Transient orcas were in Elliott Bay and visible from West Seattle shores for much of the day on Thursday, as noted here. West Seattle photographer Jamie Kinney caught some amazing views – the first four photos are his, and you can see many more in this gallery on his website.

As reported by Kersti Muul starting Thursday morning, these were transient killer whales (though Southern Residents were seen yesterday too).

The whales brought out a crowd, too – here’s a Thursday photo from Duwamish Head, received from an unidentified texter:

No reports of whales in the West Seattle vicinity yet today, but Orca Network commenters have seen several in the South Sound, so eventually they’ll have to head back this way again.