A gray whale is feeding close to shore off Alki. Kersti Muul says it’s about 100 feet out off the 1700 block of Alki Avenue SW right now and was close in off the west end of Alki earlier.

1:20 PM: Whale sighting just in from Kersti Muul – a baleen whale, northbound, close to shore, headed toward Brace Point. (That description means it could be a gray or humpback, among others.) Let us know if you see it!

6:12 PM: Kersti noted earlier in a comment that this is a gray whale. Added above, a photo from David Hutchinson, who says he “was fortunate to see the gray whale passing Constellation Park just after 3 PM today.”

Another marine-mammal sighting tip just in from Kersti Muul: About six transient orcas, northbound along the east side of Blake Island, “about to Tillicum Village.” Let us know if you see them!

10:07 AM: Eclipse visibility: Iffy. Whale visibility: Good news – Kersti Muul just sent word of two groups of orcas in the area: “Group 1: southbound from West Point. Group 2: west of mid-channel off the north end of Blake Island, unknown direction of travel.” Let us know if you see any!

10:22 AM: Kersti has updated in a comment below. In short, group 2 is headed out of sight (for now) along the west side of Vashon, but group 1 has entered Elliott Bay.

1 PM: Another update below from Kersti; meantime, we’ve added a photo above, sent by Dan Ciske.

6:24 PM: Thanks also to Robin Sinner for the next photo, taken as orcas passed Constellation Park:

6:16 PM: Just in from Kersti Muul: “Large group of transient orcas has been southbound and some are now south of West Point – just east of mid-channel.” That means they’re passing through the entrance to Elliott Bay. Let us know if you see them!

(Added: Photos by David Hutchinson)

6:20 PM: Update from Kersti – orcas are now heading into the bay.

6:40 PM: See comments for updates.

10:06 PM: Added two photos above, courtesy of David Hutchinson, who says they were “taken near the west end of the Alki promenade and from Constellation Park.”

ADDED TUESDAY: Photo from James Tilley:

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Just texted by Kersti Muul – orcas are southbound off Restoration Point (which is on Bainbridge Island directly across the Sound from the mouth of Elliott Bay). Let us know if you see them!

1:50 PM: Friday afternoon whale watching! Reported by Kersti Muul – a baleen whale is in the area, most recently seen in the Fauntleroy-Vashon ferry lanes, southbound.

4:03 PM: If you haven’t seen Kersti’s updates in comments – she says it’s a gray. (Around here, baleen usually means gray or humpback – though others have shown up on occasion.)

10:04 AM: Transient killer whales are in Elliott Bay again on this rainy morning – off Duwamish Head, Kersti Muul reports. Let us know if you see them.

11:16 AM: See comments for updates!

11:36 AM: Just texted by Kersti Muul: “Group of transients popping out of Colvos passage now NB toward Southworth.” (Colvos is the waterway along the west side of Vashon.)

1:26 PM: In addition to her update in a comment below, Kersti texted: “We had 2 grey whales near Restoration Point SB a while ago – likely still in the area.” (Restoration Point is on Bainbridge, right across the Sound from Alki – here’s a map.)

2:16 PM: Kersti says the orcas have gone into Elliott Bay.

ADDED 5:40 PM: Thanks for the photos! James Tilley says the orcas engaged in a “breachfest” near Anchor/Luna Park:

David Hutchinson caught one too:

Robert Spears noticed lots of boat activity in the area:

(added) One more photo! This one’s from Dan Ciske:

11:42 AM: Just texted by Kersti Muul: “Group of orcas near Seattle to Bainbridge ferry lanes … Direction unknown.” Let us know if you see them!

12:09 PM: Kersti says the orcas are now off the north tip of Vashon Island, southbound, but not yet clearly showing which path they’ll choose to continue southward (west channel or east channel).

Thanks to Jan Pendergrass for the photo. Orcas are back in the area today – seen off Duwamish Head as well as southbound off west-facing West Seattle – so if you have a water view, keep an eye out!

11:23 AM: While sun lovers might be sad about the gray sky – here’s a side benefit: It’s easier to see the black fins of orcas slicing through gray water than it is to see them in blue water on a sunny day. And if you can break away, or have a window with a bay view, you can look for some right now: Kersti Muul texted to report, “Large group of transients (10+) just entered Elliott Bay proper, north end, Seattle side, southbound.” Let us know if you see them!

