night. Taken 5/20/21 after 9pm. Was watching them with binoculars from Herron Island Ferry dock I decided to take a gamble on changing spots and hope I'd be able to find them again. It paid off! Photos taken from Victor. They were spread out and milling towards Rocky Bay. Lots of tail slaps. So quiet you could hear them all breathing. Seems they're liking North Bay and Case Inlet. -Stacey Crofoot
*
20:22 - Now they've moved north of Stretch [Island] heading more north towards Treasure Island/Allyn.
20:16 - [orcas] Viewing from Rocky Bay facing south with binocs. They have moved east. -Jennifer Lindsay
*
20:01 - [orcas] Viewing with binos from Herron Island ferry dock, whales are way off in the distance, maybe as far as Rocky Bay/Rocky Point. Lots of tail lobbing and splashing. -Christine Parker-Graham
*
18:10 - [orcas] Corroborating northern Case Inlet, just west of Rocky Bay. Group of 5-6 moving restfully in a tight formation. 6:10 pm. -Lara Tukarski
*
18:18 - Swimming south now in Case Inlet.
18:00 - [orcas] Saw them spout in Case Inlet, swimming east in the inlet. I'm on the Victor side and they are very far away. Haven't resurfaced again in a few minutes. -Vanessa Stewart Nelson
*
16:22 - Six plus orca headed north of Herron Island. -Chris Berryman
*
15:30 - At least 5 orcas going north, passing McMicken Island in Case Inlet. 5/20 3:30 pm. -Ron Hebron - Lake Forest Park WA
*
14:20 -A pod of seven orca , which included one male, was traveling east in Dana Passage, headed to Case Inlet. -Charlie & Pam Rhubart
*
14:07 - Orcas north end Johnson Point. Def 4, headed west. -Tina Davis
*
12:42 - [orcas] North of Anderson heading north at 12:42. -Lorrie Dozier Hall
*
12:03 - Viewing from Nisqually Head. They're on the SW side of Anderson Island. Looks like 4-5 of them and one male. Milling about right now, but generally headed east. -Sara Montour Lewis
*
11:15 - T90s and T124A2s still southbound. [SE in Nisqually Reach] -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
12:35 - Still milling about in Nisqually, going both north and south along Anderson Island. Lots of lobbing and tail slaps. Could get fun as the tide pushes the seals out to deeper water...
13:20 - [orcas] They are in Nisqually moving slowly on the south side of Anderson Island. -Miranda Ries
*
14:18 - Looks like the Johnson Point group went around the tip and started heading south on the west side of the point. They are too close to Harstine Island for me to see with my binoculars. There was a boat that kept driving through the middle of them...
14:03 - They are still just hanging out off the northern tip of Johnson Point. Circling a small fishing boat. Just going back and forth. At least 2, maybe 3.
13:35 - I just saw one or 2 pop up north of Johnson Point! Looks like it/they were heading north. ETA- definitely a big bull and he's doing some tail slapping. Kind of trending north but mostly hanging out off the tip of Johnson Point.
11:10 - They've moved south into the Nisqually Reach, far enough that I can't see them anymore.
10:47 - They are just off the north tip of Johnson Point. Heading south into the Nisqually Reach. Very slow, long down times, no splashing or jumping.
10:38 - Big huge bull and 3 more orca moving slowly south out of Case Inlet. Don't know if this is a second group or if the other group turned around and came back. Right now, they are in the middle between Johnson Point, Taylor Bay, and Harstine Island.
10:00 - Just saw them book out of Case Inlet, heading south quickly close to Harstine Island. I lost them when I started alerting the neighbors so I don't know if they headed toward Nisqually or if they went on the west side of Johnson Point. They were moving quick. -T.j. Smith
*
~10:00 - Thought I'd take my chances w/o reports to point me in the right direction.. went to Joemma State Park and as soon as I got out on the dock & raised my binoculars, the 1st thing I saw was the bull's dorsal right off Camp Coleman/Whiteman Cove. They were on a kill & I observed them surfacing with quick dives, drifting from mid channel right up close to shore. It was so close, but so far away from me!! They turned and headed towards Nisqually. -Melissa Bird
*
06:18 - Orcas off north side of Herron Island, heading towards westside of island. -Dana Clark
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Thu, May 20 - South to Central Puget Sound - 21:15 - Jordan Light, WSF Marne Ops, emailed: Humpback whale EDM>KING 5/20 spotted at 2115hrs northbound in the shipping lanes between Kingston and Edmonds. Reported by PUYALLUP via 800MHz.
*
20:31 - It is now north of Driftwood Cove and should be visible from Southworth either now or pretty soon.
20:20 - [humpback] Spotted from Driftwood Cove more towards the Kitsap side heading north. -Roxane Jackson Johnson
*
~17:45 - Passed Salmon Beach, Tacoma, heading north passing the point of Point Defiance. Single humpback. (Only came up twice moving fast. Not sure if it headed up Dalco Passage or along Ruston.) -Angie Kauffman Salo
*
~17:28 - [humpback] Saw from Weather Watch Park. -Alexa Harmon
*
17:35 - [humpback] I saw it!! (So thankful for this page! Wow! Thank you!) was headed past Alki Lighthouse last time I saw its fluke. -Jessica Crockett
*
19:13 - Point Defiance whale now off Lisabuela in Colvos on Vashon. Northbound.
17:11 - [humpback] Just saw off of Blake Island heading south towards Vashon ferry. The one I saw was just south of Blake and heading south. Only saw one and never surfaced again.
16:40 - They are on the east side of Blake.
16:30 - KIRO chopper is reporting they are live over humpbacks and flight tracker info shows the chopper north end between Vashon and Blake.
15:01 - Just had a report that it is now up Colvos -- near Lisabuela Park. Headed slowly north. -Amy Carey, Sound Action
*
13:40 - At the tip of Point Defiance. I couldn't tell if the whale went east or west of Vashon. The boats following it did go to the west side. -Sarah Kopaciewicz
*
13:43 - North of Narrows Viewpoint. (Was moving north close to shore.)
13:37 - Single humpback close to shore, Pt. Defiance. -James W Doyle
*
13:11 - [humpback] Just south of Salmon Beach, saw tail! -Kimberly Wenner
*
12:58 - [humpback] Just north of the Tacoma Bridge - saw a fluke about 10 minutes ago. -Alison O'Brien
*
12:53 - Under the Narrows Bridge from Narrows Park. -Aaron Barna
*
12:52 - [humpback] Today, just past the Narrows Bridge. -Julie Davis
*
12:35 - Two humpbacks. They dove near the bridge, and I haven't seen them for a while now. Watching from Day Island.
12:25 - Humpback is heading NB on the Gig Harbor side towards the Narrows Bridge!! -Karen Caldwell
*
11:42 - Humpback outside Chambers [Bay]. Northbound. Looked like it was chasing a seal or sea lion. Sea lion came through first and started moving fast right before whale surfaced. -Emily Spanjer
*
11:30 - [humpback] One just passed heading north in front of my house in Steilacoom. 11:30, moving fast. -Lisa Rockwell
*
~07:40 - I got what appeared to be a humpback diving, can share pics of tail later. It was closer to McNeil Island than Steilacoom. From the bow of the ferry heading to Steilacoom. (Just saw one. Ferry worker saw 2 earlier.) photo - "Chambers Bay Golf course in the background. From the Ferry to Steilacoom around 7:40ish" -Lane Sample
*
~07:00 - Just sighted a humpback whale in front of the Steilacoom Ferry dock starting about 7:00 am. It came up right next to the door and in the water in front of the dock. Heading towards Anderson or McNeil Island. -Jennifer Tebaldi
*
07:00 - At 7, I was given a report of two whales off the Steilacoom dock, said to be a humpback and maybe orca. -Belen Bilgic Schneider
*
GRAY WHALES - Thu, May 20 - Anacortes, WA - Gray whale off Anacortes ferry dock? ["That will be CRC1364. They were making their way up Rosario Strait earlier." Ellie Sawyer]
*
Our search then continued up past Deception Pass to Burrows Island where we joined up with gray whale CRC 1364 cruising through the heavy tides. …Tyson Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Anacortes)
*
MINKE WHALE - Thu, May 20 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - Continuing south we searched the shallow banks of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and after some intense searching found ourselves a minke whale. …Tyson Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Anacortes)
*
UNIDENTIFIED BALEEN WHALE - Thu, May 20 - Admiralty Inlet - A friend messaged he saw and heard unidentified whale yesterday evening in Useless Bay. No further info. -Sandra Pollard
*
19:59 - It stopped by the time I got a pair of binoculars. Didn't get a good view of dorsal fin. Someone else saw one more spout and appears it might be heading out of bay now.
19:38 - Still milling around in same area, I'm viewing from a distance and not yet sure of type.
19:26 - A whale in Useless Bay (Whidbey) now - have seen about 6 spouts. -Britta Culbertson
*
UNIDENTIFIED WHALE - Thu, May 20 - Central Puget Sound/Bremerton - ~10:20 - Some kind of whale was near the Bremerton Marina about 1020pm. Heard it and saw a brief spout but can't confirm what kind or how many. I'm assuming this is also why the ferry was late. -Ashley Bowler

