September 2019 Whale Sightings

Click here for Map of September 2019 whale sightings.

September 30
Wrapping up September with this update by Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute: September is in the books, which means it's time for another check-in on killer whale visits to the Salish Sea. This month saw an end to the incredible run of 126 consecutive days with Bigg's killer whales (transients) present somewhere in the region. September 12 was the first day since May with no Ts detected/reported. This was also the highest month to date for Southern Resident presence in the region in 2019, continuing a multi-year trend of September being the "best" month. Interestingly, however, the whales spent considerable time both in Puget Sound and up in the northern Strait of Georgia, areas they typically tend to visit in the later autumn and winter.
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Mon Sep 30 - Haro Strait - On Saturday evening, 28 September, we received a report that J,K, and some L whales were off Campbell River in the Strait of Georgia; and, they had apparently been up in the Strait of Georgia for about a week since we last saw them 21 September heading north in Haro Strait. At 1100 today, 30 September, they were reported heading west in Boundary Pass off East Point, Saturna Island, and shortly later at 1226 they were off Battleship Island, Haro Strait. Ken saw the first whales heading south off the Center for Whale Research at 1321 and by 1415 they had mostly passed by very spread out across the Strait. At 1615, Ken departed Snug Harbor in "Chimo" to encounter and check on the status of the new baby, J56. As luck would have it, the first photo that he took was of J56 with mom (J31) several miles offshore of False Bay...Full summary and images at Center for Whale Research Encounter 80
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13:48 - 15:45 - Haro Strait. Observed from shore between Edwards Point and Hannah Hts. A careful count of 29 +/- individuals including 11+/- males. I heard the first blows before I saw them. 2 orca passing Edwards Point traveling to the south; followed by 2 more, and they kept coming. Most were spread out but there were two groups traveling tight, a group of 6 with a calf and later a group of 9 in very tight formation. -Michelline Halliday, SJI
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12:30 Southern Residents coming down Haro Strait from north of Henry Island - could be members of all three pods if it's everyone who has been up north in the Strait of Georgia! Today J-Pod, the K13s, and 18 members of L-Pod made their way south into Haro Strait after spending several days up in the northern Strait of Georgia. Incredibly, this was our first official research encounter this year that included members of L-Pod other than L87! At 46 whales, this is also the largest single group of Southern Residents we've had together in inland waters since January. K34 Cali with the Olympic Mountains in the background...Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
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Mon Sep 30 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - What a beautiful day in paradise with Transient Killer Whales (T018's &T019's, T18 and T19B, T19C) and humpback whales off Sooke! -Paul Pudwell
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Mon Sep 30 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - What a beautiful day in paradise with Transient Killer Whales (T018's &T019's) and humpback whales off Sooke! -Paul Pudwell
MMY0080 Hemlock off Sooke. -Photo by Paul Pudwell, Sep 30, 2019
(ID by Alethea Leddy)
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Mon Sep 30 - Puget Sound - About noon today I witnessed two large whales going completely airborne, South of Whidbey half way to Edmonds, in the shipping lanes, they were to large for Orca, Very tall spouts, This went on for 15 minutes, one would spy hop and the other would go airborne at a 45 degree angle high enough I could see air under its tail. Was to far away to get a picture, I am positive they were Humpbacks. -Barry Hollander
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Mon Sep 30 - Admiralty Inlet - 09:13 - Minke whale at Fort Casey. -Sandy Willoughby

September 29
Sun Sep 29 - San Juans - 18:20 - There are four humpbacks, blows visible from shore and dorsals visible through binoculars, headed west to east off Flint Beach, South Lopez. -Tom Reeve
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16:38 - 3 humpbacks moving towards American Camp from Eagle Point. -Chris Wilson, sjiww
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14:00 - There's a humpback visible through binoculars looking South from Iceberg Point. -Tom Reeve
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Sun Sep 29 - Puget Sound - 09:09 - Hello again, the San Juan Clipper saw the little humpback from yesterday in approximately the same area. 3.8 NM South of Possession Point. The humpback looks to be making small circles and feeding. Very surface active. Have a great day! -James Greenway

September 28
Sat Sep 28 - Dodd Narrows, BC - 15:45 - Large orca just south of Dodd Narrows coming south from Nanaimo. Single solo very large. Dorsal 6 to 8 ft high? Seemed to be going in circle in no particular pattern or direction. (T77A was reported by PWWA at 1700 south of there - mws). -David Rhine
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Sat Sep 28 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - Out on Glacier Spirit for our last full day trip. A bit rocky on the way up to Friday Harbor, but then the wind died down and the sun came out. After lunch, we zoomed down to Victoria to catch up with the T60s, T60C (b.2001) and little sis, T60F, born 2012, including baby T60G, first seen in August...the first "G" designated calf! They were traveling north through Baines Channel. The surprise of the day, however, was at Discovery Island. T60G Baby!! with Mom T60, born 1980...maybe her last calf of 7! First two are not around. You'll see in the final photos! Thanks for a great season, Puget Sound Express! -Bonnie Gretz
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Sat Sep 28 - Puget Sound - 16:10 - Just saw 4 small breaches by this humpback while riding Kingston - Edmonds ferry. Approx 1/2 between ferry and south point of Whidbey Island. -Marti Lawton
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15:30 - We were on the Kingston to Edmonds ferry at 15:30 coming into port and saw the humpback, it was breaching and doing a ton of tail slapping, very exciting for those of us aboard! -Joan Smith
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15:07 - Donna w/WS Ferries Ops called: crew of the MV Spokane departing Edmonds dock reports a whale just hanging around north of the ferry dock area. They weren't sure if humpback or gray.
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~12:20 - Humpback. So we saw him/her heading towards Eglon 12:20 ish. Got to see him breach!!! Absolutely AMAZING!! -Brian Nygren
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09:20 - There is a single Humpback 2.18 NM south of Possession Pt. Appears to be feeding, milling in the area. -James Greenway
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Sat Sep 28 - Admiralty Inlet - 10:35 - Whale mid-channel on Coupeville to Port Townsend ferry. Grey or similar. I saw 1. Others thought there were two. Small dorsal set back. No flukes on dives. Saw several blows before we lost sight. Headed east by NE towards Whidbey. -Loren Hadley

September 27
COASTAL KILLER WHALES - Fri Sep 27 - WA Coast - 12:35 Watched small pod of orca from Cape Disappointment North Head Lighthouse. Traveling northwest, too far out for ID. -Shelley Greybeck
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Sept 27 - Spieden Channel - 18:55 - John Miller WSF Ops: Our ferry Chelan on way back from Sidney BC reports single HB south of Spieden Island in the channel, appears to be westbound.
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GRAY WHALES - Fri Sep 27 - Admiralty Head - 11:35 - Maija with WS Ferris Ops called to relay report of whale (this one reported as gray) 1 mile off Admiralty Head frolicking around.
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SPECIES UNCONFIRMED - Fri Sep 27 - Admiralty Head - 08:40 - largish marine mammal heading south towards Admiralty Head. Small curved fin towards back of body. In navigation channel. -Cyrilla Cook
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Fri Sep 27 - Hood Canal - We think we saw a minke whale while crossing the Hood Canal Bridge at about 1 pm yesterday (27th), couldn't really stop to watch but saw a dark back and a small dorsal fin. Too small to be a gray or humpback. Maybe the same one? -Jeanette Lynn

September 26
Thu Sep 26 - Rosario Strait - Update on Southern Residents for 9/26: after having 3 groups of them (making up everyone but the L12s) in the Salish Sea yesterday, the only reports we've heard today are of J-Pod and the K13s heading north up Rosario Strait and into the Strait of Georgia. Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute
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BIGG'S TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES - Thu Sep 26 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - With a "heads up" from a friend of Orca off Sooke we were able to catch up to these Transient Killer Whales (T069's) around Sheringham Lighthouse. Great to sea again! -Paul Pudwell
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Thu Sep 26 - Puget Sound - 18:00 - Wow!!!! We live on the water off Portage Bay near Indian Island. I have for the first time ever just seen 4 Orcas traveling through towards Port Townsend!!! Not sure if these were Transient or Resident but regardless..... this is a first through the Portage Canal that links Oak Bay and Hadlock Bay! ...it was about 6pm when I saw the Orcas! Still have goosebumps! I have never seen or heard of Orcas going through this way but always hoped one day they would! I'll email a couple more photos and keep my camera close by Incase they decide to stroll by again! For sure one was a baby, the others not so sure? Thank you for what you do! Our home is at xx Laurel street in Port Hadlock, they were right in our backyard! -Cindy Krievins-Daccurso
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Thu Sep 26 - Peter Geerlofs shot THIS VIDEO of Orcas heading west through the "cut" between Indian and Marrowstone Island on Thursday, September 26. From his boat Seductress. -Liz Hoenig Kanieski
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Thu Sep 26 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - Good morning, Traveling on the American Spirit from Port Angeles to Port Townsend, we saw a small pod of Orcas just north of the New Dungeness lighthouse. Where can I go to identify which pod these were from. From what I could see, there were three traveling close to each other and one a further distance away. It was an incredible experience! They were headed east....Kevin Shaw
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UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES - Thu Sep 26 - Puget Sound - Just received a call from Seattle Port Commissioner Fred Felleman, reporting 3 or 4 orcas headed north right past the Port of Seattle offices in Elliott Bay, at 2:45 (reported to him by someone in his office).
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Thu Sep 26 - San Juans - 15:00 - We found two humpbacks hanging out on the northeast side of Patos doing circles today who were BCY0160 Heather and BCY0458 Raptor. -Barbara Howitt
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Thu Sep 26 - San Juans - 14:54 - Humpback currently visible through binoculars when looking South from Iceberg Point. -Tom Reeve
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Thu Sep 26 - Admiralty Inlet - 17:55 - Single humpback feeding in Admiralty Inlet near Skunk Bay. -Photo by Kate Higgins, Sep 26, 2019
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SPECIES UNCONFIRMED - Thu Sep 26 - Admiralty Inlet - Possible sighting of 1 orca off Ebey's Landing, west Whidbey Island at 11:40 am, from Adele Peters Johnson - they saw one fin heading south. At first thought it might be a sea lion, but seemed larger and very much like an orca fin vs. sea lion.

September 25
SOUTHERN RESIDENTS Haro Strait - Wed Sep 25 - Haro Strait - Ks & Ls - We were working in CWR's Photo-ID office when we heard about whales on the west side of San Juan Island. Since the whales were heading north, we decided to see if we could see them from shore first. We headed down to LandBank on the west side by about 1030 where we saw members of K pod plus L54 heading slowly north very spread out...Encounter summary and photos at Center for Whale Research Encounter 78.
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SOUTHERN RESIDENTS Puget Sound Sep 25 - Wed Sep 25 - J pod, K13s, & L87 - 19:47 - Hearing faint K-pod calls on the Port Townsend hydrophone. (member of the Orca Sound hydrophone network). -Brittany Noelle Philbin
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Residents on their way out of Puget Sound...Photos by Rachel Haight, Sep 25, 2019
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18:36 - Orcas. Just saw 4 or 5 whales heading north at Lagoon Point. -Cheryl Connor
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17:58 - Orcas. More coming behind at Bush Point now going north.
17:53 - Orcas at Bush Point now! Headed north mid channel, past yellow buoy. -David Haeckel
Js, K13s, & L87 group passing Bush Point In Admiralty Inlet on their way out of Puget Sound after a 9 day stay. -Photos by David Haeckel, Sep 25, 2019
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18:55 - Orcas. Whales have passed Lagoon Point and continued north into the night. Numerous spyhops and tail slaps as a group of 7 or 8 made their way laconically past the point in quiet waters. -Sandra Pollard
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18:44 - Orcas. At Lagoon Pt. far side at least 8, active, moving north quickly. -Kit Turner
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18:10 - Orcas. Between Bush Point and Lagoon Point northbound.
17:15 - Orcas. Leaders now halfway between Foulweather Bluff and Southern tip of Marrowstone with still some north of Double Bluff green channel marker and many in between. Spread at least 5 to 7 miles or so. Northwest bound still.
16:50 - Viewing from Shore Meadows (Whidbey). Orcas spread out a couple miles south to north and mid channel with leaders north of yellow channel marker nearing Foulweather Bluff, northwest bound. Many now closer to Whidbey side, northwest bound as well. -Marilyn Armbruster
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16:41 - Orcas. Out here between Double Bluff & Mutiny Bay. They're heading northwest to Mutiny May. 6-10. They're active. It's amazing!!!!! -Courtney Castle Adams
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15:50 - Orcas. Male just out from point slowly traveling nb Kitsap side out maybe 1/3 mile from PNP lighthouse. (edited typos)// 4:15 update all on Whidbey side heading n toward Mutiny Bay barely visible with binocs. -Donna Green van Renselaar
~15:40-16:00 off Point Not Point. There were 2 females traveling northbound together in addition to the male reported earlier. Here's one of them, pretty far out for my camera. -Photo by Donna Green van Renselaar, Sep 25, 2019
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15:28 - Hi all! At least 10 orcas have been in slowly heading north across Mutiny Bay for the past 30 minutes. Looks like a baby is there too. East of mid-channel but on outer side of bay. They are going back and forth, beaching, tail slapping. They look happy! -Jana De Long Raasch
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15:10 - Orcas. Watching from Maxwelton as the leaders have passed Point No Point northbound mid channel, with 6 or so south of them. Lots of tail slapping and surface action. Challenging with the glare. -Durand Dace
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14:58 - Two large males 5 minutes apart heading north. Seen just south of Point No Point. -Sky Myers
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14:45 - Orcas. Seeing 2 or 3 dorsals from Possession Point heading north on Kitsap side south of PNP heading toward green marker. Hazy viewing conditions. -Sandra Pollard
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14:00 - Large male near Eglon, Kitasp Peninsula. -Photo by John Monson, Sep 25, 2019
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14:25 - Orcas. Slowly trending N and very spread out from Point No Point south. Lots of directional changing, some breaches, etc.
14:00 - Orcas approaching Point No Point mid channel.
13:40 - Orcas. Seeing breaches from Point No Point, west side of channel. Large male, currently SB. -Sara Frey
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13:57 - 3 orcas between Eglon and Pilot Pt. heading north. A male and a baby,very close to shore on the Kitsap side. -Kim Paige
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13:35 - Orcas. Watching from Eglon. Small group on Kitsap side that just past us, steadily trending north. Male in group. 2nd group is much larger, including at least one male, trending north along west side of Whidbey Island. Tail slaps and lots of surfacing. Seeing more straight out from Eglon. Still about a mile south of Whidbey. -Kimberly Sylvester
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13:20 - Resident orcas. Seeing a couple straight out from Eglon, slowly heading north. -Gayle Swigart
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12:54 - N off Apple Tree Point. Counted 12 different Orcas. -Alex Gilman
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12:40 - Orcas. Several blows and one breach, just visible with binoculars from Eglon. Mid channel, headed north. -Sarah Cardinal
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12:15 - Orcas. At least some (including L87 Onyx - see photo -alb) approaching Apple Tree Point west side of shipping lane. Ferry stopped for them. -Sara Frey
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12:22 - Orcas. They are now north of the ferry moving quickly
12:09 - Watching from Edmonds marina park. Super far out, along the Kingston side south of the ferry. -Tamara Kelley-Woods
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Noon - Orcas. I saw them at noon from the bluff just north of the ferry in Kingston. Saw lots of whale watchers too, a sign that the Orca Network is really good at getting the word out about these important animals. Thank You Orca Network!!! -Casey Burns
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11:48 - Sizable group (6 plus) Resident orcas, mid channel between Kayu Kayu Ac Park, Richmond Beach transected with just south of Kingston Ferry dock, traveling steady north. Male just back of this group. -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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11:32 - Orcas. Off President Point, south of Kingston, west of mid channel heading north. Whale watching boat is with them. -Joanne Graves
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11:40 - SRKWs. Still northbound, right off Kingston to the east
11:15 - SRKWs. Still northbound and south of Kingston but should be visible from Kingston with binoculars by now.
11:09 - SRKW leaders at Point Jefferson northbound on the Kitsap side. -Bart Rulon
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11:11 - I am seeing spread out Resident orcas mid channel out from Richmond Beach to just south of Jefferson Head. Steady northbound travel. Nice viewing conditions, but some haze. -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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10:28 - Orcas. J38 Cookie again...Many heading north, spread across channel just north of Port Madison now. -Photo by Chris Williamson, Sep 25, 2019
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10:06 - Orcas. Spread across from Pt Monroe to West Point, moving north. -Jason Mihok, Victoria Clipper
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10:13 - Orcas. Still some foraging mid-channel between Shilshole and Bainbridge. Victoria Clipper has stopped.
09:56 - Viewing from Sunset Hill 2 orcas heading north mid-channel. Moving really fast! -Connie Kelleher
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10:15 - Orcas. Last of group (?) past Discovery Park/West Point lighthouse northbound. The last 3, including a male in the tail, were pretty close to the Magnolia shore but have since moved mid channel.
09: 42 - Orcas. Passing Discovery Park/West Point spread out northbound, mid channel. Some directional changes- foraging? Here matriarch J16 Slick glides past this unknow fellow fishing off West Point, Discovery Park, in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle.-Sophie Mazowita
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09:35 - Orcas. A few animals off Magnolia ~2km Many more on Bainbridge side all the way up the island. Widespread. Northbound. -Michelle Savoie
09:13 - Orcas. Lead male near Manitou...many more animals spread from Yeomalt to mid-channel, south toward Blake Island. J38 Cookie.
09:15 - Orcas. Northbound off of Eagle Harbor. -Back of cam photo by Paul Mooselips Dudley, Sep 25, 2019
(ID confirmed by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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09:09 - Orcas. Many whales, spread out from Blakely Rock to north of Eagle Harbor. Kitsap side of mid channel. Traveling northbound.
09:00 - Viewing from Rockaway Beach on southeastern side of Bainbridge seeing at least 5 Orca, incl one male, trending north at Blakely Rock. Too backlit to see patches. GORGEOUS flat water... Hope you all see em! -Kimberly Sylvester
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09:02 - Maija WS Ferries Ops called to report Orcas were off Restoration point heading westbound.
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08:59 - Orcas still heading North along South tip of Bainbridge.
08:52 - Orcas. Spread out heading North. Lead male appears to to be around south end end of Bainbridge. Foraging near red buoy. (Looking from Comstellation Park). -Greg Snyder
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09:02 - Orcas. Large group ~10 fast travel north. At north end of Eagle Harbor. More north and south of them. Large male closer to Magnolia than Yeomalt headed north.
08:47 - Orcas. Lead group (2 males) at Yeomalt northbound. Viewed from Magnolia. Very spread groups.
08:26 - Orcas. 4-5 off Restoration Point (earlier milling), plus 2 males just north. Appear northbound. -Michelle Savoie
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08:13 - Orcas. I am seeing one or two milling in front of Blake Island, appear to be northbound. -Stacey Milligan
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08:12 - Orcas. I am seeing milling and swimming around from Manchester through scope we are at entry Rich passage, they seem to me hanging out south end Bainbridge. -Noelle Morris
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07:45 - From Emma Schmitz Viewpoint, most are southbound, spread out, leaders not quite to Blake Island. A few seem to be milling just off Restoration Point. -Stephanie Raymond
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07:30 - Burt Miller, WSF called. He was on a King Co passenger ferry and saw 12 orcas between Bainbridge and Alki, heading toward Vashon and Blake Is.
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07:28 - Several Orca around mid channel near the channel buoy between south Bainbridge and Constellation Park. Headed south. Vashon water taxi stopped to let them pass. Viewed from above Beach Drive near 60th and Spokane street. -Douglas B. Greenswag
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07:11 - Orcas. In Elliott Bay again! At least 3 playing and having fun. -Lauren Boyan
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07:10 - Several just spotted from the Bremerton fast ferry breaching in Elliott Bay off the north side of Alki, seemed to be heading west? -Megan Moore
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07:10 - Maija with WSFerries called to relay report: MV Chimacum spitted pod of orcas north of Alki heading southbound.
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07:04 - At least 2 orcas, looked like adult and maybe a juvenile off Alki Beach park. About 50 ft from the seawall at the intersection of 63rd ave and Alki ave SW. Great shore viewing opportunity! ("Pat Maxwell adds: 50 feet from sea wall!) -Patrick Hutchins
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There were at least 10 Orcas and a baby this morning - seen from the Bremerton ferry, the ferry had to cut their engines as they were right beside the boat! Wow what a show! Between Bainbridge and Seattle. -Carol D'Angelis
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06:47 - Orcas. Saw a lone whale just now while on ferry into Seattle from Bainbridge; tried to photograph but camera couldn't focus in dim light. -Doug Hayman
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Good Morning Susan and Howard! Orcas. I am on the 6:20am ferry to Seattle (from Bremerton), we had to stop the vessel, they are all around us! Didn't get many pics, but what a sight! Seems there were at least 10, moving slowly, spread out...there were several others further out, I saw about 10 sprinkled in the distance, all gliding slowly like these two. Only my second sighting, ever. Exciting! A few crossed in front of the ferry. Enjoy your day. -Martha Dalbeck
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K Pod, Haro Strait, SJI, observations from the shore:
15:05 - Spread out and far out, 3 orca seen south of me off Hannah Hts.
11:37 - 12:11 - K Pod Edwards Point to Hannah Hts. Reversing direction traveling to the S/SE, 11 orca (3-4 large males) some spread far out but two groups were traveling tight, 3 in one group & 5 in the other.
10:27 - 11:23 - Intermittent K pod conversations on LK hydrophone.
09:35 - 10:40 - K Pod north edge of Hannah Hts to Edwards Point. 11 orcas (4 large males) traveling to the N/NW, some stopping to forage, leading the way was K12 Sequim with K14 Lea, then K37 Rainshadow and K26 Lobo. Also K43 Saturna. Bringing up the rear were two humpbacks just passing through to the N/NW. That was exciting! -Michelline Halliday, SJI
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10:29 - Still hearing K calls on LK, S16 descending.
10:12 - Loud echolocation on Lime Kiln.
10:08 - K calls on LK and orcas visible on Lime Kiln webcam.
10:05 - Started hearing echolocation on Lime Kiln hydrophone. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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K12 (Sequim) seen from Land Bank, Westside Preserve, San Juan Island. K37 (Rainshadow) seen from Land Bank, Westside Preserve, San Juan Island. K14 (Lea) traveling her son K26 (Lobo), seen from Land Bank, Westside Preserve, San Juan Island. K42 (Kelp) seen from Land Bank, Westside Preserve, San Juan Island. -Photos by Brittany Noelle Philbin, Sep 25, 2019
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Wed Sep 25 - San Juan Channel/Cattle Pass - 14:33 - T100s: Brittany Noelle Philbin reported orcas north of Cattle Pass heading soutbound. Simon Pidcocks confirmed T100s. T100E (Tharaya), T100F (Estrella), and mom T100 (Hutchins) seen from Cattle Point traveling through Cattle Pass. -Brittany Noelle Philbin
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This afternoon in Friday Harbor WA. -Photo by Emily Steinhilber, Sep 25, 2019
(T100s)
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Wed Sep 25 - Puget Sound - (this pod was 2 hours behind residents, unsure if Rs so leaving open possibility pod of Ts reported next day? - alb) 08:30 - Orcas were at Al's in Ollala at 8:30 and One humpback, way behind now. All going north. Not dolphins, there were maybe 7. Farther side of Colvos, humpback was maybe 20 ft, moving very slowly well behind the orcas by 20 minutes. -Liz Shute Mullin
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Wed Sept 25 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - It was a fluking awesome humpback day off Sooke. Not too often you get to photograph humpback whales above you. It was a swell day. -Paul Pudwell
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Wed Sep 25 - Haro Strait - Humpback MMY0063 (Hornet) seen with another unidentified Humpback seen off Westside Preserve on Wednesday Sept. 25th (mother and calf swam alongside K-pod as they westside shuffled before heading back out west). -Brittany Noelle Philbin
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10:46 - 10:55am, northern edge Hannah Hts towards and past Edwards Point. 2 humpbacks traveling together to the N/NW. One of the humpbacks was smaller than the other but still a big whale! Multiple blows and tail waves, they stayed mostly at the surface. -Michelline Halliday, SJI
(photos reviewed show MMY0063 & the whale in photo below-alb)
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Wed Sep 25 - Puget Sound - 18:02 - Hi. That humpback I've reported is still relatively in the same place milling about in Skunk Bay in Hansville. Hasn't moved since yesterday. Very shallow surfaces but occasional deeper dive with tail showing. Haven't seen one hang out here before. Is this usual behavior? -Martha Carlstead
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14:12 - Two Spot is the HB near Skunk Bay and newbie that I appropriately nicknamed Holey Moley between Haines Wharf and Possession today. -Janine Harles
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13:52 - We are at Point No Point. A few people have said they've seen a humpback or two. Still haven't seen Orcas. There are many people here on watch. -Sarah Cardinal
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10:55 - Sub adult humpback milling between North Edmonds and Possession Bar...this is a sub adult that has been in this area for a weeks now, I have sent pics and info to Happywhale ...I have nicknamed it Holey Moley for the little hole in the tail and the big splashes it makes! -Janine Harles
(Per Tasli Shaw it is BCX0870 Scoops calf from 2018)
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Wed Sep 25 - Admiralty Inlet - Humpback. This was in front of our house for about 3 days; about 1 mile north of Norwegian Pt. Spent most of its time mid chanel between us and Whidbey. I went out kayaking after dusk and took this video. Alisa, this humpback whale was sighted 9/25, 1 mile north of Hansville / Norwegian Pt. and hung out for at least 3 days. -Mark Elgee (previous Whale Reports include confirmed IDs for Two Spot and BCX0870's 2018 calf as present in that area on 25th and for several days, could be either. - alb)
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MINKE WHALES - Wed Sep 25 - 09:02 - Maija w/WS Ferries Ops called to report minke off N Marrowstone Island heading northbound in southbound shipping lanes.

