T36s

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

T14, T20, T2s

Northbound transient Orcas outside Campbell River. Possibly T20 and others
Aboriginal Journeys@Campbell River
24 Jun 2009 09:49:34 PDT

Update on the Transients just north of Campbell River T 14 , T20 n T2's at 11:30 am
Aboriginal Journeys@Campbell River
24 Jun 2009 11:43:26 PDT

T036, T036B, T036C, T099, and T099B

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

T2s, T14, T20 and T21

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

T49s

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

T11s

June 19
T11 et al was headed east in the Straits off Port Renfrew, Vancouver Island on Friday.
Brad Hanson, NOAA Fisheries NWFSC, Seattle

T2's, T90's and T14

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

T20 & T21

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

T14

June 13
Transient orca T14 south end of Quadra Island. 3 other orcas bute inlet.
Aaron Webber, Campbell River Whale watching

T10, T10B & T10C

June 12
Transient orcas T10, T10b, and T10c off quadra island, B.C. Canada @ 1100 heading north.
Aaron webber, Campbell River whale watching

T20 T21

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.

T125, T127, T125A and T128

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."

T14

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

T124s

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

T2s and T14

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

T30s T100s, T101s, T124s, T90 & T90B, T12A, T109A & T109A2

Transient Breach
Strait of Juan de Fuca
May 31, 2009
Photo by John Boyd

May 31
Well, once again the old saw of "just when you figure out orcas, they go and change things" held true yet again. For the most part, when we are viewing Transient (mammal feeding) orcas, you see a few fins (usually groups of 4- 6) every now and then as they pass through the area. IF you get lucky, you may even witness Transients feeding. Well, today was anything but "typical." We heard that there was a group of Transients in the Strait of Juan de Fuca near the Romeo marker, so we were happy to hear we had whales in the area. As we left the dock, we heard that it was actually a large group of Transients, numbering between 14-20. Wow! We arrived about 6 miles north of Sequim at 1320 and slowly approached the area the whales were sighted. The perfectly glassy calm water made spotting the whales very easy, and we shut down about 450 yards from the group. Amazingly--they were in a definite resting pattern, with all 14 whales slowly rising to the surface in unison in a tight, contact pattern. This went on for about 15 minutes until one of the whales decided "nap time" was over. Then the whales began zig-zagging in what appeared to be a random pattern, breaking into smaller groups and then coalescing into a big group again. Soon the Transients were spy-hopping, tail slapping, and then a swirl of water around 3-4 whales--followed by a bunch of seagulls swarming the area. They had made a stealthy kill, and we can only guess it was a porpoise as there were dozens in the area. This was followed by several breaches!! And for only the 3rd time in 12 years--I witnessed whales swimming backwards four times! It always catches me off-guard to see a dorsal fin going backwards! No vocalizations, but amazing to see Transients so active! We left the scene at 1410 as the whales continued heading easterly. A truly spectacular day!
John Boyd (JB), SSAMN Marine Naturalist, Western Prince, Friday Harbor

May 31
Mark Malleson of Prince of Whales called to relay a report of a large group of 18 Transients in the Strait of Juan de Fuca - the T30's, T100's, T101's, T124's, T90 & T90B. They followed them as they headed east, leaving them at 4:30 pm off Pt. Wilson, still heading east.

May 31
Ken Balcomb & Emma Foster of the Center for Whale Research had 3 other Transient orcas: T12A, T109A, & T109A2, south of Discovery Island at 11 am, heading west. (see photo below)

May 31
Hi Susan and Howie, A pod of orcas went past Pt No Pt (N. Kitsap Peninsula) from 8-8:45 pm this evening 5/31/09. Two whales were seen at around 8pm by beach walkers and then a second group came by around 8:30pm. There was at least one large male and 3-4 females in the second group. They were travelling south towards Kingston. The second pod hung out about ¼ mile past the lighthouse at Pt No Pt and did some breaching and tail lobs. A tug was following them and possibly you might get some photos from the folks on the tug, unfortunately I was without a camera this evening.
Patty Michak, MarineView Fisheries Consulting, Inc., Hansville

May 31
Bev Wenthin of Bush Pt. called to report 3 orcas just north of Bush Pt. at 6:32 pm, heading south. They were between mid-channel & the far side of Admiralty Inlet.

