Transient orcas T124A's near Sooke, B.C. Dec. 28, 2009 Photo by Mark Malleson
Dec. 28 Found 7 Transients on the afternoon of December 28 near Sooke east bound which included the T124A's. Thanks to Sooke Auxilliary Coast Guard for the tip. Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales
Tranisent orca T10B Race Passage, B.C. Dec. 23, 2009 Photo by Mark Malleson
Transient orcas T10's and T26's near Race Rocks Dec. 23, 2009 Photo by Mark Malleson Dec. 23 The T010's and the T026's were west bound off of Victoria on the morning of December 23rd. Jared Towers and I left them in Race Passage at 11:30 west bound. Ken Balcomb and Dave Ellifrit relocated them at 1300 off Sooke Harbour still headed west. Mark Malleson, Victoria, B.C.
Dec. 23 Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research called to report Transient orcas - the T10s and T26s headed west past Victoria, heading through Race Pass at 11:40 am.
Transient T74 Pt. Wilson, Pt. Townsend, WA Dec. 18, 2009 Photo by Frank White
Dec. 18 Orca Network received a call from Jim Whicker, reporting 7 orcas, including 1 male, a little north of Port Townsend, near the buoy 300 - 500' from shore (48 7.180684 N, -122 44.507595W) from 11:10 - 11:30 am Dec. 18. This was the Transient group with T74 (see photo) and friends.
A few more details on the Transients and Steller sea lions in Admiralty Inlet Dec. 18th: Transient orcas (T73- female w/notch in fin, w/T73C?) Pt. Wilson Dec. 18 Photo by Robert Whitney
Dec. 18 When the orca first appeared, surfacing less than 200 feet from where Frank and I were at Point Wilson. The two females moved swiftly and silently to the north where the remainder of the other orca were, three males and one female quickly grouped up with the two females. What it looked like to me was a team effort to drive any seals or sea- lions that were near the point towards the four orca who were waiting in the direction of where any pinniped might flee. It was interesting to see the close team work of the seven orca. Robert Whitney, Port Townsend
Dec. 18 Over at Ft. Casey (Whidbey Island) the Steller sea lions started bunching up about the time we got there at 1220 or so. At first there were only 2, then 3 or 4, but slowly more appeared until there were 13 or 14 (see above photo of the day) . As the group grew it got more agitated and started swimming back and forth along the beach, spyhopping and growling all in one direction and then in another direction. At one point they freaked completely when they saw a little black and white cocker spaniel on a leash a couple hundred yards away. It seemed like a delayed response to those killer whales rounding Pt. Wilson. We don't know if there was another case of a sea lion becoming lunch for the orcas, or the sea lions just heard the transients and got spooked. There were a couple of others around that didn't join the tight bunches, or hadn't yet when we left. The reactions seemed to be building the whole two hours that we were there so I don't know how long it went on. Howard Garrett, Orca Network, Whidbey Island
From the excellent photos taken by Robert Whitney and Frank White from shore at Pt. Wilson, some ID's of these Transients have been made - the male has been confirmed as T74 (very distinctive dorsal fin!); likely IDs are T73 with1 notch in fin, possibly w/T73C?, and T73A1, and possibly T73A - but we are waiting for confirmation on these possible IDs. Orca Network
Transient orcas T68s? Ft. Flagler Admiralty Inlet Dec. 12, 2009 Photo by Garrett Bradford
Dec.12 I was in the white Glasply (Quya) that you saw over by Marrowstone. We were heading towards Port Townsend when I saw a huge splash way off in the distance. I saw just enough black and white to know it was an Orca. I started to see more fins coming out of the water and I thought they might be headed right at me. I killed the engine and raised the outdrive hoping they'd pass right by me. I don't know if that is necessary but I'm a hunter, so I'm thinking smaller and quieter. In hind sight I guess I should have turned the depth finder off. Do they hear that thing? (most likely!) It was quiet for a few minutes until a large sea lion appeared just to my stern. It was acting strange, doing a lot of rolling and figure eights. We watched that lone dance for a few more minutes and then all of a sudden, Orcas everywhere! There was one very large one, two or three smaller adults and at least two very small ones. I snapped a lot of shots (see photo) when it dawned on me that my camera takes video ( click here for two great videos). At first I thought the sea lion and the whales were sharing the same bounty (our whales don't eat mammals, right?). My girlfriend thought they were all playing but I started thinking that we might have lucked into some transients preparing a family meal. I never saw a kill, but they all took turns coming up right next to the poor sea lion, even the babies. I don't know how long they usually take to make the kill. I know it only takes about a minute on NatGeo. Could we have been watching a hunter's education course for the youngsters? Eventually it quieted down and since we were drifting toward shore, I fired the boat up and headed towards Port Townsend. I looked back about the time we got half way across the harbor to see a lot of splashing. Maybe we missed the final kill? We saw no sign of them on the way back to Everett. We did see two or three porpoise around Mutiny Bay though. Garrett Bradford, Everett
Dec. 12 Roger, Heather and Kelli responded to report of orcas near Admiralty Head (as part of the Admiralty Inlet Tidal Power marine mammal monitoring project).We made contactbetween Marrowstone Pt. & Lagoon Pt.. 5-6 orcas, including: a grayish calf and its mother (completely closed and smoothly round saddle); adult male with nicks on upper part of trailing fin (similar position as J1) and tip of fin tilted to left; an adult female with a sizable nick (like J28) in the mid portion of trailing edge of fin; and at least one other juvenile. Orcas were moving slowly in a group, in no consistent direction, with long (4-6 minutes) dives. After about 1/2 hour of this behavior, we made a set for hydrophone deployment and observed in the distance the orcas becoming surface active, probably attacking a Steller Sea Lion, which is concurrent with later close-up observations. We heard no vocalizations in two hydrophone deployments. We approached surface active orcas and saw a Steller Sea Lion in their midst, moving slowly back and forth on the surface. We observed the orcas lunging over the sea lion, coming up onto from below numerous times, appearing to be striking it with their bodies. The sea lion stayed on the surface, rolling around, moving back and forth in a small area. After about 20 minutes of this, the sea lion found our boat and stayed very near it (within 50 ft. and closer at times) while the orcas circled the area. We observed no blood or obvious injuries on the sea lion. We left the scene to deliver Kelli to shore and returned 45 minutes later with Roger Slade's camera and large video camera. The orcas were milling a few miles away, near Fort Flagler on the north end of Marrowstone Island.We photographed them with the point and shoot camera and the video camera. We did a transect on our way to the Marrowstone haul out, where we counted 12 Stellers. We saw two more Steller's near the orcas in the vicinity of Fort Flagler. Heather Harding, Chimacum
Dec. 12 Tonight (12/12), I went down to Marrowstone Point. From about 3:30 to 4:00 pm there were four Stellers spy hopping just west of the point. I was sure they knew an orca was around. I watched and waited and watched the sea lions, they were apparently nervous, judging from the constant checking of surrounding waters. I've seen this behavior before. Five more sea lions came in from the Whidbey side, over from about Partridge Point. All of the sea lions kept spy hopping, stretching out as far as you can imagine a sea lion can get up out of the water to look around at stuff.The water was pretty calm. I just knew some whales would show up - dang. Nope. None. As it grew darker, the sea lions milled around off the north end of the island, joining up. I imagine others, on seeing them might have thought they were whales from a distance. The sea lions, sticking their heads way out of the water looked like male whale dorsals. Think whales ever confuse these as other whales? How would we ever know. How could we ever know. Whaleless on Marrowstone, Ron Hirschi
Dec. 12 We arrived at Ft Casey at about 3:45, already getting dark. Boy those Stellers were noisy! I have one photo with 13 in it, we were able to count two other groups to total at least 18th. If there'd been nobody on the beach, I wonder if they'd have hauled out. There were a few people by the water's edge watching/listening to them. Quite a sight. We looked for blows to the west, but didn't see anything, but with such a steller smorgasbord, perhaps they'll be back. Jill Hein, Coupeville
Dec. 12 2040: Transient calls in the dark, dark night on OrcaSound hydrophones (NW San Juan Island). Val Veirs, OrcaSound/The Whale Museum, San Juan Island
Dec.12 We received a call that the Victoria Clipper had sighted orcas off Admiralty Head, 9:30 am, possibly J pod. We headed out to Admiral's Cove, then Ft. Casey, and found orcas at 10:45 am, between Lagoon Pt, Whidbey Island, and S. Marrowstone Island, milling back & forth. We counted what looked like ~5 orcas. They ended up heading over to Ft. Flagler, then milling back and forth just N. of Ft. Flagler for over 3 hours. We watched them from Ft. Casey, While Roger Slade, Heather Harding, & Kelli Stingle from Pt. Townsend responded in a boat. They observed the orcas tossing a Steller sea lion around, the Steller using their boat for shelter for awhile, making things pretty exciting! We'll hopefully have a more detailed report from them later - but we observed 12 - 14 Steller sea lions right next to shore at Ft. Casey, behaving very defensively - lots of heads up and roaring going on, and mainly staying in large groups (I can't blame them)! We watched the orcas from our distant perch - milling back and forth, a lot of lunging and splashing going on from noon - 2:15 or so, then more milling. We left at about 2:45 pm, Roger called at 3:15 pm to report the orcas were in Port Townsend Bay, still milling around.