September 24
SOUTHERN RESIDENTS Puget Sound - Tue Sep 24 - J pod, K13s, & L87 - Wowww!! You must be so busy with all this srkw activity! After chasing them from shore for a couple days, I finally caught up to them yesterday for their first Island Homecoming of the season at Point Robinson and watched them cruise through Colvos Passage. My heart is full, it was absolutely beautiful watching them forage right in front of the beach, and that sweet spyhop from J37 was pure bliss! Looking forward to seeing them again soon! The above images from the west shores of Vashon Island as Js, K13s, & L87 pass by on their northbound travels through Colvos Passage in the late morning into early afternoon. J37 Hy'Shqa easing back in the water she spyhopped off Point Robinson. J44 Moby. K20 Spock and J35 Tahlequah. J36 Alki breaches off Point Robinson, a Puget Sound place of magical connections. Above 4 images during morning southbound pass of Js, K13s, & L87 along the eastern shores of Vashon/Maury Island. -Marla Smith, Vashon
(IDs by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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19:20 - At Haines Wharf (N Edmonds), at least 5 orcas passing mid channel heading north at a quick pace. -Gretchen Glaub
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19:00 - Orcas. Last saw the 3-4 that were on the Kitsap side about due east from Eglon. For a while appeared they were heading directly east but then stayed put for about 30+ minutes with foraging activity. Unclear if they were going to head east or continue on NW....there were only 3-4 and had intermittent prolonged down times. You likely needed some binoculars to see them as they had moved east as Donna showed on the map. We could hear their blows for a quite a while though. -Sara Frey
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18:32 - WSF capt. stopped the boat just shy of Edmonds dock because group of 4 orcas were passing northbound in front, between ferry's bow and dock. Group included little baby J56 and her mama J31. Leaders spread wide - many in singles and small groups traveling NW while others heading due north towards South Whidbey on east side of the Sound. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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18:35 - Orcas. Female switched direction heading northeast towards east side of channel, didn't see if others followed. Now out of sight but we still hear blows. Update 2 dorsals out from Eglon heading NW at least one was male.
18:20 - Orcas. At least 1 male, 1 female, & 1 probable sprouter leisurely traveling northbound 600 yards off Apple Tree Point, and several mid-channel between here and Edmonds ferry. Just heard a blow. -Donna Green van Renselaar
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18:25 - Orcas. 4 or 5 more now entering mid channel between Edmonds ferry run heading north at a steady pace.
18:18 - 3 orcas currently mid channel heading north holding up the Edmonds ferry. Another couple heading north visible but closer to Kingston side. -Tom Rider
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17:58 - We received a call from someone (no name given), reporting 3 - 4 orcas off Richmond Beach heading N toward Edmonds between 5:30 & 5:45 pm.
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Tuesday 9/24 @ 5:45 pm Richmond Beach. 2 Orcas northbound appear to be mama and baby per Jon Karschney. Jon is still talking about how beautiful it was to watch the orcas yesterday. He filmed 2 orcas that were close to the beach, but he could hear others blowing but could not see them. -Becky Hall Karschney
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17:40 - Orcas. 3 on Kingston side heading north, 2 mid-channel coming into Edmonds, and 2 closer to the Edmonds side lagging behind (one seems to be juvenile is playing a lot). All moving north at different speeds. -Biz Shoe Peterson
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17:35 - Southern Residents. Leaders are spread across the Sound from Point Wells, Woodway to Kingston slow northbound while foraging! One group of trailers are back, mid channel traveling NB; another group including at least one male, are off N Richmond Beach engaging in a lot of foraging!!! Including baby girl J56 and mom J31 off Richmond Beach. Viewing from Kayu Kayu Ac Park, Richmond Beach, Shoreline. Southern Resident orcas: Js, K13s, L87 (including J56 & mama J31) Richmond Beach & Edmonds - Sep 24, 2019 -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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17:29 - Orcas. Seeing 5-6 mid channel just passing Richmond Beach heading north! -Jennifer Phillips
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17:11 - Orcas. Two on the east side of the Sound at Presidents Point (Kingston). Northbound. -Trish Moylan Davis
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17:00 - Single Orca heading north about a mile off Blue Ridge Beach. 5pm 9/24/19. -Steve Blackbourn
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17:00 - Orcas. Still seeing what looks like one young one off Blue Ridge Beach (N Seattle) going back and forth, North and south. -Sandy Kraus Smith
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16:56 - Seeing several resident orcas (including males) spread between Richmond Beach and Jefferson Head traveling very slowly northbound mid channel with some directional changes. At least one more male trailing by 1/2 mile foraging east side of channel between Carkeek and Richmond Beach. Basically spread in shimmering glassy peacefully calm seas under warm sunny sky. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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16:45 - Orcas. 3 approaching Kingston. East side of channel. Appeared to be 1male & 2 females. Heading north. -Carol DeRusha
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16:28 - Call from Chris, reporting pod of orcas - West Point heading north... playing, surfing in the wake of a big Navy ship. Now playing and mingling (love that!) between the Oil Dock & Shilshole in the traffic lanes.
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16:24 - Orcas. Spotted 3-4 from Blue Ridge Beach cruising in front of a boat. Quite a distance from beach. Need binoculars to see. Heading north. -Sandy Kraus Smith
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16:11 - Saw several orcas from Sunset View Park. Mid channel. Slowly heading north. Very spread out. -Alyssa Casassa
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16:09 - Orcas. Trailers seem to be past Shilshole now. Some close in on Kitsap side. Visible with the naked eye. -Chris Merritt
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15:47 - Orcas. 2 foraging very close to Shilshole.
15:41 - Orcas. Sunset Hill spotted one just north of the ship canal, mid-channel. -Connie Kelleher
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15:43 - Orcas. Foraging or playing? Still trending north but they're spread out in all directions and some circled southwards for a while. Some are way out towards Bainbridge now and at least 3 on the Shilshole side.
15:23 - Orcas. Discovery Pt (West Point, Discovery Park) - seeing them straight out from the point, northbound mid channel. At least 2 males, 8+ total. Spread out. -Sophie Mazowita
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14:57 - Orcas at Golden Gardens. At least 8-10 of them, headed North about 1/2 mile off shore around 3:45 PM. Several great breaches. -Hugh Foy
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Orcas. My son and I were kayaking off Bainbridge this afternoon (just outside Murden cove) when we had the experience of a life time... we saw a male heading north in the distance, close enough to hear and see with our eyes, and then a couple of females came nearer to us and swam around us, then turned back north to rejoin the male. It was utterly overwhelming and we just sat there amazed. ...Thanks for all the work you do. -Joy Chan Tappen
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14:45 - Orcas. Viewing from Creosote. Traveling behavior, northbound mid-channel. No numbers yet. At least 8, very spread out. Whale watch vessel on-scene. -Chris Merritt
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14:55 - Orcas. Northbound should've passed Eagle Harbor by now. Northbound closer to Bainbridge.
14:35 - Orcas. Just saw some fins right off Blakely Harbor with the red dot mark (map indicates just N of Restoration Point). Viewing from downtown Seattle. -Alexander Simenstead
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14:38 - Orcas. Lead group NB, crossing in front of Elliot Bay (PHOTO)
14:27 - Looks like Bremerton fast ferry has stopped near orcas, just north of yellow channel buoy between Bainbridge & W Seattle.
14:21 - Several orcas moving steadily NB between Blakely Rock and Alki. Looks like mid channel, maybe closer to Seattle side. Leaders passing in front of Elliott Bay, downtown Seattle. Viewing from Rockaway Beach on Bainbridge. -Jim Reitz
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14:15 - Orcas. From Lowman Beach - just a quick dorsal a couple hundred yards north of the yellow buoy n of restoration pt. Couldn't detect a travel direction. -Trileigh Tucker
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14:18 - Orcas. The same leaders now past Blakely Rock, solid northbound travel.
14:13 - Orcas. Two males and two females approaching Restoration Point, another large male at the yellow marker, another male and several females still behind. All northbound, slow travel.
14:09 - Orcas. A boat in close proximity by the yellow buoy, closely following the whales!! Two spy hops and two breaches by three whales by the buoy.
14:05 - Orcas. Leaders are at yellow mid channel marker south of Bainbridge. At least 12-15 whales from Blake north, lots of directional changes and foraging.
13:47 - Orcas. A group of half a dozen foraging/lots of directional changes just north of Tillikum Village. -Pia VanHanen
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13:41 - Orcas. Now passing the north end of Blake Island.
13:32 - From West Seattle, I see at least 4 Orcas, northbound by the south end of Blake Island. -Sarah May Sing
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13:42 - Orcas. Whales now covering the whole length of Blake on the east side, really spread out, northbound. Leaders past the northern tip.
13:29 - Orcas. From Constellation, leaders at Tillikum Village, more northbound on the east side of Blake just past the southern top. Moving fast. -Pia VanHanen
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13:28 - Orcas. Visible from shore at Constellation Point Alki. They decided to take the east side of Blake Island northbound, but far west in the channel. -Kersti Muul
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13:21 - The lead group is at the south end of Blake Island, passing on the east side of the Island it appears. (northbound). -Mike Yov
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13:21 Orcas. Leaders just at south end of Blake headed east and trailers still moving between Blake and Vashon. There was a lovely breach-fest near Southworth. Also tons of pec slaps and tail slaps. -Amy Carey
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13:20 - Orca. The last of the trailing group now crossing Southworth Ferry Lanes. very active, lots of breaching and tail lobs. Mom and son J16 (breaching) and J26 Mike off Southworth. (northbound) -Noreen Ferris
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WSF MV Kittitas, J37, a leaping salmon, & K27 converge at the top of Vashon...as seen from shores of Southworth. -Photos by Noelle Morris, Sep 24, 2019
(IDs by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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J16 Slick breaches as the pods exit Colvos Passage at Southworth and N Vashon. -Photo by Ignacio Torres, Sep 24, 2019
(ID confirmed by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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12:54 - Orcas. Seen at Point Southworth heading north about 5-6 and calf. -Rich Etheridge
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13:00 - Orcas. Actually 4 to 5 groups spread a couple miles now breaching like crazy at N point Vashon exiting Colvos NB at 1pm. They sure looked good celebrating with so many breaches
12:50 - With 8 to 10 orcas north end Colvos northbound close to Vashon. Will be in ferry lane apx 1pm. -Thanks , Tim Ferris
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12:25 - Orcas. From Southworth Ferry Beach (south of terminal) we can see at least 8 orcas coming north up Colvos...Spread out over quarter mile as they come north to Southworth. Boat is near the stragglers in back. -Amy Bliss-Miller
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12:19 - Orcas. Passing Command Point now, heading north steady on Vashon side. Spread out half mile. I think 8 passed here. -Mark Reddish
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11:55 - ID report from Naturalist Justine onboard the Saratoga. J-pod and the K13's were positively identified! Enjoy everyone. -Sarah Hanke, Puget Sound Express
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11:49 - Orcas. Nearing Prospect Point in Olalla. I see 2 in front and 3 in back, 5 total maybe 6. -Justin Foster
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11:34 - Orcas. About 1.5 miles south of Olalla Beach at least 6 on the Vashon side. -Robyn Dally
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11:31 - Orcas. Maybe 7 or so. Mid channel cuddle puddle off Al's (Olalla) still slowly Northbound.
11:21 - Orcas. 8-10 approaching Redding's Beach (Vashon) soon
11:14 - Orcas. Still slowly Northbound approaching Sandford Point, Vashon side, south of Lisabuela still.
11:01 - Orcas. Heading north up Colvos closer to Vashon shore, approaching Lisabuela. -Melissa Bird
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Residents northbound in Colvos Passage passing Lisabuela, Vashon. -Photo by Shelby Middling, Sep 24, 2019
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10:47 - Orcas. Getting really close to Colvos hugging southern Vashon...They were super active yet so far away. I watched them breach over and over along Vashon from Owen Beach this morning. -Photo by Amber Stanfill , Sep 24, 2019
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10:46 - Orca sightings off South end Vashon just now. What appears to be 7-10 Orcas including several small whales, videoed across the front of the Talequah Ferry terminal at South end of Vashon Island. -Don Ripley
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10:36 - south end of Vashon, close to the ferry dock, lots of splashing and breaching... heading west now. -Michaela Kelly Wuefling
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10:36 - Orcas. They are headed toward Point Ruston, south/southwest direction. Still on the Vashon side.
10:30 - Watching from Old Town, orcas just east/north east of ferry heading toward ferry dock on South side of Vashon. -Dana Andrew
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10:30 - Orcas. Headed west towards Colvos Passage. Late in adding but this was off the 10:30 am 9/24/19 sailing of the Tahlequah-Pt Defiance ferry. (lovely Facebook video unable to share here, shows large group in tight together, some surface activity as they continue west - alb). -Kathy Rickard
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10:25 - Orcas. 5-6 headed west across Vashon. Very close to Vashon. Jet ski with. -Sarah Cardinal
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10:24 - Orcas. watching from Owen Beach. At least six heading west along southern tip of Vashon. One large male present. Jetskier got way too close. -Amy Bliss-Miller
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Orcas. When they were passing Tahlequah the bigger guys were tailing a little behind the leader group. -Photo by Shelby Middling, Sep 24, 2019
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10:15 - Orcas. Just south off Northilla (S Maury Island). Headed towards Pt. Defiance. Very active, saw one breach. Lots of tail and fin slapping. They are spread out over large area. -Randy DeWulf
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10:15 - Orcas. At least 3 foraging near mouth of Quartermaster Harbor, seen from The Dune Peninsula (Tacoma). -Jill Clogston
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10:06 - Orcas just south of Vashon, kind of spread out, slowly heading south. Quite a few breaches! -Michaela Kelly Wuefling
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10:03 - Orcas. They are passing by the South end of Vashon now. Headed towards Colvos. -Melissa Malott
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09:40 - Orcas. They are just south of Gold Beach now spread out mid channel, but a couple closer to the Vashon side. -Lisa Meoli
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09:38 - Orcas. Still southbound mid channel off Dash Point / Browns Point area. -Amy Carey
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09:57 - Orcas. Spread out, should be coming up towards Tahlequah next. I was viewing them from Sandy Shores
09:26 - Orcas. Passing Maury Island Marine park now. -Shelby Middling
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09:12 - We are currently seeing Orca through our telescope west of Maury Island. Directly across from Salt Water State Park. -Vince Lembra
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09:01 - At least three orcas just passed Point Robinson at a fast pace southward. West side close to shore. -Kari Daniels
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J37 (top) and J49 (bottom), mother and son checking us out at Point Robinson this morning. -Photos by Kelly Burns Keenan, Sep 24, 2019
(IDs by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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09:00 - Orcas now past Point Robinson still southbound, but also foraging type direction changes.
08:30 - Orcas southbound just south of Three Tree Point.
07:59 - Just had community member report of orcas passing Dilworth southbound. -Amy Carey
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Tue Sep 24 - Haro Strait - (Present today off San Juan: K12s, K14s, K16s, K21, L54s, and L88, per Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute). K33 Tika off the west side of San Juan Island this evening. Three different groups of Southern Residents have been roaming the Salish Sea this week, from Puget Sound to the Strait of Georgia. This is what September should be like! -Photo by Monika Wieland Shields, Orca Behavior Institute, Sep 24, 2019
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Haro Strait, members of K pod observed from shore:
19:32 - Orcas traveling to the S/SE between Edwards Pt. and Hannah Hts.
19:02 - Orca. Large male traveling to the S/SE between Edwards Pt and Hannah Hts.
18:30 - I turned on LK hydrophone - K Pod conversing.
17:50 - 18:19 - Orca. To the south I could hear (and occasionally see) one large male actively foraging off Hannah Hts. NOAA met him to take samples (I think). They pulled away, he continued his forage, then stopped and traveled quickly N past Edwards Point.
16:50 - 17:35 - 5 orca including one large male, spread out traveling N/NW between north side of Hannah Hts towards Edwards Point and beyond.
K33 Tika. Male ("that looks like K25") foraging with NOAA research team at the ready to collect samples. -Photos by Michelline Halliday, Sep 24, 2019 -Michelline Halliday, SJI
(ID notes by Melisa Pinnow
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15:35 - K pod southwest off of San Juan Island 1535. Mid channel right along Canadian water border. 2 large males seen. -Chad Goodsen
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K-pod or L-pod Southern Resident Killer Whales traveling northbound past Lime Kiln State Park at sunset before turning southbound again. K26 (Lobo) traveling northbound along the west side of San Juan Island, seen on Sept. 24 while whale watching with Maya's Legacy. -Photo by Brittany Noelle Philbin, Sep 24, 2019
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Tue Sep 24 - J37 Hy'Shqa takes a look around just feet from shore at Point Robinson, Maury/Vashon Island. Cell video that day show her son J49 spyhopping seconds after her just to the south. See Kelly Keenan images in Sep 24 section. -Photo by Marla Smith, Sep 24, 2019
(ID by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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Tue Sep 24 - Puget Sound - 18:57 - Trying to find them (orcas) from Picnic Point. Currently seeing a humpback lazily raising it's tail and fins. Mid channel. -Greg Heiss
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16:44 - I spotted what appears to be a humpback southbound in the south shipping lanes off Skunk Bay in Hansville. Close to shore. -Martha Carlstead

