4/14 at 10:30

Bigg's killer whales T34s and T37s southbound approaching San Juan County Park

#orcas #wssjis #whalesky

Bigg's killer whale T65 Whidbey surfaces in the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the afternoon of April 12th

The legend behind the legends: T65 Whidbey.

IMO this 58+ year-old orca is one of the most underrated killer whales in the Salish Sea as the mom of three incredible children: T63 Chainsaw, T65A Artemis, and T65B Chunk.

Each kid has a devoted following, while she quietly comes and goes.

#whalesky

Playful juvenile Bigg's killer whales following behind 37 year-old female T172 Katmai

It was exciting to see T49B Van, who we hadn't seen in 4 years. Unlike her siblings T49A and T49C, she doesn't visit the Salish Sea very often.

The T49B/T117 group surging west as the T19s approached

A male Bigg's killer whale tail slaps in the Strait of Juan de Fuca as the two groups of orcas merged and started socializing

We're still reliving a picture perfect encounter in the Strait of Juan de Fuca last weekend with 11 Bigg's killer whales, including some we don't get to see too often! Present were the T19s, T49Bs, T117A, T117Bs, and T172.

#orcas #salishsea #whalesky

J-Pod northbound offshore of County Park 9:15 on 4/9

#orcas #whalesky #wssjis

T90s northbound in Griffin Bay
April 8th at 15:15

#orcas #whalesky #wssjis

Here's our first staff photo-ID challenge! Amanda (Whale U instructor and research assistant) and Vanessa (webstore manager and research assistant) face off for two rounds of Bigg's killer whale flashcards.

Can you ID any of these whales as you play along?

#salishsea #orcas #whalesky

A male Bigg's killer whale surfaces in front of the Lime Kiln Lighthouse in Haro Strait near San Juan Island, Washington

T65B1 Birdsall passing Lime Kiln lighthouse this afternoon

#orcas #killerwhales #salishsea #whalesky

14:00 Two groups of Biggs killer whales southbound towards San Juan Channel from between Green Point and Jones Island

#wssjis #whalesky #orcas

3/29/26
13:00 T49As heading NE up Upright Channel between Shaw and Lopez Islands

#wssjis #orcas #whalesky

Three Southern Resident killer whales from J-Pod surface off the coast of San Juan Island, Washington

The J16s made a rare pass *inside* of Goose Island as they went through Cattle Pass this morning!

All of J-Pod came down San Juan Channel and then wrapped around the island into Haro Strait in the afternoon.

#whalesky #orcas #srkw

A young orca calf surfaces surrounded by its family in the San Juan Islands. This calf is one of the newest members of the Bigg's killer whale population and has been designated T49A7.

This evening we were lucky enough to meet one of the newest members of the regional Bigg's killer whale population, calf T49A7 that was first seen earlier this month. You can see them here surrounded by the other orcas in the T49A matriline 😍

#orcas #whalesky #salishsea #wssjis

In the past month, we went on two field excursions for our 50 Shades of Gray Whale class. We had an amazing time observing local Sounders gray whales, including CRC-53 Little Patch, CRC-2246 Azulão, and CRC-2362 Thidwick. Here's a short video compilation!

#whalesky #pugetsound #whaleuniversity

10:15 report of at least 6 orcas heading SW along Blakely Island in Rosario Strait

#wssjis #whalesky

Orca Behavior Institute's 2026 just-for-fun March Madness bracket features a Bigg's killer whale right-side saddle patch showdown! Your votes will decide who gets crowned this year's champion. Day 3 pits T2C1 against T122 and T36A against T46B1.

Yesterday T19C beat out T65A3, and T419 *narrowly* edged out T19B by a score of 52-51.

We've got two more match-ups for you to vote on today: which Bigg's killer whale do you think has the better right side saddle patch?

Cast your votes here:
tinyurl.com/obininja26

#orcas #marchmadness #whalesky

J22 Oreo and J19 Shachi, two Southern Resident killer whales, surface in Haro Strait on March 18th, 2026

J-Pod came down from the Strait of Georgia and passed north up Haro Strait this afternoon! Is it a coincidence that the two whales who came closest to Lime Kiln are both former March Madness champions? (J19 - 2022, J22 - 2024)🤔😉

#orcas #whalesky #southernresidentkillerwhales

14:45 SRKW (likely J-Pod) offshore of Eagle Point, milling trending up island

#wssjis #orcas #whalesky

Round 1 Day 1 of the Orca Behavior Institute's March Madness: Saddle Patch Showdown 2026. This year is a Bigg's killer whale edition, where your votes will decide the best right side saddle patch in this just-for-fun contest. Today's match-ups are T90B vs. T19 and T60F vs. T99B

Our just-for-fun March Madness 2026 bracket starts today! Your votes will help us crown the best Bigg's killer whale right-side saddle patch.