May 19
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Wed, May 19 - Strait of Georgia - 18:00 - Transient orcas came by Mayne Island tonight at 6pm, Strait of Georgia. Very lively scene with lots of going and coming and various activities. They headed northwest toward Active pass and Galiano in the Strait. Rachelle Hayden tentatively ID'd them as T65Bs and T100Bs. -Yves Tiberghien
*
Wed, May 19 - South Puget Sound (T90s and T124A2s) - 19:58 - [orcas] Seeing blows about here (pin) [mid channel between northern ends of Harstine Island and Herron Island]. I'm on Herron Island Ferry Dock on KP. 7:58pm. Don't seem to be traveling. -Stacy Gordon
*
16:48 - [orcas] Spotting in the distance from Rocky Point still- looks like they're hanging right outside of Vaughn. -Shaylyn Slye
*
17:37 - They're at north end of Treasure Island, mid channel.
17:20 - They're still by Rocky Bay.
15:17 - Lots of spyhopping, tail slaps, full body slams. They are still midway up Treasure Island.
15:00 - Milling around in small area. Large male, three females, and one looks like a juvenile.
14:57 - Just spotted the orca. East side of Case Inlet near SR302. Around Treasure Island. -Beverly Lynch McCallum
*
19:09 - Still in the distance from Herron Island ferry dock, looks like whales are off Rocky Point/Vaughn area, milling around the same general area.
15:17 - Milling around mid-channel and moving south now, still slow pace.
15:00 -[orcas] Just north of Rocky Point heading north towards Allyn. 4-5 whales moving slowly. -Christine Parker-Graham
*
14:36 - Orcas making a kill right next to Rocky Point. -Daniel Joseph Ferreira
*
18:30 - We are seeing blows from Herron Island ferry dock coming this way, still pretty far off.
15:28 - Right off of Treasure Island, slowly meandering south. (viewing from Rocky Point)
13:54 - Still in that same area, they're far from here, I'm guessing it's Vaughn Bay slowly moving north but not moving much at all.
13:20 - [orcas] I'm at the Herron Island ferry looking north, and they are doing all kinds of flopping and jumping north of here and moving north at this time. -Jim Pasola
*
12:47 - [orcas] Live on Dutcher Cove of the Case Inlet, S of Vaughn Bay and N of Heron Isl….spotted many fins and spouts between here and Herron Island just now…not sure of species. The pod seems to be circling in the area…when I first saw them they were headed SE, but just now seem to be going back NW. My address is xxxx 187th Ave NW, Vaughn, WA 09394, and the bearing to the pod is presently 215 approx. 1 mi. -John Lauber
*
13:50 - Humpback spotted northbound past Harstine Island followed by pod of orcas, traveling at a quick pace northbound close to Vaughn Bay. Looks like earlier pod...not far behind last humpback sighting.
12:19 - Now moving south between Dutcher Cove, still slightly north of Herron Island. Group split in two, traveling several hundred yards apart. Tour boat on scene, others have left area.
12:11 - Now 5 total, male and female joined from the north...now milling or possible hunt, north end of Herron. No direction.
11:50 - Tip of Herron Island now circling back towards Harstine and Pickering Pass.
11:45 - Good morning...group of orcas, 3 or 4, Case Inlet between Dutcher Cove and Vaughn Bay...large tour boat on site. Moving south, at least one male. -Wayne McFarland
*
11:21 - Biggs orcas Just off Stretch Island in Case Inlet 11:21. -Sarah Hanke, Puget Sound Express
*
09:46 - Whales, looked like orcas, in the Pickering Passage 10 minutes ago going by our house. I counted five, black and white when they surfaced. We face Harstine Island. They were headed towards Allyn, and Jarrell Cove - which is at the end of Harstine Island… It was very wonderful to look out the window and see them! -Mel Webster
*
09:00 - 5 orca in Pickering Passage this morning at 9AM. One appeared to be a youngster. North towards Allyn. Headed south to Harstine Island Bridge and turned around and returned north. -Gretchen Stewart
*
COASTAL ORCAS - Wed, May 19 - Oregon Coast - 14:00 - We spotted 2 orcas from the beach during our recent stay at Crook Point Resort between Brookings and Gold Beach. Northbound at 2pm. Looking to feed on seals. No photos. -Andrea Brayson
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Wed, May 19 - South Puget Sound - ~16:30 - We saw 2 spouts from grey-colored whales going south along east Harstine shore. I'm south of Herron [Island]. -Charlotte Smothers
*
13:50 - Humpback spotted northbound past Harstine Island followed by pod of orcas, traveling at a quick pace northbound close to Vaughn Bay. Looks like earlier pod...not far behind last humpback sighting.
13:30 - We just saw a blow, assuming it was humpy. -Wayne McFarland
*
12:31 - There are two, might be minke whales.... Yes, I did see that [confirmation of humpbacks in the area]. These looked a lot smaller.
11:58 - North of McMicken Island heading north, humpback whale. -Dana Clark
*
~12:30 - I'm sending you what I have of the Humpbacks which were in Case Inlet last week. These were taken at around 12:30pm on 5/19/21 when they were milling (presumably feeding) north of McMicken Island. I used a 1200mm equivalent lens from about 1.5 miles away, so the distance and atmospheric distortion that day didn't allow for crisp detailed photos. But maybe a couple of them are useful for ID purposes. These were taken from the shore of Harstine Island, south of McMickent Island, looking north toward Stretch Island. The HBs were about midway between Harstine and the north end of Herron Island. -Dave Berliner
*
11:13 - 2 HB off Fudge Point on Harstine Island. Slow NB 11:13. -Sarah Hanke, Puget Sound Express
*
10:16 - Just observed north side Johnson Point heading west. [follow up:] only saw them surface briefly, side by side, two and yes, I think they are humpbacks. -Tina Davis
*
GRAY WHALES - Wed, May 19 - San Juan Islands - We headed south out of Friday Harbor and had an encounter with gray whale CRC1364 who came north through Cattle Pass. We met the whale near Kings Pt. and paralleled the whale until it reached Big Rock. It was surfacing about every 3 minutes and showing its tail flukes on most dives. We decided to break off to continue down to Goose Island, Whale Rocks and Deadman Island. We're noticing many small Steller sea lions including some pups at Whale Rocks. A bald eagle stood on the rocks nearby disturbing the gulls by his presence. As we continued back north, we got word that the gray whale flipped back south after reaching Fisherman's Harbor. We had another quick look before sailing back to port by way of Turn Island where harbor seals were hauled out on the rocks and a family of raccoons foraged along the tide line. (added: We're thinking CRC1364 is looking better). -Captains David and Barbara Howitt, All Aboard Sailing
*
15:15 - Heading back south towards Cattle Pass.
14:15 - Near Fisherman Bay on Lopez still northbound.
13:00 - Gray whale heading north through Cattle Pass. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Network
*
…We poked into McCardle Bay to check out an eagle's nest and then made our way over to Swirl Rocks where we found a Canada goose. We headed west from there along the shores, weaving in and out of dozens of shrimpers before we joined up with gray whale CRC 1364 on Salmon Bank. The whale was very cooperative and showed us its tail flukes multiple times as it headed toward Cattle Pass. …Tyson Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Anacortes)
*
Wed, May 19 - Saratoga Passage - 15:15 - Gray whale out in front of Camano State Park, headed southbound. I could hear it before I saw it. -Monica Carr (via Marilyn Armbruster)
*
Wed, May 19 - Port Susan - 16:07 - Just spotted one gray off of Spee-Bi-Dah beach in Port Susan. Too far away to see any identifiers. Heading north towards Kayak/Warm Beach direction. Seemed like it was just traveling and not actively feeding. We get a lot of feeding out front of our place, and I would have recognized if it was feeding. -Joe Eichinger

May 18
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Tue, May 18 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - Had 3 T's inside Port Angeles Harbor. By the time I got there, they were outside heading west. Stopped just a little east of the mill, doing a lot of surface activity. Assuming they were chasing porpoise or seabirds ...Looked like a mom, a young male and a smaller calf...one had a pretty distinct notch on the right fluke. -Alethea Leddy
[Maybe the T75Bs and Cs per Melisa Pinnow]
*
08:15 - There is a pod of orcas in the Port Angeles Harbor this morning. Couldn't tell what ones they are. I heard they were headed back out to the straits heading east. There's been some between here and Dungeness in the last few weeks. -Nick Sue
*
Tue, May 18 - Haro Strait (T46Bs) - 14:22 - [orcas] Just past Henry now. Looks like they ate something. -Pam Cameron Keffer
*
13:45 - T46Bs west side of Henry Island trending south down Haro Strait. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
12:00-12:15 - Center for Whale Research Encounter #27: … "There were no confirmed IDs yet so Dave headed down to Snug Harbor and left in the boat around 1140. "Orcinus" soon arrived on scene and the encounter began at 1200 mid-Spieden Channel. The attack on the sea lion was apparently over and the whales were actively milling and acting like they were feeding. There appeared to be five whales but the two adult sized females went on a long dive early in the encounter. A small whale was breaching periodically. Two other larger young whales were also charging around rambunctiously. These three were starting to look like T46Bs when T46B herself and T46B2 finally surfaced from their long dive and confirmed that the whales were the T46Bs minus the T46B1s. The little breacher was T46B6 and she continued to breach throughout the encounter while the whales milled. …" [See CWR Encounter #27 for full summary and photos]
*
[T46Bs] They dragged a Steller sea lion around (in Spieden Channel) for over 2 hours before finally destroying it. No B1s present. -John Boyd
*
…This brought us to Battleship Island where a feast was taking place. The T46Bs (and only the T46Bs upon review of photos) were busy destroying a Steller sea lion. We watched them fully skin this massive mammal and work to divide the meal amongst the family, letting the carcass float up to the surface before dragging it back down beneath the waves. Amidst this hunt, the youngsters were busy breaching up a storm. Massive oil slicks from the sea lion were spreading at the surface while gulls and bald eagles gathered to scoop up the scraps. That's right, BALD EAGLES. It was a whirlwind of activity, our eyes glued to the water, not wanting to look away for fear of missing a breach or tail slap. Little Sol (T46B6) really stole the show, not only was she incredibly surface-active, she was getting at the sea lion along with the rest of the family, and she's only two!...Sam Murphy, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Anacortes)
*
Tue, May 18 - South Puget Sound (T90s and T124A2s) - 13:26 - [orcas] They're right about here eating lunch, a real slow trend south. -Jami Cantrell
[map indicates location between Taylor Bay and southern tip of Key Peninsula, a little east of mid channel. -gs]
*
13:18 - [orcas] They were out front of my place for about an hour (south Key Peninsula). Hunting the sea lions? So so cool!!! Headed back south again. -Mary Bernadette O'Keefe
*
13:14 - They've moved south a touch. Now between Johnson Point and almost end of the Key Peninsula, closer to the KP side. Seem to be trending south but still kind of going back and forth.
12:27 - Milling back and forth outside of Taylor Bay... (west side of Key Peninsula, near the end)
12:11 - [orcas] I see them between Taylor Bay and Johnson Point! Northbound. Two whale watching boats behind. -T.j. Smith
*
11:48 - On the west side of Key Peninsula heading north towards Zittles, at least four.
11:39 - Orcas between Johnson Point and Anderson Island...Hugging the west side of Anderson Island. -Lorrie Dozier Hall
*
11:30 - West side of Anderson Island, northbound. Same group as yesterday, T90s & T124A2s. -Brian McGinn
*
09:58 - 4 of them now out of view headed south in between Anderson and Ketron Islands.
09:25 - Now in front of Chambers, but continued on. (mid channel)
09:23 - [orcas] Now, super choppy but they are on east side of Fox Island headed south. -Dylan Beene
*
08:50 - [orcas] Saw 3, maybe 4, headed SB fast through Narrows at 8:50. Lost them in the chop out of sight SB on Tacoma side. From park under Narrows Bridge. -Stacey Crofoot
*
08:40 - [orcas] They came through the Tacoma Narrows at 8:40 heading south. -Heather Maher
*
07:00 - Pod of 3 orca in Colvos Passage, just south of Richmond Point heading south towards Gig Harbor. [video] https://www.facebook.com/OrcaNetwork/posts/10165546717975601 -Ken Donald
*
GRAY WHALES - Tue, May 18 - Port Susan - 11:50 - Just saw [CRC44] Dubknuck less than 1/2 mile off Kayak Point Pier. Fluked at 11:50 right beside us and then headed west towards Camano. We also saw at minimum 4 other grays around Kayak Point today, and saw one jump out of the water, showing about 2/3rds of its body or so. -Matty Leaman
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Tue, May 18 - South Puget Sound - 12:00 and 13:00 - There were 2 humpbacks south of Anderson Island, probably the same two seen entering Admiralty Inlet 2 days ago. We found them south of Taylor Bay passing very close to the Ts heading east around 12, then saw them south of Anderson heading SE at 1300. -Christopher Hanke, Puget Sound Express
*
UNIDETIFIED SPECIES - Tue, May 18 - South Puget Sound - 19:10 - I'm not saying it definitely is the humpbacks but I've seen four big black blobs come up and go back down just south of Henderson Bay and heading north..too far away for me to confirm. They definitely weren't seals or sea lions, dolphin, or anything of that size. They definitely weren't orca, either. -Barb Horn Hartman
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Tue, May 18 - Admiralty Inlet - ~19:20 - May 18, approx. 7:15 PM. A pair of humpback whales traveling southeast between Fort Casey and Lagoon Point on the west side of Whidbey. Saw one full breach and surfaced several time with spouts. Finally dove together with flukes up and disappeared. -Lachlan Pope