September 23
SOUTHERN RESIDENTS Puget Sound - Mon Sep 23 - J pod, K13s, L87 - 17:37 - Orcas passing in front of Fay Bainbridge Park. 3 or 4 individuals. One male? Slowly going north. Western quarter of the channel. Observing from Fay Bainbridge. -Ron Sorrell
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17:00- 17:30 - Kimberly Sylvester and I watched at least 20 orcas pass by Rolling Bay overlook the last half hour. Spread out from here to Fay Bainbridge. Members of J11's, including J56, stopped to rest for 15 min or so close to shore. J27, foraging nearby, rolled over and swam on his back awhile with pec waves and tail slaps. As of 17:30 they were all moving again, northbound and west of mid channel. Some angled toward Richmond Beach from our line of sight. -Susan Marie Andersson
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16:28 - From Bainbridge ferry saw quite a few! -Photo by Caitie Paskewich, Sep 23, 2019
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15:50 - Group of at least 7 orcas viewed thru binoculars from Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge. Mid-channel just north of yellow channel marker. A couple breaches, mostly NB travel. Ferry just leaving Bainbridge should get a good view. -Jim Reitz
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15:35 - Orcas just hit the northern end of the point at the southern tip of Bainbridge Island traveling at a good clip northbound. They're closer together now, appear to all be in one group. East of ferry lanes.
15:20 - Orcas. Hard to tell how many but the fog cleared and I see a group of 4-6 orcas heading north on East side of Bainbridge Island, seen from Lowman Beach Park. -Kayli Ann Breitweiser
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14:30 - There was one large orca breaching and splashing near a boat in this area circled (out from Tillicum Village). Never saw anything after that.
13:40 - Orcas are approaching the north end of Blake right now, very spread out.
13:31 - Orcas. Group still spread out, closer to Bainbridge side, some breaching. Viewing from Constellation Park in West Seattle. They are headed south. -Brian-Nicole Jenkins
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12:45 - Orcas. Southern group traveling south past Eagle Harbor, closer to Bainbridge, than not.
12:22 - Orcas. Viewing from Magnolia. They are mid channel to 2/3 across to Bainbridge. Just south of Manitou, headed south. -Michelle Savoie
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Rainy day on Chilkat out of Pt. Townsend. First we found Humpback Two Spot (MMZ0013) of Marrowstone Point, then headed south to catch up with reported Residents. We found some Js and Ks around Shilshole/Bainbridge. It was really raining so the picture conditions were not good! Definitely i.d.'d J26 (Mike) and J47(Notch), and possibly K20 (Spock) (confirmed - alb). They were super active, breaching, tail slapping, one male did a HUGE cartwheel, spyhopping, rolling over....lovely to see despite the weather! Thanks, Puget Sound Express!!! I've never been this far south on the water before. K20 Spock, K38 Comet, J37 Hy'Shqa, J22 Oreo, J38 Cookie.
12:21 - Just leaving orcas around Shilshole Bay, super active, but spread out. ...Very wet conditions. At least J26, J47 and maybe K20? (yes) -Bonnie Gretz
(IDs by & confirmed by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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11:56 - Orcas. There's a group southbound now, due west of Discovery Pt. They're far. Lots of breaches!
11:39 - Orcas. Seeing them really distantly from Discovery Pt (West Point, Discovery Park) for the past 30 mins, looking NW, towards the N end of Bainbridge. West side of Sound...I saw a group mid-channel but they moved towards the west side. Slowly southbound. -Sophie Mazowita
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11:55 - Orcas. Update: heading out as the weather is making them harder to track. Looks like they are still trending south mid channel. And here's a crappy picture.
11:24 - Orcas. Watching from Sunset Hill (Ballard). They are across from Shilshole, mid channel, looks like 6-8 and at least two males trending south. Really spread out. -Danielle Carter
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11:15 - Bonnie Gretz called, seeing at least on big male orca off Point Jefferson, southbound.
(Probably trailer indicating whales are spread - alb)
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10:30 - Orcas (members of J pod at least) are southbound mid channel in the Sound between mid Port Madison, Kitsap and Carkeek Park, Seattle. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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09:20 - Half a dozen orcas southbound between Apple Cove Point and Kingston. Most near the shipping lanes, but a couple closer to Edmonds. One male breached a few times mid channel. They were only going SB during the 5 minutes I was watching them. I haven't seen them since. -Sherman Page
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08:50 - Donna with WS Ferries Ops called to report orcas heading northbound in the northern end of Edmonds/Kingston ferry traffic lanes.
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Mon Sep 23 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - 16:55 - These guys had already passed directly in front of our home and were due north of Green Point (between Sequim and PA) when I saw them surface at 4:55 pm. Not that great of photos (it would have been much better directly out from the house) but I send this off to you as there appears to be a young orca in the group of three that were traveling eastbound. -Tony Little, East Bluff Drive, Port Angeles, WA
(ID notes by Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research: "That's the T37As")
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Mon Sep 23 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - T18 traveling with T19 in the Strait of Juan de Fuca - T019B traveling with T19C in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. -Photos by Brittany Noelle Philbin
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Mon Sep 23 - Admiralty Inlet - Rainy day on Chilkat out of Pt. Townsend. First we found Humpback Two Spot(MMZ0013) of Marrowstone Point, then headed south to catch up with reported Residents....Bonnie Gretz
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SPECIES UNCONFIRMED - Mon Sep 23 - Puget Sound - 18:00 - Saw one orca, waiting to see if there are others 1800 off Edmonds/Mukilteo. Don't see any others so far. Only saw the tip of the dorsal but looked big enough to be a male I think. (asked if possibly humpback?): no I don't think so, the dorsal fin was on its way under water, I saw about half of it, but I feel like it was much too large, which is why I thought it was a male. I watched it for a minute or so and the tail slap and underside of the fluke looked like an orca, but I can't say I'm 100 percent sure....so I just looked at pictures of whale vs orca flukes and now I'm confused. It definitely could have been a whale (humpback)..Alice Thuy Talbot

September 22
SOUTHERN RESIDENTS Puget Sound - Sun Sep 22 - J pod, K13s, L87 - (A family traveling home at the end of the weekend encountered the residents in Puget Sound. This is an excellent example of respect and mindfulness towards marine life we share these waters and proper Be Whale practices when in the presence of orcas )
Received on Sep 23rd regarding sighting on Sep 22nd:
Hello! I didn't want to clutter your facebook feed but I do have a question. After 20 years of boating, we finally saw our first pod of Orcas in Puget Sound yesterday (so exciting!). We were on our way back to Elliott Bay Marina after spending the weekend in Poulsbo. We left Poulsbo via Agate Pass and as we were entering the Southbound Puget Sound traffic lanes we saw a dorsal fin about 400 yards or more to our port side and then another to port but behind us, then another just in front of us about 500 yards away. We were only going about 9 knots at the time but I slowed to about 3 knots to see which direction the whales were headed. We kept looking all around the boat and then saw one whale headed directly for our stern so we stopped immediately and drifted until we were sure that they were all headed South. I noticed that they seemed to be heading towards the West side of the channel so we stayed to the East and continued our trip South but still at 3-4 knots. The majority of the time we saw the whales we were traveling parallel to them in a Southbound direction. My question is, when the whale was headed directly towards our stern, did we do the right thing by stopping and waiting for them to pass? I want to make sure we're following the regulations correctly. Our boat is a 50 trawler and we don't have great visibility of the stern unless one of us walks back and looks around. Thank you for your help! -Sandy Dupleich
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Sun Sep 22 - Js, K13s, L87 - 19:06 - Orcas. They seem to be sleeping - all grouped together and moving reeeeaaaallllyyy slowly. We left them a little North of Three Tree Point (Burien). They were moving North. Two males. Seemed to be 8/9 total. Maybe more. -Melissa Malott
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18:54 - Orcas. Heading north a little south of Dilworth. Tightly grouped with one stray. -Cindy Eckes Waddingtons
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18:30 - Orcas. At least some definitely slowly moving north. Difficult to estimate numbers with sun glare. Passing mid channel marker off Three Tree Point, mid channel, west of marker.
18:19 - Continue to mill west of Three Tree Point. Possibly moving northward, slowly but not committed. Large group clumped up. -Christina Van Wolbeck Fenerty
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17:33 - Finally spotted a couple orcas in the distance from Three Tree Point. Heading Southbound straight across from Three Tree Point closer to Vashon. There was a double breach. -Connor O'Brien
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17:55 - Orcas. Passed KVI now and full speed ahead towards Point Robinson.
17:35 - Orcas. They are now on the move towards KVI Beach near the Vashon side. -Shelby Middling
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17:25 - Orcas. Been watching them from Seahurst Park (Burien) for the past 20 mins. Very spread out, southbound, near the Vashon side. Believe they are near Dilworth around the 3 large radio/cell towers. -Phil Echelman
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17:10 - Orcas. Still southbound. Spotted at Dilworth Point last at 5:10. -Joe Matter
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17:06 - Orcas. About 5 whales due west of Seahurst Park closer to Vashon, southbound at a good clip. -Kari Ingalls
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16:50 - Orcas. Lead whales now at Dilworth off Vashon with more following. Still southbound.
16:35 - Orcas. Just south near Dolphin Point, very spread out. -Amy Carey
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16:00 - Just saw 4-5 orcas from Vashon-West Seattle Ferry, closer to Vashon. Pretty spread out. -Charlie Tidwell
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15:50 - Spotted two Orcas off North end of Vashon Island, headed south towards Tacoma. -Kris Kibler
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15:46 - Donna WS Ferries Ops called to one orca heading southbound near Dolphin Point. Reported by Cathlamet (heading into Fauntleroy).
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15:56 - Orcas. Continued southbound on east side of Vashon.
15:52 - Orcas. Some whales now close to and at North tip of Vashon. Some still southbound at south of Blake.
15:32 - Orcas. From Fauntleroy ferry dock vantage point - several milling around north is Vashon and south of Blake. Some traveling SW on the east side of Blake (west side of the channel, appear to me much closer to Blake than mid channel).
14:15 -15:15 - Orcas. Watched from the west side of Alki/Constellation Point. Huge breaches as one male turned around the point! Lots of surface activity at times. Whales very spread out, at least 12-15 of them. They continued to mill around the yellow buoy, and move S/SW ever so slowly. Spent the hour south of Bainbridge, north of Blake Island. They have continued traveling south to south of Blake at least. Not sure whether they have continued south and if so which side of Vashon. -Pia VanHanen
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15:02 - Orcas. Two traveling south just past Blake Island right now...I lost them at the Northern tip of Vashon by that time I was only seeing one dorsal fin.
14:57 - Seen 2 dorsal fins by Blake Island approx 4 mins. ago. -Stacey Milligan
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14:39 - Orcas. Spotted male dorsal in front of Argosy tour boat close to the shipping channel south of Bainbridge, visibility is awful right now. -Terri McAllister
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~ 14:27 - Orcas. We saw a group from the Bremerton Seattle ferry. Hard to tell how many there were but there was at least five with one Male and the rest maybe females. They went by super fast tho. They were headed south southwest direction. -Kathryn Murphy
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14:09 - Orcas. South past Alki Point...then lost them in the haze. -Kari Ingalls
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13:24 - Orcas. Currently about 1 mile due west of Elliott Bay Marina. South bound in 3 clusters. -Craig Smith McMaster
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12:56 - Orcas. Seeing them now from Discovery Pt (West Point, Discovery Park) straight west and to the south. Heading towards Alki! Mid channel, though some perhaps to Bainbridge side...visible from shore. Binoculars helped. -Sophie Mazowita
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12:55 Orcas. We are heading out. Leaving them southbound at Sierra Gulf.
12:21 - Orcas. Very spread out. Shilshole Marina to Bainbridge. Somewhere around 15-20 (or more) but impossible to count. Lots of breaching. I've counted 3 males (two traveling together next to us), another over by Saratoga and Red Head. There might be more though
12:00 - Orcas. Just north of Shilshole mid channel steady southbound. -Joe LaMarche
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11:15 - Orcas south of Kingston, west mid channel, lots of breaches. They are merging with fishing boats again, still SB. -Janine Harles
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11:00 - We were so excited to see a pod of Orcas two days in a row heading South past President's Point...and 22nd at 11:00. There were 8 the second day. -Judy Kimelman
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10:58 - Just spotted a pod of approximately 10 Orcas (as announced by the ferry system) on the Edmonds-Kingston ferry off the bow. Approximately 5-10 minutes out from Kingston. Moving Southwest. -Carly Vester
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10:53 - Donna WS Ferries Ops called to advise ferry Puyallup en route from Edmonds to Kingston stopped in water for pod of 15 orcas heading southbound.
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10:49 - Kingston ferry stopped as orcas trended south about mid-channel.
10:10 - Orcas. From Eglon can barely see male dorsal trending southeasterly. -Jill Clogston
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09:43 - Orcas. Now heading south. Looks like feeding just north of Eglon Beach fairly close to shore. -Kim Page
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09:32 - After a breach fest, a lot of the orcas have grouped and flipped direction. Now heading southeast bound from northern west of middle Sound (out from Eglon area). There may be some others still to the north trailing.
08:55 - Also some orcas spread across Possession Bar (Scatchet Head/Possession Point) so those may have been the I was seeing earlier. J49, J38, and J37, J26 Mike -Janine Harles
(IDs confirmed by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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08:45 - I saw 6 or so orcas off Pilot Point (N Kitsap), west side of ship lane, heading north. -Austin Iles
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08:40 - Janine Harles called, her and Tim are seeing at least 4-6 orcas out from Eglon foraging. This group has stalled and is not traveling. They also saw blows thought too tall to be orcas over off South Whidbey between Scatchet Head and Possession Point buoys, thinking it is a humpback. -Janine Harles
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08:05 - Orca. Spotted at 8:05 north of Eglon Beach. Definitely headed north to Point No Point. Kitsap side, at least 1 male. -Kim Page
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06:30 - Orcas. Apple Tree Point northbound here across shipping lanes. In travel mode heading towards Admiralty. Wasn't much to see.. choppy and nasty. Dorsal fins in travel mode. Pretty fast travel north. L87 and J27. From this morning while passing Kingston....southbound travel. -Sara Frey
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Sun Sep 22 - OR Coast - Orcas. I saw them (Orcas off the Manzanita coast in Oregon) again today at 11:30-12:30! I saw them swimming around and slapping their tails. A little harder to keep track of them today as the water is rougher and it's cloudy/rainy but they're definitely still there. -Abby Obiero
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Sun Sep 22 - Strait of Georgia - 14:45 - I have two humpback whales feeding off here Lighthouse marine park in point Roberts Washington now (48.9709398, -123.0840306). 2:45pm Sunday Sept 22,2019. -Cheers, Melissa Hafting
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Sun Sep 22 - Puget Sound - 13:45 - Janine Harles called. They've encountered the juvie humpback (BCX0870's 2018 calf) off Possession Bar.
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Sun Sep 22 - Admiralty Inlet - 11:10 - One humpback whale just south (half mile south) of Bush Point, Whidbey Island. Two Spot. -Bart Rulon, PSE

