Strait of Juan de Fuca east
June 29, 2008
Message received around 6 pm: I’m aboard the Island Explorer 3 headed toward Victoria. Reports of all three pods coming in from the West.
Vicky Miller
June 22, 2008
We picked up Js Ks Ls 7 miles SW Otter Pt (Juan de Fuca) Canadian side spread out over a few miles, westbound. In the afternoon we had Js, Ks 2-3 miles off Sherigham Pt in 3- 5 ft waves, milling then turning East at 1830. 1845- Js & Ks Eastbound at Sooke, all together resting.
Brenden, Seafun Safaris, Victoria
June 9, 2008
I caught sight (on the Race Rocks webcam) of a couple of Orcas passing very quickly in calm water on the south side of Race Rocks this morning at 6:05 am. They seemed to be travelling towards Vancouver Island but I lost sight of them after only a couple of seconds.
Pam Birley
June 5, 2008
Mark Malleson found K’s and L’s traveling west in the Strait of Juan de Fuca off Port Renfrew. The new calf K42 was seen, alive and well!
May 14, 2008
I just got a reply from Graeme on the identity of the Transient orca sprouter. He said it was T73B and has not been seen for a few years. Also, T90’s current juvenile is T90B.
Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research
Just thought I’d add a little more info about the Transients sighted off Victoria. It seems as though we picked up the T’s where Dave Ellifrit left them. We had a 1pm trip and came out of Victoria Harbor and they were approx. 2 miles SW of the Ogden Pt Breakwater. They then hugged the shoreline and swam right up against the breakwater, with one of the individuals rolling over and giving the lucky people walking along the breakwall a nice view of its white underside. It was amazing to see them right at the tip of Ogden Pt at the mouth of Victoria Harbor. They then crossed the mouth of the harbor and headed in a general SW direction towards Albert Head.
Tim Hunt, Orca Spirit/former Beam
Here is a bit more on the transients I was out on: I left Snug harbor at 1055-overcast and mostly calm- and got on scene around 1135 just west of the Chain Islets. The eight whales were tight and heading southwest at a medium speed. The whales present were T87, T88, T90, T90A, T124, T124D, T124E, and a sprouter who I don’t remember seeing before. I will have to send a picture of him off to Graeme for an I.D. By around 1155, the whales were off the south tip of Trial Island still tight but had slowed down a bit. Most of the whales appeared to be resting but T124E and the sprouter were just slightly off to the side rolling around together. I saw a seasnake from those two that I think belonged to T124E so am pretty confident he is a young male. I left the whales with a couple Victoria boats at 1238 about 2 miles southwest of Trial Island. The whales were still tight and slowly heading southwest.
Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research
May 7, 2008
Another report of T20 and (apparently) T21—same place (Eastern entrance to Sooke Basin) , close to the same time, in fact 50 hours later. Animals were almost exactly on top of the aypoint where I had marked them on May 05. Time of sighting was 15:42 and seas were 6ft.-plus at in a roaring flood current.
Chris Zylstra, Victoria B.C. Canada
T20 and T21 going West off Sooke this afternoon in 5to 6 ft. seas at 1455.
Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria B.C. Canada
May 5, 2008
1204 hr – 1300hr. Bull orca T20 and (another T?) spotted in 3 ft. seas (4 ft. and building by the time we left the animals) approx. 2 NM offshore of Sooke Bluffs (Eastern entrance to Sooke Basin) at 1204hr. Current was a strong flood at Race Rocks but, further west and offshore, there was still a river of ebb current that the Westbound Transients sought out and rode West (of course dragging us into more exciting seas as time wore on). Left the animals near 1300hr approaching Otter Pt., still 2 plus NM offshore. Behaviour: 3-4 min dives between 3-4 minute “surfacings” (time near surface). No apparent hunting; animals traveling 4-6 Kn. (S.O.G).
Chris Zylstra, Victoria B.C.
May 2, 2008
Heard it through the grapevine that a group of Orcas were seen over near Port Angeles.
John Boyd, San Juan Island
The T100’s, T101’s, T124’s and T90 with T90B (15 animals) head east past Race Rocks on Friday evening. They were first picked up near Pillar Point at 3:30 p.m.
Mark Malleson, Victoria, B.C.
