A happy followup today to the orca sightings that brought many out to the West Seattle shores yesterday afternoon, hoping to glimpse J-Pod passing by … Orca Network says the researchers who were following the whales for a while spotted a new baby! It’s been designated J47, born to mom J35, and you can see photos on the Orca Network website (scroll down from that photo and you’ll see the five babies born to the “Southern Resident” orcas last year – their population is now up to 88).

E-mail from Orca Network says J-Pod was spotted near Maury Island just before 1 pm, heading slowly north close to the Vashon side of central Puget Sound. The note adds, “NOAA Fisheries is heading out to try to get some fecal & fish scale samples – please let us know if you see the whales so we can help guide the researchers toward the whales – call us at 1-866-ORCANET – thanks!” (And keep us posted so we can share progress here and on Twitter and Facebook.) 2:13 PM: Just got a call they’ve been seen from Three Tree Point (here’s a map; a comment’s come in to that effect, too). Heading down to look from here!

3:32 PM UPDATE: Latest report puts them still south of Fauntleroy.

4:36 PM UPDATE: Whales passing Blake Island right now, still closer to the west side of the Sound.

4:54 PM UPDATE: As they say in sports, “called for darkness” (plus it’s starting to rain). Thanks to Donna from The Whale Trail, who says the view was best when they were off Marine View Drive/Arroyos, for letting us have a peek through her serious-sized binoculars toward the end of our stakeout at Emma Schmitz Viewpoint south of Me-Kwa-Mooks, and thanks to Janette from Seal Sitters for joining us on orca watch too. (Look for some seal pix/news later tonight.) Also thanks to WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli, who was also out on orca stakeout too, but they just didn’t get close enough. And thanks to everyone who commented, texted, called, tweeted with info. Next time maybe they’ll be closer to this side!

That photo is courtesy of Alki wildlife-watcher (and raft-keeper) Guy Smith, who tells the pre-photo tale:

Alki Point residents saw an eagle swooping down to the water this AM during a sea lion’s breakfast. It actually tried to get the salmon out of the sea lion’s mouth on several passes when the sea lion was slapping the fish around on the surface to kill it; similar to a dog shaking a snake. Eagles sometimes sit in a tall tree on a hill across the street and have a good view of the water, but they’re usually not this aggressive. Didn’t get a shot of the eagle, but the attached photo shows the sea lion downing the salmon.

(No proof one of them was involved, but this is still a good excuse to point you to David Hutchinson‘s fabulous Christmas photo of 2 Alki eagles, if you haven’t seen it already.)

Thanks to David Hutchinson for the photo and the story behind it:

While driving past Alki Point this afternoon, my wife and I noticed a bald eagle perched in the old madrone tree on the summit of the small hill just west of the lighthouse. After watching it for about 20 minutes, we were rewarded by being able to observe the arrival of its mate. After a couple minutes, they both flew off heading in the direction of Duwamish Head.

And thanks to Nick for sharing this photo from along the west-facing West Seattle shore:

He explains, “Saw this intrepid gentleman while at Lowman Beach with the kids.” Thanks to David and Nick for sharing those sights from this spectacular, sunny Christmas Day, and to everyone who’s shared photos, stories, news tips, event announcements, etc., via WSB – where our fifth year has just begun. We’re thrilled to hear from you any time.

ADDED 7:15 PM: As discussed in comments – a closer look at the unique Christmas outfit donned by the boarder, who turned out to be Lowman Beach artist/Ducky Reserve keeper Ron Sterling:

Only one report so far but you know how we are about sharing whale reports, in case you want to keep an eye out: “Cloudbreak” shared e-mail from a friend who e-mailed an hour ago, “OK, a few minutes ago a gray whale cruised by Alki, turned East at the lighthouse.” (Maybe it was this one.) ADDED 11:57 AM: Now a second report, closer to downtown – from Zack:

I’m down at Argosy Cruises and we had a gray whale pass us and head into the east waterway…last view I got was about 10 ago and it was surfacing inbetween the cargo ships. Looks like it’s still heading south.

(Photo by Gary Jones)
ORIGINAL 10:31 AM REPORT: Just got a call from orca expert Jeff Hogan – J-Pod is headed along the West Seattle shore – from south of Alki toward Lincoln Park. Closer in than usual, he says. Off to go have a look! 11:45 AM: No luck for your editor here but Gary Jones saw them – adding his photo in a moment. He counted at least three more in addition to the one shown in the photo. We’ve also got a Twitter report from @senorfrijole that they’re now in the Three Tree Point vicinity south of West Seattle (in addition to an 11:40 comment below that they were south of the Vashon ferry dock.) Keep an eye out later – maybe they’ll head back north. (Our past orca coverage, including stories with video and photos, is archived here, newest to oldest.) 12:23 PM: Good info in the comments, including this from “Cloudbreak“:

There are WAY more than 4 whales in this group. I would say more like 10-20. They were in several large groups circling over by Vashon when I was on the 11:30 ferry headed eastbound from Vashon.

