September 2014 Whale Sightings

Click here for Map of September 2014 whale sightings.

September 30
Over by San Juan Island we caught up with J pod as we saw Blackberry (J27) and his family though there were other big males around as well. Then it was on to a humpback whale just further north! - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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We put our kayak in at the boat ramp at Eglon around 4:30 and this video was shot at about 5:00 p.m. between Eglon and Whidbey Island. It was incredible! The [humpback] whale continued South, then came around behind us a bit and was VERY close to the Eglon shore. We didn't capture any more video as we were just trying to live the moment. That kayak paid for itself today! - Andrea Ogg

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5:12pm - I was with Connie and we had a heck of a treat! After the breach this [humpback] whale slapped his tail in a fury for at least 10 minutes straight! The wind was calm as were the seas...all we heard was the amazing sound of this tail ! Another great day! More pics to come...last we saw, she was headed east towards Edmonds. A blessed moment - no doubt! - Elyse Sollitto

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3:56 - Its already down almost to Edmonds.
3:31 - Heading south again near Possession pt.
3:29 - He's stopped between Maxwelton Beach and the SE of Whibey. He breached and had been tail slapping for like 10 min.
3:11 - it's headed south at a pretty steady clip. Its almost to Maxwelton.
2:45 - Humpback at Point No Point day two! - Connie Bickerton

September 29
Maia from Washington State Ferries Ops called to relay a report from 7:49 am, San Juan Island Inter-Island ferry run: 5 female and 2 juvenile orcas northbound in Wasp Passage between Crane and Bell Islands (NW of Shaw Island).

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10:30 am - Saw one Orca male and a little farther south a pod of several others in San Juan Channel NE of San Juan Is. - Ted Treadwell

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2:55 - 2nd humpback or same one? Southeast of Point No Point headed south close to Kitsap side.
2:17 - I just spotted a humpback whale going on a deep dive north of Point No Point. It was pointed east. - Connie Bickerton

September 28
T046B2 was harassing a Rhinoceros auklet in the Juan de Fuca Strait. - Mark Malleson

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8:05 - sweet sounds of resident orcas on Lime Kiln. - Alisa Lemire Brooks

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An acrobatic breaching humpback in Spieden Channel at 1:30 pm! This active tail/pectoral fin slapping visitor took passengers on Mystic Sea by surprise with a sudden full breach, a magnificent and breath-taking sight, before hitting the glassy water with a huge, resounding splash. What an unexpected treat for everyone as the long, hot summer draws to a close. - Sandra Pollard (SSAMN)
Tasli Shaw: BCY0409 "Yogi" in case you were curious.

September 27
I just LOVE fall on the water out here. There is just so much awesome wildlife to see ... It was gorgeous out there today. I got to see something I've never seen before today! We had a very close encounter with J35 Tahlequah. She came up to us (after we'd been sitting in the same spot for about twenty minuets), and just when I thought she was going to swim by, she turned around at the stern of the boat and circled us very slowly. She looked up at us the entire time. I'll tell you- killer whales do something to our soul. When a creature as intelligent as us, and even more magnificent, makes intentional contact with you it penetrates deep within. When you have encounters like that with killer whales, you can't help but be forever changed. Killer whales bring out the good in every human. - Heather MacIntyre

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This was really cool to watch. Just to the right was a yacht I have never seen before. The whale is J32 Rhapsody, who swam up to the yacht, stopped and very slowly bobbed up and down vertically 5 times. Obviously checking it out. Then apparently satisfied, slowly rolled over once and continued on her way. - James Gresham

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1 pm -- orcas from the shore of Galiano Island. - Karoline and Gary Cullen

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We travelled out to San Juan Island to spot some members of J-pod and L-pod. The whales were everywhere! We were "surrounded by whales!" - Alanna Brennan, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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10:10 am - J Pod orcas are loud and clear on the LK hydros. Gosh, I love September. - Katie Jones

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2:13 - Lots of Orcas here in Eagle Cove. - Judy Chovan

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I came across a group of California transients including CA172 and CA173 in the Juan de Fuca Strait. The T035A's, T036A's and T038A were amongst one group. T011 and T011A showed up from the American side of the Strait early evening and shadowed them as they continued west south of Jordan River. - Mark Malleson

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Over 18 Transients were found yesterday in the Juan de Fuca. With at least 8 CA transients traveling with some of our regular transients. - Simon Pidcock

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2:28pm - A whale (probably a humpback) came up along side our sailboat and dove under it. Saw fluke two times as well as it headed south. We saw the whale just south of Possession Pt on Whidbey Island. - Joanne Donohue

September 26
A special treat today- a few pacific white sided dolphins (LAGS) heading up the west side (San Juan Island). A minke earlier, humpbacks yesterday and now LAGS. Sort of LOVE September. - Sandy Buckley