Dec. 12 We received a call from Steve Holmes at 10:55 am, reporting ~9 orcas sighted off Ledgewood Beach, W. Whidbey Island, first heading north, then milling.
Dec. 12 After earlier helping us try to find the orcas from Admiral's Cove, Sandra Pollard & Dick Snowberger called at 11:15 am from Lagoon Pt. to report they had spotted the orcas between Lagoon Pt. & Marrowstone Island, heading north.
Dec. 12 We received a call at 11:10 am from Greg Davis, on S. Admirals Cove, reporting 3 orcas - 1 large fin, 1 med. fin & 1 small fin, between Ft. Flagler and Marrowstone Pt, heading north.
Dec. 12 We were standing on the beach at Ft Flagler State Park, facing northwest. An orca pod - we estimate 7-8 whales, one very large male with a skinny pointy back fin. - appeared at the southern end of Whidbey Island. traveling south from Whidbey into the Port Townsend bay,Saturday, Dec. 12 approx 3:00 pm. It appeared they were feeding as they remained stationary for about 20 minutes. There were dozens of birds around the pod - we guessed the birds were scavenging fish from the feeding frenzy in the water. Three photos are attached! Wendy Ayres
These are the Transient orcas that we believe are the T68s - sb
T68C and T68C2 Encounter 58 was conducted by Ken Balcomb with transient killer whales spread out near the Victoria waterfront on 10 December 2009. The high points of this encounter were: photo-documentation of a young "white" killer whale that Ken considers another case of Chidiak-Higashi Syndrome that has appeared episodically in transient killer whales of this region; and, photo-documentation of the condition of a satellite tag applied to T36A on 20 September 2009. For more information about Chidiak-Higashi syndrome in killer whales see http://www.rockisland.com; and, for more information about satellite tagging killer whales see http://www.cascadiaresearch.org. T36A has apparently gone out the Strait of Juan de Fuca and is headed along the coast toward California.
Dec. 10 After a preliminary viewing of Ken (Balcomb's) and my transient shots from December 10 it seems as though the inshore group contained T036A, T036A1, T137, and T137A. The group offshore which had the grey orca (most likely Chediak- Higashi Syndrome) contained T068, and T068A. Will wait to get confirmation from G. Ellis and J.Towers of P.B.S and D.Ellifrit of C.W.R. to confirm if it belongs to T068C and rest of ID's. Mark Malleson, Victoria B.C.
This is the same pod that has been in Admiralty Inlet today - will share any further info. and confirmation on IDs as we get them -
Dec. 10 I always call Ron Bates when heading out on a trip, like today. We were headed off to see Speiden Island, since the earlier sightings of Residents going north had turned into Residents going south near Whidbey. Ron didn't have any news, but called back in a few minutes to let me know that some Transient orcas had been sighted off the Victoria waterfront. Off we zoomed. I called Goldwing on the VHF as we got close, about 5 miles south of Trial Island, (3:15 today) and were told that one of the Orcas had a gray dorsal fin. Gray fin? It was the whole Orca that was gray and white, not just the fin. It's a calf and one of the T11s. In over twenty years of viewing Orcas in this area, I've never seen a gray Orca. I was flabbergasted! Here are some pictures of the calf. (All of the pictures have been cropped.) I think Ken Balcomb also got some shots.
Several small transient groups have been making their way through Blackney Pass toward Johnstone Strait. The groups were spread out across the Pass. The last group which includes a young male is off Parson Island now slowly following the other two groups. They are vocal. Lots of birds have been following them. A seal has been keeping an eye on them while safely hauled out on rocks this side. Helena 10 Dec 2009 12:44:19 PST
Orcas near mics.
The transients, possibly the same groups as earlier, sound like they are now closer to Robson Bight. The Critical Point hydrophone battery is low so the signal is not very stable. Helena 10 Dec 2009 14:52:50 PST
No calls but orcas nearby
for the record: Jared Towers went out and found the whales (still in small groups) between Cracroft Point and Swain point (Boat Bay). Jared identified 16; the T77s, T23s,T18s,T2s and the T55s. There were two new calves (T23C3 and T77D). Five members from these various groups were missing and Jared wondered if yet another group was further ahead. Generally, the whales were going eastward very slowly. Jared heard calls as well and noted the groups were very social. Helena 10 Dec 2009 16:07:53 PST
Transients U38 & U39 Victoria, B.C. Dec. 7, 2009 Photo by Mark Malleson, Center for Whale Research
Transient orca with seal in mouth Victoria, B.C. Dec. 7, 2009 Photo by Mark Malleson
Dec. 7 U38 and U39 were back off of Victoria today hunting seals Mark Malleson, Centre for Whale Research
Dec. 7 Had Transiets U38 and U39 Off Victoria this afternoon, I thought I had at least 1-2 females as well but boat on scene and other spotters only had 2. Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria, B.C.
Dec. 7 At about 3:30 pm Dec. 7 I watched 2 large male killer whales (U38 and U39) from Dallas Rd in Victoria. I saw them pass in front of the Canadian Navy ship which makes for a nice photo. Then saw "Mallard" CWR / DFO on scene documenting the two transients (see photos and report in our Dec. 7 Whale Report). I noticed the animals went down on a very long dive because I didn't see anything after a while. My guess is they were in predation mode as the research boat remained on scene and attentive. After getting a coffee to warm up my freezing hands, I changed my location and returned to find the animals and the research boat further away towards the Metchosin shoreline . Thanks to MMRG for the heads up. Chantelle Tucker, Victoria, B.C.
Transient orcas U38 & U39 with Navy ship off Victoria, B.C. Dec. 7, 2009 Photo by Chantelle Tucker
Nov. 16 Had the T046's this afternoon east bound along the shoreline of Vancouver Island west of Race Rocks. Strong south-west winds and heavy rain made for a brief encounter. Mark Malleson, Victoria B.C.