May 31
Sunday, May 31 about 2PM we were attracted by a large number of boats of all sizes off Partridge Point Sunday afternoon. Apparently, the fishing in the Sound is good at the moment. When I noticed that there were some large party boats and whale watchers in the group as well as one of the Prince of Whales vessels from Victoria, I took a look with the spotting scope and sure enough, there was a pod of Orcas doing a little fishing as well. They were probably 10-15 miles offshore from where I am near Partridge Point, so there wasn't a lot of see from my vantage point, but the male's dorsals were unmistakable even from afar. Regards,
Cameron Chandler, Coupeville


Transient Orcas & Mt. Baker
T12A, T109A, & T109A2
May 31, 2009
Discovery Island, BC
Photo by
Emma Foster,
Ctr. for Whale Research
(see report above)

May 31
This majestic bull T12A (see below) was out there yesterday, May 31st, keeping company with T 109A and T109A2. We had good looks of the three of them slowly heading out west. He has a Dorsal fin rather like Ruffles, full of nice waves. We encountered them just south of Trail Island and they were in a resting pattern with very long dives. Conditions on the water fantastic. Photo cropped.
Marie O'Shaughnessy, Orca-Magic, Prince of Whales

Transient Orca T12A
May 31, 2009
Discovery Island, BC
Photo by
Marie O'Shaughnessy

May 31
Ken Balcomb and Emma Foster of the Center for Whale Research encountered 3 transients while in route from Victoria, B.C. to San Juan Island. T109A and calf T109A2 were traveling with T12A.
Center for Whale Research

T40

Transient T40,
"Capt. Hook"
May 30, 2009
off William Head, B.C.
Photo by Andrew Lees


May 30
We headed out this afternoon into the Strait of Juan De Fuca in search of T40, Cpt. Hook and eventually found him traveling a few miles East of William Head. The sea state was very confused this afternoon but T40 seemed to be taking the surf in his stride. As we observed T40 we noticed a number of directions changes. It was great to see the old guy again.
Andrew Lees, Marine Naturalist, Five Star Whale Watching

T'2s reported near Sidney BC, then at Active Pass

May 25
T 2's just outside of active pass.
Photo by Gary Sutton


May 25
Some Ts have been spotted near Coal Island, over near Sidney.
Capt. Jim

May 25
We ran into the T2's just outside of active pass in trincomali channel and followed them through the pass. Beautiful weather and the transients made it a great day!!
Gary Sutton
Naturalist
Wild Whales Vancouver

T18s

No calls but orcas nearby

A report from StraightWatch at 11am: a small group of transients are heading west into Robson Bight. Also at 8:15am this morning there was at least one humpback in Blackney Pass travelling south along Parson Island.
Helena
17 May 2009 11:20:20 PDT

Distant calls audible.

Transient call in Johnstone Strait. At least 3 transients (one male) were seen travelling west from Robson Bight mid strait.
Helena
17 May 2009 11:51:07 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

Straitwatch reports that the 4 transients have been identified by Jared Towers as the T18s. They are continuing west mid strait past Kaikash creek. Straitwatch also reports that the humpback who was in Johnstone Strait has turned back toward Blackney Pass entrance.
Helena
17 May 2009 12:18:48 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

Jared now reports the T18s are actually turning into Blackney Pass!
Helena
17 May 2009 12:22:02 PDT

The T18s travelled north through Blackney Pass. They are now in Blackfish Sound. T19 B stopped for a while and circled around, looking like he was interested in something but as the final pair approached he continued off to the west. It turns out that there were two humpbacks and as the transients turned into Blackney they were only 200 meters apart, to no consequence. A few sea lions were in the water as the transients passed through.
Helena
17 May 2009 13:08:18 PDT