May 17
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Mon, May 17 - Admiralty Inlet (T90s and T124A2s) - We saw Orcas on our trip May 17 [mid channel between Pt. Wilson and Ft. Casey]. -Megan Harper
*
Mon, May 17 - Admiralty Inlet (T90s and T124A2s) - ~17:25 - Saw male directly across from Norwegian Point Park. He was hugging the Whidbey side at that point. Lost sight of the male. Watched for ~20 min but the water was getting pretty choppy & wasn't able to get a visual on any of the others. -Tisa Annette
*
17:15 - Male out front, a little more spread out, closer to Whidbey side and looking like approaching Double Bluff area now and out of our sight. So great to see orcas today!
17:00 - [orcas] Tightly bunched up, heading south at a pretty good pace, mid-channel, between Mutiny Bay and Hansville, possibly angling toward the S. Whidbey side? Watching from 1 mi. so. of Bush Pt. -Susan Berta, Orca Network
*
16:58 - Spotted from Mutiny Bay, roughly at this pin. [NE of Twin Spits area] -Katie Mraz
*
16:35 - Heading south at a good clip. They have passed the entrance to Hood Canal. They are mid channel, between Double Bluff and Hansville. Viewing from Windmill Heights on Whidbey, about 2 miles south of Bush Point.
16:15 - [orcas] Mid channel. 1 mile south of Bush Point, still heading south. -Mike Meyer
*
16:02 - Just south of Bush Pt...mid channel.----Somewhat distant but lovely sighting of T90s and T1242s off Bush Point. -Bonnie Gretz
*
15:58 - [orcas] Just passing Bush Pt. SB. Breach. -Howard Garrett, Orca Network
*
14:46 - T124A2s and T90s. 7 killer whales. -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
13:00 - Line of sight Fort Casey Bunkers southend in line with Fort Flagler. Southbound.
12:47 - Seems to be Whidbey side of mid channel sb ferry lanes.
12:37 - [orcas] They are moving slowly southbound midchannel. [near Keystone ferry land, mid channel] -Marilyn Armbruster
*
12:26 - Betsy Carlson, Port Townsend Marine Mammal Science Center, emailed: 12:26 - Orcas heading towards Bush Point. I am watching the whale boats trail a group of orcas heading into the fog between Fort Flagler, Marrowstone, and Whidbey.
*
12:05 - At least one male and a few females some surface activity.
12:01 - Looking from lighthouse Point Wilson straight across to Whidbey - a male and female headed south. -Erin Merklein
*
15:50 - Nearing Bush Pt.
15:15 - Still southbound. Looks like they've crossed back over to Whidbey side, midchannel, 1-2 miles north of Bush Point. Research vessel still following.
14:30 - Looks like they're headed slowly south, Marrowstone side of midchannel.
14:20 - They crossed west over to the other side of Admiralty and are closer to Fort Flagler. Not sure if they are going south again or not.
1400 - They were slowly southbound towards Lagoon Point but may have stalled out. Appears that a research boat is with them.
12:14 - They are traveling southbound between Fort Worden and Fort Casey. Still north of ferry lanes.
1200 - [orcas] Appear to be traveling south, due west of Fort Casey Lighthouse, midchannel. -Rachel Haight
*
12:12 - Victoria McKay called again with update. She now sees group heading directionally south, definitely not close to Whidbey side, seem far. Watched them pass through ferry lanes [maybe sightline]. She has now seen the male who was w/female. All making their way south, moving quickly.
11:51 - Victoria Mckay called. She's at Ebey's Landing and sees the orcas straight out, no longer on Whidbey side, look to be more on other side of channel. She has not seen the male yet. Looks like group might be hunting, not traveling at a pace, they've been at same spot past 5-10 minutes. First saw them around the Buoy earlier. And just now while on the phone one female just surfaced. Still look to be hunting; they are non-directional at this time.
*
11:06 - Group of transients southbound into Admiralty Inlet! About 8 whales, one big male, one mile south of Partridge Point. About 5 knots. -Brian McGinn
*
~10:00 - Four orcas sighted off Partridge Point (west of Coupeville) 5/17/2021 at approximately 10:00 am. It appears to be three adults and one juvenile, and based on the seagull activity and the fact that they are remaining in one area, they are feeding. -Dan Silva
*
COASTAL ORCAS - Mon, May 17 - Northern California Coast - A local birder observed a group of KWs milling off of the Humboldt Bay north jetty, maybe going north. One big male in group. -Jeff Jacobsen
*
MINKE WHALE - Mon, May 17 - Admiralty Inlet/N. Puget Sound - 13:37 - Heading south, a consistent pace. Doesn't seem to be doing any kind of feeding, just breaching every so often.
13:27 - Seeing a minke mid channel between Fort Warden Lighthouse and Whidbey. -Erin Merklein

May 16
GRAY WHALES - Sun, May 16 - E. Strait of Georgia - Saw gray whale close to beach by Semiahmoo Park 5/16/21, cruised the whole beach to Birch Point, then we left him and went fishing. He was in less than 40 feet of water. -Rick Lindquist
*
Sun, May 16 - Possession Sound - 12:03 - There are two grays off the southeast corner of Hat Island right now. -Anna Vermeulen
*
Sun, May 16 - South Whidbey Island - 09:55 - MV Saratoga encountered gray whale 44 Dubknuck circling just off Scatchet Head very close to the Whidbey shore. -Justine Buckmaster, Puget Sound Express
*
Sun, May 16 - Port Susan - 09:54 - 2 grey whales off Kayak Point. -Amy Locke Manley Oconnor
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Sun, May 16 - Strait of Georgia - 13:15 - One Humpback travelling south from the south end of Cortes Island. -Patti Perepeluk
*
Sun, May 16 - E. Strait of Juan de Fuca - 17:15 - MV Saratoga is watching two humpback whales due north of Protection Island aimed towards Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound. -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
… By the time we made it to the Strait of Juan de Fuca the fog had mostly cleared and whales were starting to be found! We visited with two humpback whales near Eastern Bank, getting several looks at their beautiful flukes and towering spouts. Despite clear photos, we were not able to confirm IDs so further digging will be needed. Near McArthur Bank we visited with a third humpback, none-other-than Split Fluke, Big Mama's 2006 calf! We were so excited to see this Salish Sea baby back for the season. …Sam Murphy, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Anacortes)

May 15
GRAY WHALES - Sat, May 15 - San Juan Islands - A gray whale first sighted in Rosario Strait on April 11, CRC1364, continues to range around the various banks off the islands. He/she continues to show signs of increasing robustness meaning food is probably available in adequate amounts. -April Ryan
*
12:00 - Noon, gray whale milling at Salmon Bank. - Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
Sat, May 15 - Saratoga Passage - 17:35 - Gray whale in Saratoga Passage on Whidbey side just NW of Langley. Headed East. Passing quickly and not lingering. -Anna K. Greenwood
*
10:51 - Mid channel out from southend Bells Beach, sb.
10:19 - Viewing from Fox Spit area, gray maybe out mid channel or a tad closer to Camano, line of sight with Mabana Shores. Little hard to view with haze and bright sunlight. Can't tell direction yet. -Marilyn Armbruster
*
08:34 - Christie Schaeffer called back to report the gray whale is still there (or maybe returned?) whale is feeding again below her off Whidbey Shores (Fox Spit area). Feeds, moves offshore circles and comes back in under the bluff.
~06:36 - Christie Schaeffer called; she is above Whidbey Shores. At about 06:36, she saw gray whale feeding briefly then moving towards Bells Beach.
*
Sat, May 15 - Possession Sound - 15:44 - Grey off our place about 20 minutes ago heading north. Probably 75 yards off the beach in the shallows. We are on the very south end (of Camano) facing west. We are off South Camano about a mile from where it turns into East Camano. -Mike Moberly
*
Sat, May 15 - Port Susan - One whale heading north from Port Susan Terrace. -Erik Brzozowski [CWW]
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Sat, May 15 - Haro Strait - 19:55 - Humpback. Southbound Haro Strait. Near Smugglers Cove. 1/2 mile offshore. -Peter Van Deventer
*
Sat, May 15 - Possession Sound - ~13:30 - Humpback whale swam by Tulalip Shores, in Port Susan today, Saturday, around 1:30 pm. We saw one last weekend too. Yes, a humpback because of that cute little dorsal fin (not a knobby spine like a grey), 3 breaths in concession, and then a deep dive with a wonderful tail shot. No swirling in the mud like the grey whales that visit. -Margie Eliason

May 14
UNIDENTIFIED ORCAS - Fri, May 14 - Strait of Georgia - 12:44 - Orcas (three?) seen travelling south along Texada Island toward Hornby at 12:44pm on May 14. -Patti Perepeluk
*
GRAY WHALES - Fri, May 14 - South to Central Puget Sound - 17:45 - Moving fast toward Elliot Bay Marina. Now off of Pier 90.
17:35 - Gray whale in Elliot Bay. Northbound off of Myrtle Edwards Park and grain terminal. 200ft from shore. -Joey LaMarche
*
16:40 - [prob. gray] A whale was right by the ferris wheel in Seattle about an hour ago. [~16:40]. We were way up near Pikes Market and only had a limited view of the water. Somebody called out "whale!" When I looked it was going under. Looked liked it could have been possibly been a humpback. I did not see it any more after that. -Adam Pennick
*
~15:20 - [gray] I saw one (same one, likely) off Constellation Park in West Seattle at about 3:20 pm yesterday [May 14]. Must've been soon(ish) after your [Gina Cunningham's] sighting. -Brenda Burnett
*
14:06 - Just saw a gray surface close to the West Seattle side of sure just south of the Vashon ferry dock heading north towards Lincoln Park. -Gina Cunningham
*
06:55 - Saw an adult grey whale heading north, in Tacoma Narrows at 6:55am. Right off our house #29 Salmon sBeach. It was about 100ft off the deck so east side of the Narrows approx. 1mile from the tip of Point Defiance. -Shaun Henderson
*
Fri, May 14 - Possession Sound - Breaching Gray Whale!! Sometimes we search for 4 hours and don't find the whales until the very end of a trip, and the reward can be amazing. Today was one of those days. Thick fog makes it very difficult to find whales and today had more than its fair share of fog in many of our whale hotspots. After searching far and wide for other species in that limited visibility we managed to find three gray whales at the very end of our trip today. All the hard work paid off with an amazing encounter with gray whales crc531 (a female) and crc2356 (sex unknown). These two were swimming around with each other in a normal manner when all of a sudden crc2356 surfaced with a high arch of the back and a exaggerated tail fluke wave aimed at crc531. I was shooting video at the time and knew immediately to switch back to photo mode because something cool was likely to happen between these two whales next The other experienced crew, Captain Trever, and Tony, had the same feeling. Sure enough, in less than a minute 2356 came shooting straight out of the water in a big breach and 531 surfaced right next to him a split second afterwards! We don't get to see gray whales breach here very often, but this one was definitely spectacular. Gray whale 2356 is relatively new to our area and was first spotted and given an identification number last year. 2356 spent much of the summer of 2020 feeding in the Snohomish River Delta. It was great to see this whale back again this year. -Photographer/Naturalist Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
12:35 - 531 has now joined 2356 and 723 between south Hat and Snohomish Delta. eastbound, all 3 together.
12:02 - #44 Dubknuck headed northeast from Hat toward Port Susan.
11:09 - I am pretty sure the other one was 185, about 85% sure.
10:37 - Gray whales 723, 2356, & one other unidentified whale, all off the southern end of Hat Island. -Tyson Parker Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching
*
10:30 - A Hat Islander reported seeing 2 grays at NE corner of the island, northbound. -Lori Christopher
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Fri, May 14 - Haro Strait - 18:30 - I saw two humpbacks from South Beach that were close to shore at 6:30pm, but they were headed south towards Cattle Point. -Dani Martin
*
18:07 - Two humpback whales off of Granny's Cove, fairly close to shore, headed up island. -Lodie Laurieanne Gilbert Budwill
*
13:45 - [humpback] Whales off Lime Kiln. -Fred Horn
*
From just south of Lime Kiln Lighthouse this afternoon. -Tracy Stocker [This looks like Sparrow/Casper BCXuk2012#6 calf 2016 per MERS Catalogue. Per Happy Whale, Sparrow was documented off Ka'anapali, Maui, on January 8th this year. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network]
*
12:45 - A slow moving humpback northbound 1/4 mile south of Edwards Point, west side of SJI. The humpback surfaced often but didn't rise very high out of the water. 400 yards from shore, it shifted close-in as it approached Edwards Point. Nice to hear and see. Photographed from shore, cropped and enlarged. -Michelline Halliday, SJI