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T038A traveling with the T035A's and T036A's north of Dungeness Spit in the afternoon. They were originally found 2 miles south of Race Rocks in the morning tracking south east. - Photo by Mark Malleson

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4:00 PM - Humpback San Juan Channel. We saw single Humpback feeding for an hour or more San Juan Channel/ Presidents Channel & Limestone Point area. - Deb Batchelder

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Just spotted a humpback south of whidbey island near Point No Point, maybe headed south....- Samuel HIlbert
September 25
The J17s were traveling in a close group with the three "rouge" K pod whales K16, K35, and K21. - Tasli Shaw

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A member of J pod breaches near Pt. Roberts. - Capt. Jim Maya

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We saw what appeared to be a humpback whale this morning blowing and diving numerous times at 8:45 am off Point No Point in Hansville, WA. Beautiful sight!! - Michelle LeMieux Hall

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A humpback whale down just off San Juan Island this morning and again in the afternoon, this time to the southwest of Victoria! - Prince of Whale Whale Watch

September 24
My boyfriend and I live on John's Island and just saw a humpback whale pass between John's island and Flattop at 6:35 pm this evening. - Marita Holdaway, John's island

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We saw our good buddy Split Fin, the humpback whale, chilling around Lime Kiln Lighthouse. He was most likely feeding because he was popping up all over the place and refused to pick a direction of travel. - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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September 23-24 - 8:29 AM - Transient Female Sighting. Have repeatedly seen a large transient female hunting the patch between Speiden, Johns, and Stuart Islands on 9/23 and 9/24. She was driving all the seals onto shore, and hunting the area between Gull Reef and Johns Island. For the past two days we have seen her on four separate occasions, circling around the area. - Andrew Clark

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Shortly after 3 PM orcas (Js and the three Ks) were heading north off Lime Kiln while a humpback whale (Split Fin) was heading south. They easily passed within a couple hundred yards of each other, which is always cool to see! I could only capture a distant picture, but it's my first time photographing the two species up at the same time. While watching the humpback, who reportedly was doing the westside shuffle all day, we also saw Dall's porpoise and harbor seals, making for four marine mammal species in the span of a few minutes! - Monika Wieland, San Juan Island

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We encountered J-pod at the south end of San Juan Island. All the usual suspects were there including Granny J2 and Blackberry J27. These guys were traveling steadily north in tight family groups of 3 to 6. These dense collections of a few whales are ideal for viewing and provide valuable insight into how these whales organize themselves socially. - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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7:31 - Just heard some breaching or tail slapping on Lime Kiln hydrophones - no calls yet though for me! - Monika Wieland

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7:14 AM - SRKWs vocalizing on Lime Kiln. First heard a super faint call then waited to post until I heard a second (vocals continued for maybe a minute) and sounded possibly like Js but seriously was holding my laptop up to my ear. I have not heard any since and now the ship. - Alisa Lemire Brooks

September 23
Brad Hanson reports he is with part of K pod off San Juan Island.

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We saw around 100 Pacific white-sided dolphins today! - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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A humpback whale was feeding in the shallows off of San Juan Island! This animal went unidentified, we didn't recognize him/her, but it was a small individual, doing short dives and fluking repeatedly! - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

September 22
J27 Blackberry in front of the Vancouver BC skyline. - Capt. Jim Maya.

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J19 Shachi, 2 Granny and her adoptee L87 Onyx, east of Active Pass. - Capt. Jim Maya.

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J pod in the Strait of Georgia were all separated into ones and twos but it was really different because each little group was very social! We spent a long time with J22 and J38 rubbing and vocalizing above the surface. We moved on to J27 and J31 after, who were acting very similar. - Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver

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9:30 - reports of resident killer whales way out west. - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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3:30 - 3 transient killer whales! The T010's, a small family consisting of a mother and two sons. They were hanging out in the same bay around the corner from Race Rocks where we had the PWS dolphins, which were nowhere to be found. Smartly so, as they could have been on the menu otherwise! - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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Split Fin, one of our favourite humpbacks was feeding in a massive bait ball off of Trial Island. And while we're waiting for him to resurface, what should appear, but a Minke whale! - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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We encountered about 100 Pacific white-sided dolphins in San Juan Channel onboard the Victoria Clipper III! - Justine Buckmaster.

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Pacific white-sided dolphins! A reported 40 dolphins, feeding in a bay just around the corner from Race Rocks! And a HUGE pod of harbour porpoise (Jeff thinks over 100). - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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There were 80-100 Pacific white-sided dolphins outside of Friday Harbor this afternoon. Screw football. Dolphins are WAY more awesome! - Katie Jones.

September 21
L120 and L86 were off the south end of San Juan Island! - Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research.