Nov. 16 I am reporting the sighting of 6 or perhaps 7 Orca on Monday November 16, 2009 about 1/2 mile NNE of Race Rocks, British Columbia. The Orca were all female with 1 yearling calf. When first contacted the Orca were swirling in a feeding pattern but I did not see any sign of mammals on the surface so I am assuming these animals were residents. The Orca stayed in one area and then moved away at a high rate of speed (~10 NMPH) moving in dolphin fashion rather than their normal movement. After moving for about 5 minutes they again swirled for several minutes and then moved away again and again at a high rate of speed. Direction of movement was NNE towards Constance Bank but we did not follow them that far. Contact time was 1510 - 1530. We were in pouring rain the entire 20 minutes we were with the Orca. Surface was choppy with occasional whitecaps. Saw 3 spy hops. No photographs were taken. And an update: Yesterday (November 16) I reported contacting 6 or 7 Orcas NNE of Race Rocks, Victoria. I speculated that these were resident Orcas. In conversation with another driver today I was informed that they were only 5 Orcas and they were the T46 pod. The other driver had been with this pod earlier in the day as they moved east from Beacher Bay. He left the Orcas as they entered Race Passage as this is a no-go area for whale watching boats. I had the good fortune to contact the pod as they came out the other side of Race Passage. Sincerely, Submitted by James Cosgrove, M.Sc., Driver/Biologist of Fastide, SpringTide Whale Watching, Victoria, B.C.
Transient orca having lunch Victoria, B.C. November 10, 2009 Photo by Mark Malleson
Nov. 10 U38 and U39 were off of Victoria again all day today taking out seals. I saw at least 7 seal kills throughout the day. They led me to T103 and the T049A's who were in the process of digesting a prey item themselves. Mark Malleson
Transient orcas U38 & 39 Victoria, B.C. November 8, 2009 Photo by Mark Malleson
Novv. 8 Had Transient orcas U38 and U39 once again off of Victoria (see above photo) on Sunday afternoon (11/8). They took out at least 5 seals within 2 hours. I left them at dark headed back towards Race Rocks. Mark Malleson, Independent Tsearch
Nov. 8 Jeff LaMarche of Eagle Wing whale watch tours called at 3:15 pm to report they were with California Transient orcas U38 & U39, 2.5 miles east of Race Rocks. The whales were heading NE toward Victoria, B.C.
Nov. 7 I see you have reports from Nov.08 but no Nov.07. T103 and his group of T49's were off Race Rocks at 1550 Nov.07 going S.W. Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria, B.C.
Transient Orcas U38 & U39 Race Rocks, B.C. Nov. 3, 2009 Photo by Adam U
Nov. 3 Mark Malleson, Pina Gruden (from Morigenos, a Slovenian non-profit marine mammal research and conservation society), and I joined Mark on Gonzales lookout in Victoria and saw blows towards Race Rocks, followed by another group closer to the Victoria waterfront. We launched and after a quick search we encountered U38 and U39 (U stands for "Unknown" since these animals have yet to be confirmed members of the west coast T community) swimming towards T103 and T49A group who were exhibiting typical post-kill behaviour. The two groups got to within 300m of each other but never mixed. We ended the encounter approximately an hour after first contact. That's about it! Have fun, -Ada U
Nov. 3 T103, T49's U38 and U39 off Victoria this afternoon, just a few miles South of the harbor mouth.When last seen the U's were going to Race Rocks the rest just milling. Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria B.C.
Nov. 1 Found T103 with the T049A's again today (11/1), this time on the American side of the Juan de Fuca west of Crescent Bay east bound. I left them at 1345 on a line for Race Rocks. T103 has been spotted 5 out of the last 6 days in the vicinity of Victoria and the last 4 encounters has been with the T049A's. Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria B.C.
Transient orca calf With prey in mouth Race Rocks, B.C. Oct. 31, 2009 Photo by Andrew Lees
Transient Orca T49 pod Race Rocks, B.C. Oct. 31, 2009 Photo by Andrew Lees
Transient Orca T103 Race Rocks, B.C. Oct. 31, 2009 Photo by Andrew Lees
Oct. 31 Happy Halloween! We set out at 2.00 pm today (10/31) for our final tour of the 2009 season and what a magnificent tour it turned out to be :) After already having had encounters with a Seal, a Sealion and very active Dall's Porpoise, we found T103 & T49's off Race Rocks. Regards, Andrew Lees, Marine Naturalist, Five Star Whale Watching
Oct. 31 T49's (3) and T103 off Race this afternoon (10/31). Something was good for a late lunch (see photo of the day!). Hope all had a good Halloween Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria B.C.
Oct. 28 T103 was off Victoria again today this time with the T049A, T049A1, and T049A2. They spent all afternoon milling around between Race Rocks and Constance Bank. Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria B.C.
Transient orca T103 skulking around the Steller Sealion colony at Race Rocks B.C. Oct. 27, 3009 Photo by Mark Malleson
Oct. 27 T103 was first spotted off of Victoria this morning heading west. I left him west of Race Rocks heading south west in the Juan de Fuca Strait at 1415. Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria
Transient Orcas Bowen Island Oct. 24, 2009 Photo by Joan Lopez Photo taken with a 300mm zoom lens
Oct. 24 After a long search, we finally caught up to a group of Transient Orcas that had been reported off Nanaimo at 9:30 AM. They were eventually located on the west side of of Bowen Island at approximately 3:00 PM. I have Id'ed 9 seperate individuals from photos, 3 of them calves. A photo, taken with a 300mm zoom lens, that shows 8 individuals is attached. Whales IDed are T36, T36B, a calf that surfaced consistently beside T36B, T46B plus a calf that surfaced with T46B, T46B1, T99, T99A and T99B. Photos of the calves will be sent to the Centre for Whale Research and to DFO. These T's were last seen heading east into Howe Sound along the northwest side of Bowen Island. Joan Lopez, Naturalist, Vancouver Whale Watch Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria B.C.
Oct. 24 Marlin Hansen who operates a Water Taxi in Howe Sound called Orca Network to report a pod of 7 orcas in Collingwood Channel near Keats Island from 4 - 7 pm He has never observed orcas in this area before.
Transient orca calf Bowen Island, B.C. Oct. 24, 3009 Photo by Gary Sutton
Oct. 24 Orca!! It's been a while since I've seen some orca and finally today after a lot of searching we found a group of transients off of Bowen Island, BC. There were 9 or 10 whales but no adult males, a few females and 4 calves! I managed to ID two of them so far as T36 and T36B. They were mostly just traveling along Bowen island, with the calves trying to chase a seal every now and then. Here are a couple pictures. The first was one of the young whales trying to catch up to the rest after chasing a seal for a bit (see photo above). The second picture has the Vancouver skyline in the background which makes for a pretty cool backdrop (see below) . Hope you like them! Cheers, Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver Transient orcas - T36s, with Vancouver, B.C. in the background Oct. 24, 2009 Photo by Gary Sutton
Oct. 24 Transients: 5-6 off Bowen island Howe Sound, N.W. of Vancouver BC. mid afternoon. Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria, B.C.
Transient orcas T88 & T87 Race Rocks, B.C. Oct. 19, 2009 Photo by Marie O'Shaughnessy
Oct. 19 The Ocean Magic at 12.15pm today Oct 19th picked up two Transient Orca whose ID were T 87, the male and T 88 , the female (see above photo). They were spotted east of Race Rocks and south of Victoria near Constance Bank. They had just made a kill before we arrived so we didn't see any real aggressive foraging behaviours while were with them. They were milling around for a while with fairly long dives and then they headed west toward Race Rocks. We didn't see any Humpbacks nor Porpoise on this trip - perhaps word was out that ' Transients ' were back in town. We did however see, several groups of sea lions cruising around which, for all intents and purposes the two Transients ignored. Marie,Orca-Magic, Prince Of Whales, Victoria.
