I had the (Transient orcas) T100's, 124A's, and the T085's on the afternoon of January 22nd off Victoria's waterfront. I left them at 1510 hrs off of Pedder Bay west bound for Race Passage.
The first and last time I saw the T085's was in November of 2009 in S.E. Alaska during a cetacean survey with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Mark Malleson, Prince of Whales, Victoria, B.C.
March 28th 2011, around 3.30pm was one of those special days when word came in that a number of Transients were seen traveling north in Haro Strait. By the time we caught up with them in a zodiac having traveled from Victoria, they were heading toward Active Pass. There was considerable chop on the water but we could see the two little ones rise well above the waves. The two males, off on their own, appeared to hunt below the surface and what ever they caught, it was soon dispatched.
Mark Malleson, our Skipper, identified the group as the T100's and the T101's with the two males, as T102 and T101A. Always awesome to see these wild and free Orca in their 'Natural' environment.
Marie, Orca-Magic, 'Prince of Whales ', Victoria BC.
March 28, 2011
After the T100's and T101's passed the Center for Whale Research, NW San Juan Island, Dave Ellifrit and Debbie Sharpe departed in vessel Starlet. They encountered the T100,T100C,T100E,T100B, T100B1 just south of Turn Point (48° 39.29N, 123° 14.03 W) heading north at 12:44 pm. T101A and T102 were encountered shorly after traveling seperately from the previous group. The groups merged north of Turn point ( 48° 45.71 N, 123° 19.42 W) and began porposing west, where the encounter ended at 2:12 p.m.
Center for Whale Research, San Juan Island, WA
T100B1 and T100B
Photo by Dave Ellifrit
April 1, 2011
Transient orcas at the south end of Saltspring Island (many thanks to Neptune for locating the group and whale sitting until we arrived!) The group first appeared to be heading southeast, but what followed was only the first of many direction changes that we witnessed during our encounter. The travel pattern would have been best described as a series of large circles. At least one, if not several, seals lost out to these top ocean predators. We could see oil slicks on the water, and the gulls plus one bald eagle joined in for scraps. Following the meal there was some play time, and we were fortunate to see some spyhops, tail stands and even hear some of those eerily, amazing transient vocals. The whales that I could ID in the group were T100, T100B, T100C,T100E, T90, T90B and possibly newish calf with T90, T124, T124D and T124E. T100 B appeared to be calf-sitting T100E for mom, while T100 worked on getting lunch.
April 15, 2011
Graeme Ellis of Canada's Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans called in a report of his encounter with the large group of Transients in Sansum Narrows and Ladysmith Harbor, B.C. from April 15th. They had a total of about 31 orcas total, IDs include the T100s, T36s, T20 & T21, T124s, T65As T90s, T99s, T137s, T87s and T37s. They found them in Swanson Channel after we got the call from Tamar Griggs, then followed them down as they went into and back out of Ladysmith Island, and left them around 7 pm up by Yellow Pt.
May 12, 2011
5-12-2011 on Maya's Westside Charters in the afternoon, after receiving a call, we headed north and west to the north side of Galiano Island, B.C. where we encountered T20 and T21 heading east at 3:00. Farther east another boat came across T137, T137A and T137B. T137C was not present. Another boat was about 3 miles northwest of our location, returning to Vancouver, and came across several other whales. We did not see those whales and left the scene at 3:40. We made a return trip and at 5:35 encountered the same whales. However, this time many more whales approached from the west and joined the others. There was quite a lot of above water vocalizing and extraordinary surface action. The whales present included some of the same whales that were photographed at Lions Gate Bridge, Vancouver, B.C. Wednesday. The whales ID'd on the late encounter were: T20, T21, T137, T137A, T137B, T100, T100B, T100B1, T100C, T100E, T101, T101A, T101B, T102, T18, T19, T19B, T19C, T23, T23D, T26 and T26A. There was a total of 22 whales identified and possibly one or two more. I'll post more about the encounter along with a video clip and pictures on myblog.
Jeanne Hyde , San Juan Island
May 25, 2011
On Maya's Westside Charters in the afternoon we headed up Boundary Pass toward East Pt. where transients had been spotted. The 1st group we encountered were 4 whales, which included T19B (I could see three other whales with him & am assuming his constant companions T18, T19 and T19C, but I didn't get pictures of them for proof of presence.) We left them and headed toward Alden Bank. Just north of Sucia Island we encountered a 2nd group: T124C, T124A, T124A2, T124A3 and T124A4. We continued on and encountered a 3rd group: T100, T100B, T100B1, T100C, T100E, T101, T101A, T101B, T102, T124, T124D, T124E, T124A1, T36, T36B,and T36B1. They changed direction and the 2nd group and the 3rd group joined up heading back in the direction of Pt. Roberts.
On our way home, traveling through Boundary Pass we encountered a 4th group: T137, T137A and T137B. A grand total of 28 killer whales.
Of course I'll be posting to my blog about this exciting day on the water.
Jeanne Hyde, San Juan Island
May 27, 2011
From Friday Harbor, we headed north with word and hope of possible whales up in Canada by Active Pass. After an hour of searching and a pass by a few Steller sea lions, we started to see vessels off the east side of Saturna Island. Not far from those vessels were five black dorsal fins belonging to five transient orca whales! As we observed this pod, we noticed that all of the dorsal fins were crescent-moon shaped, each belonging either a female or a juvenile (male or female) and one of these dorsal fins belonged to a very small orca: a baby. Upon our first approach, we noticed several gulls circling overhead. Had the pod just taken a harbor seal or Steller sea lion with the gulls scavenging for scraps? We were still not certain. The transient group began heading south and then north and then random circles, moving rapidly at first and then slowly. The calf began acting up somewhat with fluke up dives, head stands and a semi-spy hop with its head clearing the water. As we ran out of time, the pod was still milling about and Bald Eagles were circling overhead. The pod was identified by another vessel as the T100s.
Serena, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris, San Juan Island, WA