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At 3:30 PM I watched about 15 spread out whales slowly heading south past Land Bank and Hannah Heights. A bit later, some of them were heading back north, but then they turned offshore and went towards another group heading east across Haro Strait. After a couple days of being very spread out between Eagle Point and False Bay, it seems like all the residents finally met up in a large group. There were easily 60 whales out there, and it could have been everybody! They all grouped up about 5:45 PM offshore of Hannah Heights, where they were milling but generally trending south. - Monika Wieland

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A humpback seen from cottage deck on Cliffside Rd (near E Point, Saturna); whale was diving in Boundary Pass from about 3-6 pm on sunday, sept 21. I think it is rare to see a humpback in this vicinity. - James McLarnon, Vancouver.

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Humpback BCY0409 (Yogi) was near Kelp Reef (Haro Strait). - Mark Malleson

September 20
J27 Blackberry about to make a breathtaking close approach as we sat quietly. On his next breath he was 10-15 feet away. Off the False Bay area of San Juan Island. - James Gresham.

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Turn Point there were J', K's and L's I believe present. - Dick Snowberger.

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Whales...Lime Kiln 10:35am. - Alisa Lemire Brooks

September 19
From 3:15 to 4:15 this afternoon we had a mixed group of Js and Ks slowly heading north past Lime Kiln. Another group had already passed by and were further north, and there were more whales well to the south. - Monika Wieland

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Orca mother and juvenile spotted off Grayland, WA. My husband reports that yesterday while he was just off the Washington Coast, motoring in his sport fishing boat back to Westport, WA, on his way back from salmon fishing off the Long Beach peninsula, fairly close to shore he saw one female Orca and what he described as a "baby." He said it was noticeably smaller than the female. He is sure that the larger Orca was a female (curved dorsal), not a male (straight-edge dorsal). I don't know how common Transient juveniles are, so I thought I would report this sighting. They were traveling northbound. He saw both of them surface several times, before his boat outdistanced them. - Andrea Grad

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Tonight was another one of those beautiful nights in Haro Strait with Resident Orcas serenely searching for salmon. Nothing out of the ordinary happened until we happened across this Minke whale on the way home! Multiple breaches. Bow riding at 15 knots...insane! What a birthday present! - Lance Underwood

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7:44am - Sitting in Rosario Strait, between Blakely Island and Cypress Island watching a gray whale play and eat. - Peace Corey

September 18
10:27am - L12s (L87 Onyx) vocalizations. 10:00am - vocalizations and echolocation on Lime Kiln. - Alisa Lemire Brooks

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Everyone says it was J pod group A and Onyx yesterday. And 3 Lags. - James Gresham

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7:45am - Could hear many blows but couldn't see them in the fog. Traveling east to west. - Sally Reeve, Flint Beach, Lopez Island

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L87 Onyx near False Bay. - Sarah McCullagh, San Juan Safaris.

September 17
Nothing beats a flat calm, overcast day for whale photography! What a day with J pod (group A) at the T10 buoy north of Sand Heads (mouth of the Fraser River). Lots of socializing and J49 was being a little goof bouncing around playing with everyone but lots of time with mom, J37, rolling around on top of her. Here are a few shots. The first is the J14's, second is L87, J19 and J2 and the last two are of J49 goofing around. - Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver

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Mark went out west to find resident killer whales as they headed out towards to the Pacific. There were also some Residents near Vancouver. Ocean Magic picked up a few members of J-pod, most notably Granny's family! Her grandkids were enjoying excellent fishing. - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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Southern Resident orcas were heading west out the Strait of Juan de Fuca. - Sooke Coastal Explorations.

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Yesterday I spent a calm, still morning with a Humpback Whale in Rosario Strait. It was so lovely out, good thing whales don't care about rain. - Traci Walter.

September 16
Cappuccino (K21), with Southern Resident Killer Whales - J Pod group B, K's and L's off Hein Bank. - Connie Bickerton.

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From Vancouver across Georgia Strait we found J2 Granny, still kicking at 103 years old, and her adopted son L87 Onyx. They were chasing salmon and after catching it, Onyx breached and spy hopped! - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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10:30-11 am - We saw a male (looking a lot like K21) and a female a mile offshore of Hannah Heights, San Juan Island, heading south. - Howard Garrett

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1:14 am - pretty sure we're hearing faint calls and clicks on Lime Kiln hydrophone, west San Juan Island. www.OrcaSound.net. - Susan Berta

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From today's trip on the Western Prince II! Bigg's (marine mammal eating) Killer Whales by Turn Point Lighthouse on Stuart Island. - Traci Walter, Western Prince Whale Watching & Wildlife Tours.

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T060's and T002B hunting seals at Discovery Island. - Mark Malleson.