May 13
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Thu, May 13 - San Juan Islands (T123s) - 12:00 - We left them there at 12 milling around. It looked like they were hunting!
11:30 - Heading south past Battleship Island. -Emily Calkins
*
11:00 - Now awake and heading west into Spieden Channel.
10:20 - Heading NW from the south end of Jones. >09:50 - Still south of Reuben Tarte but on east side of channel now, slow moving, 7-minute dives. Confirmed T123s. Heading east now.
09:15 - Visual from Reuben Tarte off Mineral Point, zigzagging north, long dives. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
At 08:55 Marie Waterman, WSF Marine Ops, emailed to report: Three orca are NB in San Juan Channel just off FHBR [Friday Habor].
*
09:02 - Last seen off Yellow, mid channel, making pretty good time considering they're resting. Aimed for Reuben Tarte.
08:47 - Resting, moving pretty slowly if anyone wants to try Reuben Tarte. Assuming they continue heading that direction. Approaching Yellow Island at last surfacing.
08:40 - [T123s] Passing Point Caution, mid channel, northbound. -Cindy Hansen, Orca Network
*
COASTAL ORCAS - Wed or Thu, May 12 or 13 - Oregon Coast - These [orcas] were taken in Barview Jetty & Tillamook Bay on the the Oregon Coast. Date was today or yesterday & sounds like they were going south, first sighting I heard of was by Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach & then North Barview Jetty & into Tillamook Bay
*
GRAY WHALES - Thu, May 13 - South Puget Sound - 17:19 - Just passed Day Island heading north. Grey. -Ang Leigh
*
16:03 - [gray] There is a single plume visible moving between Chambers Bay and Narrows Bridge, too far to id. (had been making a large circuit in place. Friend went on to Chambers, but reports no sighting at all just now...was North when I left) -Bridget Kate
*
Thu, May 13 - Possession Sound - 15:35 - Stephanie Riles [sp?] called to report a gray whale. They are observing a gray whale closer to mid channel, about in the Clinton/Mukilteo lanes, closer to Mukilteo side heading northbound. Whale is aimed directly towards Hat Island. Travel is medium pace.
*
After receiving early morning reports of whales near Hat Island, we head that direction and soon found gray whale 185 as he was swimming in the shallows just south east of Hat. We hung out with him for some time as another gray whale was coming in from Whidbey Island. As 185 headed toward the Snohomish River Delta, we were able to join up with the other whale. It turned out to be 2356, a rather new gray whale to the area and it gave us some great views. Our searched expanded north from there to the southern ends of Port Susan and Saratoga Passage, but after coming up empty, we head back down Hat Island. As we approached the Hat Island marker, we found an Osprey perched on it and swooped in for a closer look. While checking out the Osprey, Casey found us one of our whales and so we headed over to see who it was. We were soon on scene with 2356 again as it was headed north. We waved goodbye after some time and cruised over to the delta with 185. By now the fog was gone and just a bitter memory and the sun was out all around. It was a marvelous day to be on the water and seeing these two magnificent beasts was spectacular! -Tyson Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Everett)
*
09:00 - Two grays traveling towards SE corner of Hat Isl, from the east! -Lori Christopher
["One of the whales is gray whale 185. Whale number two is gray whale 2356." -Tyson Reed, Island Adventures]
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Thu, May 13 - San Juan Islands - 19:23 - 2 spotted so far.
19:20 - Humpback spotted from county park! Yay!! -Brenna Normann
*
17:58 - One baleen whale north of South Beach. Two baleen whales north of Eagle Point. All going north. -Chris Wilson
*
16:00 - Lots of splashes, pec fins in the air. So much surface activity from these two.
15:50 - 3 breaches in a row! Trending W now.
15:38 - Trending NW now.
15:30 - Unidentified whale 4 miles S of Cattle Point. Moving slowly N. -Fred Horn
["These two were Pop Tart (Big Mama's 2016 kiddo) and Olympus (Divot's 2018 kiddo)." -Sara Hysong-Shimazu]

May 12
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Wed, May 12 - San Juan Islands (T123s) - 20:30 - T123s off Orcas [Island] between Orcas and Waldron headed north. -Bill Pongo
*
17:00 - We left the T123s northeast of Patos Island. Headed east. -John Boyd
*
10:45 - [orcas] Whales, north end of Stuart Island by the lighthouse, heading north. Three or four. One very big and one baby for sure. -Lori Coultas Hixson
*
GRAY WHALES - Wed, May 12 - Possession Sound - [grays] I have seen them every night (from Tulalip, north of Priest Point) the last week in the Snohomish Delta. A few each night. -Jaime McBroom
*
14:15 - Saratoga had 2 Gray Whales including 531 between Hat Island and the Snohomish River Delta. -Justine Buckmaster, Puget Sound Express
*
Wed, May 12 - Central Puget Sound - This was in Bremerton, April 12th at 10:50am. Gray Whales. [video] https://www.facebook.com/OrcaNetwork/posts/10165533841915601 -Jake N Sherré O'Brien
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Wed, May 12 - San Juan Islands - Raptor [BCY0660] was on the back side of Orcas [Island], and there was a grey over by Anacortes. -Bill Pongo
*
UNIDENTIFIED BALEEN WHALES - Wed, May 12 - San Juan Islands - 18:10 - At 18:29 John Miller, WSF Marine Ops, emailed to report MV SAMISH Whale Report. 1810hrs: Vessel reports via 800MHz 2 fin (possible) whales moving in the southbound direction, just west of Green Point, in Rosario Strait. ["There have been two different minke whales reported in Rosario in the last few days. Two fin whales would be exceedingly rare." Erin Johns Gless, IA Marine Naturalist]

May 11
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Tue, May 11 - Central Puget Sound - 15:00 - [orcas] Today at Owen Beach, saw two pods! There were a lot, maybe 5 each pod, but could only be seen through binoculars. This is the best picture we could get today as they were so far out. -Cassidy E. Arimoto
photo - T124D ID: ALB
*
[orcas] We did [see them] this afternoon off Owen Beach. 5 or so of them. 1st time seeing one and I'm so tickled! -Jennifer Fabricius
*
COASTAL ORCAS - Tue, May 11 - Oregon Coast - 19:20 - We spotted two orcas off Boiler Bay OR at 7:20 pm on May 11, 2021. One male and one female. We have been watching them feed for 50 minutes now. They have been about 1/4 mile off shore, going north, then they would circle back south. -Edith Hitchings
*
UNIDERNTIFIED ORCAS - Tue, May 11 - Strait of Georgia - 19:23 - Orca heading south from Savary Island. Will update if I can confirm number. Update: The orcas I saw remained in the same general area for about 20 min. (7:23pm-7:40pm). They were far away, but I could see a couple of spy hops and I can confirm one orca with a large dorsal fin. At 7:40 the orcas began moving north from Savary Island. I continued watching from shore until 8:10pm and the orcas were still moving north. -Patti Perepeluk
*
GRAY WHALES - Tue, May 11 - Saratoga Passage - 18:14 - Gray whale heading south from Woodland Beach. -Beth Reaver Lee
*
14:16 - [gray] Just went by Madrona Beach, heading north. In pretty close, couple hundred yards. -Alan Wentzel
*
12:27 - Looks like a gray in Saratoga Passage. Heading from Camano Island Park towards Cama Beach. (Heading north) -Anna Terranova Bonadies
*
UNIDENTIFIED SPECIES - Tue, May 11 - South Puget Sound - [gray or humpback] I'm on Harstine Island and someone said one has been spotted on Dana Passage. one of my neighbors mentioned a post on Nextdoor of an early morning sighting but unfortunately, I don't have details and can't seem to confirm. -Angie Bial
*
Tue, May 11 - Hood Canal - ~11:00 - I saw a vague posting in a local group for people living in Union, along the Hood Canal, that said orca were spotted at Potlatch State Park this morning around 11am but no other sightings in the area since. - Shylyn Slye
*
Tue, May 11 - South Puget Sound - 17:45 - Absolutely not confirming that it was Orca(s) but we did see a black dorsal fin surface roughly 7-8 times in about 10 minutes off the southern tip of Ketron Island today around 5:45 PM heading quickly southbound towards Nisqually. The fin was "orca-like" in size and shape, but we were far away (just got done kayaking) and even with binoculars couldn't confidently identify it as an orca. The fin did look larger than most of the porpoises I've seen. I usually see the porpoises in large groups north of the Steilacoom Ferry and Sunnyside Beach where multiple fins surface at once in a more "chaotic" fashion. This was different, definitely heading southbound and we know we did not see more than 1 fin surface at a time. Finally lost track of it as it got closer to Dupont. -Katie Dyer
*
11:30 - This morning, on the west side of Anderson Island, south end of Key Peninsula -- basically in the middle of the water intersection between all 3 points of land there (Nisqually Reach Aquatic Reserve?). I watched them (from the air) for about 10 minutes and they didn't seem to be headed any direction in particular---just meandering back & forth in the middle there. It was a pod -- maybe 10 or so? Some large, some younger, occasionally disappearing, but surfacing a lot. Follow-up: No images - I was 1800' above the water so they would have been tiny in an iphone picture, but they were very visible to the naked eye! Dark colored, moving as a pod, and big enough to see clearly, so I assumed orcas. -Rebecca Graham
*
07:18 - Just saw a whale spout east of McNeil Island, south sound. Not close enough to id. After blowing twice, I never saw it again. -Scott Perry
*
UNIDENTIFIED BALEEN WHALES - Tue, May 11 - South Puget Sound - ~19:30 - Apparently, I missed the whale completely. A different neighbor's daughter watched it for more than an hour last night WAY south into Eld Inlet. Still trying for a good enough photo to ID as either gray or HB. It now makes sense that my husband thought he saw a foot print just slightly to the south of our house....but passed it off as the bait ball/sea lions/seals, etc. Which, when very active, leave giant 'prints' in the water. -Kim Merriman