September 21
SOUTHERN RESIDENTS Puget Sound - Sat Sep 21 - Js, K13s, L87 - I have questions. I was at Point No Point on Saturday and saw Orcas off in the distance closer to the land on the other side, perhaps Picnic Point. I watched them all the way until they were closer to Edmonds using binoculars. My question. There was a research boat that I could see with one of the crew holding something blue hanging from a blue rod and also what appeared to be a drone. There also was a large white boat that seemed to be traveling with the Orcas and looked very close. What was to blue thing and what is law concerning drones by Orcas? It was incredible to watch all the very active Orcas! -Denise Hershey Seaman
(Researchers were out collecting samples, deploying dtags, and conducting photogrammerty)
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19:12 - a few orcas at red map marker going south. -Ron Sorrell
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18:55 - Orca. Southbound mid-channel and off Bainbridge side approaching Rolling Bay. Very spread out. -Lance King
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18:40 - Orcas. Watching them from Sunset Hill (Ballard) - they're directly out from Shilshole, they are spread out and still trending south. And there are some lucky sailboats out there tonight. -Danielle Carter
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18:34 -About a dozen orcas about a mile north of West Point headed towards West Point right now. -Bradley Summers
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18:02 - Orcas. Across from Jefferson Boat Launch, heading southwest. First time seeing orcas! -Samantha Whitaker
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17:45 - Orcas. 3 due west of Carkeek park, 6 more orcas mid channel from Medow Point all south bound at a casual pace. ...I know some of these shots look like I'm right on top of them but after cropping and using a Nikon P900 with a 28-2000mm zoom, you feel like your right there...Gary Peterson
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17:49 - Orcas. They have gone past Presidents Point 10 mins ago, put on a show. Must have been 7 or 8 of them...
17:24 - Orcas. From Presidents Point at 5:24pm...Trish Moylan Davis
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17:36 - Orcas Spotted from Richmond Beach. Closer to Kitsap side. 2 enormous cruise ships spewing brown smoke going through them. -Christy Avery
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17:15 - Orcas. Mid channel just a tad South of Kingston. -Photo by Lisa Corona, Sep 21, 2019
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16:40-16:45 - Orcas. Just seen from WSF from Kingston. Mid sound heading south. About 5-6 of them. -Jennifer Bryant
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16:45 - Update: orcas spread far and wide along Kitsap side now traveling steadily south of Apple tree to Kingston. Unbelievable viewing for last hour, quite a few males plus clusters of females as close as 600 yards offshore to 1/2 mile out. Hopefully pics will come out will post later. There was foraging milling breaching pec display and spyhopping!...I want to add that there were way more than 8-10 orcas altogether - they were spread out n to south and westside to mid channel and we saw multiple clusters of between 2-6 individuals together, I think 8 in one group though it was hard to count. That is based on our viewing from Apple Tree Cove until 4:45 . I'm guessing it was all of J's and K13s who've been in for days. -Donna Green van Renselaar
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16:30 - 17:45 - We watched them move south slowly from the Saltair Beach Park at the Kingston Ferry Terminal. Spread out all throughout the channel with lots of splashing at times, a dorsal fin showing, a few breaches, and spyhops. We counted 4 in the beginning and then maybe a 2nd group of 5 with 2 large males. -Jolena Tagg
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16:45 - Orcas. Spyhops and breaching in front of the cruise ship. Watching from Salt Air Beach Park, Kingston. -Photos by Jolena Tagg, Sep 21, 2019
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16:30 - Orcas. 2 large males passing Apple Tree Pt SB. J27 foraging and traveling.... Some foraging. Others all spread out into shipping lane.
16:10 - Orcas. At least some heading south now approaching ferry (Kingston). West side of shipping lane. Many north and west of there. Very spread out. Lots of foraging.
15:50 - Orcas. Seem to be trending east... possibly around Possession again? Lots of activity: breaches, tails lobs, spy hops. -Sara Frey
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16:06 - Resident orcas still spread from just north of Apple Tree Point to Rose Point. Most over on west side of channel, lead group of at least 6 (incl. male) have moved east towards mid channel. Large male further west trailing. Another group of 6+ trailing. Lovely illuminated blows and dorsals in summer sun. All southbound medium pace.
15:35 - I can see orcas blowing and dorsals rising out of the haze heading southbound in far away distance on Kitsap side out from Eglon/Rose Point area. Nice breach out from Rose Point! NOAA boat nearby. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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16:00 - We were so excited to see a pod of Orcas two days in a row heading South past President's Point on Saturday September 21 around 4:00 PM and 22nd at 11:00. There were at least 6 in the first group and 8 the second day. -Judy Kimelman
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16:16 - Red research boat close in, pod milling? Feeding behavior? Closer to Kitsap north of Apple Tree Point.
16:05 - Orcas. 8+ same area (as 15:55 update). Some milling, south, near sailboat with smaller boat next to it.
15:55 - Orcas. Mid channel between Eglon and Kingston, 4? heading south. NOAA just behind. Others seen intermittently farther out and farther south. -Beverly Steinman
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15:37 - About 8-12 orcas heading south. Just passed Eglon. Mid channel. Lots of activity. -Carol DeRusha
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15:22 - We are seeing male orca with NOAA boat drifting slowly, generally southwest Kitsap side south of Point No Point. There have seen several more breaches by large male and smaller whale. Breaches galore and a big spyhop through 3:30 pm from Apple Tree Point.
15:08 - Eyes on from Apple Tree Point to North- Orcas east of Point No Point, in front of Double Bluff from where we are - multiple breaches two whales near research boat. -Donna Green van Renselaar (w/Sara Frey)
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15:03 - Orcas. Multiple fins, spouts and breaches. ESE from PNP. Seem to be moving slowly south
14:56 - Orcas. Large male fin spotted with binoculars due east of Point No Point, headed south. -Thomas Buell Jr
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14:53 - Orcas. NOAA vessel with them north of Eglon, Whidbey side trending south. Too far to get numbers. -Carol DeRusha
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14:45 - Orcas. From PNP, visible with binoculars mid channel. More bunched up with two trailing. Moving south. NOAA boat trailing slowly.
14:22 - At Point No Point: orcas visible looking east with binoculars. 8-10? Tail lobs, few breaches. Appeared to be milling about, but now seem to be moving westward toward PNP since I can now see fins and splashes without binoculars. -Martha Carlstead
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13:50 - Orcas. Viewing from Maxwelton Park, we could see spouts couple miles S of Point No Point. Appear to be heading NW. -Pamela Pakker-Kozicki
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13:20 - Orcas are spread out with at least one group who moved SW from Possession Point and moved over to the Kitsap side of mid channel (southbound shipping lanes), currently near Eglon, Kitsap heading southbound. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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13:00 - Viewing from Scatchet Head: Orcas are north of here and appear to be heading NW towards Admiralty Inlet. -Marilyn Armbruster
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12:51 - Picnic point they're super far away now south...That was exciting. Even from far (picnic point) saw about 12 breaches in a short time
12:38 - Orcas. They're on the red dot (map). Headed southwest. Saw a few breaches. -Alexander Simenstad
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12:47 - Orcas. They are currently crossing Possession Bar possibly SW. It is difficult to determine exact heading because I am quite a ways away.
12:36 - Orcas. They have just rounded Possession Point heading NW in Admiralty Inlet. -Wendy Brock
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12:23 - Orcas. They are at the base of Whidbey, the cove by Possession and Possession Beach Waterfront park. -Ann Cornelius
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12:35 - Orcas. They have merged with the fishing boats, still heading south west not sure yet if they are going across inlet.
12:23 - Orcas. The group is almost around the corner, Stamm overlook in Edmonds probably best view, research skiff on scene... Absolutely amazing day with Tim on the Sea Panda! Southern Residents J's, some K's and L87. All photos taken with telephoto lens, zoomed and cropped for details. All whale watch regulations followed. -Janine Harles
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12:20 - 12:40 - watched them pass by the Clinton ferry dock area about a half mile offshore at 1220pm today heading south fairly quickly. Two large adults were breaching repeatedly. I believe they were eight in total, some juvenile. No really small ones. I drove to Possession Beach to watch them go by again roughly 20 minutes later, same behavior. A NOAA Zodiac was tailing them fairly close. I got some rad breaching videos! -Noah Person
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Noon - So close to Glendale, southbound! -Photo by Marilyn Armbruster, Sep 21, 2019
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Wow. No words. Okay, some words. Day two of resident orcas in Possession Sound! I tossed and turned all night because I knew they were out there. Knew they would be here when I woke up. Sure enough... looking outside in soupy skies and water and the message goes out orcas breaching at the ferry! Oh my, run down to the ferry dock. Then watch them travel along Hat Island angling toward Saratoga Passage. Not so fast, turn back around and come back into Possession and stop the ferries! Yes, the ferry couldn't get off the dock at 11 and then when they did they still had to stop. After watching from my deck and driveway a while, I went to Glendale where we had close pass-bys of several whales! Close I tell you! And then raced to Possession just in time to see some massive breaching as they headed down to the tip of Whidbey. Whew! -Debbie Stewart
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11:46 - Orcas. They've fully cleared the ferry lanes after a ton of breaching and are visible from Glendale, still southbound. Ferries are finally at destination after a significant delay. What a morning! I heard so many kids and parents squeal as they saw them breach! For most, it was their first time seeing whales! -Durand Dace
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11:28 - Orcas. Seeing groups south of Clinton ferry. Saratoga still with them.. Hooray! -Bonnie Gretz
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11:20 - Watched about 12-15 orcas today between Clinton and Mukilteo. Tail splashes, belly flops, etc. arrived about 11:20 am headed southbound. One male Orca included in the pod for sure! -Janet Hammond
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This was at 11:10 just now getting around to posting. This was when they were at the Clinton ferry crossing. -Photo by Melissa Simmons, WSF, Sep 21, 2019
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11:07 - The 11:00am ferry not off dock due to orcas. Announcements being made for people to get out of their cars and look on all sides of the boat. -Debbie Stewart
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11:02 - Orcas. Right in front of the Clinton Ferry! 12+ PLEASE drive slow they are all spread out and playing, milling!! So many of them!! It's incredible! They seem so happy! Lots of breaching, tale slaps and spy hops! -Ann Cornelius
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10:57 - Orcas. At least one small group with male female and calf picked up pace traveling south towards Clinton ferry. -Debbie Stewart
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10:12 Orcas. Spread out milling between Brighton Beach and Hat Island. Saratoga on scene with southernmost group.
09:30 - Orcas. At least one person running along the shore at Hat island having the most epic encounter ever. -Rachel Haight
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Dreamy close pass by Js, K13s, & L87 off NW shore of Hat Island Saturday morning. This short compilation of 2 clips shows many behaviors by these lovely fish-eating orcas: traveling, directional changes, logging, breaching, tail lob, spy hop, all while moving southbound in Possession Sound (northern Puget Sound). Much gratitude to Lori Christopher for sharing her videos/encounter with us all! Breach off Hat Island.
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09:23 - Orcas. Meandering back south, east side of Sandy Point. I'm heading home but will keep an eye on the feed with hopes they head up the passage!
08:56 - Orcas. Seeing a few on the east side of Sandy Point, Langley. Surfacing and spouting. Viewing with binochs from Cascade Ave. Multiple breaches or at least big splashes I can't tell exactly. -Christy Korrow
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09:51 - Orcas. Still south, near and in ferry lanes, lots of frolicking! Angling towards Clinton ferry dock, chasing fish!
09:09 - Orcas all along north side of Hat Island, lots of breaches, slaps....
08:55 - Orcas NE end of Hat Island heading towards Everett. -Janine Harles
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09:05 - David is still at Brighton Beach, with long lens (they are far away) - they are breaching, playing, tail slapping - he's counted at least 10-12. They are jumping all over the place, still near Port Susan area - no boats around except 1 North - pretty far away.
08:36 - Multiple Orcas at Northwest side of Hat near homes. Viewing from Brighton Beach. -Meliss & David Haeckel
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08:40 - 5 Orcas passing West side of Hat Island heading north. -Kim Vest Gleason
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08:27 - Orcas. They've grouped up and picked up the pace slightly. Traversing very close to Hat Island and houses at northwest will get close pass by in the next few minutes. Looks soupy up in Saratoga.
08:07 - Orcas. Large group near SE Hat Island. Best place to be. Wake up Hat Island!
07:31- Orcas. large group milling and still surface activity in quadrant between Everett, Hat Island and ferry lanes. I'm viewing from end of Clinton ferry dock. Must have binocs to see from here. No direction. -Debbie Stewart
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07:40 - Orcas. Viewing from Brighton Beach. They seem to be heading more north now to pass between Hat Island and Whidbey. -Danielle Pennington
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07:19 - Orca. ...heading north not far off from Clinton ferry terminal! Breaching and all! -Sonja Lindendstein
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Good afternoon Alisa, We finally had our second Orca sighting after many years!...Our most recent sighting was yesterday morning September 21, when we were on the Mukilteo to Clinton Ferry ride and looking north on Possession Sound just south of Hat Island, and we saw a pod of Orcas starting at 7:09 am! There were a lot of them together in a group splashing, spy hopping and breaching (we had binoculars)! It was truly a memorable sight and one we will never forget! It is the first time we saw anything like this since Free Willy 2 the movie! When we got off the ferry we quickly parked and headed off to the edge of the ferry terminal and looked for them. They were still in the same area and looked like they're heading in the direction of Jetty Island by the port of Everett. Thank you for allowing us to enjoy and appreciate these beautiful and wonderful creatures through the Orca Network! Keep up the great work you are doing! -Sincerely, Tim & Amy Sumabat
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L105, L91 and L122 making bubbles at Lime Kiln traveling tightly. -Photo by Kersti Muul, Sep 21, 2019
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SOUTHERN RESIDENTS - Sat Sep 21 - Haro Strait - I had L55s and L47s and L88 at Lime Kiln...Also seeing 26s, 43s and 54s...Got a picture of L108... Saturday. Photos taken at Hannah Heights or Lime Kiln. L pod heading towards Vancouver. Taken from lighthouse as they traveled with the setting sun towards Vancouver...L72 lunging in sunset at Lime Kiln...L86...L105 heading towards lighthouse passing Hannah Heights. -Kersti Muul
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18:27 - Haro Strait, observed and photographed from shore. (I identified L Pod members but there were many individuals I couldn't ID) 6 orcas in a group traveling to the N/NW towards Edwards Point from Hannah Hts. -Michelline Halliday, SJI
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Taken from the Westside Preserve. On 9/21, all members of the L4s and L54s swam south past the Landbank within 300' of shore. There was also a large male farther offshore, likely L88 who's adopted mom is L54. -Photos by Ariel Yseth, Sep 21, 2019
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13:45 - Orca Sighting off San Juan Island. 250 depth, came out of water, headed northwest possibly for silver salmon run. Only one, very large came up twice. (around Salmon Bank). -Candance Bott Haines
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10:54 - one male and a couple of females seen at west side reserve on San Juan island! Might be feeding. We think they're residents. -Taylor Mannes
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10:45 - 7 orcas north of Lime Kiln lighthouse. -Tammy Felker
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09:52 - There's some chatty ones visible at Lime Kiln and clear on the hydrophone. -Meg Sellers
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08:50 - 14:47 - Haro Strait, observed and photographed from shore. (I identified L Pod members but there were many individuals I couldn't ID)wave after wave of orcas traveled and foraged between Hannah Hts and Edwards Point, changing direction nearly a dozen times. At 11:30am 7 orcas foraged with a group of sports fishing vessels. In the afternoon a tight group of 10 traveled past to the S/SE (1:10 pm) then reversed direction to the N/NW (2:10 pm). A bit complicated to get an accurate head count, I saw 10 at one time so estimating 10 - 14? 16? individuals. I believe I observed; L105 Fluke; L82 Kasatka; L54 Ino and members of L55 matriline; L55 Nugget; her daughter L103 Lapis; L103's daughter L123 Lazuli. I'm including some of the images that I based my L Pod IDs on. Thanks so much, -Michelline Halliday, SJI
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Fri Sep 21 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - A lot of bull today. Lone males T77A and T11A off Sooke! Within 5 minutes of leaving our docks we found Transient Killer Whales (T011a & T077a) tight together on the hunt! First I have witnessed these two LARGE orca together! Then a visit to Race Rocks with sea lions and "Ollie" the sea otter and shortly after we had a visit with two humpback whales. What another great morning on the salt chuck! -Paul Pudwell
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Sat Sep 21 - OR Coast - Good morning! Yesterday (21st) we watched what we believe was Orcas off the Manzanita coast in Oregon. We watched them for a couple hours between 2:00-4:30. There was a group of 3 it seemed like and on the other end of the coast there were more of them. There were a couple boats near them that seemed like they were watching them as well. We saw the dorsal fin, them blowing water up and the white on their bodies reflecting in the sun as they came up. We even saw them breech a couple times. I don't know if they were going back and forth but it kind of seemed like it. I didn't think Orcas were even on the Oregon coast and especially not at this time but I don't know what else they could have been. I don't know why I didn't try to get a picture but they were far enough out I don't think it would have showed any detail. It was so cool!! -Abby Obiero
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Sat Sep 21 - Puget Sound - 17:03 - Marie WS Ferries Ops called to report a humpback) 1/2 mile north of Tango Buoy between Alki and Restoration Point.
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16:35 - Humpback spotted a mile NNW from Alki point. -Nancy Stillger
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16:05 - Humpback rounding Alki point heading north east, shot from Weather Watch Park. It was so close to shore at the point! (See PHOTO)
15:58 - Humpback moving north east fast, heading towards Alki lighthouse.
15:25 - Humpback. Still at North end of Blake island, definitely a humpback. Just saw the tail! -Terri McAllister
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Humpback "Two Spot" CRC16017 (aka CS631 aka MMZ0013) off Alki. -Photo collage by Terri McAllister, Sep 21, 2019
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15:04 - Just saw what I am quite certain is a humpback. I am at Andover Place in West Seattle, and the whale appeared to be near the shore for Blake Island. It was moving North about 10 minutes ago, then resurfaced in the same spot heading South. So seems to be hanging around the area. -Jamie Lilly
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14:50 - Spotted the whale from Lowman Beach in West Seattle. Looked like a humpback to me - could see its dorsal peak. Just north of Restoration Point, heading north. West side of channel. -Trileigh Tucker
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13:45 - Marie with WS Ferries Ops called to report a large whale southbound off Restoration Point, S Bainbdrige. Reported by crew as possibly gray whale. We've had humpbacks reported earlier southbound along Bainbridge.
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13:05 - Humpback spotted off of SEA -> BI ferry mid channel moving south. -Anna Zocher
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11:12 - Humpbacks just west of Port Madison, heading south. -Cheryl Hamernik Taylor
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Got a call at 10:25 from Sean Piaer about 2 humpbacks. One at Jefferson Head, heading south, and one off Possession Point.