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T060's were in the middle of Haro Strait, hunting harbour porpoise! Another breach and spy hop. - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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Super rare transients off Tofino BC yesterday. Seen before in SE Alaska Ts, T175, T173, and new calf! - Josh McInnes

September 15
My first ever orca sighting....right place, right time...happened to have my camera. Quite the blessing. 12:45 PM - Susan Skubina suggested I contact you. I was in my rowboat on the south side of the Dungeness Spit when I sighted first one, then two orcas cruising eastbound inside the bay. After passing by the light house and the tip of the spit they exited to the east. They appeared to be traveling (I like to think they were exploring). - Kip Tulin
Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research: It's T11 and T11A.

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6:30 PM - Approx 5 Orcas in Baynes Sound near Union Bay, B.C. (NW Georgia Strait) a small pod of orcas ravelled up Baynes Sound. First observed a mother and calf, then they were joined by others include a large male, traveling, then feeding on a seal. Saw a fantastic spy hop. :-) Tons of seals in the shallows trying to avoid the carnage. - Bruce Evans

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From the Center for Whale Research as part of J pod heads north around 5:45 pm. - Susan Berta.

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2 orcas spotted at 5:15, 4 orcas spotted at 5:45, San Juan County park, west side. Man, didn't leave name.

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I tracked a group of California transients along with the T037's westbound out the Juan de Fuca Strait. I originally picked them up in the morning thanks to a tip from Seahawk Charters who spotted them south of Becher Bay. I left them 3 miles offhsore of Pt no Pt in the afternoon when they led me to J, K, and Lpod traveling east in a large resting formation a half mile to the north of them. - Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales

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L41, L85 and clan inbound in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. - Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales.

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Later in the afternoon, the residents returned! All of J-pod, save for 10 whales, all of L-pod, and all of K-pod! That's 69 whales! They were traveling in discrete pod groups. We spent most of our time with L-pod, 35 whales strong! - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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4:30pm. - Whales on LK. Being pretty quiet but they're there. - James Gresham

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Hanging out with one of the newest little Biggs killer whales, T124D1, yesterday. Here is the little guy popping it's little head up with a pretty sweet backdrop. - Gary Sutton.

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California Transients CA172, CA173 and CA166 in the Juan de Fuca strait. - Mark Malleson.

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We saw a group of transient killer whales, the T060's off Orcas Island. On the Victoria side, we were also looking at transients! We had a large group of about 15 spotted by skipper Mark on his first trip at 10am. Also on zodiacs were Bo and Matt today. It was a special treat to learn that one of the transient families was not one we see often; they're exotics! Not seen regularly - they were from California! - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

September 14
We saw plenty of transients just south of Race Rocks in the morning, and even managed to see a humpback as it popped up amongst a resting transient pod on the afternoon trip. Then we caught up with the same T60 pod, this time a little closer to home, only a few miles south of Victoria. The afternoon tours got to enjoy the sunshine with humpbacks and several transient killer whale pods, including the T60s and T11s, along with an unidentified transient group travelling with the T11s. - Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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South Haro Strait. T60s dining on Harbor Porpoise. -Capt. Jim Maya.

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3:30 PM - J Pod off Point Roberts. We found the J Pod this afternoon around 3 PM just off Point Roberts. They were spread out and all around us! We were treated to a few tail slaps from J34 Doublestuf and also identified J27 Blackberry. They were spread out over a wide area not moving location much...most likely feeding. - Kamriell Welty.

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J pod slowly cruising along in St. of Georgia. - Stephen Ellwood.

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Granny (J-2) and Onyx (L-78) today, by the BC coal docks. They were leisurely heading towards Point Roberts when we left them, around 3 pm. Always a treat to see Granny. - Jill Hein.

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We began our day with the resident killer whales of J-pod near Sand Heads Lighthouse, at the mouth of the Fraser River. The whales did some wildlife watching of their own, using their spyhopping technique to check out the world above sea level. - Prince of Whale Whale Watch

September 13
8:58 - Calls on Lime Kiln!! - Vickie Doyle

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8:10 - Faint calls on Lime Kiln right now! - Mandy Johnson

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They teased us up at LimeKiln, a few distant sightings- down there by y'all at Hannah Heights, between 6-6:30pm. - Caroline Lene

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I came across the L12's east bound west of Otter Point in the morning and left them late afternoon off of the mouth of Becher Bay. - Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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L085 headed east for Race Rocks. - Mark Malleson.

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Yay!! Just spotted Resident orcas off Hannah Heights at about 4:20 pm, heading north up San Juan Island! - Susan Berta

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1:09pm - Just spotted a lot of them while flying up to Friday Harbor. They are off the southwest tip of the island. We watched them for 2 hours this afternoon there. They kept going back and forth. What an amazing show! They were headed north. They ended up making their way up a little farther north (we saw them from Lime Kiln at 4:50pm) but then they went back south a ways and we saw them again just southwest of San Juan Island (couldn't really tell which direction they were going) a little before 7pm. - Sarah Abare

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What an orca-tastic day... lotsa action out in front of Eagle Cove ALL DAY!!! - Erin Corra

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Approximately 2 week old Southern Resident L120 surfaces next to mom L86 and aunt L27 in Haro Strait. - James Gresham.

