T010s





Januari 24, 2011
Transient orcas the T010's east bound off Victoria on January 24th (see photo).
Mark Malleson,
Victoria, B.C.


Jeff laMarche of Eagle Wing Tours called Orca Network at 2:55 January 24 to say he was with T10, T10b and T10c in Race Passage. They were headed for Victoria

 
Transient orcas, T10s
Victoria, B.C.
January 24, 2011
Photo by Mark Malleson


16 March 2011


Wow, what a great morning! We got a report of 5 transients headed East by Alert Bay at 0900 this morning. Then we spotted 5 transients, 1 male, 1 sprouter & 3 smaller fins, (most likely the same ones) heading South in Blackney. They went deep into Parson Bay, maybe having some lunch, when all of a sudden another group of 4 transients, 1male & 3 small fins, showed up mid-channel in Balckney also heading South!!! They are all out of view now still Southbound in a lose group. We have only heard one vocal so stay tuned there may be more?!!?
Marie & Leah
16 Mar 2011 10:58:58 PST

The T010's were definitely in the mix in the first group, stay tuned for other ID's...
T010C is a male, he is sprouting nicely now!
Marie

The second group was the T55s! They had a brief meeting with a few individuals from the first group before they all headed east in Johnstone Strait, in their original groupings. They were last spotted from CP around 1220 abeam Robson Bight.

It appears that the 2 females with the T010's yesterday were T026 and T026A.
Marie

22 March 2011,
Helena & Paul have spotted 2 orca, 1 male & 1 female, heading West by Alert Bay right now!
Marie
22 Mar 2011 12:35:14 PST

Talked with the Mackays in Port McNeill. They are seeing the same transients nearing McNeill Bay. They see 3 which is the same count Declan got as they passed Alert bay heading wet. Bill and Donna think they may have just done a kill judging by all the birds around.
Helena & Paul
22 Mar 2011 13:58:57 PST

Jackie and Angela have spotted the transients, it is the T010's and T026's! They are now off Ledge Point heading West.
Marie & Leah
22 Mar 2011 14:50:48 PST


May 4, 2011
No calls but orcas nearby

The crew out at Salmon Coast field station spotted 5 Transient Orca in Fife Sound today! So, I guess where there are dolphins there are whales! Still hoping for them to come a little closer to the lab though ;)
Leah
04 May 2011 17:02:31 PDT

Just an update on yesterdays Orca in Fife. Based on photos of a few of the whales and the groups size it appears to be the T10s and T26s. These two groups were traveling together back on March 16th in front of the lab.
Leah
05 May 2011 05:19:29 PDT


08 May 2011
No calls but orcas nearby

The T10s and T26s just headed North in Blackney Pass! The were rolling, tail slapping, doing head stands and rubbing each other as they quietly traveled by. They must have been chomping down on some prey as the seagulls hovered above them during their entire time through the Pass.

Leah
08 May 2011 12:41:28 PDT

Superb sounds!!

They have become quite vocal on Flower with lots of whistles!

Leah
08 May 2011 12:51:20 PDT

The Transient calls continued, intermittently, until 1404. They were last spotted in the middle of Blackfish Sound heading towards Stubbs Island at approximately 1324. 
Leah
08 May 2011 18:55:00 PDT



May 14
11 am a tug boat Captain spotted some Orca off in the distance when one breached and made a large splash. By 11:15 am the call was out one the radio that there were around 20 Whales by Marina Island, just off Cortez Island. The reports from various Whale Watching groups out on the water today were constant. It didn't take too long and then, by 2pm the reports were that the Orca, including T10 T10B and T20 (based on reports from farther South it's doubtful that T20 is in two places at once - wonder who's right or did they move that far so quickly?) were zig zagging in three to four distinct groups within a triangle from Marina, Quadra and Read Islands. There were some on a kill by Viner point at the tip of Read Island. They stayed, spread out in that area until around 4 pm when they headed towards Whale Channel. At this point there was a count of around 25 Orca! By the end of the day, the Campbell River Whale Watching crew left them at 5 pm entering Calm Channel by Rendezvous Islands. What a day - breaching, tail slapping and just lots of whale activity!.
Susan MacKay - Whales and Dolphins BC, Powell River, B.C.