Sept. 29 I just returned from Sidney on the ferry and saw T19B and three or four others off Shaw Island west shore heading south at 1340 today. Got a few long-shot pics from the ferry. Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research
Sept. 29 Despite the rain, we did our best to track a group of transient orcas in San Juan Channel at Turn Island. There were 5-6 animals that were identified as the T19s by another boat. Their foraging pattern was very spread out and random, so we spent a lot of time motoring back and forth. There was at least one kill made while we were on scene, but the victim was unidentified as to species. We left the area at 1515 hours as the animals were heading south down the channel. ~Tristen Joy, Naturalist, Crew At San Juan Safaris Whale Watch Wildlife Tours
Transient orcas T36As Eglon, Kitsap Peninsula Sept. 27, 2009 Photo by Randy Sprague & Wendy Hallett Photos taken with 300 mm lens
Sept. 28
Sept. 27 My wife, Wendy, spotted a small pod of Orcas this afternoon while heading north along the Kitsap Peninsula in Puget Sound. Wendy spotted three Orcas about a half mile ahead of us off Eglon about 4:00 PM. We stopped our trawler and watched them to see where they were going. They were just milling around between Kitsap and the south end of Whidbey Island pretty much in the shipping lanes. As we watched we noted a couple other Orcas. We saw at least 5 whales, but they were spread out a bit so there may have been more. We watched them for about an hour, and occasionally they got close enough for me to shoot some pictures with my 300 mm lens. I have attached a few of the pictures I got. Two of these pictures show the saddles pretty well, but I am not familiar with these individuals. I am sure you will no doubt be able to recognize them. Thanks for all your good work! Cheers, Randy Sprague and Wendy Hallett
We were pretty sure these were the 5 Transient orcas that have been down in south Puget Sound since the beginning of Sept, & in looking closely at the photo, thought we could detect what looks like the very small satellite tag placed on T36A by Cascadia Research & NOAA Fisheries on Sept. 20th. When I contacted Brad Hanson with this sighting, he said the sat tag data confirmed that T36A was at this location at that date & time. Cool stuff! You can check out the tracks of T36A & other Transients at Cascadia Research's website here. The maps are updated every few days - they have tracks up to Sept. 26th shown now - it is amazing to see how they have checked out every nook & cranny in So. Puget Sound during just the past week! Susan Berta, Orca Network
Sept. 28 01:10 am - About 5 minutes ago began hearing whistles and calls on the Port Townsend hydrophone that sound like Transients to me. Began recording at 01:13 PDT. Now nice clear calls and whistles. Will post recording to OrcaSound once they've passed. Scott Veirs, Beam Reach/OrcaSound This was likely the T137s & T36As heading out of Admiralty Inlet - sb
Transient orca T63, "Chainsaw" Beecher Bay, B.C. Sept. 26, 2009 Photo by Marie O'Shaughnessy Photo cropped
Sept. 26 Just wanted to let you know that when I was out on the Ocean Magic, Sat. Sept 26 at 3.30pm, we headed out west toward Sooke and encountered 6 Transient Orca at Beecher Bay, Vancouver Island. T 63 'Chainsaw ', with that unique dorsal fin all chewed up, was traveling with T 65 and T65B. It was the first time I have ever seen him. There was another female and youngster traveling along with this group, and trailing way behind was old T 14 , 'Pender' . He seemed to be shadowing but was clearly, from my perspective, wanting to be within range of the group but not in the group. Interesting to watch. All the transients were heading east along the shoreline and then south east off Race Rocks. We left them to visit the four very active Humpback Whales just off Victoria. It was a great trip and a great time of year with all the sunshine of late. Marie O'Shaughnessy. Orca-Magic. POW
Transient orcas Case Inlet, Puget Sound Sept. 22, 2009 Photo by Cathryn Rice
Sept. 22 These are the photos from my Tuesday phone call telling you we were seeing 6 transient Orcas just north of Hartstine Island, headed north in Case Inlet. There are a few good shots of dorsal fins that might allow you to I.D. some of these guys, especially the one with the two notches on the following edge of the fin. We followed them for about 1 ½ hours, headed north through Case Inlet. We have a fabulous telephoto lens, so were not actually very close, and neither was anyone else, we're happy to report! And just for fun, I included a photo of a couple of sea lions sunning on the yellow bell buoy near Des Moines on the east shore of Puget Sound south of Seattle. We didn't see any breaches of spy hops, just moving along the surface for 3-4 minutes, then deep diving and disappearing for 10 minutes or so, then re- appearing further north. Thanks for all you do, Cathryn Rice, Olalla, Washington (near Gig Harbor)
These whales were IDd by the Center for Whale Reesearch from photographs taken by Cascadia Research, as the T137's and T36A's - sb
Sept. 14 We sent the photos of the orcas off Whidbey Island Sept, 14 to the Center for Whale Research, and received this ID from Dave Ellifrit: Looks like the (transient orcas) T30's.
Five Transient orcas Possession Sound Sept. 7, 2009 Aerial Photo by Veronica von Allworden Sky and Sea Photography
IDs of South Sound (& So. Whidbey Isl). Transients: Word from Dave Ellifrit (Center for Whale Research) is that they are the T137's with T36A and her juvenile offspring T36A1. Erin Falcone, Cascadia Research, Olympia
Sept. 7 What a fantastic day! This is the first time in years that I was here the same time orcas showed up in Saratoga Passage! Around 11:45 AM we spotted them from Langley near Camano Head and heading in a SE direction. They were moving along at a fairly good pace occasionally changing direction and out of site by 12:20. At 1:30 PM we spotted them from our plane 1/2 mile south of the Clinton ferry heading towards Possession Point. After we landed I drove down to Possession Point Park and watched them pass a ways off shore at 2:20- 2:30 PM. There was some occasional tail slapping, two spy hops, and swimming right along with all of the boat traffic. It was fabulous to see them and I hope my pictures (see above, and also Photo of the Day) help with the ID. From the air we could clearly see that there were 5 orcas. It was more difficult to tell from shore. Veronica von Allworden, Langley, Whidbey Island
Sept. 7 Orca Network received a report of orcas in Saratoga Passage, 1 mile south of Elger Bay at 8:46 am, but no direction of travel was given. Then we received the report below, so headed south to Langley. We first found the pod at 11:40 am from the shore at Bell's Beach, they were between Langley and Camano Head, milling amongst the many boats in the area. Then they headed toward Langley, so we went south, and found them again at 12:10 pm, just heading around Sandy Pt. We clearly were able to count 5 fins surfacing several times, as they headed south into Possession Sound. From 1:15 - 1:30 pm we watched from the Clinton shoreline, as the orcas were actively jumping and likely feeding, between the Mukilteo Lighthouse & the Clinton Ferry Landing, then they headed on south down Possession Sound. Looking at Veronica's photos, and the timeline of reports from Olympia, to Seattle, to S. Whidbey, we are certain these are the 5 Transient orcas observed in South Puget Sound Aug. 31 - Sept. 5 - the T137s, T36A & 36A1 - sb.b>
Sept. 7 This morning in Saratoga passage from our home on Camano Island at Mabana Beach, we saw 3-4 Orca Whales closer to Whidbey Island (but several miles north of Langley). They were traveling both north and south in what appeared to be circles, playing, jumping, tail splashing, and possibly feeding. There are clearly fish jumping out there, but we are unsure what type of fish. We spotted them beginning at around 9:15am and are continuing to watch them at this time (10:18 am). There is one Orca in the group that appears to be smaller than the rest of them. We are CERTAIN there are three, but fairly sure there are actually four of them altogether. We hope this helps! The Underhill Family, Camano Island
Transients and seals, Gabriola Island, B.C. Sept. 7, 2009, Photo by Gary Sutton
Sept. 7 We had a very interesting day yesterday (9/7). We were on our way to see the residents along San Juan Island but got reports of some transients along Gabriola Island. We found 8 transients and were surprised to find them very active with breaches, tail slaps, high speed swimming and spyhops. We never saw any signs of a kill but some very fast swimming close to shore with seals on the rocks so there might have been one. I managed to ID T102, T124D and who i thought was T100D. Here is a picture of some of the T's close to shore with seals in the background (pictured here) and another picture of the whales playing. Cheers, Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver