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9:45 am - Ed just heard faint call on LK. I heard J pod briefly on LK at 7:28 am. - Alisa Lemire Brooks

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7:35 - 8am - Hearing blows 1/2 mile down the side of Hannah Heights, heading west. Ken at the Center for Whale Research says they are also rounding Bellevue Point, just north of Lime Kiln, so they're spread out for several miles along San Juan Island this morning. - Howard Garrett

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8:41 - four orcas in Burrows Bay heading towards Skyline marina and Burrows Pass (Anacortes). Absolutely incredible to see as a morning wake up!!! - Danielle Brinson

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About half way between Port Angeles and Victoria. All three pictures are the same whale. This is the same humpback that was in the south Sound in August. - Connie Bickerton.

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An added bonus this morning - three lags! Pacific white-sided dolphins are often called lags as an abbreviation of their genus, Lagenorhynchus. They're common further north in British Columbia but pretty uncommon here, though there's been numerous sightings of small groups around the San Juans this summer. This was my first ever sighting of them here though! They proceeded to make a beeline for J26 Mike, who looked like he didn't want anything to do with them. - Monika Wieland.

September 12
J26 heading back to San Juan south of Discovery Island. - Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch.

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Great news - word of Resident Superpod coming in west of Sooke at 4 pm! - Susan Berta

September 11
Guess who saw little L120 today?!? Eekk!!! Salmon bank- pics in the am!! All whales were headed west when we left them, even J2 and L87. It's a brand new week old orca calf!! The southern residents haven't had a calf in two and a half years that's lived!! - Heather MacIntyre

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We on the Peregrine were able to spend a bit of time on both our trips today with L120. So exciting to see L86 and the calf. Here are a few images of the day, and a bit of Mt. Baker. Haro Strait off of Eagle Pt., San Juan Islands, WA. - Capt. Jim Maya

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I was very excited to meet little L120 for the first time today! He/she was born to L86 Surprise sometime in the last two weeks. The lighting wasn't the best, but it was still amazing to see such a tiny killer whale! - Monika Wieland.

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5:05 - Got to see members of all three pods and most importantly, new baby L120!!! Was able to snap some pics of his/her tiny dorsal! Beautiful day on the water full of orcas. - Rachel Haight

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1:01pm - Orcas on the Lime Kiln hydrophone! - Jen Chesnut

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I got to see my favourite group of T's today in Trincomali Channel. The T137's were super mellow heading west up the channel in a beautiful little resting group in flat calm conditions. We got to spend 45 minutes with them with no other boats in sight. It was good to see those familiar fins again. It was something special! - Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver

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10:55 - Brad Hanson reports these are the T065As, now in San Juan Channel, which are the same ones seen in Penn Cove for the past few days.

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9:55 am - John Rogstad reports the captain of the ferry Hyak saw 5 orcas, 4 females and a juvenile, in Thatcher Pass (west side of Rosario Strait, due west of Anacortes). No direction of travel given.

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9:52 - Orcas on the ferry 10 minutes outside Friday Harbor!! - Rachel Haight

September 10
In the evening near Race Rocks I observed L22 take chase and harass a neonate harbour porpoise. She left it for L94 and L113 who continued to play with it for over an hour before L113 finally drowned it. - Mark Malleson

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At least 25 transients at sunset (at the western end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca). - Ivan Reiff.

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11:15 pm - Awesome vocals on lime kiln hydrophone! Orcasound.net. - Traci Walter

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11:15pm - Getting some clearer calls on Lime Kiln. Vickie Doyle

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11:15pm - I'm hearing some calls at Lime Kiln right now! It's the first time I've heard anything, so I'm not 100% sure who I'm hearing... but I'm hearing them!! - Rachel Sylvia Winder

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22:00 - I missed them earlier but hear them now, faint call and echo...LK. - Alisa Lemire Brooks

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9:58pm - Orca calls on Lime Kiln still. - Vickie Doyle

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T069s and T060s were reported heading west of Otter Point BC...near Sooke. - Josh McInnes

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12:30 - Just got a call from Brandi at Windjammer Gallery in Coupeville, she had received this photo from Tim Jones at Penn Cove Shellfish - looks like the Transient pod is STILL in Penn Cove! They were off the San de Fuca dock at around 11:30 this morning. - Photo by Tim Jones.

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Had to zoom in since they were pretty far out but this was in Oak Harbor marina today before they went back into Penn Cove. - Mary Janowiecki.

