Strait of Juan de Fuca east/Salmon Bank

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March 9, 2010
Did Ken tell you that he put me on to Transient orcas T087, 088, 90 and 90B in the morning south of Victoria? (yes – this report was also called in by Ken Balcomb, CWR)
Mark Malleson, Independent Tsearch & Prince of Whales, Victoria, B. C.


March 8, 2010
8-12 presumed T’s which I spotted from the hilltop milling around what looked like a kill a mile or two south of Discovery Island, BC.
Mark Malleson, Independent Tsearch & Prince of Whales, Victoria, B. C.


Two [gray] whales spotted in Dungeness Bay this morning, near Dungeness Spit, feeding back and forth in the shallows between 9 and 10 am.
Mary Beth Beuke


February 17, 2010
Transient orca T14, “Pender” off Victoria going East to Trial Island, 1117 today.
Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria B.C.


The T030’s and T172 were off of Victoria all day. T014 was within a mile of them in the morning but continued on to the east and then north through Oak Bay in the afternoon.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria B.C.


February 14, 2010
We had our resident Transients the T030’s with T172 again in the afternoon near Race Rocks east bound.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales


February 8, 2010
I found the T030’s and T172 (Transient orcas) east bound south of Race Rocks in a resting formation @ 1445.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria, B.C.


February 7, 2010
Had the T030’s with T172 a few miles south of Victoria harbor. They were first spotted at 1045 and still there hunting seals at 1550.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales


February 3, 2010
Feb. 2 – 3 – Throughout the day and night of 2 February, and in the morning of 3 February, transient killer whale calls were intermittently heard on the Lime Kiln hydrophone, but no whales could be seen by observers from San Juan Island, until at 0830 Jeanne Hyde spotted fins on the Canadian side of the border near Kelp reef. Ken Balcomb and Mark Malleson headed out in r/v “Orca” from Oak Bay, Canada and encountered a large group of transient killer whales very close to shore just north of Baynes Channel. Within two hours they photo-identified 27 individuals, including new calves T100E and T124A4, as the whales dispersed in matrilineal groups and hunted for marine mammals south of Victoria, BC. An oily patch near them at Constance Bank at 1230 suggested they had found at least one seal. In the afternoon, the whales turned toward the east as if heading toward Dungeness Spit. Mark and Ken preliminarily identified 27 whales in the evening, and Dave Ellifrit confirmed: the T30’s, T86’s, T87, T88, T90’s, T100’s, T101’s, T102, T124’s, T124A’s, and T172 – a Superpod of transients!
Center for Whale Research, more photos here
Postscript: Brad Hanson and Greg Schorr went out aboard the NWFSC research boat on 4 February when this large group of transients ventured into Puget Sound, and they applied satellite tags to two individuals (T100B and T100C). These two whales (and perhaps some of their colleagues) have since traveled from Puget Sound to Georgia Strait off Nanaimo, to the east of Cortes Island, back to Nanaimo, down to the south of Saltspring Island, back up almost to Campbell River, and by February 11 are off Texada Island heading back south! Mark Malleson, meanwhile has found the T30’s and T172 off Victoria, so the superpod has apparently dispersed.


Mark Malleson and I have made a preliminary review of our photos and it appears that there were 27 Transients, including the new calf of T100 which Graeme Ellis and Jared Towers have given the designation T100E. Great day!
Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research, San Juan Island


I started hearing Transient calls again this morning just before 6 a.m. The calls continued and continued, something that seemed unusual for transients. As it turned out I found the Ts at about 8:30 a.m. coming south 4+ miles from shore and 1+ miles south of Kelp Reef - there were evidently more whales behind them and that would explain the sounds on the hydrophones, which ended at about 9:30 a.m. I went out the Jim Maya this afternoon and we saw the transients south of Race Rocks. After arriving they turned and headed back in toward Pt. Angeles. There was pinkish calf in the group. There were a lot – at least 15. I have posted some pics from the day on my blog. I also posted a recording – one of the calls sequences it sounds like there are a bunch of cats fighting – very interesting.
Jeanne Hyde, San Juan Island


One just had to be out on the water this special day when it was reported that a big group pf Transients were heading this way past Oak Bay, Victoria BC. Mark Malleson and Ken Balcomb were out there first in the morning, so by 2pm when the Prince of Whales zodiac, skippered by Mark, left the harbour I was wondering which direction those whales might be traveling and how much distance they had made. Luckily the exact location was known and we found them south and east of Race Rocks in American waters. It was impressive to see so many Transients together. Initially, we found them in resting formation, and then doing what transients do best, Zig-Zagging all over. It was lovely to see a brand new calf with the T100’s. Eventually we left them while they headed back east. It was an amazing sight to see so many transients together.
Marie, Orca-Magic, Prince of Whales, Victoria BC.


Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research called at 12:35 pm to report 20 – 25 Transient orcas in Oak Bay, Victoria. They observed at least 1 kill.


January 26, 2010
Saw them again today – T30s and T172 still cruising around the Strait of Juan De Fuca.
Kyla Graham, Victoria B.C.


I spotted a small group of killer whales from the shorleline off of Victoria’s waterfront at 11:30. Kyla Graham and myself went out to get an ID on them and found the T30’s with T172 west bound at 1330, 2 miles south of Race Rocks. We left them milling at 1445, 5 miles south of Becher Bay. Thanks again to Gord Rowles for tracking them for us while we launched the boat.
Mark Malleson, Independent Tsearch, Victoria B.C.


January 13, 2010
Had Transient orcas T093 and T097 again off Victoria headed east. At 1230 I got a tip from a fisherman on Constance Bank of a single bull killing a seal. At 1345 I found them south of Discovery Island headed east for Middle Bank.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria, B.C.