May 10
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Mon, May 10 - South to Central Puget Sound (T87, T124As, T124Ds) - 20:00 - Moving fast! Nb toward Eglon. 4-5 orcas. West of shipping lane, Kitsap side. Viewing through scope from Mukilteo. 3 in front, 2 trailing. -Alice Thuy Talbot
*
20:10 - Point No Point now.
19:48 - Group heading north along Kingston side of channel. Viewing multiple blows across from Edmonds fishing pier. -Barbara Gamrath
*
17:55 - Just saw an orca fin twice north of Point No Point, mid channel. Think it's traveling south but could be wrong. -Kelly Wisniewski
*
~17:40 - Looks like male sighted between PNP and Norwegian Point. Saw dorsal fin only twice. Witnessed by a few others. Sorry no pictures. Heading north-northwest from Kitsap side toward mid channel. -Mike Maddox
*
19:30 - They milled around a lot directly out from Kingston. Looked to be hunting a few times. They are now just getting out of my sight. Mid channel still heading north.
18:29 - Visible from Kingston ferry… group is heading north - east side of channel. Just passed the ferry that is heading to Edmonds. 629pm. Northbound.
16:55 - Male out of sight now. He was heading northwest from Eglon.
16:46 - Still have male in sight. He is milling around north of Eglon.
16:34 - Male is traveling on the west side of Whidbey.
16:27 - Big male just passed us northbound at Eglon mid channel. Leisure pace. -Tisa Annette
*
16:14 - [orcas] Spotted off the m/v Spokane briefly. We were on the way to Kingston south of the ferry lanes, seemed to be mid channel. -Amanda Mandi Rogers
*
15:27 - Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, emailed to report: Whales, 1527 PUYALLUP 5/10/2021. Master reports 4 orca 1/4 mile N of the traffic lanes between EDM/KING.
*
15:48 - Group continues to forage - trending West/SW w/lots of surface activity and some directional changes - sightline now well south of tank farm towards Kingston - barely in view now from Apple Tree Pt., Kitsap side of midchannel. At least 4 individuals with a little one.
15:27 - Apparently two groups or split group Kingston-bound ferry lane - nb/ milling with others farther out, Kitsap side. Sightline is Apple Tree Point to just south of tank farm, lots of directional changes - foraging?
15:20 - Thanks to Donna's post we now see group between Apple Tree Point and Kingston dock trending southbound but may be hunting. Have no idea if same group as earlier flipped or if another has come in. No sign of male with this group.
15:00 - Eyes on [orcas] from Apple Tree Pt., mid channel, N of Tank farm/well S of Edmonds, unclear direction, long down times. 2 females + another female or juvie with. -Donna Green Van Renselaar
*
15:44 - Milling/hunting due east of Kingston ferry docks.
14:40 - One male, N bnd, just south of ferry heading to Kingston.
14:38 - [orcas] 4-5 maybe more, long stay-down times. Moving N fast, west [side] of channel, north of ferry heading to Edmonds. -North Allen Aspelund
*
13:40 - [orcas] Pod moving north at Redmond Beach. Visible from upper parking lot with binoculars. -Capri Jensen
*
12:30 - Chilkat Express just departing killer whales mid channel but pointed to Point Wells, northeast bound. -Christopher Lewman, Puget Sound Express
*
12:35 - [orcas] Spotted from Suquamish dock. They are well on the east side. -Brendan Moore-Penaskovic
*
Taken this afternoon from Kayu Kayu [Ac] Park in Richmond Beach. -Jim McKinlock
*
14:04 - All on the move. T87 mid channel, out from N end of Richmond Beach boundary; families grouped, trailing 1/4- 1/2 mile. All northbound east of mid channel.
13:50 - Families are still in same general place between Kayu Kayu Ac Park and NE of mid channel buoy on a meal. Gulls swooping in, gathering scrappy snacks. T87 is just NW of them engaging in some breaching, long dives, making directional changes, etc.
13:37 - They are actually stalled out just milling back and forth in lazy state. Don't appear to be hunting. Baby so cute!
13:25 - So It was T87 who split north earlier. He wasn't with the group off Richmond Beach, and he is now north of yellow mid-channel buoy off Kayu Kayu Ac, Richmond Beach, facing south...slow southbound waiting for/meeting up with families, who are split in two groups close together heading northbound east side of channel south of buoy! They all off Kay Kayu at moment, making slow progress and some directional changes
12:55 - They are split up or others circled back. There is a group still south of my 12:45 update stalled out off south end Richmond Beach.
12:45 - Orcas are between Richmond Beach and just south of Jefferson Head, mid channel, now steady northbound. Still viewing from high vantage point in RB just north of Richmond Beach Saltwater Park.
12:10 - Group of Ts appear to be on the move. Trending/drifting? offshore NE bound, still very much Kitsap side, south end Port Madison. Seeing clump of multiple simultaneous blows.
11:52 - Orcas are pretty much stalled out. Presume on a meal.
11:45 - Seeing breaches/lunges off Fay Bainbridge, orcas are very much on Kitsap side. Viewing from high elevation across the Sound at Richmond Beach. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
*
11:27 - [orcas] Spotted them on the Bainbridge side close to Faye Bainbridge. I'm viewing from Discovery Lighthouse with binoculars. -Jan Barnes
*
10:40 - STG [Saratoga] is with them 1/2 mile south of West Point, mid channel, heading north quickly. T124As, T124Ds, and T87. -Justine Buckmaster, Puget Sound Express
*
11:39 - They are straight out from Fay Bainbridge.
10:37 - Male was trailing but is closer to rest of the group now. -Tisa Annette
*
11:09 - They are passing Shilshole now.
10:26 - [orcas] Group northbound past Elliot Bay, mid channel. -Sue Larkin
*
10:05 - [orcas] Northbound past Blakely Rock, just west of mid-channel. -Phil Echelman
*
09:54 - NB, approaching Blakely Rocks.
09:45 - [orcas] North of military ship docked at Manchester, northbound, mid channel, view from Constellation Park, West Seattle. Harbor porpoises near shoreline here. -Mary Hartmann
*
09:32 - [orcas] Viewing from W. Seattle. They are moving NB, just passing the northern point of Blake. (Some long dives. 3-4 leading with big guy a bit behind.) -Paul Steyn Benade
*
09:45 - The are approaching Restoration Point now. >09:13 - [orcas] Mid Blake Island, east side, northbound. -James Tilley
*
08:57 - [orcas] Headed between Blake Island and West Seattle. (viewing from beach at Southworth ferry terminal) -Brandi Marie
*
08:55 - Big male midchannel followed by 4-5 others close to the Kitsap side. They have a calf with them, lots of surfacing, still traveling north. Now down for a longer dive. Just came up a bit north of Point Southworth.
*
08:46 - [orcas] They are north bound mid channel, Colvos almost at north end of Vashon. -Matt King
*
06:17 - [orcas] Just passed Tacoma Narrows Bridge heading north, mid-channel. (It looked like 3-4, couldn't confirm males as they were right at the shadow/sunlight line on the water and had longer down times.) -Amanda Van Meter
*
06:00 - The orcas are heading NB under the Narrows bridge. 6:00 am. (My neighbor Debbie got a better look at them since she saw them when they were closer to Day Island. She thinks there were 6 or 7 and one male leading them.) -Karen Caldwell
*
GRAY WHALES - Mon, May 10 - San Juan Islands - We started off the trip with gray whale CRC-1364 in scenic Deepwater Bay, Cypress Is.. Its blows brilliantly illuminated in the morning sun, with vivid emerald waters and fiery madronas setting a breathtaking scene. We talkative pigeon guillemots dotted the shoreline while swallows swooped down from above. This beautiful gray whale continued north up Bellingham Channel while we continued our search to the south. … -Sam Murphy, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Anacortes)
*
11:29 - A grey whale just passed by about an hour ago headed south! [Bellingham Channel between Guemes and Cypress Islands.] -Erin Licata
*
Mon, May 10 - Possession Sound - 13:36 - Gray whale across from Possession State Park, east side of channel, northbound. -Joe Dreimiller
*
13:18 - These are gray whales 723 and 44 pointed north toward Possession Sound. -Justine Buckmaster, Puget Sound Express
*
13:52 - They just passed me in Chennault Beach neighborhood, Mukilteo. Continuing north.
13:05 - Seeing a couple blows southeast of Possession Point. Initially look like gray whale, then saw a dorsal? So may be a humpback. Will update if I can get a more clear visual. updated: Pretty sure they are both grays. -Alice thuy Talbot

May 9
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Sun, May 9 - Boundary Pass (T36s, T65, T123s) - 14:00 - T123s, 36s, and 65 were in Boundary Pass about 100 yards from the border heading towards East Point at 1400. -John Boyd
*
Sun, May 9 - Central to South Puget Sound (T87, T124As, T124Ds) - May 9th Orcas between Anderson Island and Ketron! Photo credit goes to Jeffrey Ritter! -Gay McCray
*
20:25 - [orcas] We are watching them from the Riv Marina [east side of Anderson Island, north of Oro Bay]!! -Jazmin Nijjar
*
18:16 - [orcas] Whole pod hunting by Oro Bay. Male off towards Steilacoom side. Playful and hunting. Stationary for now. -Braidon Peterson
*
18:15 - [orcas] Moving back and forth between Ketron Island and Anderson Island. Viewable in the distance from Nisqually Reach. -Elliott Sweet
*
17:46 - Headed down south towards green bouy and shipwreck.
17:38 - Still at Anderson Island. We see the male. We are right in front of DuPont.
17:31- [orcas] Turned around by Anderson headed northbound. -Denise Couch
*
17:24 - Male bringing up the rear, still southbound past Anderson Island. The rest are a good bit ahead of him.
17:17 - Past the south end of Ketron, were southbound, but just went dark.
17:01 - [orcas] Southbound on the Anderson Island side of Ketron. -Belen Bilgic Schneider
---- Altogether, my count was 5 between Anderson and Ketron Islands - the male and then 4 females/young with one baby that is still a little pink, so I think we have a new addition. [T124A4A would be in this group...born/1st seen early March per CWR encounter #11 relayed to me by Sara Hysong-Shimazu. -alb]
*
17:25 - Big splashing and bird activity by Ketron ferry, very close to shore. Viewing from Saltar's Point Beach (Steilacoom).
16:56 - [orcas] Still heading south/west by Anderson Island. Viewing from Steilacoom. They are definitely closer to Anderson side. -Stacy Gordon
*
16:50 - [orcas] Viewing from Saltar's Point Beach, Steilacoom. They are between here and mid McNeil Island, still southbound in travel mode. -Gayle Swigart, Orca Network
*
16:36 - [orcas] Group still heading south. …off Steilacoom mid-channel. -Corissa Thomas Wobler
*
~16:26 - Here's the male--taken around 4:26pm on the north end of Chambers Bay. -James W Doyle
*
16:25 - [orcas] Directly off Chambers Bay. -Laureen Claggett
*
16:45 - Out of my view, southbound towards McNeil.
16:22 - [orcas] Southbound 4. At Chambers now. Viewing from Fox Island fishing pier. -Stacey Crofoot
*
16:10 - [orcas] 4 pm, pod of 4 heading south of Titlow Park. -Samantha Hinton
*
16:00 - T124As and T124Ds still southbound. See map. [mid channel between Tacoma side and mid-eastern entrance to Hale Passage. -gs] Plus one male about a half mile away. -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
15:58 - Viewing male from Titlow Beach, 3:58. -Rietta Rain
*
15:55 - [orcas] They just went under the Narrows Bridge at about 3:55pm, heading south. -Heather Maher
*
15:49 - Just saw a couple heading southbound towards Tacoma Narrows Bridge. -Amanda Van Meter
*
16:19 - Have passed Fox Island southbound. Male is still doin his own thing, close to the group but across the channel closer to Tacoma side, others are closer to Fox Island side.
16:06 - Passed Pt. Fosdick southbound.
15:53 - Approaching Narrows on the Tacoma side of the Towers, southbound, females & calves, male ahead of them.
15:39 - [orcas] From just north of the bridge, I can see two groups: one of 5 mid channel between Gig Harbor & Tacoma Side, & one group of 2 including adult male closer to Tacoma side, approaching the bend in the Narrows just north of the Bridge, southbound. -Melissa Bird
*
16:01 - Way past Narrows in travel mode. Moving towards Chambers Bay.
15:30 - Looks like they have committed...heading toward Salmon Beach, Tacoma side.
15:27 - [orcas] Watching from the old ferry dock in Gig Harbor. Still see them in the distance off Point Defiance, no commitment to the Narrows yet. -Mallory Piekarski-Rabinowitz
*
15:21 - [orca] Just saw one, right by Point Defiance. (Heading toward Tacoma Narrows) -Susan Varney
*
15:05 - At 15:17 Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, emails to report: Whales 1505, Chetzemoka reports: Master reports 4 orca headed westbound between PT DEF and TAHL [Point Defiance and Tahlequah, S Vashon -alb]
*
15:00 - Past Owen Beach headed towards the Narrows again. Almost to the tip of Point Defiance, viewing blows from Redondo.
14:40 - Grouped up off Owen Beach.
14:20 - South of container ship at Quartermaster Harbor, lots of splashing now, most likely feeding very close to the Vashon side.
14:13 - [orcas] Passing Quartermaster, approaching the container ship still heading south. -Steve Brown
*
14:06 - [orcas] Large group heading south about to reach Quartermaster Harbor. Tight group ahead of a single male, Vashon side. We counted 7 total, one male. -Nina Brown
*
13:37 - Single orca traveling south towards Redondo Beach. Last sighting at: 47.384720,-122.333109 [north of Saltwater State Park -alb] -Andrew Bartles
*
Hearings on the Sound Action web cam/hydrophone:
13:34:07 - Loud call.
13:33:19 - Louder call.
13:32:58 - Louder call.
13:32:44 - Another faint call? Much boat noise.
13:32:04 - First vocal I heard - faint. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
*
13:30 - Spotted a baby orca at Point Robinson at 1:30pm heading south at a steady pace. -Cara Brueckner
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Sun, May 9 - San Juan Islands - Into Thatcher Pass, through the inner islands, and out Wasp Pass we went until we reached Waldron Island where a humpback mother-calf pair were chilling. It turned out to be none-other than Salish-Sea regular "Slate" returned from her wintering grounds with a new little bundle of blubber at her side. The calf was quite playful, rolling across mom's back and throwing its flukes at the surface. At one point, the pair turned towards us so we shut down and waited until they passed. They surfaced right off the bow, both mom and calf in unison, melting our hearts in the process. …Sam Murphy, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Anacortes)
*
It was pretty nice to spend Mother's Day with one of our favorite moms out here--BCX1210 "Slate" and her newest calf! -Maya's Legacy Whale Watching
*
13:31 - There are two humpbacks near Waldron Island in Cowlitz Bay. It's a mom and calf on Mother's Day! -Pam Cameron Keffer
["That'll be BCX1210 Slate and calf." -Ellie Sawyer]
*
12:00 - Wonderful to see Slate and her new calf today! Calf must have breached 10 times, and then did tons of cartwheels, tail throws, and spinning in the water. They were first sighted near Green Point (1200)…John Boyd
*
GRAY WHALES - Sun, May 9 - San Juan Islands/Griffin Bay - 17:00-20:00 - [gray] He was first reported at 5:00 pm out from Jackson's Beach, circling around Griffin Bay. I watched him until about 8:00 and he was continuing that same behavior circling around the area. Doing 2 or 3 shallow dives and then going down for 10 - 12 minutes. -Cindy Hansen, Orca Network
*
Sun, May 9 - San Juan Islands/Bellingham Channel - The fun started just fifteen minutes into the trip when the crew found gray whale CRC-1364 ripping along with the currents in Bellingham Channel. We got some great looks at both its dorsal ridge and flukes, in addition to several lungfuls of stinky whale breath. -Sam Murphy, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Anacortes)
*
Sun, May 9 - Possession Sound - 19:30 - Happy to finally say I see 2 grays south of the delta possibly sb. Did see some feeding, fin/fluke action. Viewing from south end of Sandy Point. -Marilyn Armbruster
*
10:32 - Grey whale on northwest side of Hat Island just now. -Katy-Kat Logan Glasier
*
12:02 - 531 just outside of the [Snohomish] Delta between delta and Hat [Island]. And: 2356 was the unidentifiable whale from earlier.
11:19 - Unidentifiable gray whale south end of Hat Island.
10:45 - Gray whale 185 west side of Hat Island.
----a.m. trip: We cruised out to the west side of Hat Island where we found gray whale 185. He was moving north quickly through many fishing boats and then suddenly put on the brakes and gave us some looks. We left him with the boats and circumnavigated Hat island to find gray whale 2356 feeding off the southern end of the island. We were headed north when we spotted 531 along the edge of the Snohomish River Delta and quickly joined up with her for some time. After a while 531 began to head back out toward Hat Island so we swung over to the Snohomish River marker to look at an adult bald eagle. We got some amazing views before the eagle took flight and we headed out toward Hat Island. We joined 531 for some final views before making our way back in to the dock. -Tyson Parker Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching
*
Sun, May 9 - Port Susan - p.m. trip: … In the north end of Port Susan where we found multiple gray whales in the middle of a feeding frenzy. We got some very close looks at 21 Shackleton and also watched gray whales 53, 723, and 44 swimming and feeding in the distance. Waters were raging and pectoral fins were thrashing everywhere you looked. … Tyson Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Everett)
*
MINKE WHALES - Sun, May 9 - San Juan Islands - Not long after we left the gray whale, an attentive passenger and Captain Shane spotted the teeny-tinyest minke whale swimming amongst rhinoceros auklets off the southwestern corner of Cypress. -Sam Murphy, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Anacortes)