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7:05pm - Orcas back in Penn Cove. - Josh Haight

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7:05pm - Orcas in Penn Cove between Monroe and Coupeville by the orange bouy. - Aubree Mae Renfro

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6:22pm - It looks like the Orcas might be heading into Penn Cove. We just watched them turn that way from Oak Harbor. - Amanda Fox

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I came across the T069's socializing with the T059's and T060's off of Sheringham lighthouse traveling west back out the Vancouver Island shoreline. - Mark Malleson

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Love watching this charismatic Humpback whale known as "Splitfin". It was amazing to watch the Humpbacks in Hawaii but to see them with this scenery and water is unbeatable! - Gary Sutton.

September 9
Orcas in Penn Cove. - MaryJoe Adams.

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They are back in Penn cove right now....near mussel platforms.....could be viewed from Madrona Ave. I was out kayaking this AM as they came into the cove....was within 20 feet......could that have been dangerous? I quickly paddled to shore but one was in front and others behind me....they were intent on going into cove, but still felt like a very close encounter....and at eye level....they are HUGE! - Lindy Kortus

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4:30 pm - 4 Orcas sighted in Penn Cove - Hard to tell, but looks like 1 baby, 1 adult female and 2 smaller. No photos possible, since we were on other side of cove near Capt. Whidbey Inn. looking through telescope. They were moving back and forth (hunting?) in area between Fossil Rd and Monroe Landing for about 45 minutes. Haven't seen whales in this area for many years. - Morgan Bell

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2.00pm - saw two Orca off monroe landing in penn cove heading east out of the cove (Whidbey Island, between Coupeville & Oak Harbor). - Kit Rhodes

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Sighted this morning in Penn Cove (Coupeville)! At least 4 orca in Penn cove, still there (10 am - 10:15am). - Lindy kortus

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Humpback Whales around again today! The same two from yesterday. "Split fin" and "Split Fluke" go on a long dive in front of Flattop Island NWR and Waldron Island. - Traci Walter.

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Karl Bruder reports two humpbacks in Spieden Channel.

September 8
Humpback Whales and Pacific White-sided Dolphins! Absolutely beautiful weather on the water too! - Traci Walter.

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2 PM - Dave Ellifrit at the Center for Whale Research reports that some and probably all the Residents seen over the past few days, including newborn L120, are in the Strait of Juan de Fuca heading west to the Pacific Ocean.

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L41 Mega heading toward the Pacific. - Sooke Coastal Explorations.

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2 pm - The Center for Whale Research reports a group of Transients near Trial Island, off Victoria.

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Transient killer whales were just a few miles off Trial Island, hunting, spy hopping, fast swimming, and the juveniles' porpoising! The group was identified as the T060's. The mother, T060, and her four kids, T060C, D, E, and F. They are easily identifiable because of a nick on T060C's fin. - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whale Whale Watch

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9:30 - My neighbor saw them go by with the clipper, just north of Cama Beach, Camano Island, heading north up Saratoga Passage! I missed them... - Desi Tracy

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We saw them on the VC3! Heading North from Omanac Head, Camano Island @ 9:19. It was the T65As! - Justine Buckmaster

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8 AM - Four orcas in Saratoga Passage this morning from Whidbey Shores, near East Point and Fox Spit, about six miles north of Langley. Christie Schaffer saw them circling the same spot for about 20 minutes, then they were gone, direction unknown.

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2 pm - The Center for Whale Research reports there are two humpbacks heading north up Haro Strait.

September 7
I came across the T069's at Carmanah in the morning. They traveled east along the shoreline of the West Coast Trail. I left them mid day offshore of Port Renfrew. - Mark Malleson

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10:55 pm. - Southern Resident greeting ceremony on LK hydro. All 3 pods. Incredible! - James Gresham

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Today J's and K's were all together in a huge resting group moving only about 1 knot heading south in the Strait of Georgia. FLAT calm conditions and such a beautiful and relaxed group of whales. It was one of those days that will stick out when looking back on the season. - Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver

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3 pm - Most of L pod heading towards Iceberg point, from Smith Island area.. Had quality time with them today, magic. (Did not see L120 with this group though.) - Jill Hein aboard Mystic Sea.

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Judy from Sierra, north of Coupeville, NW Whidbey Island, called at 12:10 pm to report 8 orcas 1 mile north of Partridge Point, traveling in a line headed north. There were several males among them.

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The T046Bs were found northeast of Port Angeles, WA late this morning. The whales were milling about in the same area for several hours and made at least one kill. The youngsters were very playful and a lucky gull escaped a potential tail slap from one of them but did get drenched in the process. The whales were last seen traveling west. - Sara Hysong-Shimazu.

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T046B's 30 min out from Port Angeles at Hein Bank. - Connie Bickerton.