Transients T19 & T19B Vancouver Island September 6, 2009 Photo by Marie O'Shaughnessy
Sept. 6 It was one of those serendipitous moments Sunday Sept. 6th, when suddenly out of the grey mist out west, came four Transient Orca,T18, T19, 19B and 19C. We found them along the rugged shoreline of Vancouver Island, near Secretary Rock. I was on the 12.15pm Ocean Magic 2 vessel, and despite the ugly weather we had some nice views of these animals, one of which was an unexpected surfacing fairly close to the boat. Transients are notorious for zig-zagging in all directions so when they pop up close to boats are they at fault and should be given a WARNING ? They are wild animals and are totally unpredctable. Like Heather Harris commented on the Orcanetwork blog, Sept 7th of her experience Sept. 4th with SR's, '' Á picture can say a thousand words '' one just can't anticipate where animals will pop up at all times. It is interesting that these four Transients showed up at this time once again, when Cascadia plans to tag some Transients in the next little while. I read that T19B was tagged last year on Sept. 16th so followed his movements on their site. Fascinating work. Marie O'Shaughnessy. POW, Victoria BC
Transient orcas U38 & U39 Constance Bank Sept. 4, 2009 Photo by Marie O'Shaughnessy
Sept. 4 Apparently these two Transient Orca (see photo) seen by the 3.30pm Ocean Magic trip out of Victoria, Friday Sept 4th, were labelled as 'unknown' until at a later time last evening, when Mark Mallard from POW was able to identify them, as U 38 and U 39. They were seen 2 miles south of Constance Bank, Strait of Juan de Fuca and heading even further south when we left them at 5pm. We had spent time with a Humpback Whale south of Constance Bank that was foraging before we got word that the Transients were out there too. A nice surprise and the first sighting for me of 'exotics'.Everyday out on the water holds so many surprises. It is awesome to see all this wildlife in these waters. How fortunate we are to live on the west coast.! Marie O'Shaughnessy, Orca-Magic. Prince Of Whales, Victoria B.C.
Since I'd never run across any "U" Transients before, I asked for clarification from the Center for Whale Research as to what a "U" (rather than a "T") Transient means - here's Dave's answer - sb: It means Graeme (Ellis, of Canada's DFO Pacific Biological Field Station) is not willing to call them transients yet since (probably) no one has biopsied these two, there are no recordings of them, and/or they have never been sufficiently associated with known west coast transients. They do look like they came out of a slightly different mold and may have moved into these waters from somewhere to the south of here or from offshore. Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research
Sept. 4 Orca Network received a call from Dan Shenk, reporting 1 male orca with a dorsal fin bent to the left at the tip (T40?), at Seaview, near Ilwaco, WA Sept. 4th, heading south at 7 pm in 90' of water.
Transient orcas T11 & T11A Sooke, S. Vancouver Island, B.C. Sept. 3, 2009 Photo by Marie O'Shaughnessy
Sept. 3 The 12.15pm Ocean Magic 2 vessel went west today, Thursday Sept 3rd, 2009 to encounter two Transient Orca off Sooke Vancouver Island. They were T 11 and T 11A. ID by Mark Malleson. Great to see them in a resting phase slowly heading out west. Picture cropped. Marie O'Shaughnessy, Prince of Whales, Victoria B.C.
Transient orca T46D Constance Bank Sept. 2, 2009 Photo by Joan Lopez
On our afternoon trip on Sep 2, we were headed southwest toward Discovery Island to check in on T18 and the T19 group when we got word of a large group of T's at Constance Bank. After a very brief stop with the first 4 transients, we elected to head further south to reduce the number of boats viewing that small group. As we neared Constance Bank, we could see lines of fins and blows appearing on the horizon in all directions. Most of our viewing was from 1/4 to 1/2 mile as it seemed there was no pattern to the movements of the lines between surfacings, and moving the boat in the direction where the whales had been last proved to be quite unproductive. After what seemed like a long wait, we finally had a group of whales close enough to ID a few of them (about 200- 300 m). The T10's were the most recognizable group at first. Although it appeared the whales were headed away from us, the next time they surfaced, they were behind our boat and moving up our starboard side. A couple of breaches were followed by some upside-down swimming, tail slaps and some general rollling around. The whales finished that breathing sequence and when they appeared again, they were at least 1/4 mile away and back to their serious selves. From a photo taken by one of our passengers, it has been determined that at least one of the whales present was a California Transient that was also seen in Alaska this summer. I have also attached another photo that I took (300 zoom and very cropped! see above photo) of a whale that is not in the catalogue and is not familiar to Dr. Lance Barrett-Lennard, whose specialty is Alaskan Transients. The photo has also been forwarded to the DFO researchers at Nanaimo*. The T's that were Id'ed later from photos were T100, T100B, T100C, T10, T10B, T10C, T63 and T46. This was just the one line that approached the boat close enough to ID. All the others were just fins and blows in the distance - beautiful! It was definitely worth the extra trip to see these top predators all grouped together. Joan Lopez, Naturalist, Vancouver Whale Watch *Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research has ID'd this whale as T46D - sb
Sept. 2 Long time Center for Whale Research volunteer, Stewart Macintyre, spotted transients from the Center for Whale Research at 1:00 p.m. a few miles SW of Zero Rock. At 1:51 we encountered the T18's (T18, T19, T19B, and T19C) three miles NE of Baynes Channel (48° 29.633 N,123° 13.893 W). The whales attacked and killed a harbor seal and then grouped up and headed SW toward Discovery Island, B.C. (48° 29.317 N,123° 13.402 W) at 2:50 pm. From the photos taken we were able to confirm that T19C is a male. Dave Ellifrit, Erin Heydenreich, Astrid Van Ginnekin, and Stewart Macintyre on Orca; Ken Balcomb, Marjoleine Roos and Tiffany Humphrey on Starlet Center for Whale Research, Encounter 45
Sept. 2 Wed. 9/2 - Four transient orcas at Zero Rock south of D'Arcy Island at 2:00 P.M. We saw several large breaches from a distance and a harbor seal was eaten while we were on scene. After the seal there was some general milling and then all of the animals headed southwest. Present were T018, T018B, T018C and T019. Tristen Joy, Naturalist, Crew At San Juan Safaris Whale Watch Wildlife Tours
Transients Campbell River August 28, 2009 Photo by Florent Nicolas
Here is some news from Campbell River. Yesterday, 8/28, few Transients (5, one big male : may be T10B)- North Quadra Island (Rock Bay - Elk Bay). Moving to the south, looking for food ! (There were also some sea lions, and Pacific white sided dolphin - small group). Today, 8/29, T14 was in Campbell River, he spent some time next to the shore. Transients are here ! Regards, Florent Nicolas
August 26 Had Transient orcas T041, T041A, T060's, T02B, T036, and T099's again today except this time all together. They were first spotted north east of Race Rocks in the morning and last seen south of Discovery Island early afternoon. Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria BC
August 25 Had the T060's with T02B, and T41's in the morning heading west off of Sooke. In the afternoon had the T099's with T063, T065, T065B, T036, and T031 heading west mid strait south of Race Rocks. Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria BC I left the T19s between Matia and Sucia Islands, headed toward Sucia, this evening at 6:30. Capt. Jim Maya, Maya's Westside Charters, San Juan Island
August 25 I left the T19s between Matia and Sucia Islands, headed toward Sucia, this evening at 6:30. Capt. Jim Maya, Maya's Westside Charters, San Juan Island
August 24 We saw the T10 transient group in Captain Passage just off of Salt Spring Island. They were traveling quite slow and not doing anything too active but was awesome to see that massive dorsal fin of T10B. Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver
August 23 During the afternoon we came upon three different groups of Transient Orcas, one in Rosario Strait, another (the T10's) near Middle Bank and the final group near Beaumont Shoals. This final group was 7 or 8 Orcas that included 2 Calfs several females and the lone male T31! As we arrived on scene they had just made a kill, probably a Harbor Seal and then began to move South Eastward.
