West Seattle whale watch: Sightings reported nearby

| Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

11:59 AM: It’s been a while since the last reported whale sighting off West Seattle shores, but Linda reports via Facebook that, about an hour ago, she “saw whales between Blake and tip of Bainbridge … from Lincoln Park. Not certain what type of whale.” Checking Twitter for any corroborating reports, we came across one from a Bainbridge resident reporting an orca sighting from “the ferry” with the past 15 minutes. No word on which direction, nor have we heard from our area’s whale experts, but a heads-up is always in order.

12:29 PM UPDATE: Orca Network just mentioned them on FB a moment ago:

We have reports from the Ferry Tilikum of 4-5 orcas in the Fauntleroy ferry lane at 10:32 AM, 6 or 7 seen by Melinda Simon heading north off Alki Point around 11:10 AM and of 6-8 orcas seen by Jeff Hogan at 11:25 in the Bainbridge ferry lane, still heading north. So far no definite ID’s but they are likely transients.

b-squared January 15, 2011 (12:14 pm)

10:45am. They were killer whales. i was at coleman pool and saw at least five right out front. A mother and infant always together, a couple of other medium size whales and a larger male out in front. there may have been others that i missed seeing. made my day!!!

Donna, The Whale Trail January 15, 2011 (12:49 pm)

A small group of orcas (likely transients) headed north along WS this morning, first reported from the Vashon ferry around 10:45. Per Jeff Hogan, they were still going north, and out of view from WS, about an hour ago. (I missed them too, but always good to know they’re around!)

onceachef January 15, 2011 (1:07 pm)

Do we have a “tent city” for transient orcas? :)

Deanie January 15, 2011 (1:52 pm)

Lucky you, B-Squared!

colleen johansen January 17, 2011 (11:30 am)

We San Juanders love knowing our resident orcas glide through in the winter now and again. It is a big deal especially in January when it is so dreary, wet, gray and windy. Oh and SNOWY (lately). You might enjoy some daily San Juan Island updates? go to Facebook/SanJuanSafaris – Orca Whale Watching

Jeffrey Smith January 17, 2011 (6:03 pm)

Sorry for the late post…. The WSB is new to me (I love it and it is becoming “my news source”.

I live on Arroyo Beach and at about 10:20 we spotted the whales heading northbound. They were closer to Vashon than W Seattle but were very clearly visible. They were spread out by roughly a mile from the first one to the last one. I would guess there were more than the 4-6 reported. The most we saw at the surface at one time was 3 and there were several others surfacing a distance from them..

I notified the neighbors and we all came out and enjoyed the sighting. This was the first time seeing the Orcas in our new home. It was definitely the best part of our day….

I am off to buy a better telephoto lens now.

WSB January 17, 2011 (6:08 pm)

Thank you, Jeffrey. We do our best to cover as much local news as possible. And if you ever see whales – or anything else you think we should know about so we can share the info, or at least investigate further – check out our contact info at https://westseattleblog.com/contact – we answer the tipline 24/7 206-293-6302, and answer e-mail pretty close to around the clock too – Tracy

Lisa January 21, 2011 (9:20 am)

That’s by far the best way to see orcas, out in their element, enjoying their own lives.. not stuck in some crappy pool somewhere.

Heart February 2, 2011 (9:37 am)

This morning there was a pod of orcas alongside the 7:55 ferry from Southworth to Fauntleroy. They performed for all of us commuting, and one mama and little one were especialy energetic! They came near the ferry about 100 yards out from the Fauntleroy ferry doc. :)

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