PHOTOS: Orca sightings off West Seattle

(ADDED: Photo by Paul Brannan – orca off Fauntleroy)

5:43 PM: Caller says a few orcas are southbound – playfully, not speedily – off Constellation Park south of Alki Point right now. Might be “transients,” which Orca Network says have been in the central Sound today. Let us know if you see them!

7:46 PM: Adding a photo – thanks, Paul!

8:25 PM: And thanks to Araya Casey Photography for sharing these images:

The photos were taken in the Alki area.

9 Replies to "PHOTOS: Orca sightings off West Seattle"

  • CRS October 4, 2015 (5:54 pm)

    Currently south of Vashon Ferry terminal. There are 3 of them. Very cool!

  • Cagey October 4, 2015 (6:16 pm)

    There were four of them off lowman beach and Lincoln park at 5:45-ish.

  • ~Hockeywitch~ October 4, 2015 (6:29 pm)

    I need some sort of an Alarm to let me know when they are close.. I always miss them. I think they must know when I’m home and that’s when they swim by…lol. they talk to each other, “Hey, that lady is gone, lets go quick!”…

  • tom October 4, 2015 (6:41 pm)

    so glad i follow WSB on twitter! got the tweet 15 seconds after posted and got to the beach in 5 minutes for perfect viewing. Thanks!!

  • Keri October 4, 2015 (8:57 pm)

    So lucky to be beach combing at Constellation Park when a photographer gave us a head’s up. (THANK YOU!!!) After 9 years, we finally saw them, and just a few feet off shore. And I could swear one of the babies was with them.

    • WSB October 4, 2015 (8:58 pm)

      They might have had a calf along – so far we have only heard that these were transients, not the Southern Residents which have welcomed five this year – the transient population is not tracked quite as closely.

  • JSA October 4, 2015 (9:42 pm)

    We saw them around 5pm from our house in SW Magnolia. They swam right by headed toward Alki Beach. So beautiful.

  • Mary S October 4, 2015 (11:18 pm)

    Hockeywitch, if you follow the Orca Network on Facebook, they usually alert folks. Today we just happened to be standing right on Beach Drive when they appeared!

    • WSB October 4, 2015 (11:30 pm)

      We publish word to FB and Twitter as well as here as soon as we get a West Seattle sighting report (and we have great sources too). ON is great but it’s regional, so its readers post sightings for many areas and so the WS-specific info is sometimes buried in comment threads. Even an immediate alert is no guarantee of seeing them, believe me … we usually rush right out after posting to all channels and seldom get a glimpse. Glad for everyone who did see them today; we were off-peninsula at the time and couldn’t even try, but very thankful to have received photos to share. – TR

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