Here’s a continuation of Mark’s sighting (above). I received a call from Mark Malleson around 1315 of transients off Seabird Pt. heading east. I arrived on scene at 1420 and joined Mark who had T93 and T97 still heading easterly. Mark left soon afterwards and I stayed with the pair for another hour as they continued east in the great wide open on a line between Seabird Pt. on Discovery Island and Iceberg Pt. on Lopez Is. Other than one brief period of milling around 1526 (I could not confirm a kill here), they kept heading east at a slow to medium pace. I left them at 1537, closer to Hein Bank than Salmon Bank pointed toward Iceberg Pt.
Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research, San Juan Island


January 12, 2010
I came across Transient orcas T097, T093 and T124C in the afternoon east bound off of East Sooke Park (S Vancouver Island). I left them entering Race Passage at 1550hrs still east bound against a strong ebb current.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria


In the gloomy afternoon light and hugging the westcoast shoreline near East Sooke Park, Mark Malleson’s 1pm Zodiac suddenly came across a distant, disappearing dorsal fin. We watched for a while and three dorsal fins eventually showed. These three were traveling together, two big males and a female. They were heading east along the shoreline for a while and then headed out toward the south. At one point they did appear to be hunting something, based on their behaviour. The center for Whale research along with Mark later IDd the three as BC, Transients. T124C, and T93 AND T97.
Marie, Orca-Magic .POW. Victoria BC


Another great winter trip today as Mallard found 3 Transients off of Secretary Island this afternoon. At Approximately 1440 hrs., I arrived on scene 0.5 nm South of Beechey Hd. (East Sooke Park) to find two large males, T-93 and T-97, respectively being escorted by a single female (T-124C). The group of three were travelling consistently to the East at a good clip (4-6 kts.) During my stay with the animals, we saw two seal kills which T-124C made. All business and no play for this group; as we did not see any play behaviour or hear any vocals after they made the kills. We left the group at 1545 hrs. still headed East just inside Race Passage. Conditions today were foggy with light rain showers coupled with flat calm seas.
Jeff Lamarche, Eagle Wing Tours, Victoria B.C


January 5, 2010
I had (Transient orca) T103 westbound past Sooke at 1400. The conditions were great for spotting and no sign of any others around.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria B.C.


January 3, 2010
Had more transients this afternoon south of Victoria west bound. T063 aka “Chainsaw”, T065B, T036, T036B, and T028A were among 8 or 9 individuals. Still working on the rest of the ID’s. I left them south-west of Race Rocks at 1510.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria B.C.


On the afternoon tour Mallard found 3 Transients approx. 3nm South of VH (right off Victoria) !! After spending some time with these three individuals, I spotted 6 others a few miles Southeast of our location. Upon arrival, I confirmed T-63 (Chainsaw) with others. Tentative ID’s were found to be T-63, T-65B, T-36, T-36B and T- 28A. Will confirm with Mark later once he looks at his photos. The nine animals tracked Southwest of Race Rocks and we left them at 1520 hrs. 2.7nm Southwest of lighthouse headed West.
Jeff Lamarche, Eagle Wing Tours, Victoria, B.C.


January 2, 2010
Had a large group of Transients on the afternoon between Race Rocks and Port Angeles travelling quickly east bound. T31 was shadowing a group of 11 13 females and juveniles which included the T99’s.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria, B.C.


Right now, 2:08 pm, there is a “mother lode” of transients with Mallard south of Race Rocks inbound.
Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research, San Juan Island


January 1, 2010
Great way to start the New Year with Jpod making an appearance coming in from the west. Found them at 1040 just west of Race Rocks very spread out heading east. I last saw them at 1520 within a mile south of Ogden Point Breakwater still spread out with J1 leading the charge.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales


A gale to 40 knots is forecast for today, but Mallard (Mark Malleson) squeaked out and found J pod inbound this morning before the storm.
Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research, San Juan Island


December 30, 2009
I found Transient orcas U38 and U39 again in the afternoon skulking around south-east of Race Rocks. I left them at 1540 west bound south of Race Rocks.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales


December 28, 2009
Chris Zylstra of Eagle Wing Tours called to report 6 to 7 Transient orcas off Sooke Bay, BC, travelling east at 4:15 pm


Jeff LaMarche of Eagle Wing tours called to report 5 – 6 Transients 2.5 miles west of Otter Pt, near Victoria B.C. heading east at 4:05 pm.


Found 7 Transients in the afternoon near Sooke east bound which included the T124A’s.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales


December 23, 2009
The T010’s and the T026’s were west bound off of Victoria in the morning . 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.


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.


December 19, 2009
Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research called to report J pod south of Race Rocks, near Victoria, spread out and inbound at 3:20 pm!


J pod were headed east near Race Rocks in the afternoon. I was able to confirm J1, J2, J8, J14 and the rest of her matriline, as well as J26 following behind. The rest of the group were most likely ahead and spread out further offshore.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria B.C


December 10, 2009
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) 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.
Capt. Jim Maya, Maya’s Westside Charters, San Juan Island


December 7, 2009
At about 3:30 pm 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.
Chantelle Tucker, Victoria, B.C.


U38 and U39 were back off of Victoria today hunting seals.
Mark Malleson, Centre for Whale Research


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.


December 6, 2009
There were reports of a grey whale in crescent bay off salt creek recreation area (near Pt. Angeles) over the weekend.
Rob Casey, Seattle


December 5, 2009
There were reports of a grey whale in crescent bay off salt creek recreation area (near Pt. Angeles) over the weekend. We were surfing there.
Rob Casey, Seattle


December 4, 2009
At 1536 many [orcas] reported going East from Sooke (S. Vancouver Island).
Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria B.C.