September 20
Fri Sep 20 - Puget Sound - 15:12 - Orca pod at the Clinton Ferry, pretty far out but lots of them! -Justin Goodwin'ON PM
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J49 and J51 having a blast - J and K pod whales surfing the cargo ship wake. - J31 & J56 - K34 Cali breaching with Apple Tree Cove homes in the backdrop. -Photos by Ariel Yseth, Sep 20, 2019
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Youngest member of the Southern Residents, J56 and her mom J31 Tsuchi passing northbound the shore of Mukilteo Lighthouse Beach. -Photo by Brad Lyman, Sep 20, 2019
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SOUTHERN RESIDENTS Puget Sound Sep 20 - 20:04 - Just now we witnessed what must have been a large pod of orcas passing through saragoga passage heading north. They were fairly spread out and because it was dusk, we were not able to count the number, but it was extensive! We're on Breazy Point, Camano Island....just north of Lowell Point. J Pod? How cool! It was interesting how spread out they seemed to be. It was dusk, so hard to see, but we could hear them from several different points at once. -Janett Wingett
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18:30 -19:30 - Sunset orcas Fox Spit last seen heading north up Saratoga Passage. -Marilyn Armbruster
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Littlest one J56 swims Saratoga Passage at sundown...and one of the largest...L87 Onyx. Between Langley and Baby Island Heights. "The lighting was amazing, the sunset was gorgeous, but nothing compared to hearing them breathe from every direction." -Photos by Dori Dace, Sep 20, 2019
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19:00 - Orcas - At sunset, saw what looked to be a pod between Whidbey island and camano island. -Robert Polasek
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18:49 - I guess you could say they found me...There were 20-30 of them. I've never seen anything like it.
18:35 - I think I see the research skiff heading north. Any direction on the pod? (I'm north of them). -Bryan Hansen
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18:38 - Pod coming in at East Point now - too many to count - spread all the way across from Whidbey to Camano! Continuing to trend north slowly. Water is like glass. -Amy Smith Norris
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18:09 - Resident Orcas. Close to shore with the research skiff just south of Fox Spit. -Debbie Stewart
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17:15 - 17:30 - Resident Orca male passing Sandy Point heading towards Langley, pretty spread out south to north by at least 3 miles still northbound. -Marilyn Armbruster
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17:05 - Resident Orcas. Boy and Dog Park in Langley! We got whales! Surfacing, mid channel maybe closer to Camano. Whale bell ringing!! -Christy Korrow
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17:02 - Resident Orcas. Committed to Saratoga; there is a tight group of 4 mid channel passing Langley marina. Another spread out group Camano side with one research skiff. Relocating to Whale Bell Park in Langley for better views. -Amand Marie Colbert, Orca Network
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16:45 - Resident Orcas. Group approaching Langley. Still spread out. A couple of big breaches. Sweet sounds of Djangofest to accompany our shore-based experience! -Debbie Stewart
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15:51 - Resident Orcas. Trailing group just passing the north end of the Clinton ferry dock continuing north. Very spread out. -Danielle Pennington
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15:00 -15:45 - Southern Residents between Brighton Beach, Whidbey and Hat Island spread both sides. Foraging, and aimed north slow. -Marilyn Armbruster
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15:25 - Viewing from Bluff above Clinton ferry. Several are definitely on the Whidbey side now still slowly trending north.
15:08 - Orcas mid channel north of Clinton ferry lane. Steady NB. Can't tell which side they'll go up yet.
14:36 - Approaching Clinton ferry lane on Muk side. NB -Donna George
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15:56 - over last hour watched leaders move along Hat/Gedney heading east. They appear to have gone around east side of Hat/Gedney then to the north. Others were following. J31 and J56 backdropped by Hat/Gedney Island, Off Mukilteo backdropped by Clinton ferry dock, Whidbey Island. WS ferry veered wide while leaving Mukilteo terminal ahead of the orcas.
15:10- J31 Tsuchi with her baby daughter J56 (& maybe j39?) passed fairly close to Mukilteo side! Others steaming past mid and west if. They continued on northbound, stalled north of the Clinton/Mukilteo lanes, some breaching then stalled to forage. Others, males, and larger trailing group catching up. Some continuing NE bound.
14:28 - orcas approaching south end Mukilteo Lighthouse Park. Others spread across channel. Sow steady northbound in super smooth glassy seas. -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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From Mukilteo Lighthouse park. -Photo by Brad Lyman, Sep 20, 2019
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14:36 - More orcas still south of Glendale heading north.
14:18 - Orca. Lead group in line with Glendale. Heading north. -Danielle Pennington
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13:51 - The residents are very much north of the south end of Whidbey Island committed to Possession Sound. Spread out continuing northbound.
13:30 - Large farily tight group is about to pass close by Possession Beach Park boat ramp. Many other orcas are off SE Possession Point entering Possession Sound on Whidbey side. Others are spread to the south heading northbound. Viewing From high bluff Stamm Overlook, Edmonds.
13:17- Several of the Residents, including 2 males, are heading NE off South Whidbey. Others further west, including adult male heading NE parallel to South Whidbey.
13:08 - I think most of the orcas are off South Whidbey, Cultus Bay/ Possession Point. Some movement, but believe primarily stalled. NOAA researchers on scene now, Other research skiff (presumabley Mark Sears) is now leaving. -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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13:50 - Resident Orcas. East side mid channel now heading north most have passed Possession Beach Park boat launch.
13:20 - Resident Orcas. Viewing from Possession Beach Boat Launch Park see one large male northbound. If I had to estimate, he's mid channel and out from Meadowdale and Possession Point entering Possession Sound northbound. -Marilyn Armbruster
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13:49 - Resident Orcas. For sure at least 6...Northbound Possession Point between east Whidbey and Mukilteo.
13:03 - Mid channel south of Whidbey. 3 orcas at least...right now they are in the middle possibly coming towards me in Mukilteo. But they are kind of just staying put for the most part. -Alice Thuy Talbot
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12:21 - Resident Orcas. Watching from Sunset Ave in Edmonds can see them far off through binoculars between here and Point No Point and more headed to the East from there as well. Resident orcas off Apple Tree Point, Kingston. -Michelle Goll
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Orcas ride wakes in Puget Sound - Southern Resident orcas riding tanker wake in Puget Sound. -Video by King 5 News, Sep 20, 2019
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12:30 - The Resident orcas have continued north towards South Whidbey. Humpback is out from Edmonds transact Edmonds ferry dock & Eglon, Kitsap mid channel. A trailing male orca did just pass northbound on west side of channel NW of the humpbacks location. If you are using Whale Watch boats to find orcas keep in mind they look at other animals and sight see, where they are doesn't always indicate where the orcas are.
11:23 - Arrive to see tight group of 4-6 Resident orcas between Kingston and Point Wells, Woodway maybe slightly east of mid channel. Others, at least another 4-6, trailing not far behind and a bit more west of them approx mid channel. All traveling medium pace northbound. -Alisa Lemire Brooks
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11:05 - J pod and K13s spread out from Carkeek area to Kingston northbound. -Bart Rulon, Puget Sound Express
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L87 Onyx in Puget Sound. -Back of camera image by Ariel Yseth, Sep 20, 2019
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10:45 - Resident Orcas. North of Faye Bainbridge now on East side of sound. -Doug Hayman
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10:40 - Resident Orcas. Spread out all the way across the sound from Jeff Head north bound. -Neal McCulloch
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10:20 - Resident Orcas. At least one male and a couple of females straight east of Fay Bainbridge mid channel easterly at steady clip. Also male closer to Kitsap side. -Donna Green van Renselaar
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10:20 - Resident Orcas. Viewing from Shilshole currently, orcas still moving North..I counted five but I'm pretty sure there were more. They were moving at a steady pace. K44 Ripple out from Shilhole. -Natalee Bozzi
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09:50 - Orca mid channel between West Point and Skiff Point. Spread out from Shilshole Bay across to Rolling Bay. Appear to be heading north slowly. Still quite spread west and east across sound. -Matt McCulloch
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9:17 - Resident Orcas. Watching from Sunset Hill (Ballard) and there is a group spread out mid channel just south of West Point Lighthouse. Trending north slowly, but also lots of milling around...I left them around 9:45 and they were past West Point and still trending north slowly scattered among the fishing boats. -Danielle Carter
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09:15 - Resident Orcas. From a friend who lives near Eagle Harbor: Two males, two females heading north at a steady pace. Already out of view from my house (Bill point). -Susan Marie Andersson
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09:13 - Milling around north of the Bainbridge Island ferry lanes. Scattered out well over a mile. -Paul Mooselips Dudley
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9:34 - Just left them, but they are now visible from Rolling Bay, Bainbridge. Very spread out from east to west. Visible with the naked eye. Lots of foraging and breaching and surface activity.
09:13 - They are very close to the Bainbridge side now
09:04 - Resident Orcas. Viewing from Yeomalt on Bainbridge. One male spotted heading, east side of shipping lane. Update: 3-4 seen in this group so far. Chris Merritt
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08:27 - Hi there - I've got approx 7 orcas drifting N towards the Magnolia channel. A couple around the orange buoy towards the N end of Bainbridge Island as visible from lower Queen Anne. Looks like two males, 4-6 females including a couple of young ones. Pretty sure J56 is in there. Have been some directional changes but the trend is definitely north and they are fairly spread out. -Katie Kirking
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08:50 - Resident Orcas. Another group Bainbridge side north of ferry terminal northbound
08:37 - Resident Orcas. They are heading into the bay again. (Elliott).
08:28 - Resident Orcas. Slow moving ENE. Appear to be heading out of bay (Elliott).
08:23 - I've got eyes on 5 to 7 individuals including J26 and L87. Watching from Alki Ave, they are east northeast heading North on the lip of Elliott Bay. -Kersti Muul
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~08:25 - Orcas milling sort of far off shore from Alki, West Seattle, as I rode the Water Taxi. Around 8:25am. -Suzanne Mager
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08:01 - Orcas again this morning! Seen from West Seattle over by the southern tip of Bainbridge. Moving north, but they might have been veering more Northeast. They started off just at the point where the Bremerton ferry passes Bainbridge at South Beach. Then, the last I saw them was around lighthouse point in West Seattle. From where I am, it's hard to tell the perspective of what piece of land they were closest to. -Jamie Lilly
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07:15 - Looks like there are 4-6 Orca north of the Fauntleroy ferry terminal about a mile headed westish....And more spread out across the channel to Blake island. The fast ferry from Vashon is getting a good Morning! -Robyn Dally
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BIGG'S TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES - Fri Sep 20 - The trifecta today with humpback whales first when a few Orca showed up and were identified as Southern Resident Killler Whales (Some of K Pod) so we departed the area immediately and went off to some Transients (T019's) again right off Sooke! September continues to be our favorite time of the year for amazing encounters! -Paul Pudwell
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Fri Sep 20 - I saw a few Orcas in Swartz Bay off the ferry to Tswwassen not sure who they were. -Shauna Ringquist
(Potentially T041, T041A and kiddo. They were around yesterday. April Ryan)
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Fri Sep 20 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - The trifecta today with humpback whales first when a few Orca showed up and were identified as Southern Resident Killler Whales (Some of K Pod) so we departed the area immediately and went off to some Transients (T019's) again right off Sooke! -Paul Pudwell
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Fri Sep 20 - Puget Sound - 12:30 - orcas have continued north towards South Whidbey. Humpback is out from Edmonds transact Ferry dock to Eglon, Kitsap mid channel. A trailing male Orca did just pass Northbound on west side of channel NW of humpback location. Last I saw humpback was aimed southbound but may be milling out there. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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I am glad to see this Humpback confirmation. While watching the orcas swim out of sight from Edmonds i saw a whale much too large to be an orca! -Sara Troyer
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12:20 - We are with the juvie Humpback off Edmonds now. All the orcas appear to be at Possession Bar now. -Bart Rulon
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SPECIES UNCONFIRMED - Fri Sep 20 - ~18:45 - Spotted possibly a gray whale near Hood Canal Bridge heading South closed to the Jefferson's side. -Estrella Isabela Reina
(possibly one of the humpbacks who has been around - alb)