May 8
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Sat, May 8 - San Juan Islands (T36 and T36Bs, T46Bs (minus T46B1B), T46C2, T63 and T65, T123s, T125A and T128) - 17:00 & 18:00 - Left the T36s, T46Bs, T65, T63, T125A, T128, and T87 northbound at 1700. T123s northbound at 1800 at Point Caution. -John Boyd
*
16:00 - T123s near the Lopez ferry terminal (unsure of direction); also a large group of Ts southbound off the west side of Lummi Island. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
14:35 - At 14:40 Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, emailed: Whales in ANAC 5/8 1435hrs.: SAMISH Master reports 3 orca westbound just east of Thatcher Pass. -
*
… T-party! Highlights of this encounter included a sudden unexpected aerial leap by T36B1 and close passes by T125A, T128, and T65. Let's be honest, the whole trip was a highlight, it seemed like non-stop wildlife. In total, we saw at least twenty-one Bigg's killer whales and one Gray! Incredible! Here is a breakdown of the whales we saw: T36 & T36Bs, T46Bs & T46B1Bs (minus Tl'uk [T46B1B]), T46C2, T65 & T63, T123s, T125A &T128. -Sam Murphy, Island Adventures Whale Watching
*
Today in San Juan Island, I can confirm T46Bs, T46B1s without Tl'uk, T46C2, T65, T63, T36, T36Bs, T123s are here. T123s are not part of the T-party. 17 individuals in the T-party and 4 individuals from T123s. -Yifan Ling
*
GRAY WHALES - Sat, May 8 - San Juan Islands - … We left the [orca] pod to continue their southbound trek and circled Cypress to visit with gray whale CRC-1364 who was in Deepwater Bay, Cypress Is. With repeated soundings, it was easy enough to reach an ID using the fluke photos, but we hardly need it with this whale given how much time it has spent near Fidalgo of late. Get one look at the dorsal ridge and we could tell you who it is. -Sam Murphy, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Anacortes)
*
Sat, May 8 - Port Susan - 15:00 - Multiple gray whales feeding a mile off Kayak Point at 1500. Two I was able to ID were 21 and 44. It was a feeding frenzy!!! --- …we headed north to Port Susan. Upon reaching the shallow waters in the north end of [Port] Susan, we found a massive feeding frenzy of gray whales. Everywhere we looked whales were digging into the bottom and feeding like crazy. The waters surged all around us as we watched the shrimp buffet. It was absolute pandemonium, and we were even able to get a couple of ID's. Two of the whales feeding closest to us turned out to be 44 Dubknuck and 21 Shackleton. -Tyson Parker Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching
*
13:53 - 4-5 Grey Whales feeding off the shore of Kayak Point, 5.8.21. -Annie Archibald
*
Sat, May 8 - Possession Sound - 12:30 - Probably the same whale. Saw between Jetty and Hat Island - traveling west. A whale watching boat is following. -Lynn Baker
*
14:37 - Gray 531 now feeding aggressively in the Snohomish delta.
11:00 - Gray whale 185 feeding on the edge of Snohomish delta. [Gray whale] 531 traveling slowly northbound between Hat Island and the delta showing flukes occasionally. -Tyson Parker Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching
*
MINKE WHALES - Sat, May 8 - San Juan Islands - ~14:30 - 5/8/21 at approximately 14:30pm Minke whale sighted in the Bellingham Channel between Guemes and Cypress Island[s]. Follow-up: I unfortunately didn't get any photos. There has also been some night activity here for the past 3 nights. I can hear the whale(s) but can't see anything to identify species. -Erin Licata

May 7
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Fri, May 7 - San Juan Islands (T123s) 15:28 - Passing Reuben Tarte now. (They surfaced off O'Neal, then did a deep dive and didn't surface again until well past Reuben Tarte.)
15:18 - Milling off O'Neal.
15:11 - [orcas] Heading inshore toward O'Neal now. -Cindy Hansen, Orca Network
*
14:28 - Pod of orca in San Juan Channel. At least 1 male and 1 calf. [T123s northbound. -Ellie Sawyer] -Michelle Seidelman
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Fri, May 7 - Central Puget Sound - ~10:45 - [humpback] Took this mediocre shot along Rich Passage with my mobile phone around 10:45 am today from Fort Ward Park on Bainbridge Island. -Carl Siegrist
*
08:48 - Currently right off of the ferry dock in Bremerton.
08:14 - Outbound at this point. 100% sure.
07:41 - Humpback whale in Sinclair Inlet. -Daniel Chambley
*
GRAY WHALES - Fri, May 7 - Saratoga Passage - 13:46 - Passing the park close to shore now, heading towards Elger Bay.
13:35 - Two grays heading north midchannel in Saratoga Passage, approaching Camano Island State Park. -Serena Tierra
*
12:30 - Gray whale CRC44 northbound. [north of Langley, closer to Camano side. -gs] -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
11:50 - 44 headed south along Camano, Pebble Beach area.
11:40 - 531 and 21 in Saratoga Passage headed toward Mabana Beach together. -Tyson Parker Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching
----… We caught up with them outside of Langley and right away we were able to identify them as CRC531 and CRC21 thanks to 531 sounding her flukes and 21's very yellow rostrum. We got a lot of great flukes and close surface behavior from these two whales and had another whale southbound along Camano island. After 531 and 21 continued north we swung over to check out the southbound whale who turned out to be 44 Dubknuck. He was showing his flukes like crazy... He soon made the turn north to join 531 and 21 so we began to make our way south. …
*
Fri, May 7 - Possession Sound - 15:33 - Currently seeing 3-4 different whale blows (assuming grays) between Jetty Island/Everett and SE Gedney. Look to be milling. -Renee Chamberland
*
10:45 - 2261 and 2 other gray whales in the Snohomish river delta.
---We began to scour Port Gardner as we made our way between the Snohomish River Delta and the Hat Island feeding grounds. It didn't take long for Captain Carl to find our first group of whales feeding just off the delta. We were quickly able to ID gray whale 2261 due to its round scar on its dorsal ridge and traveling with them was gray whale 185. As we watched these two massive animals, Brittany found two more whales out near Camano Island, and one way in toward the beaches near Tulalip. After some great looks at 2261 and 185, we branched to find the two that we had seen heading toward Saratoga pass. -Tyson Parker Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching
*
Fri, May 7 - Central Puget Sound - ~17:00 - Small pod (4 or 5) of harbor porpoises feeding in circles off Waterman, west of Rich Passage about 5 PM today. -Jim Ellis, Waterman/Port Orchard

May 6
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Thu, May 6 - Strait of Georgia - 14:44 - Report Tl'uk off Neck Point Hunting about an hour [ago]. -Comox Valley Wildlife Sightings
[The 46Bs and B1s were east of Port Angeles but 46B1B was not with them. If he was reported today, it will be interesting to find out who he's been traveling with! -Jeff Friedman, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching]
*
Thu, May 6 - Admiralty Inlet (T46Bs w/o T46B1B, T46C2, T87, T125A and T128) - We had a great opportunity to watch an unusual mix of Bigg's killer whales today lined up with the Olympic Mountains as a backdrop on both of our trips! We found the big adult bulls T87, T128, and T125A traveling along with the T46B pod just offshore from the Dungeness Spit. T87 is a lone male that mixes it up with other pods most of the time. The supposed brothers, T128 and T125A, travel together and we've seen a lot of them in this area lately. -Photographer/Naturalist Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
Through my photos taken during the whale watching trip today, I can confirm T87, T125A, T128, T46Bs (exclude T46B1B), T46C2 were in this group. Follow-up: Yes, I saw the eyepatch of T46B1 at least twice. Update: I scanned the photos again, I can confirm that T46B1A was there, only T'luk was missing. -Yifan Ling
*
~20:30 - My wife and I saw a group of roughly a half dozen orca, including a large male, off of the north side of Port Townsend around sunset last night (8:30ish). We first noticed them around Middlepoint and then lost them in failing light headed toward Pt. Wilson (They were traveling west to east). We observed a group of about three otters head out to a large offshore rock (roughly 500ft offshore) and one of the smaller orcas investigated the area around the rock. Otherwise, the orcas stayed offshore at least a quarter mile. We think we could just make out some nervous heads of the otters on the rock; the light was failing. Also, some harbor seals sticking pretty close to shore. Seems likely that this is at least part of the group referenced below [by tug Cpt. Joh Gore, seen in Admiralty Inlet]. -Neil Harrington
*
06:45 - John Gore (sp?), Captain tug Ocean Mariner, called while southbound off Marrowstone Island and passed two groups of NORTHBOUND orcas: one included a bull with ~5 smaller whales; 2nd group was stationed 200 yards behind lead group and included a bull with 4 other killer whales. Approximately a total of 10-12 heading northbound in the southbound shipping lanes off Craven Rock, heading for Marrowstone Point and then beyond to Port Townsend. Orcas were running along pretty good; lead bull was kind of playing. That was 06:45 this morning, today, May 6, 2021.
*
COASTAL ORCAS - Thu, May 6 - Oregon Coast - ~14:30 - Every year, for the past 6 years, we have sighted Orcas from our backyard. They were a little early this year. We always report them to you and hope maybe you can identify the pod. Today's sighting was approx. 2:30 pm on the Siuslaw River in Florence, OR. They only stayed about 20 minutes or so. Swam in a bit over a mile and back out. [video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4oxate0rSk -Deborah Heldt Cordone
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Thu, May 6 - Central Puget Sound - 18:15 - Saw what looked to be a single Humpback at Dash Point Pier heading west towards Tahlequah. -Sean Rourke
*
~15:00 - humpback? [confirmed from video by Caressa] At Dash Point about 3pm. -Caressa Salee
*
GRAY WHALES - Thu, May 6 - Saratoga Passage - ~12:45 & 13:00 - Viewing from high bank between Fox Spit and Baby Island, saw a gray blow mid channel between Whidbey and Camano State Park. Saw the blow again at 13:00. I think it's heading south??? But not for sure. I've lost s/he for now. A little windy and choppy out there. -Marilyn Armbruster

