Latest Sightings

A publication of Wild Ocean Whale Society (WOWs)

Orca, Humpback, Porpoises, Branded Steller Sea Lion, Plus More

At least some Orca are around our area. Since the report came in late, no-one was left out on the water to identify them. The Superpod of Transients were by the US/Canada border yesterday (see reports below) but could have made it back up here. In addition, there were some Dalls Porpoises, a Humpback Whale,…
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Pacific White Sided Dolphins and Whale Updates

May 25:Hi.  I am not sure how to report a sighting.I saw a group of 6 to 8 dolphins in front of Beach Gardens at 6:05 pm today.  They were slowly heading south along the mainland coast.  They were swimming in various directions as if they were feeding.Bob May 25: 4:45 pm around 12 Pacific…
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Transient Orca Report, Photos and Porpoises

May 23: 10 am The 8 to 10 Transient Orca were slowly working their way between Powell River and Texada Island – still on a slow roll Southward. So, headed out with neighbour Steve G. to locate them. They did a number of long dives and continued their slow travel Southward in a zig zag pattern.…
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Transient Orca and Dolphins Update

All day long, the same group of Transient Orca which included T019B T018 and T023 were almost down to Powell River. Although I scanned during the day, not a blow, splash or dorsal was spotted off Powell Rive. The closest they got was around Grant’s Reef, just South of Sentry Shoal. This morning the Whale…
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Photos of Whales and Dolphins plus Updates May 21

Today was incredibly quiet after yesterday’s excitement of Transient Orcas and Pacific White Sided Dolphins within minutes of each other. It was certainly not through lack of looking by all the whale watching boats out there. There was an unconfirmed report that the Orca went into Desolation Sound last night, and the Dolphins were headed…
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Killer Whales – Dolphins and Porpoises May 20

This report is not last to first but covers today. It’s in time sequence, so do read on: What a perfect day to be on the water! Flat calm and sunny….and whales and dolphins and porpoises to boot! 9 am I heard a report of a “couple” of Dalls Porpoises at the bottom of Cape…
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Transient Vocals and Other Reports to May 19

Here’s a link to some awesome Transient Orca vocalization and video provided by Jen from Campbell River Whale Watching that was recorded on Tuesday, May 17 evening when the whales were just behind Harwood Island, close to Sentry Shoal. Well worth the watch and listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxnJhUOuAQ4 The water was like glass today and around 7…
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Transient Orca Super Pod Returns

The large Super Pod of Transient Killer Whales didn’t stay very long at the top of Johnstone Strait! All 30 + Orca returned early this morning and stayed all day. Keep your eyes on the look out – they are around. I kept looking today, but they never came as far as Powell River….but almost.…
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Orca Sightings May 16

For us along the Sunshine Coast, things were certainly quiet today, especially after all the excitement of the huge numbers in the Transient Super Pod. May 16:All 30 + Transient Orca were up at Robson Bight around 9 am. They continued in a Westerly direction then around 3 pm they turned East again heading towards…
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Transient Orca Superpods May 15

Another day with even more Transient (meat eating) Killer Whales grouping up. Today’s finally tally was Over 30 whales together. Absolutely Amazing! There are still large groups of Transients in Washington State too. Then there’s the debate of the identified whales T20 and T23 that were in two places at once! Many nicks look very…
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Another Day of Transient Orca – Lots of Them

htWow! The Transient (meat eating) Killer Whales are everywhere – and in large numbers. From the large group cruising the outskirts of Desolation Sound to the one that were in Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet the other day making an appearance in the Washington State San Juan Islands. Not many reports of anything else though.Susan MacKay –…
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Transients and Sea Lion Update May 13

Down in South Harbour, I don’t have as good radio reception, especially at low tide behind the high rock breakwater, so couldn’t hear if any of the boats found the Orca noted below. I did take the skiff out for a short while to drop the hydrophone and scan the waters – just in case.…
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Transient Photos and Update May 11

Yesterday’s report didn’t get out to everyone – I’m afraid it may have been my late posting in hopes of having the photos to include with it. Today you should receive both yesterday’s and today’s postings including AJ’s photos, at once. I do apologize for the confusion and the very long subscription report. If you…
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Lots of Transient Orca Acrivity May 10

What a busy day! Unfortunately I never got out there, but the Whale watching and Nature tours had a great show in the rain and lumpy Georgia Strait all day today. Read on:Susan MacKay Whales and Dolphins BC May 10:7:30 am Coming out of Frederick Arm (just above Desolation Sound) 20 to 25 Orca moving…
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Transient Orca and Dalls Porpoises to May 9