September 19
Thu Sept 19 - Puget Sound - (Js, K13s, & L87 - alb) - It was getting dark and seemed to be a group of youngsters possibly? Not sure if this is the right place, but on the evening of the 19th we were some of only a couple people outside in front of the ferry coming back from Bainbridge Island to Seattle. There were 5-6 that appeared suddenly to the front left of the ferry and fully breached/played for a few and then swam along the ferry towards Bainbridge. Sure this is way past when it's needed/wanted but it was beautiful. We are from Montana but my husband used to live here and raced sailboats and was on the water a lot and he said he had never seen them so active, and another gentleman that made it outside said he had ridden the ferry back and forth almost daily most of his life and it was a first for him. I do have a very short video if it's of interest. It was just changing light so my phone didn't want to focus but for one second it did and have a tiny bit. It was beautiful though. -Kiersten Rich Bare
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07:30 - Orca's (two) in Elliot Bay Vashon Water Taxi almost at a crawl. -Michael Yaguchi
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SOUTHERN RESIDENTS Puget Sound Thu Sep 19 - Js, K13s, L87 - 22:40 - Pretty sure Orcas coming south down Colvos Pass. I'm 1.5 miles south of Southworth ferry on kitsap side. Heard a lot of blows headed South, traveling fast. They came through Colvos around 5am this morning but were headed north....Matt King
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19:38 - John Miller WSF Ops called report 6 orca heading southbound in northbound ship lanes edge of, adjacent to Elliott Bay.
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18:42 - Currently southbound just off Discovery Point. -Craig Smith McMaster
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18:35 - Resident Orcas. SB towards West Point. Mid channel. Viewing from Sunset Hill Park (Ballard, above Shilshole Marina). -Jill Irwin
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18:10 - Resident Orcas. Southbound Meadow Pt. Mid channel. -Lance King
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17:55 - Js, Ks and L87 stalled while slow trend southbound, now bit south of Richmond Beach mid channel in glassy calm seas. One NOAA Research boat with them.
17:01. Pod has been in resting mode last hour. Now south of Kingston/Point Wells. Drifted just west of mid channel. Beautiful orcas, beautiful day, beautiful people. Breath taking. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
(IDs per Brad Hanson NOAA: "so far J pod, K13s and L87")
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17:13 - Orca. just off Richmond Beach, still SB. Perfect day.
16:26 - Mid channel just north of Edmonds/Kingston lane. Right next to Clipper that has cut engine. Slowly SB. -Mike Ferdinandi
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16:00 - Residents are staying in Puget Sound proper, at least for now. Currently mid channel, transect Edmonds/Eglon traveling slow steady pace. Together but loosely spread. The Two Research boats still out collecting samples etc.
15:20 - They stalled out south of Whidbey foraging for a while and are now moving slow pace southbound currently, Edmonds side of mid channel...some still milling.
14:55 - pods still spread out. Out from northern Edmonds, mid channel and east of. Aimed towards south Whidbey (Cultus Bay/Possession Point), but still south of. Think they have stalled a bit after forward progress northbound.
14:20 - I believe all have passed north of Kingston dock/Edmonds Marina Beach. Mostly mid channel with some on either side. Still spread with larger group middle. Active foraging, some breaching, tail lobs earlier. Steady northbound, but not really in any hurry. Visible with naked eye from Edmonds. Some appeared to be veering east as if staying in. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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14:19 Sighted off Edmonds ferry - midchannel (seen from our office above Bracketts Landing). -Kristin Sirkkola
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15:49 - Looks like the pod may all be together again. Still south of Elgon, north of Kingston..I see possibly 10 or so, Headin south
14:46 - they are still south of Elgon and taking their sweet precious time underwater. Lol
14:29 - they were then they were south of where my scope was positioned so looks like they are kind of moving back and forth. I lost them for now, but last I saw they were still south of Elgon.
14:16 - Spotted just south of Eglon, Only see maybe 2 or 3. -Alice Thuy Talbot
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13:40 -13:50 - Just left Fay Bainbridge they were barely visible in mirage nb heading to or past Kingston ferry lanes. -Donna Van Renselaar
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13:35 Orcas heading north. Between Kingston ferry terminal and Point Wells. Far East side of channel. Saratoga is with them. -Carol DeRusha
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13:01 - Mid channel off Presidents Point ever so slowly headed north, lots of fish showing so they're feeding well. -Gary Peterson
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13:40 - Residents are spread across channel Kingston/Woodway slowly heading northbound toward Apple Tree Point and Edmonds. Larger group mid channel. Some tail lobs, spyhops, inverted swimming. Active foraging behavior.
12:45 - Watching at least 10 Southern Resident orcas in two groups mid Sound out from Carkeek and mid Port Madison. Larger group (incl male(s?) mid channel with smaller group, including male, just west of them. Slow movement northbound and some directional changes. AND at least one more male trailing about 1/4-1/2 mile on east side of channel moving faster pace closing in on the othersBoth research boats out with the whales. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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12:17 - Two groups in the channel around Golden Gardens, one group with several closer to the west side of the channel and another several are over on the east side. Both groups heading north. -Kate Hruby
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12:15 - We watched the Southern Residents for over an hour from several high bluff locations on the east side of Bainbridge Island. General behavior was very spread out and very slow moving with occasional stops to forage, especially when close to fishing boats. No way to get positive id's but pretty sure J11's stuck together most of the time and foraged closer to Bainbridge side. I never counted more than 3 adult males, but hard to say that's all they're were. Whales stayed close to surface most of the time with an occasional breach or tail slap. Picked up pace around noon with several shifting to travel mode and longer down times. They continuid north bound trend spread clear across from Rolling Bay off Bainbridge to mid-channel toward Shilshoal with trailers off West Point lighthouse. -Susan Marie Andersson
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12:15 - Orcas moving north near Point Wells. Watching from Rolling Bay. -Dorothy Rosenbladt
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12:01 - Resident Orcas. Viewing from Rolling Bay. Line of sight towards a Golden Gardens. One male and several others northbound. Appear closer to east side. -Bob Rosenbladt
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11:42 - Resident Orcas Still seeing group from Discovery Park bluff, well past now, slowly moving north north west. 1 male and 4-5 females seen. -Alex Meilleur
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11:40 - Resident Orcas. We are watching them with binoculars from the viewpoint by the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center. They are mid-channel. Appears to be about 6 trending north. -Meghan Ruth Schuster
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11:17 - Resident Orca. Just saw one, off west point lighthouse...+2-3 more headed north mid ish channel (from discovery park bluff) some appear to be mililing off the lighthouse. -Alex Meiller
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Thursday 19th of September @ 10:10am - 9:40am ferry saw when exiting Eagle harbor channel. Ferry had to slow to a stop as one was crossing starboard to port at the bow. GPS Coordiates(roughly): 47.605034, -122.465922. -Jordan de Geus
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10:12 - Whales in Puget Sound seen off of the 9:40 Bainbridge ferry to Seattle. Off the coast of Magnolia heading north. 6 dorsal fins spotted. Captain said there are a whole bunch of whales around today. -Christine Pomeroy.
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09:42 - I spotted two dorsals, one male one female, across the bay with binoculars from the Seattle ferry terminal area. -Kaarina Makowski
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09:46 - 3 to 5 orca just headed south past Alki Point just now. Saw 2 jump out of the water earlier about an hour ago headed north past discovery park. -Zach Ward
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09:45 - Resident Orcas. Ferry from Bremerton about 10 min out of Seattle. 7 or so whales, pretty sure I saw one calf traveling calmly. Captain said Js and Ks. One boat with them. -Photo by Yvonne Wachutka Lunceford, Sep 19, 2019
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09:44 - Resident Orcas. And a little ways south of that (Duwamish Head/Colman Dock) there are more, too far away to count or see direction but possible research boat with them.
09:40 - One large orca solo. Watching from Duwamish Head he's directly between me and Bainbridge ferry landing, mid channel slow northbound. -Ray Shea
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09:40 - Resident Orcas. Still out there! I can see at least 7, very small fishing boat just to their south, maybe a bit south of Bainbridge ferry lane. Longish down times. Trending west, I think. I'm watching through binoculars above pier 55 area. -Donita Gier
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We were heading back from Tacoma at 9:30 and saw a full pod that we estimated as 10 by Alki Point. We were too far away for an identification, but there were several very large Orcas (Males). They were at this time heading south. We saw slapping of tales and they appeared to be hunting as they were spread out in a circle. -Marti Rinker
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9:40 - Resident Orcas. Whales are so spread. J26 still frolicking alone while slowly heading west. Multiple grouped females also heading west. Now west of Elliot bay proper. Other groups heading NW.
09:20 - J26 heading out of bay Westerly with lots of tail lobbing...Lots of surface behavior whales seem agitated several boats two ferries, one foot ferry and mark Sears research boat on scene.
09:09 - Resident Orcas. Large group several males Westbound Double ferry action passing them now. Westbound still on north side of ferry and bay
09:04 - Resident Orca. Large male westbound, passing marina. Foot ferry right next to him now...Passengers on ferry should have excellent view. Early morning with L87 Onyx...J26 Mike heading out of Elliott Bay. -Kersti Muul
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08:55 - Resident Orcas. Milling about 1/4 mi northwest of Duwamish head. WSF and a few fishing boats out, doing a great job of being whale wise. -Patrick Hutchins
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08:45 - 3 orcas off Alki milling around buoy (One between brainbridge ferry route an Alki). No direction. -Sandhya Ballal
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08:42 - Hello, Just wanted to report an orca sighting off of Alki this morning from the Bremerton Fast Ferry. I saw what looked like an adult male, tall dorsal fin. But I heard other people on the boat say it looked like a family. So I believe there were more in the area. But I only saw the one. Thank you, Tad Standing Bear
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08:55 - Resident Orcas. 3(?) whales just south of the ferry that is very slow. They are mingling in one area.
08:25 - Resident Orcas. I can see them passing through the Bainbridge ferry lane southbound. -Donita Gier
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08:21 - Maija with WS Ferries Ops called to relay repors of orcas (they presuming Js & Ks) north of Alki. She put out a broad broadcast to their crews. Ferries have slowed around the whales.
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08:26 - Orcas in Elliot Bay seen off the Seattle WSF. Back to back ferry. Adult male in Elliott Bay alongside Bainbridge to Seattle Ferry taken at 07:55. -Photo by Steve Comstock, Sep 19, 2019
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08:20 - From Bainbridge Ferry eastbound. -Photo by Andrew McComas, Sep 19, 2019
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08:20 - Orcas are all over! Headed towards Magnolia Bluff. -Photo by Moe Rockin, Sep 19, 2019
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08:24 - Resident Orcas. I can now see the one male with the naked eye from my place which never happens. He's getting closer to the Interbay side of the entrance to the bay and there may actually be two of them. The distribution is more like what I've seen with hunting Ts before but the actual action looks more like foraging for fish.
08:19 - Resident Orcas. I think there's another male with the group of females and younger ones to the north but am not 100% sure.
08:11 - Resident Orcas. They're definitely milling. Large male now behind what I think is the Sea-Bainbridge ferry. Group of females and young ones spread out at the far north end of the Elliot Bay entrance. The male is going after something. It may well be a fish but I'm not sure....What I believe to be the Bremerton ferry appears to be stopped and the group of female and young one's on its north side
07:57 - Resident Orcas. Some are going north now too, so I think it's fair to say they're milling. There's a HUGE male at the far W end of Elliot Bay. Should be very visible from Alki. Also, two WSFs are out so hopefully they can get you good IDs.
07:49 - We've got orcas in the shipping lanes by Elliot Bay. I'm looking from lower Queen Anne with binoculars, but I think there are at least 2 males, 2 females and 2 calves, one appears very young. Trending slowly south but very spread out. All seem to be north of the Seattle BI ferry at this point....will try to keep an eye out as best I can. Can't see saddles, but I wonder if it may be part of J pod. -Katie Kirking
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07:40 - Orcas between Alki and Bainbridge, moving closer to Bainbridge in the last ten mins or so, possibly one male
07:31 - Orca. Possible sighting right now. Three individuals between Alki and Bainbridge near ferry channel...seem to be milling about feeding, north northwest of barge right now. I'm on Alki and 63rd and they're moving away. -Kathleen Fife
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07:30 - Orca's (two) in Elliot Bay Vashon Water Taxi almost at a crawl. -Michael Yaguchi
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Wed Sep 19 - Active Pass - Around 1:30 pm today, the T100s came into Active Pass and transited quickly eastbound. Photos (below) taken from the shore of Galiano Island. -Cheers, Karoline Cullen, Salish Sea Orca Squad
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Wed Sep 19 - San Juans - 15:00 - Male and female heading west through Spieden Channel.
(this was posted on our FB page with the Puget Sound sightings then removed before I copied the reporting party's name -alb)
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14:20 Orcas milling Limestone Point at the top of San Juan Channel. -Monika Wieland Shields
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Thu Sep 19 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - What another fluking awesome day off Sooke with around 30 humpback whales and I was able to get 20 Fluke ID shots all on our morning tour! -Paul Pudwell
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Thu Sep 19 - San Juans - we saw Humpbacks Yogi (BCY0409) and Strike (BCX unknown), photos below. The whales were first sighted about 1145 off Saturna Island. They traveled south through Tumbo Channel. -Breck Tyler
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Thu Sep 19 - Puget Sound - 16:03 - While watching Js/Ks/L87 (mid channel between Edmonds/Eglon, transect) I also just saw blow and back of the humpback just bit further southwest of orcas! Both in view same time. Magical. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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3:00 Looked like a humpback passed Eglon. Southbound. East side of channel. -Carol Derusha
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MINKE WHALES - Thu Sep 19 - Lost the notes: Sometime in the afternoon WSF called to report whale southbound off Point Wilson, thought to be a minke.
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DALL'S PORPOISE - Thu Sep 19 - I didn't see the orcas, but I saw 3-4 Dall Porpoises just 100 yards off the Suquamish fishing pier around 1PM today. They were very dark in color but with patches of white. I have see these as well as the monochromatic Harbor Porpoises from this spot. Cute little buggers! -Casey Burns

September 18
SOUTHERN RESIDENTS Puget Sound - Wed Sep 18 - Puget Sound - 19:30 - Watching from Manchester , see small group of 3-4 group together with boat following from behind, and a couple of big ones spread out from the smaller group, all treading east of Blake Island, southbound ... hope to see you all again in the morning light and may you find plenty of fish to forage upon..Love for our SRKW'S so happy to see you all once again. -Kathe Bradley
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19:09 - Orcas appear to have changed direction now heading north bound, north of Blake mid channel...Edit they appear to be milling about just north of Blake. -Keith Croney
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19:00- Resident Orcas. Seeing blows between Blake Island and Southworth spread out southbound. -Mary Hartman
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18:50 - Orcas off Port Orchard/Blake Island. Just sighted while taking ferry to Bremerton. Surrounded by pod. -Blake Yarbrough
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18:38 - Resident Orcas. Headed south just west of mid-channel moving south of Restoration Point, lots of blows and movement. My vantage point is above Beach Drive around Spokane and 60th (West Seattle). -Douglas B Greenswag
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18:43 - Resident Orcas. somewhere around 5-7kts southbound. Seeing blows off south end of Bainbridge still.
18:33 - Resident Orcas. spread from alki to restoration point southbound. So far everyone has given them lots of room. We have been watching from a mile distance recently, but we are heading back the dock. Great day with J pod! -Joey LaMarche
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18:11 - Seeing blows, nearing Blakey Rock (from Constellation Park). -Greg Snyder
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18:00 - Seeing orcas from Magnolia Blvd Viewpoint. Several small groups spread out. -Annie Cornelia
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From 17:00 to 18:00 several of us watched approx 7 to 8 orcas (too far for id) pass by mid channel to Bainbridge side of water southbound. Very spread out initially with one group of 4 resting off Wing Point for twenty min. 2 adult males mixed in with some breaches, possible foraging. They all regrouped, picked up the pace and continued south angling toward West Seattle. So wonderful to see them. Hopefully they are finding enough to eat! -Susan Marie Andersson
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17:50 - Orca. just north of Bainbridge ferry lane.
17:38 - can see Joey's boat from Duwamish head. Orcas visible too...heading South, now research boat near them. -Mary Hartman
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17:30 - Seeing them from four seasons hotel downtown Seattle 530pm. South bound closer to kit sap side. -Alexander Simenstad
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17:30 - at my location on map. Heading in all directions and changing all the time. Lots of surface activity.
17:04 - I'm with them right now. Between West Point and bainbridge. Spread out but majority on bainbridge side. Trending south, but some are milling and have turned north. Keeping 300 yards, but maybe you should tell the whales that, because one just swam up to us and breached next to the boat. Neptune's Car. No passengers on this ride..my deckhand I decided to take her out to find J pod. -Joey LaMarche
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17:15 - They just passed west point light house, moving quickly headed south. -Kate Hruby
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17:00 - Resident Orcas. Wednesday 18th of September 5PM - Seen when sailing in the Bainbridge Beer can race. GPS Coordinates(roughly): 47.627278, -122.464638. -Jordan de Geus
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16:40 - Resident orcas. Several off Rolling Bay, Kitsap side. Slow drift south. -Susan Marie Andersson
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16:26 - Resident orcas. Got the group, they're even with Shilshole in the center of the channel, milling about.
16:07 - Resident Orca. Just saw a male off Shilshole southbound, but no sign of any others. -Kate Hruby
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15:47 - Resident Orcas. Wishy washy off Shilshole. Were southbound at a good clip. May change direction. -Kersti Muul
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14:18 - They're still visible from the ferry dock (Kingston) but seem to be continuing South bound, not in a hurry though. Mid channel and spread East right now. -Marissa Fischer
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13:12 - Residents have continued southbound in southbound shipping lanes out from and south of Eglon. They have started making directional changes so may be foraging. There are two red RIBs (Research boats) with the whales. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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12:21 - Research boat with the trailers of the pod at the head of Point No Point now.
12:17 - Resident orcas. Leaders headed southeast from head of Point No Point. Definitely getting more east of mid southern channel. -Jami Cantrell
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11:50 - 2 large groups, both Kitsap side. Long distance viewing from Maxwelton Beach. Southbound. -Donna George
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11:50 - seeing blows and fins spread mid channel between Double Bluff and Hansville heading steady southbound. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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11:25 - Leaders Approaching Point No Point southbound. Multiple whales surfing the wake of inbound freighter. -Christopher Hanke, Red Head
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10:50 - Yep, they (residents) have picked up the pace and appear committed to southbound now. Mid channel approaching Double Bluff again.
10:46 - Residents. They mostly appear to have turned around and are moving slowly southbound now out from mutiny bay, but are mostly milling. Lots of play and socializing.
10:25 - We have residents northbound and spread out from Double Bluff. Seen from Saratoga. So far I've seen members of K and J pod but will update with more later. -Bart Rulon, MV Saratoga
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10:45 - Watching from 1 mile south of Bush Pt, orcas appear to be foraging, lots of direction changes, some appear to be headed south but mainly foraging in all directions, what a wonderful treat!
10:10 - Seeing at least 5-6 are heading north up Admiralty off Double Bluff, Whidbey side. -Susan Berta and Howard Garrett, Orca Network
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09:15 - Jason Mihok, Victoria Clipper, reports orcas reported in northern Puget Sound spread out all over between Eglon/Point No Point/South Whidbey foraging slowly in all directions.
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Somebody caught a salmon! - 10am - West of Clinton, Whidbey Island. -Photos by Randy Heiserman, Sep 18, 2019
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Wed Sep 18 - Puget Sound - 11:45 - Humpback. Just north of Edmonds ferry. Surfaced and we got a better look. Dove twice then headed north toward south end of Whidbey. -Sky Myers
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STRIPED DOLPHIN - Wed Sep 18 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - As if last week's rare sighting of a Fin whale wasn't enough fun for one day, a sighting yesterday (18th) may very well top that as one of the most unusual sightings we've had in several years here in the Salish Sea. Karac Lindsay, a naturalist and photographer with Eagle Wing Tours in Victoria reported seeing and photographing a Striped Dolphin in the Strait of Juan de Fuca: "On our morning tour (September 18) we came across a lone striped dolphin at 9:57am approximately 4.1 NM South of Victoria at 48 22.066 and 123 26.762. Judging by its breathing pattern and overall behavior, we think it was foraging, but all of us onboard are not familiar with "typical" striped dolphin behavior. It was coming up for 6-10 breaths and then would disappear for approximately 5 minutes before surfacing again. It was mostly circling in the same spot, but we were only able to stay on scene for about 30 minutes or so." -Karac Lindsay

September 17
Tue Sep 17 - Puget Sound - Hi there, At least four orcas sighted from Kingston at 6:20pm on 9/17/19 between Apple Tree Point and Whidbey Island. Orcas headed west. They were blowing and breaching. Let me know if you have any other questions! -John Butler
(we overlooked this email sent mid Sep - These were Js, K13s, & L87 -alb)
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SOUTHERN RESIDENTS - Puget Sound Sep 17 (w/Sep 16 evening San Juan) - Puget Sound - 16:36 - A pod of 8 or 9 heading south from Whidbey towards Edmonds and a boat with them. -Alice Thuy Talbot
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16:33 - Southbound for sure mid channel
16:20 - Orca. Group out from Possession Point looking like they may be pointed south. A few others now out from Haines Wharf looking like on kill. Best I can give you. Too far to ID. -Marilyn Armbruster
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15:00 -16:00 - Several orcas sighted off South Mukilteo ...watched them that entire time! We are on land. Got some video but not too clear. -Michelle O'Connor Gunther
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16:17 - Orca. Male south of Whidbey Island. -Alice Thuy Talbot
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16:00 - Orcas are mid channel, line of sight - in line with Haines Wharf, Edmonds. Northbound. A lot of activity, breaching. Can't tell for sure (if committed towards Mukilteo /Clinton). Viewing from Glendale. -Marilyn Armbruster
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15:33 - Been following and photographing since 11:00am 3 mi north of Shilshole. Now up in Mid Possession Sound on the east side. Photos coming tonight. -Gary Carter
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13:30 - 3-4 stragglers with 1 male are NB mid channel passing by the ferry lane.
13:15 - At least 8 orcas with a couple of males. Lots of tail lobs and a few small breaches. Currently north of the Edmonds ferry terminal NB at 1:15
12:50 - Several orcas north bound off of Marina Beach, Edmonds, Heading more towards mid channel now, but still east of mid. I think I saw an open saddle on one male, but not 100% certain. -Sherman Page
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09:20. Weather and visibility is horrendous & just got worse. However A lot of orcas spread across at least from Richmond Beach to mid channel southbound. At least 3 males more mid, with some females and young. Also several spread on east side of channel in 1-3s. Seas too rough to positively ID but behaviorally look like Southern Residents. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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08:36 - Orca. Seeing them off Point Wells, moving south in the NB traffic lane- at least 12- several males. -Jason Mihok, Victoria Clipper 5
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08:27 - Donna with WS Ferries Ops just called to report 6 orcas on Edmonds side heading southbound. Reported by MV Puyallup.
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08:09 - Andrew Muehling reports: He was on Kingston Ferry heading to Edmonds. Mid channel. Pod of 4+ orcas one side of ferry and orca on other side. Guessing Southern via spread out. Heading towards Kingston! I saw all females. Not 100% - but one might have been a calf/baby- next to mom. Again not sure fairly far away, just briefly popped up. Others on ferry said they saw many - Reason i think Southern. Unsure though. Last time i saw southern they were spread out / fishing for salmon. Transients i've seen generally more tightly together. What a treat. Water was choppy / didn't see any saddles, unfortunately.
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07:30 - my neighbor is reporting a "big orca" heading southbound off Apple Tree Point. Kitsap side shipping lane. Trying to get more details. -Sara Frey
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Tues Sep 17 - San Juans - 18:54 - Marie at WSF Ops just called to relay report of humpback northbound between Spieden and San Juan. Reported by Chelan whose in San Juan channel currently so believe that side.

September 16
Mon Sep 16 - Haro Strait - 20:27 - It was beautiful to hear so many whales approaching the point, heading towards south beach/salmon bank as darkness fell. Exhales like a lullaby!
18:56 - At Eagle Point now, can see fins/hear exhales far off shore, pointing south....Here they come, approaching Eagle Point from north! Wow! -Lodie Budwill
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Mon Sep 16 - Strait of Juan de Fuca...Knowing of another group of whales further to the west that our sister ship was with, we continued onwards. We met up with this group in the middle of the Strait, between Port Angeles and Victoria. It was a pod of four Bigg's Killer Whales, the T99s!...Island Adventures
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Mon Sep 16 - Haro Strait - 17:28 - Humpback close in at LK still northbound. Deadman's Bay, I saw a humpback fluke. -Cher Renke
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Mon Sep 16 - Easter Strait of Juan de Fuca - On Glacier Spirit, found Humpbacks Titan (MMY0048) and Merlin (MMY0038) in glass smooth water about 15 minutes out of Pt. Townsend! They started out just traveling, then Titan went into a tail-slap frenzy! And Merlin did a huge breach, which I not only didn't get a picture of, but didn't see as I was (literally) focused on Titan's activities! Titan has a large (fist-sized) hole on the right side, just ahead of the dorsal fin (per Erin Johns Gless it's from a sat tag). We finally left them, and later learned they pretty much disappeared, so we were lucky! In the afternoon, we went under Deception Pass Bridge, found a brown pelican just outside the bridge, and found another humpback (MMY0149) in the fading light. Fantastic trip, thank you Puget Sound Express! -Bonnie Gretz

September 15
Sun Sep 15 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - Thank you nature! The rain held off and with calm seas we had the pleasure to share so many whales off Sooke today that we were all smiles! First with humpback whales almost everywhere we went with around 20 in the area and then Transient / Biggs Killer Whales minutes from our docks. Always great to sea! -Paul Pudwell
(includes MMX0120 Ocean, MMX0061 Ghost, MMY0077 Entropy, per IDs by Alethea Leddy)
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Sun Sep 15 - Strait of Georgia - 15:30 - Hello Alisa, Peaceful lengthy passage of 3 Humpbacks today on the Strait of Georgia side of Mayne island, BC. They went back and forth and were leisurely. Thanks! Yves Tiberghien, Mayne island BC

September 14
Sat Sep 14 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - What another fluking awesome day off Sooke with around 10 humpback whales in flat calm seas! You can really sea how we identify the many different gentle giants we encounter. -Paul Pudwell
(Includes MMX0139 Epauletter, MMY0080 Hemlock, MMZ0018, MMZ0020 ID by Alisa Lemire Brooks, ON)
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Sat Sep 14 - Puget Sound - Late report (from 16:30 this afternoon) humpback in the vicinity of Elliot Bay. Milling and diving, various directions. -Joey LaMarche Going attach video sent to me by my crew.