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Transient killer whales reported off of Dungeness spit on the Olympic peninsula, and they got a spectacular show. They spotted these guys right after a kill, which is the best time to see transients. They're more active, and seem to be more relaxed as they come out of hunting mode. Torin thinks they got something big because there was a large oil slick at the surface. - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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6:44am - Orca calls starting to come through on Lime kiln. - Selena Rhodes Scofield

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6:43am - I can hear them off lime kiln right now, lots of boat noise too, but good clear calls as well. - Aubree Mae Renfro

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6:41am - sounds like Transients on LK. - Alisa Lemire Brooks

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I'm writing to report a sighting of Orcas near Bodega Canyon/Cordell Bank California. I posted a few photos on my blog. Any information about them would be greatly appreciated. - Jackie Sones

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A Minke at Hein Bank. - Connie Bickerton.

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A Pacific White-Sided Dolphin took a break from harassing L85 Mystery today to come hang out with us!! Having a "Lag" bow-ride is one of the most exhilarating things ... I can't even describe the feeling. Luckily, for the first time EVER, my friend snapped a shot from another boat of us! - Heather MacIntyre

September 6
New SRKW calf L120 with aunt L27 and mom L86 off Eagle Point, San Juan Is. - Dave Ellifrit, CWR.

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Yeah! Great news! We finally have a new calf in L pod. L86 was seen today by CWR staff with a brand new calf who will be designated L120. This is the first new calf in the SRKW population since 2012.

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Today we spent our time with J pod moving up Swanson channel very spread out. We had J27 Blackberry all on his own offshore playing around. - Gary Sutton. Wild Whales Vancouver

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At least a dozen (probably more) swam by Lime Kiln starting at about 10:30 a.m. or so. Several came very close to shore. They seemed to me to be traveling not feeding. I have attached the one reasonably good photo I managed to get. I have no idea what pod or pods these whales belonged to. - Joan Gerteis.

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4:26 pm - Bob just spotted approximately 8 Orcas off of South Pender Island. - Christine Langland.

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Well I'm gonna be dreaming about orcas tonight! It was an absolutely unreal morning out at Lime Kiln. Five hours of non-stop wildlife watching, including underwater whales and harbor seals fighting over salmon. J2 Granny in the beautiful early morning light off Lime Kiln - Monika Wieland, Orca Watcher Photography

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12:29 - Orcas off west side road. Heading south. - Jack Nolan

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12:27 - WA State Ferries reports the ferry Chelan captain sees orcas heading north up Haro Strait from the Friday Harbor to Sidney route.

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12:26 - September is amazing up here---absolutely flat-out gorgeous weather (sunny and about 67?), and tons of whales everywhere from Eagle Point to way up North. Seeing some right now as I type this update! "September whales are the best whales"!!!! - John Boyd

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11:27 - Saw orcas from road on way to lime kiln just now. - Kristin Tieche

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11:18 - 8 orca off north entrance to Mitchell Bay! - Ann Ventic

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8:35 a.m. - Orcas on Lime kiln. - Helena Rhodes Scofield

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8:34 am - Orcas are on Lime Kiln loud and clear!!!! - Selena Rhodes Scofield

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One of the many Minkes we saw today decimating a bait ball. Much to the chagrin of the birds. There were 8-10 Minkes all over the banks (south of San Juan Island). - James Gresham.

September 5
Super Pod of 78 Resident Orcas inbound right now. (It turned out there were 79). - Simon Pidcock

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Pair of humpbacks north of Port Angeles. The humpback known as "Split fin." - Rachel Haight.

September 4
Out west we found a large group of transients! What followed was one of the most spectacular transient displays I've ever witnessed. We had a record breaking FIVE BREACHES out of one whale! Any time a whale breaches, we consider ourselves lucky to witness it, but when a transient does it, we thank the whale gods! And 5 times in a row? That's just unheard of! - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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A large group of transients, made up of the T060s, T036, T036B, T036B1, and the T109s were seen west of Secretary Island near Sooke, BC. The whales appeared to be foraging before pushing off shore and becoming very surface active with many breaches reported. - Sara Hysong-Shimazu

September 3
They found the T065A's by Spieden Island and spotted them hunting! They were traveling with another, unidentified group. Our photographer Marie is pretty sure one of the odd one's out was a lone female called T002! - Jennifer Dickson, Prince of Whale Whale Watch

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We traveled into Canadian water to see the 3 transient orcas. I believe it was White Rock in the back if I recall correctly. I think there was a seal-hunt going on, several shots seemed to show whale with someone in the its mouth but most of them were too blurry to see clearly. - May Cheng

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4:30pm - From a friends post - gray whales out front of Sea Acres, at the intersection of Rosario Strait and the Strait of Georgia. - Kim Merriman

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8:45am this morning. Spotted a minke headed west-to-east off Flint Beach on the south end of Lopez Island. - Tom Reeve

September 2
This afternoon from 12:15-1:15 I watched members of K-Pod (at least the K13s and K14s) and the L12 sub-group go back and forth in front of Lime Kiln Lighthouse on San Juan Island. In the end, I believe Ks went north and L12s went south, but there were some very far away whales and a rain squall started to obscure the view! - Monika Wieland, San Juan Island.