Ks (& some Ls?) were down by the Oddass Buoy, west of Hein Bank, and about 12 miles SE of Victoria, but the seas got too big and we bailed. A spotter with big glass saw some breaches and porpoising but he lost them 15 minutes before we got there.
Capt. Jim Maya, Maya’s Charters, San Juan Island


November 17, 2009
T103 was in Becher Bay (west of Race Rocks) Tuesday afternoon.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria B.C.


November 16, 2009
I am reporting the sighting of 5 Orca 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. 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. Saw 3 spy hops. No photographs were taken.
And an update: In conversation with another driver today I was informed that 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.
Submitted by James Cosgrove, M.Sc., Driver/Biologist of Fastide, SpringTide Whale Watching, Victoria, B.C.


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.


November 15, 2009
I spotted J’s and K’s again on Sunday afternoon south-east of Race Rocks. They were last seen headed west south of Race.
Mark Malleson, Independent Tsearch, Victoria B.C.


November 14, 2009
I went out with Capt Jim (Maya) today. We had an amazing encounter with some J Pod whales and especially with Polaris J-28 and the newest baby J-46 south of Race Rocks. They were with new Grandma Princess Angeline J-17 and her youngest offspring J-44. J-17’s other offspring, Tahlequah J-35, was traveling with the J-16s. I posted some pictures of J-46 as mom pushed him/her around.
Jeanne Hyde, San Juan Island


I saw J’s and K’s this morning at 8:30 foraging east of Race Rocks. They turned north towards Victoria for a while before they turned to the south and grouped up. Last seen south-east of Race Rocks westbound with the outgoing ebb.
Mark Malleson, Victoria, B.C.


November 13, 2009
A couple of Transients snuck through Oak Bay today. Too windy to get an ID.
Mark Malleson, Victoria B.C.


November 11, 2009
Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research called at 4:53 pm to report that Js, Ks & L87 had turned north and just swam by the Victoria waterfront, where he saw and confirmed the new J pod calf, J46!


November 10, 2009
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, Independent Tsearch


November 8, 2009
Had Transient orcas U38 and U39 once again off of Victoria on Sunday afternoon. They took out at least 5 seals within 2 hours. I left them at dark headed back towards Race Rocks.
Mark Malleson, Independent Tsearch


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.


November 7, 2009
T103 and his group of T49’s were off Race Rocks at 1550 going S.W.
Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria, B.C.


November 3, 2009
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,
Adam U


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.


November 2, 2009
Blows from baleen whales observed from the beach at Juan de Fuca Provincial Park in BC, Canada. The blows repeated several times, but the dorsal area of the animals could not be seen. Finally, the arching back and dorsal fin of a small humpback became visible. The blows continued, and soon the speckled white and gray finless dorsal of a gray whale came into sight. The gray whale surfacings continued intermittently throughout the next couple of hours, with more arching dives than dorsal-less blows seen. All animals were observed a couple hundred yards off the beach on the full moon spring tide.
Jason Sneed, Marine Naturalist


November 1, 2009
Found T103 with the T049A’s again, 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.


October 28, 2009
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.


October 27, 2009
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


October 24, 2009
3 miles east of Race Rocks off Victoria, BCX1057 based on the Humpback Whale catalogue ID produced by Mark Malleson and the Center for Whales Research. It was fairly active and making some deep dives. We had finally found some animals including this Humpback almost at the end of our trip. Other animals included some Steller sea lions surfing in our wake and a few Dall’s Porpoise.
Marie, ‘Orca-Magic ’. Prince of Whales, Victoria.


Transients: 5-6 off Bowen island Howe Sound, N.W. of Vancouver BC. mid afternoon.
Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria, B.C.


1 Humpback off Victoria.
Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria B.C.


October 23, 2009
K and L pods off Victoria going East in rain squalls at 1630.
Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria B.C.


October 22, 2009
Our Eagle Eyed Captain, Trev, sighted the first Humpback about 3 miles East of Race Rocks. This is the full grown adult female Humpback Whale we believe is the mother of the 3 year old known as “Split Fin” or Bart". After watching the Humpback for a while we left to go towards Race Rocks as another boat arrived on scene. At Race Rocks we saw several hundred California and Steller Sealions both in the water and on the rocks. We then headed back towards Constance Bank and came across a large group of very playful Dall’s Porpoise who immediately started playing in the bow wave of our boat. As we were watching the Sealions check out our boat suddenly the Humpback we had found earlier surfaced nearby and this time “Split Fin” was also there. The 2 Humpback Whales were trumpeting and splashing the water with their tales at two Sealions that were following closely. We then saw a terrific Cartwheel by the large Humpback Whale. “Split Fin” was also being very playful and was seen waving his large Pectoral Fin in the air. We were just south west of Constance Bank when we encountered these two Humpback Whales and it is amazing these wonderful encounters happen so close to Victoria!
Andrew Lees, Marine Naturalist, Five Star Whale Watching


October 19, 2009
Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research reported J pod coming in from the west, passing through Victoria, B.C. at sunset.


The Ocean Magic at 12.15pm picked up two Transient Orca whose ID were T87, the male and T88, the female. 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.
Marie,Orca-Magic, Prince Of Whales, Victoria.


