Salish Sea Wildlife Watch

05/18/2022

https://youtu.be/rwqFsTP6X9w

Some of the critically Endangered Southern Residents graced us with a visit us to the South Puget Sound on October 18, 2020. Southern Residents start coming ...

07/08/2021

Follow Be Whale Wise regulations and help protect endangered Southern Resident killer whales. Learn more at https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/at-risk/spec...

06/11/2021

From our friends Orca Network
Orca Behavior Institute
Good stuff

Here is your May 2021 sightings map for the Salish Sea! Again, it's very red with all those Bigg's killer whales out there!

Through May we're on a streak of more than 70 consecutive days with reports of Bigg's in the Salish Sea. Beyond that, the number of reports of different groups of whales has surged through May just like it did in April, with twice as many reports in May 2021 as in May 2020. This puts us well on pace for 2021 for be yet another record year for the presence of Bigg's in the Salish Sea.

Meanwhile, Southern Residents were absent for the entire month of May for the third time on record and the second consecutive year. While we haven't gone a day without Bigg's since March, we've surpassed seven weeks and counting without the Southern Residents in inland waters. If the trend of the last few years continues to hold, we likely have a few more weeks to go before their return. This is all primarily due to the collapse of the Fraser River spring Chinook salmon runs, leading the whales to go elsewhere to find a spring and early summer source of prey. We hope the fact that they don't come in here even to search means they have found some place successful, but we have not heard any tips on the whereabouts of any of the three pods in quite some time!

Finally, even though technically outside the Salish Sea at Swiftsure Bank, we included the interesting observation from Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research of members of G-Pod of the Northern Resident Community. They conducted 19 days of on the water surveys in part to look for Southern Residents, but while they collected data on six cetacean species, the Southern Residents were not to be found.

05/29/2021

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
Whales in central sound headed south.


🐬🧡 Saturday, May 29 - Orcas in central Puget Sound ~
09:14 - Donna Sanders, WSF Marine Ops emailed to report: PUYALLUP@EDM [Edmonds] C/M reports 3-5 orca moving in the southbound direction, just west of the SB traffic lanes in EDM.

✅ PLEASE READ ➡ KEEP COMMENTS to current SIGHTINGS UPDATES ONLY (incl. images/videos) ➡ NO: tags, "following", "updates?". NO watercraft behavior comments (for that see ⬇️).
✅ PLEASE see info & link in 1st comment. (Info is there to learn, where to report violators, etc.)

05/22/2021

Saturday, May 22 - ORCAS having a long stay over in southern Puget Sound. Here's today's thread:
🐬07:22 - Orcas are still in Case Inlet. Just off of the north tip of Harstine Heading south.
Jerilyn Evans
🚩 KEEP COMMENTS to SIGHTINGS UPDATES/IMAGES/VIDEO ONLY (please no tags, "following", "updates?", watercraft behavior (for that see ⬇️), etc.
🚩 PLEASE see info & link in 1st comment. (Info is there to learn, report, etc.)
🚩 SEE Orca Network's Viewpoints Map in 2nd comment.

05/21/2021

ORCAS still in South Puget Sound (Case Inlet):
Fri, 5/21 - 7:45am. Still circling around between Rocky Bay and Treasure Island. -Erik Bjorn
✅ KEEP COMMENTS to SIGHTINGS UPDATES/IMAGES/VIDEO ONLY (please no tags, "following", "updates?", watercraft behavior (for that see ⬇️), etc.
✅ PLEASE see info & link in 1st comment. (Info is there to learn, report, etc.)
✅ SEE Orca Network's Viewpoints Map in 2nd comment.

05/19/2021

This is just Incredible!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPDxkd9Bj47/?utm_medium=copy_link

05/19/2021

We have orcas!
South Sound


❤🐬 May 19 - ORCAS in Southern Puget Sound earlier this morning EDIT with Direction: From top of Pickering NE bound toward Jarrel Cove and directionally town of Allyn.
Shared at 09:41 by Gretchen Stewart: ➡ 5 orca in Pickering Passage this morning at 9AM. Photos posted later. One appeared to be a youngster.
✅ KEEP COMMENTS to SIGHTINGS UPDATES/IMAGES/VIDEO ONLY (please no tags, "following", "updates?", watercraft behavior (for that see ⬇️), etc.
✅ PLEASE see info & link in 1st comment. (Info is there to learn, report, etc.)
✅ SEE Orca Network's Viewpoints Map in 2nd comment.

04/30/2021

We have Orca’s near the Narrows!
See below.

Friday, April 30th - ORCA thread for today. When reporting please include: Time - Number & Location of orcas - Direction of Travel - Behaviors.
🐬 09:45 - Around 10 whales by Tacoma narrows bridge. Heading south. - Zoe Martin

✅ KEEP COMMENTS TO SIGHTINGS UPDATES ONLY (please no tags, "following", watercraft behavior (for that see ⬇️), etc.
✅ PLEASE see info & link in 1st comment. (Info is there to learn, report, etc.)
✅ SEE Orca Network's Viewpoints Map in 2nd comment..

04/26/2021

Enough said!