May 22, 2011
On the late afternoon trip on Maya's Westside Charters we encountered T10, T10B, T10C, T26 and T26A as they traveled south in Haro Strait. We left them west of Kelp Reef traveling southwest. I'll post pictures on my blog.
Jeanne Hyde, San Juan Island, WA

Transient orcas, T10s, in Haro Strait May 22, 2011
Photo by John Boyd, Western Prince, San Juan Island, WA


May 23, 2011
We were out with the transients heading west on May 23, just south of Victoria. At one point we clocked them swimming at almost 9kts. I didn't have transient ID photos with me but heard one of the other boats say it was the T10s.
Stephanie Raymond, Naturalist, Victoria Clipper III

May 26, 2011
With some very scenic backdrops the T 10's were doing what Transients do best, celebrating after a kill. Although we didn't see the hapless prey animal dispatched below the surface , we certainly saw the clean up gulls fly in as well as the behaviour of theTransients changed. They started to celebrate with tail lobs as they slowly traversed the shoreline of Chatham and Discovery Islands. We had first encountered the four T's at Oak Bay Flats around 1pm May 26th. Our guests on board the Ocean Magic enjoyed an exciting trip.
Marie O'Shaughnessy, Orca-Magic, 'Prince of Whales '.
T10s off Victoria BC May 26, by Marie O'Shaughnessy
Transient orcas the T10s, off Victoria, BC May 26, 2011
Photo by Marie O'Shaughnessy, Prince of Whales, Victoria, BC

May 26
We spent a great day on the water yesterday (5/26) with Island Adventures, and saw a group of Transients up near Chatham Island. We were told they were T26, T26A, T10, T10B and T10C. They appeared to be feeding close to shore for a bit...going in circles and splashing, with lots of tail flaps and a spy hop....fantastic! Then they headed up North toward Haro Strait.
Cheers,
Sue & Marty McDaniel, The Blue Goose Inn, Coupeville, WA

May 26
Here is a picture of T10 (see below) near Trial Island on Thursday May 26th, 2011. The T10's were first spotted a couple ofmiles south of Constance Bank in the morning and moved through Oak Bay and then up Haro Strait.During our evening trip we caught up with the T10's just south of Moat Pt, heading toward Active Pass.
Cheers,
Andrew Lees, Marine Naturalist,
Five Star Whale Watching, Victoria, B.C.

Transient orca T10 off Trial Island May 26, by Andrew Lees

Transient orca T10, Trial Island, B.C. May 26, 2011
Photo by Andrew Lees, Five Stare Whale Watching, Victoria B.C.

May 26, 2011
Dave Ellifrit, Erin Heydenreich, Mercedes Powell, and Kira Kranzler of the Center for Whale Research departed Snug Harbor at 3:30 p.m., with reports of transients heading north near Kelp Reef. We encountered the group of five transients traveling north at 3:44 pm, about 1.5 miles north of Kelp Reef (48° 31.45 N; 123° 13.33 W). The whales consisted of T26, T26A, T10, T10B and T10C.
We followed the whales for several hours while they slowly traveled north up Haro Strait. During most of their travel they were very spread out. At 6:55 p.m. we ended our encounter , and began our trip back to Snug Harbor, only to be called back to the scene a few minutes later because the transients were hunting a porpoise. We arrived back at the scene just as the hunt was concluded, with the whales appearing to have made a successful kill. We departed for a second time at 7:20 p.m., leaving the whales milling around their suspected kill, three quarters of a mile east of Morseby Island (48° 42.80 N; 123° 16.02 W).
Center for Whale Research, San Juan Island, WA
Transient brothers T10B&C, May 26 by Dave Ellifrit, CWR

Transient orca brothers T10B and T10C, Haro Strait, May 26, 2011
Photo by Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research, San Juan Island
taken under MMPA permit #532-1822

May 29, 2011
Then today the T010's were spotted by the Sophia islands heading West.
Marie & Leah
29 May 2011 18:18:06 PDT

June 16 , 2011
A group of 5 Transient orcas were located heading west, just north of Portland Island. The group has been id'ed as T10, T10B, T10C, T26, and T26A. Shortly after we arrived at about 1230, the group changed direction - a seal hunt was on. They took one seal, then logged on the surface for a short time before resuming the hunt for a second seal. The second seal was still alive when we left at approximately 13:30.
Joan Lopez, Naturalist, Vancouver Whale Watch

June 17, 2011
Canadian Salish Sea waters today, by Sydney and the D'Arcy Islands! Another group of 4 Transient Killer Whales using the strong flooding tide, heading north, at about 1:45pm. They were swimming slowly in a fairly tight group, taking long dives, and like the ones yesterday, I wonder if they were resting a bit, letting that tide move them along? We indentified T-10 with her son T-10A, and youngster T-10C. We also identified T-26, but I did not see her 21 year old T-26A, who was sighted the day before with this group. The Center for Whale Research was out there, hopefully got photos to verify the group. As we left at 2:30pm we noticed Harbor Seals and Harbor Porpoise in Spieden and San Juan Channels, while not a one by Sydney or in Haro Strait- they must have got the word about the Transients!
Caroline Armon, Odyssey, San Juan Excursions, San Juan Island, WA


June 19, 2011
It turns out that there were two groups of transients travelling up the strait. Unfortunately they decided to remain quiet while in range of the hydrophones. Marie and company were able to identify them as the T10s and T26s as well as T18 and the T19s.
Elizabeth
19 Jun 2011 18:08:21 PDT