October 15, 2009
We headed out this afternoon and came across 3 Humpback Whales between Race Rocks and Constance Bank. Two large female Humpback Whales were encountered 2 miles South East of Race Rocks and were being harassed by a Steller Sealion. One of the Humpback made a very dramatic Cartwheel as the Humpback tried to shake off the Sealion. We also saw a number of tail splashing and tail flicks as these large Baleen Whales tried to get rid of their pesky tormentor! We then moved on towards Constance bank where we encountered the 3 year old Humpback that has been given various nicknames, “Split Fin”, “Bart”, “Cleaver”. One of the Humpback Whales we had encountered earlier is the Mother of “Split Fin” and it is so nice to see that these mothers are imprinting on their young that the Strait of Juan De Fuca is a great place to find food. “Split Fin” obviously knows this and has been hanging in the water off Victoria for almost two months now and has provided some very dramatic encounters!
Andrew Lees, Marine Naturalist, Five Star Whale Watching


October 11, 2009
We did find five humpbacks around constance bank at 3pm . They were pretty active with lots of tail and pec slaps, a few spyhops and a cartwheel!
Gary Sutton, Wild Whales Vancouver


How do I describe the pure magic of an encounter with Humpback Whales. One could see deep into the water as the plankton bloom was low. There were five Humpback Whales south east of Constance Bank around 1.00pm. Three were off by themselves and two others frolicking with a bunch of playful Steller sea lions. They were having a rare old time, fluke and flipper slapping. Then all of a sudden the humpies were right at our stern of the Ocean Magic. They were as curious about us as we were of them. Those of us on board were spell bound. I was so amazed just looking down at the sheer size of these behemoths floating quietly around us. They would roll and turn upside down, then disappear beneath the boat. There was no escape for us for they went beneath us many times and surfaced forward and aft, port and starboard. We could see them so clearly below the surface, because of the clarity of the water. Every barnacle and the immense size of their pectoral flippers, which one doesn’t generally see when they are foraging in textured water were visible. These animals were having fun and didn’t appear interested in feeding even though one sea lion had fish hanging from its mouth. They just kept circling us, eventually after 15 mins headed off to join the sea lions once again. This was an experience that will last a lifetime.
Marie, Orca-Magic. Prince Of Whales, Victoria.


October 9, 2009
3:30 pm – L pod 2.5 nm south of Race Rocks, headed straight east.
Capt. BarbeRousse


October 4, 2009
We went over west of Victoria to see a Humpback. She started to jump just before we started to leave, and what a spectacular sendoff. We have been seeing Humpback females and calves for the last several years on a regular basis to the south of Victoria.
Capt. Jim Maya, Maya’s Charters, San Juan Island


October 3, 2009
We located a lone Humpback several miles west of Albert Head that was milling around over a large area, zig zagging out towards Race Rocks, dives were between 8-12 minutes so it covered a lot of distance while down. While out we on the water we also viewed a couple of sea lions, seals, at least a half dozen Dall’s porpoise, a couple of harbor porpoise and the biggest flock of birds on a bait ball that I have ever seen around here.
Keith Provan


October 1, 2009
Have you heard anything about an orca pod sighted from the Coho, about halfway between Victoria and Port Angeles, the ferry was running late so maybe it was 11:30 or 11:45 – And also “a much bigger whale”.
Miriam B, jealous in Port Angeles


September 28, 2009
Bit of a bumpy trip out toward Hein Bank, where orcas from all three pods foraging as they headed southeast across a strong flooding current, from about 1:20pm to 2pm. Multiple breaches, a cartwheel, and a 2 second headstand (flukes held in the air), by some of the youngsters distracted us from the confused seas!
Caroline Armon, San Juan Excursions


We met with the resident orcas north of Hein Bank at approx. 1:30 PM. Throughout our encounter, we observed almost every type of behaviour. The J4 matriline, plus J17 (Princess Angeline) and family were resting their way through the big waves. J1 (Ruffles) was accompanied by L7 (Canuck) and L53 (Lulu), followed by J30 (Riptide). This little group was very active, with cartwheels, spyhops, breaches (even 1 double side-by-side breach by L7 and L53) between long underwater intervals. The fellows were doing alot of upside down swimming, showing off their stuff. As our encounter was nearing its end, little J45 began a series of repetitive breaches, clearing the water on most of them. More whales could be seen off in the distance in almost every direction, milling and socializing. On our return trip, several small groups of Dall’s Porpoise were sighted south and west of False Bay, heading southbound.
Joan Lopez, Naturalist, Vancouver Whale Watch


A little further out near Hein Bank we met up with the Orcas once again. Some nice breaches, half breaching, spyhops, and frequent directional changes. More foraging behavior. A large mass of birds hovered above a small group of Orcas awaiting any scraps they could find.
Jaclyn Van Bourgondien, naturalist, Crew At San Juan Safaris Whale Watch Wildlife Tours


September 26, 2009
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 T65 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 T14, ’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.
Marie O’Shaughnessy. Orca-Magic. POW


September 25, 2009
I thought I would share incredible Humpback Whale encounters off Victoria between Sept 23rd and Sept 25th. Over the last few weeks we have been consistently seeing Humpback Whales off Victoria but the last three days we have had some amazing encounters with up to six Humpback Whales in the area between Constance Bank and Race Rocks! These encounters have included tail slaps, tail lobs, kelping, spyhops, some breathtaking cartwheels and even breaching. Over the last few days I have witnessed some of the most wonderful Humpback Whale encounters of my career as a Marine Naturalist and all on the door step of Victoria:) Regards,
Andrew Lees, Marine Naturalist, Five Star Whale Watching


September 23, 2009
Seen on 3:30 pm Ocean Magic; 4 Humpbacks off Constance Bank at about 4 pm, breaching and very active behavior & T020 (with satellite tag), T021 & T031 at about 5 pm eastbound of Beecher Bay.
Maria Chantelle Tucker, Victoria


