Orca Whales

Six new births within the Southern Resident Orcas brings the total number to 88. That's quite a rise from the previous few years, and scientists are eagerly awaiting more research to determine whether this rise will continue, or if it is a fluke. More detailed information can be found at either www.orcanetwork.org or www.whalemuseum.org.

Meanwhile, here's a picture of the newest calf born right around New Year's Day!

Photo by Jeff Hogan - NOAA permit #781182400...

I paddled out today amid strong winds, and was really surprised and pleased to see some resident orca whales! We saw some of J pod traveling down the Haro Strait (we were able to confirm the identity of the whales with the help of our whale watch boat). Although July and August are the best months to see the resident orca whales, they spend time in this area year round, and so can be seen at any time.

Captain Nancy and naturalist Margo just returned from a very happy whale watch tour. They reported seeing a very spread out group of southern resident orca whales-- specifically, J pod. They saw a few breaches, pedunkle throws (cartwheel-like behaviors) and lots more activity. Margo says she got some great looks at siblings Blackberry (J-27), Mako (J-39) and Tsuchi (J-31)!

The weather is beautiful down here in the harbor, and it was a great trip for all on board...

Today I paddled out of Roche Harbor on a 3 hour tour and we spotted orca (killer) whales! Thanks to our whale watch boat I received the whale report before leaving the harbor, but was not sure if we would be able to see the whales as they were already headed north in the Haro Strait. We paddled out to the kelp forest off Henry Island and as we were eating some seaweed, looking for seals and listening for eagles we saw some killer whales! There were quite a few...

Whales were spotted along the southern and western sides of the island today, and one of our guides Tim reported back that he'd seen 6 or 7 individual orca whales during his 3 hour kayak tour. It's always exciting to see the whales, whether from a kayak or from our whale watching boat, but it isn't always possible during our 3 hour tour, so we're especially pleased that he and his guests were able to see them as well!

On our 11am Whale Watch tour out of Roche Harbor, our naturalist Kevin reported not only seeing some members of L-Pod but also being fortunate enough to see the newest addition, L-112 born to L-86. L-112 was extremely playful at the surface of the water, rolling around and as well as breaching (leaping out of the water). It was very exciting to see such a small Orca exhibiting so much exuberance!

Orca calves are born after a 17 month gestation period and on...

Whales Again!!! On our second Whale Watch tour for the day, Captain Brian, reported seeing our resident K-Pod. There are two types of killer whales seen our waters: Transients and Residents Orca whales. Transients diets consist of marine mammals while the residents are fish eating Orcas.

It was quite a show with lots of spy hopping, a behavior in which the Orca comes straight out of the water with its eyes above the surface before dropping back down.

Another...

Our Captain Brian returned from our 11am Whale Watch out of Roche Harbor with a report an uncommon sighting of Transient whales. They saw the very large male T-102, as well as T-100 and T-90. Transient are the marine mammal eating whales that you see on the Discovery Channel. Although they do frequent the San Juan Islands, their sporadic movements and elusive behavior make them a rare sighting. They were spotted near Halibut Island near Kelp Reef on the...

Today I paddled out with two friends from Seattle who were excited to see all the wildlife the San Juans have to offer. We were getting some great looks at bald eagles, sea birds and harbor seals and were taking a short break in a forest of bull kelp when the report came in that whales were in the Haro Strait and headed south-- towards us! We watched as whale watch boats moved down the strait and then noticed that a few whales were much closer to shore--to us. At...

Megan, one of our Kayak guides, reported that the guests on our 3 hour sea kayak tour were so excited to see K-Pod while they were paddling on the west side of Henry Island. They had just gone past McCracken Point on Henry Island when they happened to spot orcas in K-Pod going north towards Stuart Island. It was an amazing sight to see!