May 5
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Wed, May 5 - Discovery Bay/E. Strait of Juan de Fuca - ~20:50 - At approximately 8:50pm on May 5th, 3-4 orcas heading east just off North Beach, Port Townsend. A bit south of mid-channel as they headed around the Point Wilson bend, it looked to be two males with possibly a female and juvenile. Some minutes later, a very large male surfaced roughly 20yards from shore (2 blocks west of North Beach Park), resurfaced several times, then went on his evening way. Magical mystery tour carries on...Annette Huenke
*
Video taken in the late afternoon of May 5, 2021 from the shore at Diamond Pt., at the mouth of Discovery Bay. […including T125A, T128, and looks like at least T46Bs (minus B1s) and others hunting just feet from shore off Diamond Point at north end of Discovery Bay. -alb] [video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPDGZt0yYN0 -Sally and Gene Beall
*
14:40 - Around 12 whales, 125A and 128 [are] here 3 miles south of Beckett Point. Just finished a kill, heading back north. Left them at 1440, 1/2 mile south of Beckett Point, northbound.
12:30 - Got a report of 4-6 Orca Whales off Diamond Point, southbound. -Christopher Hanke, Puget Sound Express
*
~13:15-16:30 - These Orcas came into Discovery Bay about 1:15 yesterday heading southeast until they got to Contracter's Point. They stayed at the bottom of the bay, whales feeding until about 2:30. …then the pod slowly started swimming toward Beckett Point, mid-channel. The biggest male came right next to the Beckett Point shore as they headed towards Protection Island. The whales fed out there until about 4:30 when they swam past Diamond Point very close to shore heading west towards the Strait of Juan de Fuca. -Karel Reeves
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Wed, May 5 - Haro Strait - 10:51 - There's a humpback in Haro Strait heading north. It's just a little south of Henry Island. -Pam Cameron Keffer
[Turned out to be Dalmation and Pop Tart. -John Boyd]
*
GRAY WHALES - Wed, May 5 - South Puget Sound - 14:20 - I'm near Joemma Beach and just saw a grey whale. it was heading South near Joemma Beach out the Case Inlet at 1420, today 5/5/2021. There was one boat following it; otherwise, it was just us and them. The whale was about 15-20 yards from the shore line, in pretty shallow water. -Melanie Boling
*
Wed, May 5 - Possession Sound … Gray whales #723 and friend (possibly #56) were socializing at the surface. We stopped to drift with them as they synchronized their breathing, taking in the sweet stench of whale breath with each surfacing. We noticed another gray whale in the distance making its way towards us. As it approached, the two we were with seemed excited about the appearance of the third (possibly #185), as they picked up the pace and bee-lined towards them. What unfolded next was nothing short of spectacular. The three proceeded to feed in the shallows off the southeastern corner of Hat Island, spyhopping repeatedly. Even the most novice photographers could have captured a spyhop photo today, there was plenty of opportunity. As the activity died down, we continued the search to the north of Hat Island and then into the Snohomish River Delta. We did find a fourth whale rolling in the delta, showing off pecs and flukes as it fed. We watched from afar, as the water was far too shallow for us to approach, a testament to the skill of these massive benthic foragers. Before heading home, we visited with the trio of grays one more time. They were lounging at the surface, lined up side by side. …Sam Murphy, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Everett)
*
13:00-13:30 - I was at Harborview Park on Mukilteo Blvd about 1:00-1:30 and saw a couple of boats following what looked like just one gray whale. It was about halfway between Hat Island and Everett. -Anton Kleparek
*
08:30 - Wednesday solo Gray traveling from Mid Hat Isl., northeast, towards the delta, mid channel. -Lori Christopher

May 4
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Tue, May 4 - Strait of Georgia (T49A2 minus T49A1, T123s) - The T123's & T049A's sans T049A1 attacked a sea lion in the Strait of Georgia today. -Rachelle Hayden, SSOS
*
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Tue, May 4 - Strait of Juan de Fuca (T125A and T128) - T125A/T128 hunting about 1 mile north of Ediz Hook. Looks like they killed a Steller sea lion and remained feeding for quite a while before slowly meandering east. -Lee Leddy
*
UNIDENTIFIED ORCAS - Tue, May 4 - Strait of Georgia - 13:41 - Orca travelling north along Texada Island - halfway point along Texada. Visible from Vancouver Island. -Patti Perepeluk
*
GRAY WHALES - Tue, May 4 - South Puget Sound - 18:40 - Think it was a grey whale heading north past Salmon Beach. I last saw it mid channel near Point Defiance. -Teri Fields Mattsen
*
~17:40 - Thought you might find it interesting that I just saw two gray whales just swim east to Point Fosdick and turned north heading for the Narrows. Time spotted was 1 hour ago. Less than 100 meters from shore. -Michael Parkour
*
~08:30 - Yesterday morning [5/4/21], at around 8:30, there was a second-hand report of a whale in Budd Inlet heading south - passing Boston Harbor. I looked all day and saw nothing. I relayed report to Jessie as well. I just saw the report of a gray whale in the Narrows. So, I'm curious if in fact there was a whale this far south. Seems to be a lot of territory to cover though. -Kim Merriman
*
Tue, May 4 - Saratoga Passage - 13:50 & 15:00 - A solo gray in Saratoga Passage headed south toward Pebble Beach from about a mile south of Mabana. About 50 yds off Camano shore. Smaller blow than others and not coming out of the water much. Steady slow pace south. This is the 2nd gray I've seen today and the other had quite a bigger blow and larger body. Picture from earlier whale at 1:50 that was headed south as well. -Jennifer Feldman Spanton
*
Tue, May 4 - San Juan Islands - 09:44 - Currently viewing what's assumed to be the Gray Whale that's been feeding around Salmon Bank. Northeast of the Salmon can. Viewing from the lookouts near South Beach. -Olivia Esqueda
*
Tue, May 4 - Possession Sound - 12:37 - Greys between Hat and Everett…two for sure.
12:00 - At least one grey sighted between Hat and Mission Beach, headed east! -Andrea Michelle Young
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Tue, May 4 - San Juan Islands - 08:54 - whale and possibly calf NB San Juan channel 1nm south of Turn Island. Edit...could have been humpback idk.
[BCX1210 "Slate" and calf confirmed by Erin John Gless from photos by April Ryan]
*
UNIDENTIFIED ORCAS - Tue, May 4 - Strait of Georgia - Update to Patti's May 4 sighting included in the previous Orca Network Sighting Report: 15:49 - At 3:49pm I saw two groups of orcas heading south along Texada. These two groups were first spotted about 1/4 of the way down Texada Island (heading south from the north tip of Texada). They were also very far away, but it did appear there were 3-4 orcas in the first group and little ways behind them there were another 3-4 orcas.
13:41 - First seen 1:41pm along Texada Island (as per original email). I saw them last at 3:30pm making their way from Harwood Island toward Savary Island. -Patti Perepeluk

May 3
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Mon, May 3 - Strait of Georgia - First encounter of 2021 with what I hope is the new T101s and extended family T100Bs as they all look great travelling together. Nice to see T101 with some company after losing her oldest boy T102 last season here locally. -Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale & Bear Excursions
*
Mon, May 3 - E. Strait of Juan de Fuca - 12:19 - Just saw 2 orcas 1.2 mi NE of Smith Island. Beautiful! -Cheryl Rodden Maldonado
*
09:10 - Mark Millard, WDFW, called to report encountering two orcas milling around at Partridge Bank, south of Smith Island. One Male has notch. (Asked if he saw just two males, he wasn't sure, but then think the other just popped up so he said yes. -alb)
*
GRAY WHALES - Mon, May 3 - Central Puget Sound - Spotted a whale at Point Ruston! I believe it's a grey whale. Seemed small though. Headed in the direction of the [Port of Tacoma] shipyards like in the direction of Rainier. -Charles Suaris
*
UNIDENTIFIED SPECIES - Mon, May 3 - South Puget Sound - ~12:00 - From Fox Island community page: "There's a whale heading west from Fox Island Bridge. Not an orca." Approx. time of post is noon. Subsequent comments are asking if anyone has seen anything. Nothing else to confirm a sighting. -Stacey Crofoot