September 22, 2009
We left Cadboro Bay around 3pm and motor sailed around to the Victoria Waterfront where we were greeted by a nice westerly so we got to sail the rest of the way out and viewed the humpbacks in between the Fairway marker and Albert Head. The whales were milling around going in no particular direction. As we were leaving we noticed at least 3 orcas a little west of our location.
Keith Provan


September 15, 2009
This young Humpback whale, a 3 yr old, BCZ0298, based on Mark Malleson’s and the Centre for Whale Research Humpback Whale catalogue, was seen at 4pm just off the Victoria Harbour near Albert Head. It delighted us all on the 3.30pm Ocean Magic by performing a spyhop and some lovely manoeuvres through a kelp bed. One could clearly see the strands of kelp draped across its rostrum. An amazing encounter with this Baleen Whale.
Marie O’Shaughnessy, Orca-Magic, Prince Of Whales, Victoria B.C.


September 13, 2009
I want to report 1 Gray Whale in the Straits of Juan de Fuca. The whale was feeding in the kelp beds just east of Seal & Sail Rocks. We also saw what we think might have been a Minke Whale in the same vicinity but it was closer to shore feeding at sunset.
Lori Salzer, WDFW


September 7, 2009
Jeff LaMarche of SeaFun Safaris reported 2 Humpbacks 2 miles south of Jordon River, S. Vancouver Island at around 5:10 pm, heading west. At approx. 6 pm, he called to report 1 Gray whale heading west at SanSimon Pt.


September 6, 2009
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.
Marie O’Shaughnessy. POW, Victoria BC


September 4, 2009
Apparently these two Transient Orca seen by the 3.30pm Ocean Magic trip out of Victoria 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.
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


September 3, 2009
The 12.15pm Ocean Magic 2 vessel went west 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.
Marie O’Shaughnessy, Prince of Whales, Victoria B.C.


September 2, 2009
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


We were lucky enough last night to catch 3-4 Transients passing through Baynes channel and the Chain Islands at about 1630, they then headed out to meet the reported group of T’s east of Constance Bank, then they all hightailed it west (we weren’t lucky enough to catch the big group but I heard that there may have been around 30 animals).
Keith Provan


Bill Parker called Orca Network to report observing 1 Gray whale off the Sequim, Clallam County Dungeness Recreation area, 30 yards off shore of the first parking lot at 4 pm. The whale appeared to be feeding, and had a light colored area around its right eye.


On our afternoon trip 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


August 29, 2009
John McKenzie called Orca Network to report 4 orcas just outside of Sequim Bay today at 1420. He was kayaking, and the whales circled the kayaks for about 20 minutes, appearing to be feeding, then headed east toward Discovery Bay.


August 28, 2009
2 nautical miles east of Providence Cove on Vancouver Is (juan de fuca) 1/8 mile off the beach at 10:30am we spotted a single large male Orca moving fast eastward. We are just completing a circumnavigation of Van Is and this is the first Orca we have seen since being on the outside. We have however seen several Humpback and Minke along the way as well as countless sealions and several large rafts of sea otters!
Pamela Benson, sv Spirit of Freedom, Homeport: Grapeview Wa


August 26, 2009
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


A few residents (I believe) eastbound near Constance Bank (1800hrs). The whales carried on past headed towards the south end of San Juan Island.
Keith Provan


August 25, 2009
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


August 24, 2009
Dripping wet fog in the Strait of Juan de Fuca echoed the breathing of Orcas working the flooding tide from Hein Bank toward False Bay, long before we saw them! We carefully made our way off of Eagle Point and shut down from about 3:00pm to 3:30pm to listen for and watch some L-Pod whales pass through the thick marine layer that only gave limited visibility. L-72 Racer’s unique saddle patch made for easy identification from a distance, as she swam in and out of the fog. Although we didn’t see them, hearing J-Pod calls through the hydrophone along with the powerful exhalations of all the whales out there, gave us a glimpse into their acoustically oriented world.
Caroline Armon, San Juan Excursions


August 23, 2009
We headed a few miles west of Crescent Beach (Port Angeles) after receiving reports that a Gray Whale had been sighted nearby. As we arrived on scene we could see the Whale was feeding on the bottom and coming up regularly. At first it was moving backward and forward but then after about 15 minutes began to travel in a westerly direction.
Andrew Lees, Marine Naturalist, Five Star Whale Watching


August 22, 2009
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” 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.
Andrew Lees, Marine Naturalist, Five Star Whale Watching


Saturday at 10 AM the residents were heading west past Jordan River (S. Vancouver Island).
Peter Hamilton, Lifeforce


Have you received any information on 4 Orcas off Haystock Islets, Parry Bay area, Metchosin BC (SW Vancouver Island), after 7:30PM. The large male I can’t ID from Transient catalogue, or Resident info.
Suze Bowen, Metchosin


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


August 21, 2009
Humpback whales are being seen almost daily now off the Victoria Harbour, certainly all this week they have been reported. We saw three ambling around in large circles Weds August 19th on the 3.30 pm Ocean Magic trip. One or two others have been seen south of Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. Great to see these wonderful ‘gentle -giants’ back in these waters on a regular basis once again.
Marie O’Shaughnessy,Orca-Magic, Prince Of Whales, Victoria


August 14, 2009
Another flat calm, slack high tide, hardly any following ebb, sunny summer day out on the (pond like) Strait of Juan de Fuca. From 2:27pm to 3:39pm we watched L-Pod whales actively forage Hein Bank. L-12 Alexis with L-22 Spirit, L-87 Onyx, L-89 Solstice, L-78 Gaia, and the L-5’s! Many directional changes, lunges, and what seemed to be a push up- an orca came up in a vertical slant out of the water with its pectoral fins spread out and down, while we expected a breach, the whale gracefully slid back under!
Caroline Armon, San Juan Excursions