Across the Sound from West Seattle, they were spotted in Kitsap waters over the past few days – here’s coverage of that. ADDED 1:17 PM: WSB contributing journalist Mary Sheely photographed a group of whale-watchers at Lincoln Park a bit earlier:

The woman in blue is a particularly well-known whale-watcher: Donna Sandstrom, who’s been working on The Whale Trail (explained in this WSB story from June). Mary, by the way, says they DID see the orcas — too far for a photo, but not too far for binoculars. ADDED 3:49 PM: KIRO TV has put up its helicopter video of the orcas as they swam near Vashon – see it here. 5:16 PM: As the awesome folks at Orca Network note in comments, please be sure that they get official detailed reports. Let us know fast so we can get the word out to other West Seattleites that the whales are in view again; they work with official whale-trackers for the longterm record. (And if you see orcas OUTSIDE West Seattle waters, let them know too – they track them from all over – be sure to sign up for their newsletter, which is a nightly bulletin usually full of photos and info – orcanetwork.org.)

Alki Point wildlife watcher/writer Guy Smith shares that photo with news of the first brant sighting – just two days after we published his story about the small geese who return to West Seattle waters (and elsewhere in Puget Sound) Thanksgiving week every year (see Guy’s story here). So – just like clockwork, they’re back; Guy photographed these a bit earlier this afternoon.

Have had a few reports in the past few hours of orcas passing southern West Seattle shores as well as Three Tree Point to the south – so it’s another day worth keeping your binoculars handy! (Here’s our Saturday coverage, photo included.) 3:36 PM: Note the comment a few minutes ago from G. Jones (who took yesterday’s great pic): “Just watched a pod of orcas – at least a dozen heading north past Alki Point over nearer to Bainbridge, now probably about due west of West Point.”

(Added 1:53 pm – photo by Gary Jones, orca with Alki Point Lighthouse tip in the foreground)
ORIGINAL 10:44 AM REPORT: Just got a text that orcas were spotted off Discovery Park (Magnolia) and heading this way. Off to have a look! 1:23 PM UPDATE: We didn’t see them but we’ve gotten two reports in the last 15 or so minutes that they’re NOW in West Seattle waters – off Alki Point just after 1, then @frewq via Twitter just reported them off Me Kwa Mooks “but not surfacing much.”

(February 2008 photo by Jim Clark)

Guy Smith of Alki Point has been watching brant geese come and go since he moved there in 1993. His personal observations together with source data from Ducks Unlimited (DU), Washington Brant Foundation, and Audubon field guides have led to the following story. Guy knows that his perspective is weighted toward Alki Point and he apologizes to those readers whose favorite brant watching beaches are not recognized by name in the story.

By Guy Smith
Special to West Seattle Blog

Sometime during the week of Thanksgiving this year, as happens every year, you should see the first of “our” brant geese return from their nesting grounds in the Arctic. Our brant will winter along Beach Drive, Alki Point, and other West Seattle tidelands before leaving again in May.

During the first week of every May, the bulk of the local brant geese population leaves the western shores of Alki bound for their breeding grounds in the Arctic. They travel with other Pacific brant, or black brant, and are nicknamed for their under-bellies which are noticeably darker than those of their Atlantic brant cousins.

These small tidewater geese of about 3 pounds hang around far past the time when you would expect them to leave, with the weather having been warmish for a long spell. But they have always waited this way.

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More photos from Alki’s Guy Smith, watching the purse seiner Quandary fishing off Alki Point Wednesday morning: First, the seal nicknamed “Squint” keeps an eye out from atop the Joy D. Smith Wildlife Raft – Guy says, “A fair amount of chum were caught as a sea lion patrolled just outside the net.” Next, you have to look really closely, but two Western grebes had a close call with the Quandary’s net when it came up apparently empty:

But Guy reports they managed to make a getaway, “awkwardly clambering over the floats at the last second”:

He adds, “A short while later the Quandary was seen miles north, looking for better fishing. In the afternoon, it returned to Alki Point. The Renaissance made a pass by, but didn’t stay.The seiners seldom stay more than 3 days at Alki Point, so the chum run might be about to end for this year.”