Not too long ago, a small group (5) of transients passed through Blackney Pass on their way to Blackfish Sound. This group was first spotted mid strait off of CP just after 3pm. These whales disappeared in the direction of the entrance to Blackney Pass but did not show up until more than an hour later. it looked like (from the photos) that it may have been the T137s plus 2 others. Meanwhile, the A35s passed CP at 4:44pm while the A23s,A25s and A28 were reported off the Tsitika River Estuary at 5:19pm. The A8s in company with the A12s and A24s were probably continuing west along the Vancouver Island shore parallel to the A35s. Helena 23 Aug 2009 17:55:07 PDT
No calls but orcas nearby
These whales ae a bit difficult to tack when they don't oblige by making vocalisations as is the case tonight. Probably, they turned east into the ebbing tide and fell asleep.Their progress back east has been very ,very slow and as night fell they were still west of CP. Jim Borrowman managed to get out to the transients and confirmed the T137s and identified T36A and T36A1 as the travelling companions. Apparently, they killed a small sea lion off of Bold Head in Blackfish Sound. Helena 23 Aug 2009 22:49:05 PDT
Transient orca T63, "Chainsaw" Discovery Island, B.C. August 22, 2009 Photo by Andrew Lees
August 22 During the afternoon of August 22nd, our vessel Fastcat was a couple of miles south of Discovery Island when we suddenly received word from another boat that they had spotted Orcas. When we arrived on scene and one of the Orcas was identified as T63 "Chainsaw" (see photo above) plus T-41, T-41A along with a couple more Orcas. The Orcas moved to Seabird Point off Discovery and then began to travel West towards Victoria. They passed right by Victoria Harbor and we left the Orcas at the end of our evening trip hunting near Haystock Island.
August 22 Transient orcas T063, T065, T065B, T041, and T041A were first spotted off of Discovery Island this afternoon heading west. Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria B.C.
Seasmoke reports It was a foggy morning that we headed out in and yet moment by moment the seascape was ever changing as land and forest emerged from the fog, appearing close along the shoreline and suddenly orcas were seen heading towards us. Two orcas were sighted initially, one being a male with a very broad fin leaning to the left and a female, two other orcas were sighted soon after. These orcas were identified as T018, T019, T019B & T019c; Transient Orcas who prey on marine mammals unlike those of the fish feeding Resident Orcas. The Transients headed into Blackfish Sound and we left them at this point,
Here is a pic of T019B (see photo to the right), next to Campbell River on Monday 17th! He was with 5 to 6 specimen, there was an other male (adult). Yesterday (8/18), I've also seen some transients between Campbell River and Quadra Island. I followed the animals with my bike until the south of Quadra Island, and with binoculars. There were some harbour porpoise in the area (seem to be common!). The 4 (or 5? A big male for sure !) moved to the south. I think there was some dolphin in the East of Quadra Island, but I am not sure about this sighting. Thanks one more time to Nick Templeman and Sherri from Discovery Marine Safaris - Campbell River. Florent Nicolas
August 16 The Ocean Magic out of Victoria on Sunday morning Aug 16th encountered the T 101's in Haro Strait near Kelp Reef . 4 animals in total. The sea conditions were exceptional, with no wind, no waves and lots of sunshine. All four members of this group were traveling into Active Pass with the BC Ferry boats and other marine traffic. There are other ways to get to Georgia Strait so why do these intelligent Orca as well as the Southern Resident Orca chose to use an extremely boat-busy passage to get from A to B? They were seen to swim right along side the Ferry vessels. Now if they were afraid or distressed by large boats they wouldn't do this. I suspect they like the sensation that these huge boats create below the water, rather like a massage! All conjecture on my part of course. Marie O'Shaughnessy, Orca-Magic Prince Of Whales, Victoria B.C.
Male Transient Orca T19B Victoria, BC August 14, 2009 Photo by Marie O'Shaughnessy
August 14 The T18's were seen this am at 10.30. I was on the 9 am Zodiac out of Victoria. Mark Mallerson ID this foursome. Apparently they have been hanging out in this area for four days now. We caught up with these Transients off Moresby and Coal Island, near Swartz Bay. I have included a pic of T 19B (cropped), the male with an unusual, broad based Dorsal Fin. They were busy traveling toward the Gulf Islands when we left them and looking for prey along the shoreline of Moresby. Marie, Orca-Magic, Prince Of Whales, Victoria BC
August 13 T14 'Pender' (see photo below), graced us with his mighty presence today. He was found approximately 2 miles south of William Head, Vancouver Island. He was traveling slowly east. It was good to see him again even if all alone in the Strait of Juan De Fuca. He is still looking good for his age. over 40+ . Last time I saw him he was keeping company with a few other Transients earlier this year. Marie, Orca-Magic, Prince Of Whales, Victoria, BC
Transient Orca Pender/T14 Vancouver Island, BC August 13, 2009 Photo by Marie O'Shaughnessy
August 13 After receiving the report below about orcas in Admiralty Inlet, we headed over to the west side of Whidbey Island to try to find them. At 7:05 pm we watched many Harbor porpoise feeding off Bush Pt, then at 7:15 pm we finally spotted a large fin & several small ones way across the inlet, just SE of Foulweather bluff. They were slowly working their way NW, with some direction changes & likely hunting behaviors noted. We saw 4 orcas total, including 1 adult male and a juvenile or calf. They remained on the other side of the inlet, but from our distant photos, Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research made a tentative/possible ID of the bull as T10B, based on fin shape. We watched the pod continue NW for an hour, at 8:15 pm they were nearing the SE end of Fort Flagler, still heading out. Susan Berta & Howard Garrett, Orca Network, Whidbey Island
August 12 This afternoon (8/12) at about 12:45, following a hunch by Captain Ivan, we were lucky enough to be the boat that picked up the Transient orcas T19s between Patos and East Point. We watched the four whales - T18, T19, male T19B, and T19C - as they slowly circled the area. You can read the details of our adventure and see some photos on my blog. They stayed in Boundary Pass for the rest of the afternoon. Monika Wieland, Naturalist aboard the Western ExplorerAugust 12 Transient killer whales T-19 and T-19B with another sprouting? male and female hunting for harbor seals around Java Rocks off of Saturna Island, Canada, from 2:37pm to 3:32pm. Slack ebb tide made for pond like conditions. The four whales circled the rocks several times, while the harbor seals on land were on alert with backs arched, some going for higher ground! There were seals in the water looking nervously about. They did make some sudden turns and lunges, underwater kills? At the west end of the rocks, T-19B paused sideways while the other 3 whales rapidly came toward him, a few lunges, one showed it's flukes, then a few tails lobs, before they headed northwest towards Saturna. T-19B's dorsal fin looks so big and heavy, growing faster than the rest of him, the weight of it leaning left, and he is only 14 years old- he's going to be huge at full maturity!! Caroline Armon, San Juan Island
August 12 This afternoon, another boat had spotted the Transient Orcas! We had a feeling they must be out somewhere, with the Residents miles and miles away. Generally when the fish-eating (resident) Orcas of J, K, L pods are out of range, then there are mammal-hunting (transient) Orcas in the neighborhood. Sure enough! Known as the T19s this group was out in Canadian waters. When we arrived they were "resting" (the term used for Orca sleep). Slow synchronized dives in a tight knit group. As they neared some rocks the small group split up, circling around and around. There were a lot of harbor seals resting just above the water's edge as well as a few unsuspecting seals in the water. If they did indeed feed, then they were quite graceful about it because we never noticed any sudden dives or charges below to grab a seal. The transients then continued on their way, back in a tight group hugging the shoreline. What a great day - and my first encounter with Transients of the season! -Jaclyn Van Bourgondien, naturalist, Crew At San Juan Safaris Whale Watch Wildlife Tours
August 1 On Sat Aug 1st we encountered T14 "Pender" a couple of miles NE of 10 mile point at around 12.30pm as we were heading back to Victoria. T14 was traveling north towards D'arcy Island and we saw him surface several times. The last time I had seen T14 was on May 10th, 2009 as we had encountered him South of Race Rocks heading West. It was great to see the old guy again:) Andrew Lees, Five Star Whale Watching
This is the second day in a row that Nature has provided us the opportunity to see both "transient" (mammal-eating) and "resident " (fish-eating) killer whales in the same area. This was another group of transients though - 4 mature females and a calf that were extremely challenging to identify as individuals. At the time of this report, we are still scrutinizing the photos to try to conclude who they were. The opportunity to identify transients is of such interest that we have sent through the images to Dr. John Ford and Graeme Ellis who are currently conducting whale research with his team on the Coast Guard vessel the J.P. Tully.