We found L pod today around Hein Bank several groups spread out over 4 or 5 miles. Not a lot of above water action, a few tail lobs, no spyhops and only one breach spotted.
Jill Hein- aboard, Mystic Sea


August 13, 2009
T14 ‘Pender’ 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


August 11, 2009
I was lucky to see many members of the Southern Resident Orca heading out west this morning. I was on the 9 am ‘Ocean Magic 2’ and we encountered the tall boys, J 27 ‘Blackberry’ and ? J 26 ‘Mike’. It was bright lighting so hard to ID this one in the enclosed pic, but feel sure it was J 26 or K 21 – right side saddle patches somewhat similiar. I did see, I believe, K 11 not too far off as well.
Marie O’Shaughnessy, Orca-Magic, Victoria, B.C.


August 10, 2009
Ron Bates, MMRG, received reports early this morning that a large number of Orcas had been sighted near Constance Bank. Our vessel departed Victoria Harbour this morning around 9am and within less than 10 minutes of leaving the Harbour we made contact with the Orcas a couple of miles west of Clover Point! Not long after we had arrived on scene we soon realized that we had a Superpod as our Naturalist Kyla Graham and Ron, soon identified several members of all three southern resident pods. As we sat with our engines off we could see a large group of over 60 Orcas moving East towards Clover Point and another large group a few hundred yards ahead also moving East. The Orcas were in resting formation and tightly bunched. The Orcas continued East towards Trial Island and eventually the Orcas did travel through Enterprise Channel and then L-pod split and traveled south whilst J & K-pod traveled towards 10 mile point. Not all of L-pod was present as Mega and part of the L-12’s were reported to be heading West past Sooke.
Andrew Lees, Marine Naturalist, Five Star Whale Watching


We encountered a Humpback Whale a few miles to the West of Constance Bank after hearing one of the other boats had seen the Humpback pop up near a large Bait Ball!
Andrew Lees, Marine Naturalist, Five Star Whale Watching


August 8, 2009
A humpback mother calf pair northeast off Race Rocks.
Rachael Griffin, Victoria, BC


August 4, 2009
We watched many members of J, K and L pods heading in from the west. I don’t believe all members of the pods were together in the large group of Orca we saw just off the Victoria waterfront as I would say only 45 whales were present. I was able to ID L78 whose scars appear to be healing nicely, J1 and J2, J30, J8, J 41, J19 and J42, J27, and one of the very small babies. K21 and K40 were there along with many others that were hard to determine on brief visits for air at the surface. It was fascinating to see the little ones briefly spyhopping and tail slapping as if to say, “Well I am awake now.” It was a lovely evening with the setting sun turning dorsal fins bronze, while the orca continued past in a slow resting formation.
Marie, Orca-Magic Prince Of Whales, Victoria B.C.


We were with 10 Transients at Discovery Island watching them head west, and had reports of Js & Ls inbound. Apparently around 5:30pm, the whales passed about 100 yards from each other, but neither displayed any behavioral changes as far as we’ve heard!"
John Boyd, San Juan Island


August 2, 2009
We headed south on our 12.30pm tour and skipper Trev sighted a Humpback Whale approx 2 miles south of Constance Bank. The Humpback was in hunting mode and changed direction several times whilst doing 4-8 minute dives. From a small white mark near the Dorsal fin I managed to identify that this Humpback has been seen in the area in previous years.Regards,
Andrew Lees, Five Star Whale Watching


August 1, 2009
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.
Andrew Lees, Five Star Whale Watching


July 29, 2009
My wife and I saw a Minke Whale today about 100 yards north of the salmon bank buoy at about 3PM (+/- 30 min). The whale surfaced about 30 feet in front of our boat and then again twice more heading south. It was moving slowly, maybe 4 knots. It’s hard to say, but it was probably 25 feet. No markings.
Sean McGrath


I just recieved the following email from a friend: “About 9AM I saw two gray whales swimming very close to shore heading east along the shore of the Dungeness Wildlife Refuge.” I then recieved the additional info that USFWS volunteers at Dungeness Refuge have had several sightings of the grays over the past few days.
Margaret Owens, Joyce, WA


July 27, 2009
On route back to Victoria, we found Lpod who had been making their way in from the west and were about 1 mile south of Discovery spread apart heading east to San Juan Island. When we found them they were in groups which sometimes moved closer together and wider apart. Breaching, spyhops, pec slapping were among some of the behaviors. They swam closely along side of a large freighter at times broadcasting behaviors such as breaching, pec slapping, tail slapping very close to the ship. On the afternoon 2 pm 5 Star trip, we traveled to Hein Bank (see Minke report below) then headed to Salmon Bank where we found some of Kpod displaying some very active behavior. Much breaching was sighted in many locations. We had a splendid view of K21 and K40 (brother and sister) in playful acts, rolling around, and someone (not sure who) was sticking their tail high out of the water as almost waving at us. A young calf (un identified) was seen playing around in the kelp and upon closer look at my photos – the baby had eelgrass hanging out of his or her mouth!
A grand finale; 3 orcas departing the area with one breaching on the way about 6 times.
Chantelle Tucker / orcagirl.com / Prince of Whales, Victoria B.C.