May 2
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Sun, May 2 - Admiralty Inlet (T125A and T128) - 14:30 - Two guys passing Ft. Casey, already past Pt. Townsend on that side. Just saw two distant surfacings. -Bonnie Gretz
*
13:10 - MV Saratoga found T128 and T125A northbound near the south end of Marrowstone Island. -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
Sun, May 2 - Hood Canal - ~11:55 - Just saw a lone, large orca steaming north out of Hood Canal one hour ago. [~11:55] -Russ McCrum
*
11:53 - Orca off Driftwood Key heading southbound 11:53. Shot by Willie Moneda. It headed south. [video: https://www.facebook.com/bryann.bingham/videos/10226560154015151/] - BryAnn Bingham
*
Sun, May 2 - San Juan Islands (T123s, T124A2s) - 20:18 - [orcas] Past Kelp Reef 30+ minutes ago. Still heading N.W. -George Hamilton
*
16:15 - Off of Eagle Point slowly heading in the direction of False Bay. -Kevin Culmback
*
13:35 - Nearing Cattle Pass, westbound.
12:45 - T123s and T124A2s near Iceberg Point on Lopez Island, milling but were previously heading west. -Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
*
12:30 - A half dozen or so orcas, including one large male, slowly working their way west past Flint Beach, Lopez Island. -Tom Reeve
*
GRAY WHALES - Sun, May 2 - Central Puget Sound - ~18:45 - In Colvos Passage, off the Olalla Bridge. We think possibly a Minke [gray whale -alb]. About 6:45 PM, May 2, 2021. Too big to be a dolphin or sea lion, smaller than an orca. Follow-up: Yes, still heading south. We are way up hill from the beach, so no photos. I did grab my camera but was too late. -Joanie Weeks
*
17:57 - Large Gray Whale, mid channel, Colvos Pass at Driftwood Cove (2 miles south of Southworth) heading south quickly. -Kristi King
*
15:38 - At 15:45 Maija Holston, WSF Marine Ops, emailed report: 1538, Suquamish Master reports 1 small gray whale just south of Tyee and headed southbound.
[Suquamish was on Bainbridge to Seattle run -alb]
*
Sun, May 2 - Possession Sound - 19:00 - [gray] 1 Mid channel heading towards Hat [Island]...viewing spouting and little breaching from Edgewater Beach Mukilteo, 7 PM. 18:40 - [gray] It just passed the [Mukilteo] Lighthouse Park....still close to shore 6:40. -Mary Ann Macomber
*
18:40 - Single gray whale approaching the ferry lanes in a NW direction toward Hat Island. -Durand Dace
*
17:39 - He's heading toward the Muk ferry. Still on the Muk side of the channel.
17:15 - Large gray whale close to shore in Mukilteo at 17:15. Trying to figure out the direction. Appears to be heading north. Just north of Possession Point, closer to Muk shore (I'm on Marine View Dr.). He's huge. -Jodi Krause Poissant
*
17:10 - [gray] Whale north side of Hat Island. -Dawn Ayre
*
17:39 - It is closer to Mukilteo. Was very close as we could hear it very loud. Now it's ahead of us, and hard to tell, is still going north.
16:40 - Baleen whale seen from Picnic Point headed north. Looking towards head of Whidbey. -Nataliya Lisitsyna
[Thanks to images sent by Nataliya Lisitsyna I could ID the gray whale seen off Picnic Point as CRC2261. This whale first showed up last year and returned this year. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network]
*
14:15 - 2 grays east of Hat Island. -Robin Stangland
*
14:09 - [gray] South of the ferry, mid-channel, heading southwest. -Angie Chesney-Mattison
*
14:37 - Possession Point Park heading south. (Looked like it was more south towards Edmonds/Kingston. We only saw it briefly.)
13:27 - [gray] Seen at Mukilteo ferry, heading south. -Stacey Fuller
*
13:20 - Gray heading west right off edge water beach in Mukilteo. Fairly close to shore and passing the ferry lanes. -Alice Thuy Talbot
*
13:02 - 753, Lucyfer, off Possession Pt. -Azuriel Mayo
*
13:00 - Solo Gray southbound SE corner of Hat Island. -Lori Christopher
*
15:43 - Gray whale 531 and one other slowing moving around the north side of Hat Island.
14:40 - Gray whale 44 headed toward Snohomish Delta near chip barge.
12:09 - CRC 531 off the south end of Hat Island. 185 feeding in Snohomish Delta. 1-2 more feeding far into the delta earlier today.
--- … As we reached the delta's day marker, we found an adult bald eagle and joined up with gray whale 185 as he was feeding along the outer edge of the shallows. After sometime we left 185 and went over to Hat island where we found gray whale 531 and she gave us some amazing looks. After many great looks at her flukes, we headed back over to 185 that had made his way back up into the delta and was quickly trying to escape the [declining?] water levels. We could see him as he was quickly swimming out of the delta because it had gotten so shallow he could not dive below the surface. He made his way to the deeper water near us and then headed toward Hat Island. He led us directly to 531 again and she came in for a very close pass!!! -Tyson Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching
*
11:37 - Hi there - We just saw what appears to be a gray whale between Gedney Island and Everett. The Island Explorer 4 is watching it too. Sorry but no pics. The whale appeared to be milling. -Stephanie Woody
*
UNIDENTIFIED SPECIES - Sun, May 2 - Hood Canal - 13:30 - There may also be a baleen whale near the Hood Canal Bridge. It was a brief glimpse as I was driving, but I saw what appeared to be a grey peduncle diving. It was far too large to be the porpoise that frequent the bridge, but I didn't get a long enough look to identify specific species. Time was around 1330. -Kris Clark

May 1
BIGG'S/TRANSIENT ORCAS - Sat, May 1 - Possession Sound and Saratoga Passage (T123s and T124A2s) - 20:20 - Southbound towards Edmonds. Counted 7 whales. One huge male. Viewed from Chennault Beach neighborhood in Mukilteo. They were on Mukilteo side of mid channel. -Alice Thuy Talbot
*
19:58 - [orcas] Mid channel between ferry and Possession Point. -Jodi Krause Poissant
*
A Pod of 6 Transient Orca cruised by Mukilteo Beach yesterday evening [5/1] before sunset, heading south. The bull orca identified as T123A, otherwise known as "Stanley" was lingering closely behind the rest of the pod. -Kory Harris
*
19:33 - I saw at least two (one male) at Mukilteo Lighthouse heading south. -Alice Pearson Rickenbach
*
19:37 - In line with Possession Pt. going south.
19:33 - [orcas] Moved through very fast. Sun is so bright, one male, maybe 3 females going south. -Linda Aitkins
*
19:24 - [orcas] Mid channel from Mukilteo to the Clinton ferry - with one huge male! Heading SB. -Lauren McManus
*
photo - Taken at 7:25 this evening from Mukilteo/Pioneer Cemetery.
photo - 7:10 at Edgewater Beach Park.
photo - Taken at 7:04 at Edgewater Beach Park in Mukilteo. -Jacqueline Slaughter
*
18:39 - It looks to me like maybe mid channel. I'm viewing from north side Clinton Ferry Terminal with them in line with northend of downtown Everett, southbounding.
18:00 - Viewing from mid-Brighton Beach, orcas across southside Hat Island, not quite mid Hat. SB. -Marilyn Armbruster
*
20:10 - Pod has made it to southern Possession Sound, southern boundary of Mukilteo on the mainland side. Steady southbound on course for Picnic Point then Edmonds if they stay the course. Pretty clouds of purple and pinks, and western sky of orange as sun nestles in for the night. >19:22 - Pod tightly grouped at north end of Mukilteo Lighthouse Beach steady southbound. Exhalations illuminated in low sun!
19:15 - They are on the move on the north side ferry lanes, N side of Mukilteo, SW bound.
17:55 - Still some surface action while drifting/trending SE.
17:45 - Orcas are still stalled out same general area and have been engaging in a lot of surface activity which leaves me no doubt they have found and are working on their next meal.
17:35 - Seeing more lunges, believe they are hunting.
17:30 - Orcas are out in middle between west Hat and Whidbey south of Sandy Point/north of Clinton. Possibly hunting. Too far to say if traveling/or direction. Saw several breaches and exhalations about 10 minutes ago. Edit to include approx. lat/long: 48.012869, -122.345235. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
*
16:30 - [orcas] Still passing Langley, trending southbound, approaching Sandy Point. -Neil Hathi
*
15:30 - Update from another group: the orcas are out from Pebble Beach, Camano heading southbound.
*
T123s and T124A2s on a hunt for over an hour just offshore at Fox Spit. -Rachel Haight
*
15:00 - [orcas] Mid channel between Mabana and Fox Spit. Slowly south, mostly socializing. -Matt Stolmeier, Outer Island Excursions
*
13:45 - Still right off the beach at East Point. Playing around. Probably about 6 of them.
13:07 - Circling around East Point right now. But they were going north.
13:04 - Off East Point [Fox Spit].
12:55 - 3+ orcas north of Bells Beach off Whidbey. -Kate Casaubon
*
14:20 - Orcas now trending southbound and more on the move.
14:12 - Orcas stalled out off Fox Spit, still actively hunting.
12:50 - At least one group of 4-5 Orcas steady northbound in Saratoga Passage heading toward Fox Spit.
---What a way to bring in the merry month of May, with the arrival in style of the T123s and T124A2s rounding Sandy Point, Whidbey, before entering Saratoga Passage where they continued northbound past Langley before congregating off Fox Spit in search of lunch. They spent some time actively hunting as a streamlined, coordinated group, showing the relentless determination for which they are renowned to wear down whatever prey they had in their sights, though it was difficult to tell how successful they were. No obvious evidence surfaced and, apart from terns fishing close to shore, few birds appeared. Even so, the variety of behaviors presented gave a fascinating insight into the intriguing world of the ocean's top predator, before they turned tail and meandered southbound once more -Sandra Pollard
*
~12:30 - These were taken off Fox Spit this afternoon about 1230. -John Files
*
11:50 - Fred Lundahl called to report the orcas now north of Whale Bell Park (more mid channel) off Langley...and a gray whale lolly-gagging about 1/2 mile behind them, close inshore Whidbey.
*
11:45 - [orcas] North of Langley now, continuing northbound leisurely pace. Saw about 5 in the group. -Donna George
*
11:44 - Orcas, Boy and Dog [Park, Langley], northbound. -Christy Korrow
*
11:28 - [orcas] There are at least 7, Whidbey side, just past Sandy Point headed toward Langley Marina. -Luanne Seymour
*
15:50 - Passing Langley mid channel (but closer to Whidbey side.) Still southbound.
11:20 - Passing Sandy Point, angling toward Saratoga.
11:05 - [orcas] Mid channel between Hat and Sandy Point. -Dori Dace
*
18:00 - 6:00 still southeast-bound.
10:48 - T123s and T124A2s together again. Northbound. -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
*
10:27 - [orcas] Yes, I can see them heading north, west of Hat. -Mary Ann Flanders
*
At 10:11 - Donna Sanders, WSF Marine Ops, emailed to report: TOKITAE Master reports the vessel has stopped mid channel for an ORCA crossing. Number of species unknown.
*
19:07 - Mid channel, still north of the north ferry lane heading south. Still seeing spyhops.
18:54 - They seem to be traveling again. Heading directly east towards the Port of Everett.
18:40 - About halfway between Hat Island and the northernmost ferry lane. With directional changes mid channel.
18:28 - Trending south still. Still showing social behavior with tail slaps and spy hops. Hard to get a count with the distance and whitecaps.
18:16 - Still hunting. In between the south end of Hat Island and the end of the Clinton ferry dock. Heading south.
18:12 - Still in the same area displaying surface activity. Drifting south.
17:56 - Seeing the orcas from just above the Clinton ferry dock. Closer to Hat Island.
10:20 - They will pass between Whidbey and Gedney Islands. Lazy northbound travel. 3 groups total.
10:16 - Seeing 3 groups now. Looks to be about 10 in total. With 3 males. Waiting to see which side of Gedney they choose.
10:12 - Just passing the south slip now. There are 2 groups. Very close in to Whidbey. One very large male. Continuing north and a little west.
10:05 - Seeing many more now. At 6-7 with 3 large males.
10:03 - Orcas in the Clinton ferry lane heading north. At least one large male. -Danielle Pennington
*
GRAY WHALES - Sat, May 1 - Possession Sound - 10:00 a.m. trip - … We didn't get far on our continued search before we joined gray whales 44 and 21 just off of Camano Head. As usual, Shackleton was being very shy with his flukes but after a bit, CRC 44 came through and showed his flukes as he headed south along the west side of Hat Island. …Tyson Reed, Island Adventures Whale Watching (Everett)
*
Sat, May 1 - Port Susan - 11:28 - grey whale off of Kayak Point right now. (Feeding and started heading north to warm beach/hung out there for an hour. -Jessica Rockstad
*
HUMPBACK WHALES - Sat, May 1 - Strait of Georgia - Several Humpback Whales have already been confirmed in the Salish Sea this spring, but there is always extra excitement when BCY0324, aka Big Mama, makes her annual debut in the Salish Sea. Big Mama was first spotted by Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea contributor Maeva June off Galiano Island on April 24th. Maeva photographed not one, but two Humpbacks that day, and although she saw them from a great distance, we were able to identify one as Big Mama. The second whale, however, was a mystery, and there was a chance that Big Mama had a calf with her. We knew that subsequent encounters were needed to confirm this. Big Mama's last known calf was Poptart, born in 2016. Then yesterday afternoon [May 1st], Grace Guiney and crew aboard Eagle Wing Whale Watching Tours photographed Big Mama in the Strait of Georgia, confirming that no calf was present. However, Big Mama is looking as beautiful as ever, and everyone is happy to know that she is back, calf or no calf. We have documented Big Mama in the Salish Sea in 16 of the last 17 years, during which time she has had 6 successful calfs, and 1 grandchild (so far!). -Tasli Shaw, Humpbacks of the Salish Sea