It was interesting to see the transients change their dive patterns when the A36 matriline of fish-eating killer whales become vocal. The transients started taking much longer dives and seemed to move to stay clear of where the A36s were foraging. The transients did not appear to be interested in feeding as many (lucky) Dalls porpoises were in the area oblivious of the presence of the stealthy transients.
Orcalab reports Orcas rubbing on the shore bottom.
The A36s with A12 carried on past critical Point and just now we have heard someone in on the Beaches. They may be turning back west from there. Also, a group of 5 transients went south in Blackney pass and entered Johnstone Strait by 2:10pm. They have gone east. Helena 24 Jul 2009 14:57:29 PDT
Stubbs Island Whale Watching reports The word came in this morning, killer whales at Boat Bay! The first sighting was of a group of 6 Pacific white-sided dolphins moving very slowly, from their perspective, quietly, out of Boat Bay. A couple of minutes later a group of killer whales appeared, likewise moving with stealth. These were the T02 group of transient (marine mammal hunting) killer whales.
The remainder of the morning was spent following these transients who were on course to meet a group of resident fish-eating killer whales who were entering Johnstone Strait from Blackney Pass. A fascinating encounter for our guests, with both groups appearing to be aware of the others presence and consequently taking evasive action to avoid contact.
It is possible that the group of transients who were in Queen Charlotte Strait have appeared in Blackney Pass. There are 6, in two groups o 4 and 2. They are moving very slowly towards Johnstone Strait. Helena 12 Jul 2009 19:45:43 PDT
No calls but orcas nearby
The male and female pair of transients has doubled back through Blackney Pass. They are on their way to Blackfish Sound. So far there is no sign of the other four. A12 gave a couple of calls before the transients exited Johnstone Strait. We have not heard her since so we don't know if she has kept going west. The tide is ebbing and so might encourage her to do so. Helena 12 Jul 2009 21:33:53 PDT
Distant calls audible.
The evening gets more and more interesting. We heard transient calls briefly in Johnstone Strait. We were not able to source the calls other than generally. Helena 12 Jul 2009 22:12:04 PDT
Distant calls audible.
Those last transient calls, a short while ago were in Johnstone Strait. This probably means, the group of four (two females, two juveniles, stayed straitside while the pair travelled north in Blackney Pass. We do not know where A12 might have gotten to.. Helena 12 Jul 2009 23:10:45 PDT
Seasmoke reports With a report of possible inbound orcas from the Numas Islands we headed in that direction and were thrilled to see their dorsal fins ahead of us and west of the Foster Islands. The six orcas were traveling slowly together in a line and were very relaxed for Transient orcas. T020 and t021 were among those orcas sighted.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Transient T40 "Captain Hook" off Juneau, SE Alaska July 11, 2009 Photo by Eric Ogren
July 5 - 11 Last week saw T40 and four to five other transients in Endicott Arm two miles from Ford's Terror and a day later more transients in Endicott searching for seals. May have some good I'd shots of them as well as of a pod of at least 20 residents off Point Coke on our way to Juneau. Several babies who played in front of us until mama came and with audible vocalization appeared to be chastising them and took them away. Pictures when I return to Friday Harbor. Shannon Bailey, MV Catalyst.
July 2009 My wife, daughter and I went out of Juneau on the Adventure Bound glacier tour boat and came across a couple of orcas on our way back to town. They appeared to be a male and female with the male having a large bend in his dorsal fin. We weren't able to get any saddle pics but thought his uniqueness might give him away. Eric Ogren
Researchers at the Center for Whale Research confirmed my suspicion that this was Transient T40, or Captain Hook - sb
July 2009 A little more info. on this photo & report of T40 from yesterday's report: The picture was taken 7/11 at approximately 5:25pm just outside of Taku inlet south of Juneau. Eric Ogren
Transients Endicott Arm, SE Alaska July 10, 2009 Photo by Shannon Bailey
July 9 - 10 Group of transients, with Captain Hook T-40 in lead on July 9 and on July 10 two hunting alone for seals among the ice bergs (with the eagle and the seal hiding out) - see photo above. The orcas hunt this area around floating ice coming from Dawes Glacier where the seals have pupped and are now molting. Shannon Bailey, MV Catalyst
There weren't any resident orcas today but there was some transient activity near Port McNeill. These whales headed off to the west. The Department of Fisheries reported that these were unusual, uncatalogued, transients. This doesn't happen very often so this was exciting and interesting. Helena 03 Jul 2009 23:19:40 PDT
June 21 Hi, Just reporting a sighting of a pod of Orcas right off Mutiny Bay on Whidbey Island. It was about 3pm on June 21st. They were heading towards Seattle initially but then turned around and appeared to be circling in the shipping channel. We aren't familiar with the various pods but this one seemed to include at least 7 whales, including one baby and another younger (1 year old?) one. They were traveling then would stop, play and go in various directions. They seemed to be feeding on something-we saw lots of fish on our fish finder and some dolphins in the distance but couldn't really see what they were eating. Caron McCune
June 21 I had a look at Lindsey McCune's photos of the transients (off Whidbey Island) and she definitely had the T36's. Warmest Regards, Simon Pidcock, Ocean Ecoventures
Transient orcas - T36's Mutiny Bay, Whidbey Island June 21 Photo by Lindsey McCune
Jared Towers of Canada's Cetacean Research Program, Pacific Biological Field Station has further ID's on the Transient orcas photographed off S. Whidbey Island June 21st: The animals I can confirm are as follows. T036, T036B, T036C, T099, and T099B. T099A is likely there as well but can't confirm it at low resolution. kind regards, Jared Towers, Cetacean Research Program, Pacific Biological Station
June 21 I just wanted to send you some photos (link at the end of this email) I took of the orcas we saw on the 21st. It was pretty incredible and it was a complete fluke that I even had my camera with me. As my Mom said, they were in or very close to Mutiny Bay at around 3pm. It was the first time we had taken the boat out this year and thought at most we might see some seals or porpoises; we have been going out around this area for many summers and had never seen orcas before. When we first saw them in the distance, we thought they were porpoises but as we got a little closer, we could see their big fins and realized they were orcas. Needless to say, we were in complete awe. We tried to maintain a respectful distance as we did not want to upset them. But they actually seemed quite curious about our boat (which was 19ft) and swam in closer to us. We shut off the engine and they acted very playful. I'm sure you can tell more from the photos than I can but I believe there were at least 7 or 8 of them. There was one "baby" that looked very new, he is in a couple of photos. There was another small one too but he didn't look brand new. A couple of them have some pretty distinctive notches in their dorsal fins so maybe that could help to identify them. I am not an experienced photographer at all and this was one of the first times I had ever used my camera but I pretty much just took as many shots as I could and got really lucky with a few of them. We were blown away by our encounter with these magnificent creatures and are eager to know more about them if possible. thank you! Lindsey McCune
