Orca Pod heading north

[Bruce Moore]

I got the word (via Twitter) that a pod of Orcas was spotted heading north near the top of Vashon Island. Grabbed the binocs and saw so spouting just beyond Alki Point. Soon there were what seemed like a dozen whales blowing and breaching, making their way past Blake Island. I've been watching them, from my downtown condo, for the last hour.

They've been roughly following the route shown on this map from the northern tip of Vashon up to Eagle Harbor, but at this point, they're all north of Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge. The pod was quite spread out, over several hundred yards, so it was hard to get a good count. But we estimate somewhere close to a dozen Orcas are making their way north.

Amazing thing to see.

 

[Ainokea]

You have Orcas but today I observed the beginning of the Manatee migration on the St. Johns. The females and the new calves were heading for the springs and warmer waters, not that it is cold out as it was 92f today. This is the first indication of our changing seasons much like the leaves changing up North. Soon the waters will be full of Manatee snouts poking through the water to get a breath and their tails will be leaving broad strokes on the water surface.....

 

[Bruce Moore]

Pretty cool. From the upper-left hand corner, to the lower-right. All right here on Tug Nuts.

We hope, someday, to see your marvelous Manatees in their natural environment.

Cheers

 

[Bruce Moore]

It turns out we were seeing members of J, K, and L pods. Estimates of over 50 whales are being reported. We kept trying to count, but couldn't believe there were as many as there appeared to be.

Here are a few pictures and a short video taken by other observers yesterday. Read the comments for a great account by a passenger on the Argosy Cruise boat which departed Blake Island to find itself in the midst of what is now being reported as a rare "super pod".