2 minkes observed at Hein Bank exhibiting feeding (lunging with multiple changes of direction) at 1040-1120 and again from 1440-1515. Minkes were on the Southeast end of the bank where bait-balls were also observed and a few sports fishermen were having some good luck bottom fishing.
Chris Zylstra, Victoria B.C.
T14 tail slapping away near Sooke! Curious to know just how many T’s were turned up 3-4 NM West of Crescent Bay (Olympic Peninsula) today. Sounded like quite a few (around
1600hr).
Chris Zylstra , Victoria B.C.
May 1, 2008
T14 at Beechey Head (East Sooke park), 1030hr.
Chris Zylstra , Victoria B.C.
T14 was picked up again today, this time back on his own. He was first spotted at 10:10 a.m. cruising through the kelp forests of East Sooke Park. He then continued east through Race Passage and crossed Victoria’s waterfront (see above photo). He passed by Trial Island at 5:00 p.m. and went through Oak Bay. I last saw him exiting Baynes Channel going north past Ten Mile Pt. at 6:45 p.m.
Mark Malleson, Victoria B.C.
April 29, 2008
In rough seas, we were the last boat with Transient Orcas T36A’s & T49A’s and T14, west of Victoria, near Beecher Bay headed Southwest at 1230 hrs. This was the fourth day in a row that this group of Ts has been in the San Juan Island/Vitoria area. That’s unusual. Also unusual is to see T14 “podding” like this. Could he have found a new “home”? Most of the time he is by himself, which from my human mind has always seemed more than a bit sad.
Capt. Jim Maya, Maya’s Westside Whale Watch Charters
April 25, 2008
Sighted 3 male Orca dorsal fins from Elwha river mouth about 1000 yds. out off Angeles Point headed East @ 10:30 AM.
Sandy and John
April 25, 2008
Mark Malleson of Victoria called at 11:29 am to report Transient orca T14, “Pender” off Victoria, heading west. He also had 7 Transient orcas – the T36A’s & T49A’s – off Race Rocks, heading east at the same time.
April 11, 2008
We spotted a lone gray whale just west of Race Passage at around 11am this morning. It appeared to be foraging and travelling slowly in a westerly direction.
Tim Hunt, Orca Spirit
March 30, 2008
Mark Malleson called at 12:10 pm to report a few Transients had been sighted from shore, milling off Constance Bank. At 1:05 pm they were westbound off Victoria, heading toward Race Rocks, & had been ID’d as T20 & T21.
March 28, 2008
Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research relayed a report from Mark Malleson of Transient orca T103 off Sooke, S. Vancouver Island, at 3:20 pm heading west.
March 25, 2008
Transients westbound along southern coast of Vancouver Island, B.C. I first spotted the T20’s from shore at 12:30 p.m. just 1.5 nautical miles south of Beacon Hill west bound. I picked them up at 2:40 p.m. one half nautical mile south of Becher Bay slowly traveling against the flood current in a large ground swell. I left them at 3:41 p.m. at 48° 19.1 N, 123° 43.1 W (.75 nm south of Secretary Island).
Mark Malleson
Transient orcas T20 and T21 off Victoria near noon, carried on west. Going west from Sooke about 1700.
Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria B.C.
March 21, 2008
Transients encountered off Pedder Bay towards Race Rocks. I spotted the T49A’s and T36A with 36A1 in Pedder Bay at 1:30 p.m. They were feeding on something fairly significant as there were a lot of gulls picking up scraps as they were frolicking around. They were slowly west bound but doubled back to the east when they got into Race Passage and were last seen milling east of Race Rocks.
Mark Malleson
I just got a call at 4:45 pm from Captain Ivan who heard on the radio that a group of Transient Orcas were spotted East of Race Rocks.
John Boyd, San Juan Island
March 20, 2008
Transients observed hunting a Sea Lion off Parry Bay. The T10’s were first picked up east bound in Race Passage at 11:30 a.m. The T49A’s with T36A and T36A1 appeared to the south-west of Constance working on a steller at 2:00 p.m. The T10’s joined them and at approximately 2:50 p.m. they killed a steller sea lion in Parry Bay (between William Head and Albert Head). At 7:00 p.m. I watched them from shore swim past Clover Point for south Trial Island.
Mark Malleson
January 2, 2008
Mark Malleson had an encounter with J pod off Victoria, very spread out and inbound.
Ken Balcomb, Senior Scientist, Center for Whale Research, San Juan Island