On the afternoon 2 pm 5 Star trip, we traveled to Hein Bank where we saw 3 Minke whales in pursuit of fish. There were several fishballs with many seabirds pinpointing the target areas.
Chantelle Tucker, 5 Star, Victoria B.C
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July 18, 2009
A day to remember with high winds, big waves and J and L pod racing in from the west. We encountered them initially on the 12.15pm Ocean Magic trip, travelling with their small sub family groups. They were spread out covering north and south of Race Rocks. They were heading super fast toward Victoria harbour and Trial Island. We saw incredible ‘sharking’ and ‘porpoising’ activity. Almost too fast to capture pics. One never knew where the orca would pop up as their movements were quite erratic. They seemed to be really pumped up by the crazy conditions on the water. We came across the L2 family group and saw L78’s new rake marks on his dorsal fin. It was apparent on both sides of the fin. Our second trip at 3.30pm caught up with the L2’s again at Eagle Point, San Juan Island. They were heading south in big seas.
Marie O’Shaughnessy, Prince of Whales, Victoria B.C.


July 17, 2009
The next two Ocean Magic trips out of Victoria that turned west, had a Humpback whale which was my first for this year. It was seen south of Race Rocks. It gave us some great fluke shots. There was lots of fish feed and krill around by the activity of the whales and the hundreds of sea birds and gulls over the bait balls. Pics cropped.
Marie O’Shaughnessy, Orca-Magic, POW, Victoria


Three, possibly 4 Minkes off Hein Bank. I was on the Ocean Magic at 9am and encountered the Minkes. They were busy foraging. The Ocean Magic travelling from Vancouver to Victoria an hour later, apparently had two of these Minkes at Hein Bank breaching which must have been an awesome sight!
Marie, Orca-Magic, POW, Victoria


July 16, 2009
Gray Whale, very close to Sekiu, heading west in the Straits – 7:30 PM.
M. Little


July 13, 2009
K’s and the L2’s heading east with the flooding tide between the entrance to Victoria Harbor and Trial Island, Canada, from 3:20pm to 3:50pm. They were all bunched up together, milling, foraging, some directional changes. A few spy hops, lunges, a side roll, and flukes in the air, and at times they all surfaced together, still amazing to see all those whales and fins shoulder to shoulder, making the long trip memorable. We identified K- 13, K-34, K-40, K-21, K-14, K-26, L-2, L-78, and L-88. L-78 Gaia had fresh propeller or rake marks on the right side of his dorsal fin.
Caroline Armon, San Juan Excursions


July 10, 2009
We encountered a Minke whale 1 mile west of Race Rocks.
Center for Whale Research


Center staff Dave Ellifrit, Erin Heydenreich and Emma Foster encountered J’s and K’s spread out in tight groups off Trial Island, B.C. (48° 23.66N; 123° 16.89 W) at 12:43 p.m. On the return trip to Snug Harbor we encountered J’s, K’s and L87 traveling up the west side of San Juan Island. The encounter ended at 5:36 p.m. southwest of Spieden Channel (48° 39.77 N: 123° 13.45 W).
Center for Whale Research


Got home to hear some chatter on the radio at 6:30pm about [orcas] in between islands – and I took a chance and headed down to Cattle Point, and sure enough, there they were! I headed out to the actual lighthouse and got a great view of watching about 30 SRKWs heading south out of San Juan Channel. I was pretty far away but thought I saw J1 and a few other large males. On the radio I heard all of J’s were there, plus some L’s. They went right past Whale Rocks, and headed South East out of the channel. Saw some nice big spyhops and a breach! It was great to see them all in about 3 different tight groups.
Traci Walter, San Juan Island


Another fantastic commune with L pod this afternoon off San Juan near Cattle Point. Our 2pm POW Zodiac saw this beautiful saddle patch of L72 ‘Racer. What a unique marking to her patch. We also had Canuck L7. Several others, including L83 and her young one L110 were ambling around. One lone female logged at the surface for a while.
Marie O’Shaughnessy, Orca-Magic, Prince Of Whales, Victoria, B.C.


After we were on the water we heard reports of a large group of [orcas] heading northeast from Albert Head, BC. When we caught up with them just west of Trial Island at about 11:45, it was clear that all three pods were traveling together. While there were dorsal fins in every direction, we definitely saw the J14s traveling with J1 and J2, as well as the K11s and K12s. Back out again for our afternoon trip, all three pods had made significant progress east and we came across K21 and K40 just off of South Beach around 3:30, where they appeared to be doing some foraging. After a time, we started following a group of L-Pod whales that were heading towards Cattle Pass. Much to our surprise, they actually went IN to Cattle Pass! It really looked to me like they were just playing in the strong currents, as they were rolling around and slapping their tail, pec, and dorsal fins on the surface. The L12s were among the total of maybe 20 L-Pod whales in the pass. L92 was also there. When we got back to land curiosity got the better of me and I headed to the south end of San Juan Island to see if they were still in Cattle Pass. Sure enough, they were just off of Goose Island, but all grouped up now and heading back out towards the strait. At about 7:15 this evening they were heading west past Salmon Bank.
Monika Wieland, Naturalist, Western Prince, San Juan Island


6.5 miles southwest of Trial Is. Lots of Orcas headed my way. We met Js, Ks and some Ls off the Victoria water front. In the afternoon they were spread out between Henry Is. and Eagle Pt. By evening, many had gone north toward Active Pass, while some had stayed south.
Capt. Jim Maya, Maya’s Westside Charters, San Juan Island


I received a report from Jim Maya indirectly through Kari today, regarding an injured minke whale at Hein Bank.
Frankie Robertson, NE Pacific Minke Project


July 9, 2009
We did see more Minke Whales than I have ever seen in one day. It was pretty amazing, especially for me, a
Minke “skeptic”. There must have been over ten of them out near Salmon and Hein Banks.
Jim Maya, Maya’s Westside Charters


