Update: Orcas pass West Seattle again; photos!

| Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

(Photo added 6:20 pm, taken by Jon from state ferry near Southworth – more to be added)
ORIGINAL 1:27 PM REPORT: From Orca Network, a report that the Bainbridge-Seattle ferry spotted “a lot of orcas” off Alki Point less than half an hour ago, heading south. Looking waterward, we see a big group of small boats in mid-Sound off South Bainbridge/North Blake Island – can’t tell if they’re following whales, though. Let us know if you see ’em! (P.S. And if you love orcas, don’t miss The Whale Trail‘s special event @ Duwamish Longhouse this Thursday night – details here.)

6:21 PM: Jon shared photos he took from near Southworth – THANKS!

JunctionMonkey February 22, 2011 (1:48 pm)

Flakes in the Junction, now. (I meant snow!)1:45 PM

bebecat February 22, 2011 (1:52 pm)

I am sure the other kind are there too!!! :D

d February 22, 2011 (2:00 pm)

Ooh, stellar day! Whale and snow alerts! :) Big fat flakes (of the snowy variety) here in Highland Park!

JunctionMonkey February 22, 2011 (2:28 pm)

They’re ALWAYS there! :-)

Chris February 22, 2011 (2:34 pm)

How can we defend Orcas against whale watching boats?

Lori W. February 22, 2011 (2:58 pm)

I spotted a fin or two out there just after 1:00. Thought I saw a fin but wasn’t sure, then noticed the Bremerton ferry had slowed to a crawl. Then I got the call from OrcaNetwork that a ferry captain had seen “many” orcas off Alki Point. I continued to spot a blow or fin here and there headed south. They passed by the east side of Blake Island and then I saw blows over near the Southworth ferry dock. That was probably about 2:10 or so. That was the last I saw of them. My hunch is they continued south into Colvos Passage.

herongrrrl February 22, 2011 (3:03 pm)

Orca Network reported a group heading down Colvos and another group further east, but all I could see from Me Kwa Mooks was the odd “spout” here and there. But hey, whales and snow on the same day, that’s pretty nice!

Genesee Hill February 22, 2011 (3:06 pm)

Big flakes at the top of Genesee Pass….

Alki lover February 22, 2011 (3:09 pm)

Is any snow sticking to the streets in WS??

lulu February 22, 2011 (3:20 pm)

snowing heavy in high point…

marty February 22, 2011 (3:41 pm)

Orcas love to feast on seals during the winter months.

yum February 22, 2011 (3:59 pm)

Seal pops!
Orcas=good
Snow=bad
in my opinion of course!

Cheryl February 22, 2011 (9:41 pm)

@Marty Our Resident orcas actually don’t hunt seals, only Transients do. Residents DO love salmon however. :)

marty February 22, 2011 (9:54 pm)

Cheryl: That’s true, but I don’t see here where it specifies that these are a residents or transients. I remember when a transient group entered Hood Canal in 2005 and really feasted on seals that didn’t seem to realize Orcas were a threat. They stayed for 18 weeks! I’m sure the remaining seals were much wiser.

seewhatsealionsstart February 22, 2011 (10:37 pm)

These are most likely J pod, one of our salmon eating resident pods. They came down Admiralty inlet on Sunday, stayed up in the north sound through Monday evening then headed down into Seattle sometime this morning. The size of the pod sighted today would indicate it is J’s come down from Possession Sound, tho I’ve seen no official ID.

seewhatsealionsstart February 22, 2011 (10:42 pm)

Thanks for sharing these photo’s, so beautiful!

Jo February 23, 2011 (7:44 am)

According to Orca Network, our beloved orca. J1 – “Ruffles” – is missing. Hasn’t been seen since end of Oct. 2010.
You couldn’t miss him – huge 6′ ‘ruffled’ dorsal. Always traveling alongside his mother, J2 – “Granny”.
Hope he’s just off on an adventurre, but unlikely.
If anyone sees him, be sure to let Orca Network know. And post here, too. Take a picture, if you can.
This is sad news.
Jo

cmckie February 23, 2011 (8:20 am)

Update: Around 8:10 a.m. (2/23), the Bainbridge-Seattle ferry passed a pod of orcas (approximately 5 or 6 from what I could count). They were jumping and splashing; heading north. One looked very young (size at least was much smaller than the rest). Great to see!

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