Learn more about this contest and today's match ups here:
tinyurl.com/mmspsd26

Or vote directly here:
tinyurl.com/obininja26

#orcas #whalesky

Presumed mom T419

Presumed teenage son T420

Presumed younger sibling T421

The mysterious trio surfaces together in Admiralty Inlet

We caught up with the three mysterious mammal-eating orcas now known as the T419s today! The plot thickens as they are now associating with some of our regular Bigg's killer whales.

Read all about the day here:
www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/orca-updates...

#whalesky

An map/infographic from the Orca Behavior Institute about the three unidentified orcas that turned up near Vancouver, BC last week. They've only been seen once prior to turning up in the Salish Sea, and now are in Seattle, Washington!

Have you heard about the 3 mystery orcas that showed up near Vancouver last week and now were seen in Seattle today?

Get the details on what we know (thanks to the power of community science) and don't know about them here:
www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/orca-updates...

#whalesky

An infographic summarizing OBI's tracking of killer whales throughout the Salish Sea in February 2026 including a comparison of sightings by population over the last three years, a report on OBI's field encounters, and some highlights from the month.

You’ve seen the map, but here is another look at our February orca sightings stats throughout the Salish Sea. What do you make of the drop in Bigg's killer whale sightings last month? Are we returning to the "new normal" after 2 boom years, or might this decline continue throughout 2026?

#whalesky

T60C Yelnats, an adult male Bigg's killer whale, surfaces on a sunny spring-like March afternoon in San Juan Channel near Friday Harbor, Washington.

Not only did we "spring forward" an hour last night thanks to daylight savings time, it felt like we sprung forward into a whole new season today as well. The skies were blue, the sun was shining, and there were Bigg's killer whales in San Juan Channel!

Photo is of T60C Yelnats.

#whalesky #orcas

New Southern Resident killer whale calf L129. Photo taken under permit by the Center for Whale Research.

Here's a photo from @whaleresearch.bsky.social of the new calf they documented with L-Pod on 2/16! Look at that saddle patch 😍

Cautious optimism is the name of the game for newborn Southern Residents, but we sure hope mom and baby are able to thrive.

#orcas #whalesky #salishsea

Endangered Southern Resident killer whales passing close to the beach in front of dozens of excited onlookers at Point Robinson in Washington's Puget Sound.

The Point Robinson Lighthouse with orcas surfacing in front of it

A cartwheeling Southern Resident killer whale offshore of excited onlookers at Point Robinson in Puget Sound

Dozens of excited shore-based viewers have a close encounter with Southern Resident killer whales in Puget Sound

By popular demand, more images from 11/2/25 and the Southern Resident killer whale pass at Point Robinson, as seen from on the water while we were conducting our research project with CWR. 😍

#orcas #whalesky #salishsea #pugetsound

10:00 report of at least 3 orcas heading NW from Turn Island towards Friday Harbor

#wssjis #whalesky #salishsea

One of the T124A2s, a family of Bigg's killer whales, celebrates a likely sea lion kill in Puget Sound on February 8, 2026

Western Washington sure is an amazing place. After spending the night in Seattle, we were up in the snow of Snoqualmie Pass the next morning. We then made a detour on the way home and got to see killer whales in Puget Sound in the afternoon! 🗻🌊

#orcas #whalesky #salishsea

A summary infographic of January 2026 killer whale sightings in the Salish Sea, including the number of reports by population for 2024-2026, the number of OBI field research encounters, a few highlights, and a photo of the month

You've seen the map, but here's another look at how our January 2026 Salish Sea orca sightings stacked up!

This is a brand new version of our monthly graphic, so let us know what you think! Is there anything else you would like to see on these recaps?

#orcas #whalesky

Orcasound - Orcasound Lab

Southern Resident killer whales are audible on the Haro Strait hydrophones this morning as of 8:30!

live.orcasound.net/listen/orcas...

#orcas #whalesky

Episode 49 - January Whales in the Salish Sea | After the Breach Podcast There were a lot of whales here this January and the winter months are a great time to see them in the Salish Sea. On this episode we talk about our January encounters and who has been present in the ...

January whale-watching in the Salish Sea? It's a thing! Monika joined @afterthebreach.bsky.social host Jeff and @sjiwhalewatch.bsky.social naturalist April to talk about last month's orca encounters around the San Juan Islands for this podcast episode.

Take a listen via the link below!

#whalesky

A fun Valentine's Day themed sticker pack from the Orca Behavior Institute featuring three killer whale-themed holiday stickers

Treat yourself to a "killer" Valentine's Day with this fun orca sticker set 💞

Snag this limited edition pack here:
www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/product/2026...

#orcas #whalesky