September 13
Fri Sep 13 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - 18:08 - I was on the Blackball Ferry to Victoria from Port Angeles and saw at least 2 humpbacks. One breached several times for us!! They were east of the ferry lane. Seemed to be heading south! -Best, Kris Holley
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Fri Sep 13 - San Juans - 18:29 - Marie at WS Ferry Ops called to relay report of humpback whale south side of Cypress Island. Crew couldn't tell what direction whale was heading.
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Fri Sep 13 - Puget Sound - 11:30 - Two Spot the Humpback is circling just south of Point Marrowstone.
10:00 - Juvenile Humpback feeding off of Kingston in the ferry lanes. -Justine Buckmaster

September 12
Thu Sep 12 - San Juans - 13:11 - Humpback now heading north, not sure if its the same one
Noon - Humpback heading south on west side near eagle point looked small. -Lisa Santorello
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Thu Sep 12 - Puget Sound - Humpback. Followed from a distance from 12:00-1630 in a big loop from 3 miles SE of Point no Point down to the Edmonds/Kingston ferry lane, then back up almost to where we originally spotted him. Very energetic and active the entire time with over 2 dozen breaches (several full breaches), spy hopping, and violent tail slapping/lobbing. -Gary Carter
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Marie at WS Ferry Ops called to report a whale sighting in the shipping channels between Edmonds/Kingston. Not positive what type of whale, just that it was not an orca. It was called into Ops at 15:21.
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~14:40 - We saw what we assume was the juvenile humpback from the Kingston ferry yesterday... 4 big blows and 2 nice flukes. It was at around 2:40pm. There seemed to be a boat trailing it... maybe a small research vessel? and the whale was north of the ferry by maybe 400 yards (I'm a poor judge of distance but an excellent whale spotter... haha) nearer to Edmonds but heading towards Kingston. We may have been the only people on the ferry who noticed it. -Kris Jones

September 11
HUMPBACK WHALES - Wed Sep 11 - San Juan Channel - 09:46 - We spotted this whale at 9:46am, September 11, 2019 off of Turn Island State Park in the San Juan Channel. A beautiful sight! -Robin Laport
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Wed Sep 11 - Puget Sound - 10:00 - Juvenile humpack 3 miles NW of Edmonds, multi-directional. -Brian McGinn, Puget Sound Express

September 10
BIGG'S TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES - Tue Sep 10 - San Juans...At Iceberg Point, eagle-eyed Casey found a humpback whale from the galley. We got a couple of looks at this individual before continuing onward. We'd heard of reports of a larger group of whales further on that we wanted to catch up to, but would have to cover some water before getting there. We caught a glimpse of a minke whale along the way, spotted at Salmon Bank by an eagle-eyed passenger. It was just north of Portland Island that we met up with the early report of whales we were hoping to reach. It was a pod of four Bigg's Killer Whales, the T18s!...Island Adventures
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Tue Sept 10 - San Juans - At Iceberg Point, eagle-eyed Casey found a humpback whale from the galley. We got a couple of looks at this individual before continuing onward....We left the pod near Active Pass, and continued south through Navy Channel and onwards towards Spieden. Just east of Spieden we met up with MMX007, "Bond" the humpback whale. This individual was swimming circles, making its surfacing more difficult to predict. So, we just sat and drifted as it surfaced in every direction around the boat. -Island Adventures (Link to the day's full report in Bigg's section)
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Tue Sept 10 - Puget Sound - 11:13 - Mike at WS Ferries just called to report a humpback off Marrowstone Point reported by MV Salish (Port Townsend/Coupeville run) who slowed to give whale plenty of room.
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Tue Sep 10 - Puget Sound - Noon_ Walked to the southend of Mutiny Bay, watched humpback with Glacier Spirit pass the northern tip of Double Bluff southbound. -Marilyn Armbruster
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11:05 We also have Two Spot off of Mutiny Bay! He is milling (and mugging) at the mouth of Mutiny Bay!...We left him heading south toward Edmonds.
10:10 - (again!) There is a young Humpback circling just off of Point No Point.-Justine Buckmaster
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Sept 10 - Eastern Juan de Fuca Strait - This was called in Tuesday eve. at 6:22, by Roger Nichols, relaying a report from the observer, Doug Huttle. Between 4 and 5 pm, for half an hour, he observed what looked like a small gray whale, "in distress" about 300 feet out from the Lighthouse at Ft. Casey. The whale was swimming in circles, diving, repeating for a half hour.
(This already sounded like possible feeding, then had a message from Alyssa Scott, the new MMSN coord. for San Juan County, who received an email about this. One of the things she did say in describing the behavior of the whale was that it was extending one pec fin in the air, which really does sound like feeding behavior. - sb)

September 9
SOUTHERN RESIDENTS - Mon Sep 9 - Haro Strait - Watched J16s from 6-730 at Land Bank tonight as they slowly made their way west. They were first reported around 530-545 in Hannah Heights as folks were just getting home from work. Amazing to see the four of them show up on the Westside exactly one year to the day from when they were first seen without J50. Like they came in just to have a family memorial for her. I cried. I came here this weekend to have a personal memorial for Scarlet, so the fact that they showed up exactly one year later as well (and only them) just blew me away. There was a moment early today when I closed my eyes and I was Slick and the three kids were nuzzling my face. We surfaced and SJI was in front of us. Then I opened my eyes and was me again. So eery. -Ariel Yseth
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17:00-18:36 - Haro Strait, SJI. Observed from shore. 4 orca including 1 large male traveling very slowly; barely breaking the surface; quick dives; then disappearing during long dives. They were far out traveling from Hannah Hts to the N/NW. At Edwards Point they turned west away from the island until out of sight. The late day sun made it hard to see saddle patches but I think they were Southern Residents. At 5:45pm they were heading back in at Point Edwards then swung to the south to Hannah Hts and out away from the island. Very very slow, very beautiful. Try as I might, due to the late day low sun, I only managed to take some really dark photos of the saddle patches. I think I saw J26 Mike. The male had a beautiful thin almost wavy fin, if that helps. If you can help confirm ID, that would be appreciated. -Michelline Halliday, SJI
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Mon Sep 9 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - ...From there we made a foggy cruise to the western reaches of the Salish Sea and eventually got visibility back around Hein bank. Not long after that we joined the T46 orca whales just outside of Ediz Hook in Port Angeles and followed them east. Not long after joking the pod we had a few very close passes as T46E and T46F, Matriarch T46....Island Adventures - See the day's encounter reports HERE
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15:00 - We live on E. Bluff Dr. in Eastern Port Angeles. We spotted first the whaling tour boats and then saw two Orcas going by....They came buy at 3pm. The only identification that seem different to me was that the dorsal fin seemed thinner than others I have seen. -John Temple
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Sun Sep 8 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - Transient Killer Whales (T46's) and 4 Humpback Whales all around Sooke! Great to sea...Paul Pudwell
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FIN WHALE - Mon Sep 9 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - Good morning everyone! My name is Wendi Robinson & I am a naturalist with Puget Sound Express in Port Townsend. I was aboard the Glacier Spirit on Monday, September 9th when we encountered the fin whale off of Dungeness. Jill Hein was on board with us the following day & mentioned that you would all probably like to see some of the photos that I took. ...Hope that these are helpful in some way. Follow up: Unfortunately, the photos that I sent are as much as we saw of the animal. We did not ever see the head / jaw come out of the water. I'm hopeful that some of the other boat captains and/or naturalists on scene were able to get additional photos that show more of the animal's body? My guess is that this animal was approximately 65-70' long. Glacier Spirit is 72' in length & the animal appeared to be (roughly) the length of our boat...possibly a bit smaller. -Best, Wendi Robinson
Notes by researchers & entanglement team responders:
Looks very much to me like the entanglement wounds we typically see on fin whales (especially at the peduncle). The diagram attached is very speculative - but there's clearly a split (or gangeon or end of twisted lines) in the gear at the left dorsal fin - and most likely the weighted gear (such as to a pot) runs down the left side given the size and angle of the wound there. There are certainly other entanglement configurations that could have caused this - but it's likely something along these lines. ...The whale most likely has shed the gear - but more images - especially of the mouth-line and peduncle would be great to confirm this. -Doug Sandilands, SR3 - Entanglement example courtesy of Doug Sandilands, SR3 w/ images by Wendi Robinson & Taylor-Rose Chapdelaine.
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...Animal looks quite emaciated and in poor condition....Thanks for sending that perspective and that is more consistent with a fin whale. Regarding the injury it does look like a potential entanglement scar but agree it is somewhat unusual in no coming further down forward, I wonder if this was more a rope scar dragged over the animal rather than a wrap. I CC Doug Sandilands who I know had some thoughts about this injury and cause. -John Calambokidis, Cascadia Research
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I've attached the best photo of the right side of this fin whale that I have received so far...The angle that the dorsal fin rises from the back is much more shallow here than in the photos from the left side, perhaps due to photographer position or a lean in the fin. In any case, it's a much more classic fin whale look and all things considered, is pretty convincing....Jared Towers, DFO
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Mon Sep 9 - Puget Sound - 11:05 - Very tall blows about 2 miles due east of Point No Point. -Howard Garrett, Orca Network
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10:10- 10:40 - Folks here say Humpbacks! We say white on big tale! ...they came up fairly close to Point-No-Point / front of lighthouse. Many folks viewed / some took pictures. Now heading mid-channel south between Point-N-Point and Eglon...Definitely humpbacks - saw white part on back side of massive tale! Folks around Eglon might see them in 10+min!
9:39 - Monday, Sept 9th - two whales, across from Point-No-Point, past mid channel towards Whidbey Island. Either humpbacks or Greys - unsure how to identify differences. Avg size whale and small whale. Seen tales up in air a few times!! Traveling south - heading towards Double Bluff. -Andrew Muehling
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10:10 - There are 2 Humpback Whales circling/feeding south of Point No Point. One is Two Spot, the other is an unidentified juvenile. -Justine Buckmaster
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MINKE WHALES - Tue Sep 9 - Salmon Bank - We caught a glimpse of a minke whale along the way, spotted at Salmon Bank by an eagle-eyed passenger....Island Adventures (Link to the day's full report in Bigg's section)

September 8
Sun Sep 8 - Admiralty Inlet - T137A hugs the shore of Marrowstone Island. -Photo by Desiree Sauve
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Sun Sep 8 - Admiralty Inlet - T137s (w/update on T137A) - 16:43 - Orca right now off Ebey Landing foraging. Heading north. Saw a young calf with two adults with very large one slow behind. -Lacie Anne
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Beautiful Northwest Day at the beach! We saw the post about a small group near Port Townsend so we ran down to the beach to have a look. I saw 2 boat with lots of people on board but didn't see any Orcas for about 7 minutes. The water was flat, I was standing on the waters edge getting my boots wet when all the sudden the water started bubbling up, big bubbles...I wasn't sure what I was seeing so I backed up and that's when a giant fin came up out of the water!!!! They went past at a slower pace, I believe the females and baby in front and the male in back. They came up a few times before disappearing for another 5-7 minutes. Looking like the females went to the left side of the channel to hangout and the male was hunting a Steller sea lion and flipped direction back over to Fort Casey. lovely beings sharing the shores... T137B - T137A - T137D. We saw a big Sea Lion swimming in the area after that who looked pretty beaten up. Alisa, it was incredible!!! So happy I had that experience and can share it with you! Have a great day!
16:30 - Orcas. Past Marrowstone Point south bound- lots of feed/ action going on. With a boat. -Desiree Sauve
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16:00 - T137s tight to shore north of Marrrowstone Point. -Christopher Lewman
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15:00 - Orcas just outside Port Townsend bay at 3:00. Small pod maybe transients. One bull. -Maribeth Crandell
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14:59 - Just saw him and the rest of the T137 just north of Port Townsend...I'm not sure how far north exactly but I believe they were traveling in the southern direction. I think it was around Point Wilson? I was on a whale watching trip with my class. -Katline Barrows
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14:20 - Puget Sound Express has killer whales (T137s) southbound at Point Wilson Lighthouse. -Christopher Lewman
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Sun Sep 8 - Haro Strait - 07:02 - Haro Strait, SJI. Traveling and surfacing together, a pair of humpbacks off Hannah Hts moving quickly to the S/SE. -Michelline Halliday, SJI
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Sun Sep 8 - Puget Sound - 18:21 - Marie w WS Ferries Ops called to report humpback in the middle of shipping lanes Edmonds/Kingston appears to be heading towards Kingston. Capt believes is "resident" that comes down stays for a bit then heads off...
Found this humpback near Point No Point this morning (see images below). It was in the area Saturday as well, today we got to watch a run in with this newbie and Two Spot. I believe it was Two Spot that breached and trumpeted at this one. This HB does not have an ID number that I can find. He took off towards Kingston at a high rate after the run in with Two Spot. This one has an "x" at the base of the fluke and a hole in the top part. -Janine Harles
11:51 - Two Spot Kelping! Near Scatchet Head. -Photos by Janine Harles, Sep 8, 2019
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11:30 - Humpback north of green Scatchet Head channel marker Whidbey side heading northbound.
11:00 - Humpback appears to be near Scatchet Head green channel marker.
10:00 -...now have stopped above Scatchet Head/ Sandy Hook, Sunset Hill Blvd (Whidbey), we see a humpback with Saratoga WW boat south of Point no Point area of Eglon middish channel southbound. We see another humpback closer in and out from Scatchet Head northbound. -Marilyn Armbruster
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08:23 - Humpback heading South East past yellow buoy (between Point No Point and Whidbey). -Janine Harles

September 7
Sat Sep 7 - Strait of Georgia & San Juans - 13:02 - Yes that is T102 (Tiberghien photo below). They (T101s) are in Presidents Channel now with T36As and T49A3, 9 total. -Sara Hysong-Shimazu
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07:45 - A big group of orcas showed up this morning off Edith Point, close to shore but outside the reef. Matriarch T101, T102 - early morning off Mayne Island. Unusually big group like residents, clustered in 3 subgroups or lines with 2-3 each. They were relaxed. Seals were not scared this time (so, seals know the difference between residents and ?). Many remained asleep half in the water and the 2 looking out were not jerking upright as they do for transients. Since it was early around 745am, there was no boat around- all peaceful, unannounced. Their breath echoes loudly in the Strait. Magnificent. -Cheers, Yves Tiberghien, (Mayne island, Edith point)
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Sat Sep 7 - San Juans - Hello, two orcas, Matriarch T137 and T137B were sighted right near the dock of YMCA Camp Orkila on Orcas Island (approx 48.700097, -122.945785. on Saturday 9/7/19 at 4:17pm. "The whole camp was in awe of how close these were, and came running to revel in the beauty." -Jeff Ahrenholz
(IDs by Melisa Pinnow, CWR)
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Updates T137A's injury: Thoughts from Stephanie Norman on T137A upon review of photos by Sara Hysong-Shimazu images (2 shared below): Saw Sarah's photos. Definitely a humdinger of a wound. He will have scarring, maybe significant scarring. It's hard to determine what the long dangling piece of tissue is (tendon, ligament, muscle, or subcutaneous fat). ...Different view, but same comments as I wrote with the last picture. Definitely something got him, but good that he is able to raise flukes this high. Indicating he has good range of motion in that direction and he is able to overcome or deal with any pain still present in the wound. Will be interesting to keep documenting the progression of wound healing (hopefully contracts down to a smaller size)! Thanks for sending this photo along! -Stephanie A. Norman, DVM, MS, PhD
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T137A - San Juans. -Photos by Sara Hysong-Shimazu, Sep 7, 2019
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From Brad Hanson, NOAA, NWFSC September 7, 2019: "We were able to get some photos today of T137A in the San Juans - warning, these are a bit gross - I must admit I was a bit surprised at the extent of tissue discharge at the wound site, but the good news is that he seemed to be swimming and diving much more normally than when Candi and I saw him last week (no head throw upon surfacing and not sinking on the terminal dive) - he is clearly aware of this tissue touching his skin as he had repeated bouts of tail slaps and rubbed on a crab pot line and kelp - apparently trying to dislodge it. Although separate from the rest group initially he did close the gap and while lagging behind a bit he seemed to be able to keep pace toward the end of the encounter - the other whales were clearly foraging on a couple of occasions and although he didnt appear to participate he was in close proximity. I have sent these to several vets for their assessment, however, given the interest in his condition I am forwarding these photos for you to post now if you want. While it looks gross I would caution readers from jumping to conclusions until the vets can weigh in. Thanks, Brad Hanson, NOAA/NWFSC
AND this initial assessment below is edited version of a compilation of comments Brad received from Drs. Hendrik Nollens, Stephen Raverty, and Marty Haulena: The white is fibrin, which is the equivalent of a scab trying to form. This "scab" remains flexible and forms strings or sheets as it oozes out of the wound. This is presumably an adaption to being aquatic and it is benign.
It was nice to see all the margins of the wound. We now have confirmation that it does not extend around the central peduncle. We can see it actually does not penetrate deep enough to damage the fluke tendons or compromise the main blood supply to the fluke. The fluke tips are still intact. You would have seen some sloughing of the fluke tips by now, had blood supply been compromised.
The bulging of the reddish host tissues is in part due to swelling, fibrin production, inflammatory exudate and presumably local wound response. It too is a normal part of wound healing. There is rich bed of granulation tissue (in some areas exuberant), and that bodes well for wound healing response.
These photos indicate an improvement in wound condition over those on the recent Facebook post. If he continues to eat and therefore hydrate, this wound may get enough time to heal. There is a chance of wound bacteria spreading and causing complication including death, but the wound is open so it is continuously being flushed, which is great.
Given enough time and without wound complications, I would expect the wound to turn entirely white. The "red" will turn white as well. The host tissues will shrink back down and less tissues will appear to protrude. The defect will probably never completely fill in, but I would expect the black skin to grow back in eventually.
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Sat Sep 7 - San Juans - ...It was not long into the trip before we had whales. Just as we rounded the northern tip of Guemes, dorsal fins were in sight, dramatically cutting through the water. It was the T46s, a group of five Bigg's orcas, Wake (T46) in the lead. We cruised with them as they worked the current lines and shallows around Sinclair Island and Viti Rocks. Strider (T46D), broke away from the pod to come say hi, as he is known to do....Island Adventures
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Sat Sep 7 - Puget Sound - 17:00 - Humpback between Possession and Haines Wharf with 100 of his "Murre" friends.
16:17 - Two Spot, direction change, back towards Possession bar
15:30 - Humpback Two Spot has flipped and last reported Heading South east towards Edmonds.
14:54 - Humpback heading north east past Possession Bar. Just passing Maxwelton. -Janine Harles
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10:03 - Humpback whale 2nm southeast of Point No Point. -Trevor Tillman
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SPECIES UNCONFIRMED - Sep 7 - Puget Sound - 08:56 - Possible whale sighting Elliot Bay near the Norwegian Joy/ Bell Harbour. Saw brief surface/blow hole and fin....has not resurfaced so don't know which direction. -Toni Baffo