June 20 We had T2's, T14 and T20 and 21 pass by Campbell River this morning, last seen south bound at Bates Beach, Comox. Matthew Ellis, Eagle Eye Adventures, Campbell River
June 20 T49A, T49A1 and T49A2 were skulking around between Race Rocks and Pedder Bay for most of the day on June 20. Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria BC
June 15 Hey Susan, We had some Transient's off Quadra Island today (6/15) found by "Neptune " (Simon) all the way from Cowichan Bay "Ocean eco ventures". Identified as the T2's, possibly T90's and met up with T14 . Way to go! Matthew Ellis, Eagle Eye Adventures
Transient Orcas T20 & T21 Salt Spring Island, B.C. June 15, 2009 Photo by Joan Lopez
June 15 We were on our way to the Victoria area this afternoon (6/15) to watch the 3 Transient's that had shown up there, when something in the water caught the eye of Captain John. We were just south of Beaver Point on Saltspring Island when T20 and T21 surfaced. They were doing very long dives, 7-8 minutes at a time, and were likely resting. They still followed a zig-zagging pattern though, making it very difficult to predict where they would surface again. Given the long dives, it was pure chance that these whales were spotted at all. It was a treat for our passengers to have these two whales all to themselves for about 20 minutes, when the next boat arrived on scene. We left T20 and T21 after 4 PM, travelling in a mostly northerly direction towards Navy Channel. Joan Lopez, Vancouver Whale Watch
Transient Orcas June 2, 2009 Strait of Juan de Fuca Photo by Andrew Lees
June 1 What a magnificent start to Orca Month with over 20 Transient Orcas in the Strait of Juan De Fuca! (see above photo) During our afternoon tour we were incredibly fortunate to not only observe two Harbor Seal kills by the Transient Orcas but a greeting ceremony as two different groups met North of Port Angeles. We observed one dramatic kill in particular as a young Orca porpoised directly towards a harbor Seal and then exploded onto the poor unsuspecting Seal! Later as the two groups met we saw a number of tailslaps, Spyhops, pectoral waves and breaches, it was breathtaking to watch. Andrew Lees, Marine Naturalist, Five Star Whale Watching
June 1 Another morning starting out without knowing where or if there were any Orcas close by. Then the call came - 3 miles N of Dungeness Spit, which is near Sequim. We got there in about 50 minutes and watched a spectacular scene. One of the other captains announced that there was a seal to the port side of his boat. No sooner said, three female orcas headed toward the poor seal at top speed, porpoising through the water with blazing speed. The captain said he just saw the seal turn its head toward the onrushing Orcas about a second before he was gone. This all happened so quickly that I missed most of it with my camera but not the eyes. We left about 4:00 PM and shortly after that the last boat on scene departed and the Ts were not to be found again yesterday evening. Capt. Jim Maya, Maya's Westside Charters
June 10 As if that wasn't magic enough (see above report), on the way back we sighted two more Orca off Seabird Lighthouse, Discovery Island, and they turned out to be T 20 and T 21. We only saw them once and then they disappeared. Marie , Orca-Magic POW, Victoria B.C.
June 9 I was forwarded an e-mail and photos from Julia regarding a group of killer whales. She got some pretty good photos so hopefully someone can identify who this group of (transient?) killer whales is. Thanks, Dawn Noren, NOAA Fisheries Forwarded report: My name is Julia and I am working with pinnipeds at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, OR. On Tuesday (June 9) I saw a group of at least 8 orcas off the central Oregon coast traveling southwards, between 5:40 pm and around 9:00 pm. The group consisted of two big males (one of them has a very remarkable dorsal fin - looks like cut at the tip), several adult females and probably one calf. The first sighting was at 5:41 pm pretty close to the shore in Depoe Bay. They spent about 20 minutes in the bay before slowly traveling south. A sea lion was present but the orcas seemed not to be interested at all. I followed them and saw them again off Rocky Creek State Park, Otter Crest and Cape Foulweather. Off Rocky Creek they were playing (or hunting?) and breaching. One of the big males separated from the group (maybe with one or more group members) and continued traveling south. From time to time they swam farther off shore and were hard to see. I ended up watching at Moolack Beach where the they were pretty close to the beach again. They showed almost the same behavior as off Rocky Creek for at least an hour. Around sunset they swam farther off shore again and I lost sight. I hope this information and the pictures are helpful and usable! Best regards Julia, Newport, OR
We forwarded these photos to orca researchers and received the following replies: "I can ID T125 and T127 from the attached photos. It would be likely that both T125A and T128 would be present as well. These animals are usually seen near Langara Island so it's nice to have an encounter of them so far to the south. best regards, Jared Towers, Canada's DFO Pacific Biological Field Station, B.C. And from Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research: "Looks like T125 and T127 plus others."
June 4 Just wanted to inform you of T14 (Pender) heading north mid Strait of Georgia between the Powell River ferry terminal and Savory Island yesterday (6/4) afternoon. Matthew Ellis, Eagle Eye Adventures
Transient Orcas Yaquinna Hd, Newport, OR June 2, 2009 Photo by Amanda Gladics ID's from this report below
June 2 - OR Transient IDs: We received the below ID's for these Transient orcas reported off Yaquinna Head, Newport OR on June 2nd: These animals(see above photo) look very much like the T124A matriline. T124A, T124A1, T124A2, and T124A3. Thanks for forwarding this sighting along. regards, Jared Towers, DFO Pacific Biological Field Station, Canada
T14, "Pender" Cape Mudge, BC June 2, 2009 Photo by Nick Templeman
June 2 We had the T-2s i believe today along with T-14 in the Campbell River area. Left on our tour at 1515 from C.R. with reports of orcas off of Fransisco Point, south end of Quadra Island. Went around and found, i think, the T-2s, 5 animals in post feeding activity. The young one was breaching alot, and amazing vocalization for about 40 minutes. Afterwards we headed to the mouth of Bute Inlet and found a black bear foraging along the shoreline. We found another black bear on Sonora Island on the way home, and some info on the way turned into finding "Pender" T-14 Southbound @ Cape Mudge (see photo above). A beautiful trip and happy guests with a 4hr safari turning into 6hrs! But with so much to see, no one wanted to go home - including me!! Cheers! Nick Templeman, Discovery Marine Safaris, Cambell River BC
June 2 We have Orcas off the south end of quadra island. @ 1425 on the 2nd of june. 4 or 6 orcas; Humpback in the area as well. Aaron Webber, Campbell river whale watching