July 8, 2009
Salmon Bank seems to be the place for whales, seals, and marine birds – hopefully providing a buffet! From 2:10pm until 3:25pm, during a flooding tide and calm summer waters, we watched orcas from J-K-L Pods mill and forage. J-26 Mike is easy to spot with the way his dorsal fin leans left, he was lunging, making many directional changes and breached! He didn’t stray too far from mom J- 16 Slick. L-72 Racer with very active 5 year old son Fluke went back and forth too. We saw another group with some bellies up – mating? We listened to vocalizations, some of the K calls remind me of cats mewling!
Caroline Armon, San Juan Excursions


The POW 3pm Zodiac found some members of J pod and L pod at Hein Bank putting on quite a show close to a tide line. It was fun to watch what looked like the ‘chase’, L77 ‘Matia’ being pursued by a male, who was really putting on a show of enthusiasm, with tail lobs and somersault behaviour at 4pm. Perhaps it really was all about fish, but it sure looked like fun! Moms and their babies were foraging in the tide line with several spyhops, baby breaches and kelping behaviours. We left them heading north.
Marie, Orca-Magic Prince Of Whales, Victoria


We got a call (0930) that a group of orcas had been spotted in Rosario Channel near the Peapods. We heard a ferry reporting they were delayed by a group of orcas near Bird Rocks, so we knew that we were getting close. And soon, one fin after another began appearing on the horizon. The whales were making their way down the east side of Lopez Island, and were in big groups. As they got further down island, they began to speed up towards Colville. Once past the south tip of Lopez (1030), I was finally able to make my first ID—-J1 Ruffles. Soon we saw J2 Granny, and J14 Samish and J45 (her calf). It was so cool to watch the whales fan out and at one point we knew Ruffles must have found a fish or two as he’d come to the surface facing one way, and halfway through his surfacing he’d make a quick turn and a lunge. And we also heard during the morning trip that had we continued north to Turn Point, we would have found K Pod with the rest of L’s. For our afternoon trip, we didn’t have to go nearly as far as the morning trip, as the whales seemed content to mill south of Salmon Bank (1300). Whales were spread out in small groups, and we were fortunate to find a group of about 8-10 whales just having a grand time rolling on top of each other, pushing each other around, and doing a lot of surface percussives, tail lobs, pec slaps, one dorsal fin slap and several breaches. We had the hydrophone in for awhile and could hear so many vocalizations. The vocals continued as our rowdy orca group did several vocalizations at the surface, such a treat! Needless to say, it was a perfect ending to our viewing. Last I heard, all three pods were still slowly milling offshore several miles with no apparent direction.
John Boyd (JB), SSAMN Marine Naturalist, Western Prince, Friday Harbor


South of Salmon Bank (1300) I saw 2 minke whales swimming side by side!!!
John Boyd (JB), SSAMN Marine Naturalist, Western Prince, Friday Harbor


July 7, 2009
Saw some orcas going fast through Port Angeles Harbor about 11 AM today – headed west toward the mill.
Diane Forsmark, USCG Ediz Hook, Port Angeles


July 6, 2009
Jeff LaMarche of Seafun Safaris called at 11:34 am to report J, K & L pods 35 miles west of Race Rocks, 2 miles offshore, milling off Sombrio Pt. He called back at 12:38 pm, to report all 3 pods now grouped together, 4 miles east of Sombrio Pt, 3/4 mi. offshore, heading east back toward Race Rocks. They had traveled west from Haro Strait last night.


July 5, 2009
Our morning trip aboard the Western Prince had us heading down to the south of San Juan Island where we were able to watch members of the L2s (1115). They were still doing the “west side shuffle” along the shoreline, and we were all hoping that they were finding some salmon to eat. We then started heading back towards Salmon Bank when the morning excitement began. We had heard reports of J’s & K’s at Point Roberts heading down towards the islands, so imagine our surprise at having J-Pod find us at Salmon Bank (1230). No one knew they were anywhere close to the area! They came rushing by in familial groups, with lots of tail slaps and breaches and other surface percussives. For the afternoon trip, we finally found the trailing group of whales at Kellett Bluff heading north (1600). We had J27 Blackberry and an unknown sprouter male giving a great deal of attention to a female orca. Lots of pushing each other from underneath, rolling on each other, spyhops, and general touching behaviors. Soon, all the whales made a direction change to the south (1645), and began to breach, spyhop, porpoise like crazy. It is amazing to see the coordination of movements of orcas. It makes me wonder who, in a superpod is in charge, is it J2 Granny, or maybe K11 Georgia? We then started heading back towards Salmon Bank when the morning excitement began. First, a minke whale surfaced near the Salmon Bank marker (1215).
John Boyd (JB), Marine Naturalist, Western Prince/Western Explorer, Friday Harbor


July 3, 2009
Sunny, warm, pond-like conditions, at the end of the flooding tide, in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, off Salmon Bank, from about 2:40pm to 3:40pm. We watched 2 or 3 orcas foraging and going on very long dives.
Caroline Armon, San Juan Excursions


The Ocean Magic, out of Victoria, encountered several members of L Pod at 4.30pm heading south west off Salmon Bank. We saw Mega L41 and his sisters. They put on quite the show for us with many breaches , tail lobs, pectoral fin waves and backward swimming. Several others were off in the distance exhibiting the same behaviours. We left them heading south west.
Marie, Orca-Magic Prince Of Whales, Victoria B.C.


June 29, 2009
We spotted two minke whales amongst the multiple bait balls forming at Salmon Bank (one of the minkes is the smallest I’ve ever seen, so perhaps it’s a new calf?).
John Boyd (JB), SSAMN Marine Naturalist, Western Prince, Friday Harbor