September 6
Fri Sep 6 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - (Ks and at least L54s) - A fun foggy & nautical day around Sooke! Heading out west in the hope of humpback whales our visibility was down to a few hundred feet at best and by surprise we came across some killer whales west bound past Sheringham Lighthouse we took a few quick pictures and after a few minutes we figured our that they were the Endangered Southern Residents (some L Pod (L54) & ?) we alerted the other operators and departed slowly...the fog did lift for about 5 minutes and we could see many others way out in the distance...The fog came back quickly but we were lucky to come across around 8 Humpbacks a few miles east as the skies cleared we had a chance to get some more pictures. You never know, and please understand we do not search out or promote the viewing of SRKW and as soon as we knew who we had we departed immediately...our guests understood and were very pleased with our Humpback encounters. Matriarch L54 Ino (b. 1977) - L54 Ino, K36 Yoda (b. 2003), & others...L54 Ino, K36, Yoda, & K22 Sekiu (b. 1987) - K Pod mates, born a year apart: K43 Saturna (b. 2010) and K44 Ripple (b. 2011).-Paul Pudwell
(IDs by Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research)
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Fri Sep 6 - San Juans - 14:38 - T60s flipped from the SJ to the Lopez shoreline and on the other side of the boats when they got to me, so I didn't specifically see it (T60G) ...circling small haul outs
14:13. Watching orcas from the Cattle Point Interpretive Center bluffs. T60s -Ariel Yseth
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Humpbacks western Strait of Juan de Fuca beyond Sheringham. -Photos by Paul Pudwell, Sep 6, 2019
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Fri Sep 6 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - A fun foggy & nautical day around Sooke! Heading out west in the hope of Humpback Whales our visibility was down to a few hundred feet at best and by surprise we came across some killer whales west bound past Sheringham Lighthouse...we were lucky to come across around 8 Humpbacks a few miles east as the skies cleared we had a chance to get some more pictures....very pleased with our Humpback encounters. -Paul Pudwell
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Fri Sep 6 - Strait of Georgia - 3 Humpbacks passed by peacefully, breathing loudly in the totally quiet Straight of Georgia this morning, undiscovered. a majestic spectacle. -Photos taken from Mayne island BC, Yves Tiberghien
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Fr Sep 6 - Haro Strait - 10:15 - Single HB about a mile off SJ County Park headed north. -April Ryan
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Fri Sep 6 - Puget Sound - 18:46 - At the red pin. There may be two humpbacks....Now headed into Elliot Bay from red pin
18:35 - Ok just got eyes on him. Between Alki and West Point. I'll update with direction
18:18 - Relaying a VHF call from Kitsap fast ferry Reliance. Humpback whale near tango buoy (between Alki and Bainbridge). Here's the humpback we saw outside Elliot Bay no fluke shot. -Joey LaMarche
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17:58 - WS Ferries Ops called Mike at 3 whales N of Alki pilot house of MV Tacoma cannot tell what type or direction...
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17:18 - Saw humpback mid channel on Seattle to Bainbridge run about 5-minutes ago heading to East. -Doug Hayman
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Fri Sep 6 - Puget Sound - Scott Veirs and I walked back on the now eastbound ferry to return to Edmonds and quickly spotted blows off Apple Tree Point. We were presuming it was same whale until I found reports from earlier of multiple whales so not sure who it was. Upon departing the boat, Scott asked Paul more questions about the earlier humpback (I've ID'd as Two Spot) where we learned WSF crew had been seeing the whale (s) since ~ 09:00-09:30. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network
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Saw it at 13:15 off Apple Tree Point. -Christopher Hanke
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~12:50 - 2-3 humpbacks in Apple Tree Cove (just north of Kingston) trending north. -CJ Mcanulty
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We walked on the 11:55 ferry Puyallup from Edmonds to Kingston to test some sightings apps. Before departing the dock WSF crew member Paul informed us they had seen a humpback from the 11am ferry out of Kingston who was slapping his tail within easy viewing distance from the boat coming over. Sure enough on our westbound sailing the captain announced the presence of the humpback on our starboard side ~12:10. We moved to outside starboard deck to see tail lobbing humpback in traffic lanes closer to Kitsap side (out from Apple Tree Point) heading eastbound. Tail-lobbing "Two Spot" the humpback. To catch a better view moved to the upper deck to watch the humpback continue his tail lobbing/surface sequences as we passed by. He continued in eastbound direction as we pulled into Kingston. -Alisa Lemire Brooks, Orca Network & Scott Veirs, Orca Sound
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11:45 - Humpbacks still hanging out. 10:00 - Two humpbacks off Apple Tree Point, maybe southbound. -Sara Frey
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10:56 - Whale off of Apple Cove Point. Looked like a Humpback. -Ryan Johnson

September 5
SOUTHERN RESIDENTS - Thu Sept 5 - Haro Strait - 12:23 - Orcas southwest San Juan Island. J and K pods (IDs 2nd hand - unconfirmed - alb). Headed southeast. Research boats following. On friend's boat she said whale watching boat, "Red Head" identified the two pods. -Staci Brauer
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Thu Sep 5 - 11:35 - 12:15 - Haro Strait, SJI. J Pod observed from shore. 8-10 orca, including 2 large males foraging across from Hannah Hts. They were to my left (south) but 3-4 individuals moved north to my viewpoint long enough to get a few photos of saddle patches. I saw J27 Blackberry, possibly J44 Moby. J Pod was foraging in small groups over a large area. The groups were very spread out. Foraging activity included milling about; often quickly changing direction and backtracking; short dives followed by a longer dive; splashing in tight circles. Very interesting to watch! The orcas slowly moved away from my position to the south and away from the island. -Michelline Halliday, SJI
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Thu Sep 5 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - What a beautiful day on the water in the Juan De Fuca Strait with 30+ humpback whales scattered about from Sooke to Jordan River...we had the pleasure to visit at least a dozen. -Paul Pudwell (Includes BCY0584 Pillar's 2017 calf, MMX0085 Zeppelin, MMY0074, MMX0100, MMY0150, and MMZ0006 Slalom per IDs by Alethea Leddy. alb)
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Thu Sep 5 - Hi Alisa and Orca Network, During our (PacMam) routine observations for harbor porpoises and harbor seals in Burrows Pass (off Fidalgo Island) on Thursday, Sept 5th we were treated to a unique sight, a Minke whale! At 10:45am the whale travelled east along Burrows Island, disappeared for about 10 min in the bay, then came up travelling back out West to Rosario strait. Never seen Minke here before - very exciting! I have attached a picture (unfortunately it didn't come too close, so may not be able to ID it.) -Best, Cindy Elliser, Pacific Mammal Research

September 4
Wed Sep 4 - Haro Strait - 20:43 - Orca. Moving north of point again! Some loud breaches!
20:34 - Orca. SO many exhales at Eagle Cove/Point right now! WOW!!! Loud breaches too!
19:52 - Orca. Now hearing multiple exhales off of Eagle Point and to north of point! -Lodie Gilbert Budwill
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19:48 - 20:45 - Haro Strait, SJI - Observed from shore. 7-9 orca including 2-3 large males, far out & spread out around Edwards Point area. Changing direction between south and north the orcas were moving in slow motion surfacing often. The sound was carrying beautifully across the sea, I could hear both inhalation/exhalation and the tail slaps sounded like firecrackers. 5 orcas moved inland gathering near a still sailboat. The sailboat didn't move and the orcas lingered for 10 minutes before moving off to the S/SE. The sailboat didn't pursue as the orcas slowly made their way, through the stripe of moonlight on the water and away past Hannah Hts to the S. (Count may be off due to direction changes, circling) -Michelline Halliday, SJI
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Wed Sep 4 - Rosario Strait - (we hear it was the J16s - confirmation needed). ~17:30 - spotted 3, maybe a 4 orcas just off Biz Point near Deception Pass. -Matt Kelly
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~ 17:00 - 4 adult Orcas were sighted off Sars Head Sharpe Park Anacortes at about 5:00 pm...Sorry no images as they were underwater water much of the time - lots of bubbles. A few times they poked heads out & seemed to look around. -Janice Flinn
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BIGG'S TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES - Wed Sep 4 - Bigg's killer whale encounter with T137A 137 137B 137D as well as T036A T036A1 T036A2 T036A3 The two gangs were well into some common mure hunting with big zig zag type behaviors, lots of surging into and away from the beach line, tail lobs etc as they chased the Mures. T137A was showing his injury just forward of his peduncle and just below his fluke, still lagging behind the others (I had been off water all day but knew he was around and had heard he was on his own for alot of the mid afternoon period) but as the hunts progressed he came in with everyone to partake. He got into some of the celebration and did around 4 very small attempts at a tail lob. I managed to capture one decent image which I have edited and shared here with the photos. Lots of work goes into these encounters, edits etc...one am!! Please share respectfully with credits. -Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions
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Wed Sep 4 - We had another fun day aboard the Glacier Spirit yesterday (Sept 4th) - we found the T060s - over by Gooch Island (Canada). A long trip, but worth it to see T060G who is the newest member of this pod of 6, T060E, mom T060 and her new calf T060G, T060C and T060G - oldest and youngest of the "kids," T060C and T060D. The weather was spectacular too. Homeward bound we caught a glimpse of a minke, several bait balls loaded with gulls and, lots of Common Murres. Thank you for a great day Puget Sound Express. -Jill Hein
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Wed Sep 4 - We continued north and joined the Biggs orca whales known as the T36's just south of Active pass. We got great looks at the whole family and got to hang out for some time as they were headed south toward the San Juan islands...See Island Adventures Sep 4 Blog post for day reports and images.
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UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES - Wed Sep 4 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - 13:24 Hi saw pair of orca in front of my house in Sekiu. Traveling too fast to get any markings on them. They were working the kelp line in a westerly direction. Last I saw were rounding Sekiu point. This was the first time we have seen orca in our bay . A brief but exciting experience. -Jim (Willett) Brown
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COASTAL KILLER WHALES - Wed Sept 4 - West coast Vancouver Island - These were sent in by Fred Felleman who says his Makkah friend says this was yesterday (4th) between Ahousat BC and Hot Springs Cove....T19 (big lovely leaning dorsal) & others. -Photos sent in by Fred Felleman, taken by his friend Sept 4, 2019.
(IDs by Melisa Pinnow, Center for Whale Research: I see T19B in the second photo, maybe T46E in the first photo.)
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HUMPBACK WHALES - Wed Sep 4 - San Juans - 11:20 - Peacefully watching whales (humpbacks) from on top Whatmough (SE Lopez Island). -Brandi Reed

September 3
Tue Sep 3 - 11:45-12:15pm We saw mulitple Orcas in Haro Strait just past Sidney Island between Cod Reef and Gooch Islands. Orca Research boat was there monitoring (Yay!) the 13 Whale Watch Boats and 3 recreational boats (including us). We saw tail slaps, sprays, and the baby! -Robyn Myers
(T2B, T59, T60s per Barbara Howitt and Sara Hysong-Shimazu)
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Tue Sep 3 - ~ 17:00 - 4 adult Orcas were sighted off Sars Head Sharpe Park Anacortes at about 5:00 pm. -Janice Flinn
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Tue Sept 3 - Haro Strait - 12:54 - Haro Strait, SJI: Observed from shore at 12:54pm. Humpback traveling to the N/NW towards and past Point Edwards. It surfaced a 11 times in the 10 minutes I watched it. -Michelline Halliday, SJI

September 2
Mon Sep 2 - 15:03 - Patti Johnson reported (and sent distant video) of seeing orcas while leaving the Swartz Bay terminal. An adult male and at least 2 others visible.
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14:10 - Orca. Three individuals spotted. Two adults (one M, one F) and one juvenile (according to my untrained eye). Approximate Location: 48.647766° -123.386768° (off Sidney BC) . -Alex MacGillivray
(based on time/location Sara Hysong-Shimazu said would be T123s -alb)
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Mon Sept 2 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - Another Killer day with a T Party off Race Rocks! We had around 18 Transient Killer Whales socializing and milling...(Possible Id's being T042A's, T109's, T123's, T018 &19's). Then we visited many humpback whales from Race to Sooke! What a great day to share our back yard again! -Paul Pudwell
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With that, we moved on to the shores of Vancouver Island, just west of Victoria where we met up with several killer whales in hunting mode. Only, it wasn't just any hunting. This was a really large group, made up of two different pods, maybe more, who were in Pedder Bay hunting common murres and rhinoceros auklets!! I was only able to make positive IDs on some of the T109As and T100C but the majority of the bird hunters were the T109As while T100C traveled along the rocks near the shoreline...Renee - Island Adventures (See the day's blog reports HERE)
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Mon Sep 2 - Strait of Georgia - 15:15 - at least ten individuals here at 3:15 pm coordinates (48.9715996, -123.0840390) Lighthouse Marine park in Point Roberts WA - Calf was present. Have video. Some points and kayakers were getting too close one boat motored right through despite whale boats honking at him :( Cheers, Mel
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14:30 - 15:00 - Great Orca action today at Point Roberts - small group of 4-5 came through around 230 pm travelling super quickly - one calf - heading north and not surfacing often. Then at 3 pm - 20 mins later - we have a large group of 7-8 whales. Lots of action with tail lobbing, spy hopping, charging, even some logging. Thanks! -Sandra Scott
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Mon Sep 2 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - We picked up speed after we passed him and found two humpbacks out in the strait. These two were staying down for almost 10 minutes and dive angles made it a challenge to get ID's but at least one of them was "BCY0785 Mathematician". We stayed with these two for a few dive cycles and when one of them went down, we expected the other to follow but instead the surface erupted with "Mathematician" in a full breach! -Renee, Island Adventures
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...Then we visited many humpback whales from Race to Sooke! What a great day to share our back yard again! -Photo by Paul Pudwell, Sep 2, 2019
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Mon Sep 2 - San Juans - 11:24 - Two humpbacks just passed Friday Harbor heading north in San Juan Channel.
11:08 - Seeing the humpbacks from the Friday Harbor labs. Look to be heading out of the harbor now. -Cindy Hansen, Orca Network
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10:26 - Donna w/WS Ferries Ops called again: Those humpbacks are heading north towards Friday Harbor, vessel has slowed down. Captain said there was a lot of vessel traffic out there.
09:17 - Donna w/WSF Ferries Ops just called to report the MV Yakima is stopped just off the Lopez Island ferry dock for 2 humpbacks. No direction of travel given.
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Mon Sep 2 - Upper Admirlaty Inlet - ~ 13:45 - At about 1:45 we saw a humpback southbound off the shore of Marrowstone Island but we didn't confirm ID. The whale at Port Townsend this morning was none other than Two Spot! -Justine Buckmaster
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11:13 - Lost him south of partridge point. Many fast boats crisscrossing navigation channel. She did give a white fin slap earlier though!
10:57 - Humpback west of Point Wilson. Whale watcher boat and catamaran there. -Cyrilla Cook
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10:50 - Saw a humpback in the channel headed out past Point Wilson at 10:50am this morning. -Amy Convers
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SPECIES UNCONFIRMED - 10:33 - Donna w/WS Ferries Ops called, MV Kennewick at Port Townsend reported seeing some whales, no count and not sure what kind they saw, but they saw 2 spouts north of traffic lanes heading south out from Port Townsend.
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SPECIES UNCONFIRMED - Mon Sep 2 - Admiralty Inlet - 16:37 - Maija with WS Ferries Ops called to report: MV Salish reporting whale, possibly gray, heading northbound in the southbound lanes between Port Townsend and Coupeville.

September 1
Sun Sept 1 - Strait of Juan de Fuca - What an amazing day around Southern Vancouver Island with Biggs / Transient Killer Whales everywhere..Reports were surprising with pods spotted east - west close to shore out in the middle of the Juan De Fuca and all over the place! Here is a few quick shots of the T123s inbound of Sooke today! -Paul Pudwell
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Sun September 1, 2019 - We had whales all over the place, but all heading away from us! It wasn't easy choosing a route, but in the end it worked out just fine. Crossing the border into Canada south of D'arcy Island we encountered the T18's who were met by the T46B's and the T100's. Included in this group is the young calf, T46B1B aka "Tl'uk" - a rare pale gray/white orca...(See full blog post with images HERE). -Barbara & David Howitt, All Aboard Sailing
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Sun Sep 1 - A SPECTACULAR afternoon/evening encounter with the T36s and T36Bs, T36A1 Tierna (total 9), first found on the backside of Orcas Island, where they made a kill. As they moved east, they moved into the beautiful sparkly backlit light....we reluctantly left them, but on the way home, at sunset, found them again at Lummi Island! What a treat to see sunset whales with good friends David and Meliss Haeckel. 9/1/19. -Bonnie Gretz
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Encounter with T036 and T036A's: Meliss, Bonnie and I Took the PM tour with Island Adventures and was treated to a nice show near Barnes and Clark where we met up with the T36s and T36As. Then at sunset, met up with them again along the western side of Lummi. It was an amazing evening and we got so many great shots. Here are a few of them. -David Haeckel
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11:20 - T36As and Bs - to the S.E. of Shaw. -Pet Ancich
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Sun Sep 1 - Discovery Bay, Port Townsend - Report of Orcas in Discovery Bay at 1230 - Christopher Hanke
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Some friends (Pamela R Church and Tom Freet) encountered a pod of 4 orcas, includingT46E, in Discovery Bay on Sunday. -Shelley Smith
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Sun Sep 1 - Strait of Georgia - Humpbacks "jackson" and "ocean" near Snake Island (Nanaimo) this morning. -Angela Bacon
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Sun Sept 1- San Juans - 16:30 - Humpback between Brown Island and Point George. Headed east. -Bryn Black
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15:00 - HB is south of ONeal pointed S. -Michael P Colahan
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08:00-09:00 - Two humpbacks west of Orcas Island hanging out between there and Freeman Island this morning from 8-9! They might still be out there. -Caitlyn Blair
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Sun Sep 1- Admiralty Inlet - Humpback whale 10:30 am, Admiralty, west of mid channel, in line with north end of Mutiny bay. Moving slowly south but mostly milling. Came very close to boat and checked us out. Seemed to be taking shallow dives. Weren't able to see tail fluke. -Logan and Lindsey McCune Goheen
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Sun Sep 1 - San Juans - 14:35 - Saw 3 whales near the northeast part of San Juan island north of O'Neal At 2:35 pm. We of course don't have a clue what type of whales they might be. You have helped me in the past. Many thanks. ) -Maria Mason, Bainbridge island, But cruising the San Juan islands.
(Possibly humpbacks who were in the area around this time - alb)
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Sun Sep 1 - Admiralty Inlet/Puget Sound - 00:54 - One, possibly two, humpbacks (or grays) just rounded Point no Point headed southbound. I heard breaths and ran to the water just in time to see one FEET from the shore!!! -Ashley Whitman