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I have attached two photos of L pod taken on the West Side on yesterday's (9/2) very rainy tour. Both photos were taken aboard the M/V Sea Lion. - Sarah McCullagh, San Juan Safaris.

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Yes!!! 2:00 Am and JPod is on the hydrophone!! If this were winter I would be heading out there right now- luckily I'll be able to see them tomorrow hopefully. - Heather MacIntyre

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12:26am - Hearing orcas off of lime kiln hydrophone now ...not sure who it is. - Emily White

September 1
When I saw this trio pop up together I had to do a double take. It was Granny (J2), Mystery (L85), and Cali (K34). - Sara Hysong-Shimazu.

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I don't remember exactly how long it has been since I last saw resident killer whales, but it had been at least 20 years. Today I made up for lost time; we might have seen every southern resident whale. There were whales all across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, from Vancouver Island to the Olympic Peninsula. We spent quality time with several dozen of them, and no other whale watching boat was in sight. - Photo by Bernardo Alps.

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Southern Resident orcas in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. - Florian Graner.

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Today we caught up with members of all three resident pods off Sooke, BC. In the lead were the J14s along with L22, L94, and L113. Mystery (L85) and Cali (K34) were having some fun. - Sara Hysong-Shimazu

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L85 Mystery was an orphan at age 3, and was watched over by his brother L38, 29 years old at the time. He's now 23 years old. - Connie Bickerton.

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My adopted whale Scoter K25. He still carries part of his satellite tag in his dorsal. Tagging is definitely controversial, but Scoter's tag lasted so long, he really helped provide a picture of K Pod travels after he was tagged in Dec 29, 2012. - Connie Bickerton.

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Almost 40 killer whales at Point no Point in Canada near Sooke today! - Sooke Coastal Explorations

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In the afternoon there were over 40 whales out together including members of J, K and L pod! They were spread out through the Juan de Fuca strait and were acting very playful, seems like they were happy to be reunited. The T's were getting very close to the residents which is rare, in the past the two have given each other a wide birth. - Alanna Brennan, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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Transients were encountered in the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Becher Bay. Individuals were ID'ed as T034, T034A, and some (but not all) members of the T037 matriline. Initially the whales were heading west with five to six respirations followed by a longer dive with a 3-4 minute downtime. Before we left them they had changed directions and were heading southeast towards Port Angeles, WA. - The Transient Killer Whale Research Project

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We saw two Orcas on the 330p ferry yesterday between Pt Townsend and Coupeville! The ferry riders were thrilled! - Teri Butorac Ferren

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So we had a very nice group of Bigg's Killer Whales that Ivan Reiff found in the morning known as the T18s. Easiest to spot in this group is a big male named T19B, affectionately known as "Mr. Floppy Fin". Morning trip he made a very quick and efficient kill of a harbor seal, and in the afternoon, made this beautiful spyhop near Bellingham Channel. - John Boyd.

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Transient Sighting in Bellingham Channel. We came upon what I believe to be T18, T19, T19B, T19C on the northwest side of Cypress Island. We were cruising along and realized there was a line-up of whale watching vessels looking right where we were! We moved out of the way just in time for them to come through. They seemed to be in travel mode and moved quite swiftly. They traveled north around Cypress and into Bellingham Channel between Guemes and Cypress Islands, heading towards Anacortes, before we parted ways with them. - Kamriell Welty

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The tranients at Race Rocks were identified as the T34's and T37 B's. The whales were going for both seals and harbor porpoise so there was a ton of action going on! - Alanna Brennan, Prince of Whales Whale Watch

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9:47 - At Norwegian Point (by Hansville) now! - Elyse Sollitto

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9:46 - They are heading North. We just saw them. I think it's the transient group that were spotted yesterday. Amazing! - Tina Marohn

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11:30 - We saw them across from Mutiny Sands. - Sandy Pollard

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11:30 - Looks like maybe they have made a kill - lots of surface activity and splashing and hanging out in one spot.
11:16 - Right by the midchannel marker between Mutiny Bay and Skunk bay They've moved a little south after that cargo ship passed.
11:09 - Actually they're pretty stationary. Breaches, spyhops, tail slaps in one area.
11:05 - Found them. We are at that point on the south end of Mutiny bay. Still heading north. - Rachel Haight

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10:30 am from Whidbey - saw distant blows over on the Kitsap side, still heading north. - Sandra Pollard

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11 am - Trending NW toward entrance to Hood Canal, coming up on Foulweather Bluff now.
9:48 - Visual confirmation. I saw blows a mile or so north of Point No Point, trending NNW up Admiralty Inlet. - Howard Garrett

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9:17 am - Whales are at point no point right now! Do not know direction of travel. Presumably heading north. Coast guard just notified a mariner over marine radio. - Dianne Dee Iverson