The weather here was absolutely perfect for spotting whales, calm and sunny, but there wasn’t a single blow seen from my vantage point. The only item from the immediate Powell River area was hearing the California Sea Lions barking when a tug got too close to their haul-out on the hulks breakwater. My location is…
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Dalls Porpoise and Transient Orca May 7

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers out there! May 7:At 6:15 pm I received a call from John and Joan T. asking if I could see the Orca. Well, I had just set the binoculars back down, because although I thought I saw something, I couldn’t find anything. After the call I did locate them.…
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Transient Orca and More Transient Orca May 6

Today there were more sightings of Transient (meat eating Killer Whales. Seems like the Transients are working their way around the islands from Desolation Sound down to the US border. Today’s reports were forwarded through Aaron of Campbell River Whale Watching below.Susan MacKay Whales and Dolphins BC May 6:Orca (no numbers I’m afraid) by Sonora…
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Orcas and Contest – May 5

What a great day! Orcas, some possibly from G-Pod and Transients as well. As for something different, I have included information on a contest that could win someone a great cruise. Look for it below the Sightings Reports. Please note that for some unknown reason, my yesterday’s post did not go out to subscribers. It…
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Northern Resident Orcas and Porpoises to May 4

I received a huge surprise this morning when I heard about a Northern Resident Pod of Orca known as “G Pod” reported in Washington State May 1st. The report may be off by a couple of days, but my first thought was “What were they doing down there!” This is something quite unusual, but it…
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Killer Whales – Dolphins – Humpback to May 2

May 2:My scanning the waters has been intermittent and brief. I thought I saw some blows and movement a couple of times, but not having the time to watch for too long, could not confirm what animals, if any. Even a call to a neighbour to look from a different vantage point did not produce…
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Humpback Porpoises and Sea Lions

April 30:A few blows and a back of what appeared to be a Humpback Whale slowly moving in a Northerly / North-West direction in mid strait between Sliammon (just north of Powell River) and Harwood. I watched between 10 and 10:30 am then spotted it again, a short distance North, close to Atrevida Reef around…
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Orca Sightings and Whale Updates to April 29

April 29:AJ was out on the water today running a water taxi from Campbell River. We spoke a few times during the day with hopes that someone would locate the Orca, thought to be Transient (meat eating) Killer Whales he spotted early in the morning. All my scanning the waters around Powell River produced only…
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Whale and Porpoise Updates April 27

With all the excitement of having Northern Resident Killer Whales in our area the other day, I did forget to post the updates from farther south. I also apologize to Roger Jennings who kindly contributed the A Pod photos. In case some of you didn’t catch it, I called him Peter….well, it was a newsworthy…
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Northern Resident Orca Sightings April 25

More Orca sightings today. The weather wasn’t quite as nice as the other day, but the water was calm. The big surprise is that these whales are from the A5 pod of Northern Resdient (fish eating) Orca. We haven’t seen them around for a while so it’s quite exciting. After the last report, I kept…
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Transient Killer Whales April 23

April 23:Reports of Orca Southbound in Lewis Channel just below Teakerne Arm around 11am. They slowly moved down the channel to just above the Copeland Islands, locally known as the Ragged Islands.The weather was almost summer-like, and flat calm water to boot! The Campbell River Whale Watching tour caught up with them around 12:30;m between…
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Transient Orca, Porpoises – April 22

Transient Orcas this morning at 8:20am by Powell River, only two were visible at any time with the big male being either T054 or T093. It was difficult to tell for sure – they were not staying on the surface very long. They did cruise by some sea lions, and were on a head on…
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Humpback or Gray Whale April 20

April 20:Around 4:30 pm I spotted a blow close to the Texada Island side of Harwood Island. After rushing upstairs for the binoculars and staring out at the water for a while, I determined I was seeing things. That is, until I saw another blow by the reef off of Blubber Bay, where the Texada…
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More Transient Orca, Dalls Porpoises – Sightings to Apr 19

Guess my intermittent sightings of blows was something! We’ve had Orcas spotted in the Powell River to Vancouver Island area for a number of days. We mostly seem to spot them when they appear to be going in a southerly direction, but I do believe they turn around and are some of the same ones…
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Orca and more Orca Reports to April 18

April 18 – No reports today, but again I thought I saw a blow during one of my scans of the ocean….keep looking, they’re out there.There are many Transient (meat eating) Killer Whales along our coast right now. They do seem to be everywhere from the US to well into Johnstone Strait. April 17 –…
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Dolphin Sighting – Orca – Grays – Humpback Update to April 16

There is a slight change to the email updates which are now going out very late at night so that I can include any evening reports of the day and it will be in your email InBox first thing in the morning before heading out on the water. April 16 – I swear I saw…
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