11:33 AM: See Kersti’s update in the comment section below.

For the second day, orcas are in the area. Kersti Muul texted earlier this morning that they were southbound but already passing Arbor Heights; then another texter reported less than an hour ago they were northbound passing Vashon. Orca Network commenters are seeing them off west-facing West Seattle too. Let us know if you see them!

12:43 PM: Here’s an opportunity for Friday afternoon whale-watching: Kersti Muul just texted with a report that “a big group of transients” headed southbound just entered Elliott Bay off Magnolia. Let us know if you see them!

3:35 PM: In addition to the updates in comments, we now have video! Thanks to Jamie Kinney for sharing this:

2:37 PM: If you have some time for Saturday afternoon whale-watching, head toward the Elliott Bay shore – Kersti Muul just texted that transient killer whales are heading into the bay. Let us know if you see them!

3:51 PM: Jamie Kinney sent that camera-screen shot of an orca he saw from Don Armeni Boat Ramp. He says they’re still visible from there right now!

4:43 PM: And shortly thereafter, the whales headed out of the bay, per commenter EH.

6:41 PM: Thanks to those who’ve sent photos! These three are from Jamie:

And these two are from Robert Spears:

2:38 PM: After heading south this morning, whales from the Southern Resident orcas’ J-Pod are northbound again and right across the Sound from West Seattle, reports Kersti Muul. She says they’ve exited Colvos Passage (on the west side of Vashon) and are headed for the east side of Blake Island. Let us know if you see them!

3:51 PM: Gary says in comments that as of a few minutes ago, they were passing Alki Point, still northbound.

2:42 PM: Just got a text from Kersti Muul that orcas are visible from Constellation Park, looking across Puget Sound toward the Southworth ferry terminal. They’re northbound. Let us know if you see them!

4:10 PM: Still in the area, according to an Orca Network commenter who reported orcas just south of Restoration Point on the south end of Bainbridge [map].

Orcas are passing West Seattle, per a text from Kersti Muul – NB in the Vashon ferry lanes.

10:14 AM: Via text from Kersti Muul: “Orcas (several) SB from Bainbridge Island to Seattle ferry lanes, very close to Seattle side. Very surface active. Multiple males.” Let us know if you see them!

(Added: Photo by James Bratsanos)

10:53 AM: Kersti updates in a comment below that they’re still southbound, approaching Lowman Beach as of a few minutes ago.

11:28 AM: Photo added. They’re reported to be Burien-bound at this point – but eventually they’ll have to head back this way!

(Added: Photo by Greg Snyder)

12:18 PM: Another photo added. We’ll update this story later if we get word the orcas – transients, per Kersti – are headed back this way.

(Added: Photo by Dan Ciske)

3:03 PM: More photos added above and below!

(Added: Photo by Dan Ciske)

They were visible from 54th/Alki, Kersti Muul tells us. But beware that cold north wind!

3 PM: Orcas are in the area again, seen off Alki Point Lighthouse, per Kersti Muul. Let us know if you see them too!

3:07 PM: I They’re southbound, now off Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook (4500 block Beach Drive), Kersti says.

3:34 PM: Now off Lincoln Park.

Orcas are headed northbound past West Seattle, approaching Brace Point, Kersti Muul just texted.
P.S. If you missed their Elliott Bay visit Friday, we received reader photos last night and added them here.

(Photo by Maya Sears, NMFS Permit 27052)

Back on Tuesday, we published photographer Brittany Noelle‘s report about discovering a new baby orca with the Southern Residents’ J-Pod. Now whale advocates are excited about the calf’s relatively speedy gender reveal. He showed himself to West Seattle researchers Mark and Maya Sears, and The Whale Trail‘s Donna Sandstrom sent us their photos and details last night:

Mark and Maya Sears were out with J pod again (Thursday). They encountered J60, and confirmed he is a male! They encountered the whales near Point No Point on the north end of Bainbridge Island.

It can sometimes takes a while to determine gender of an orca – when they are young, the only way to tell them apart is by the markings on their underbellies. A whale has to roll over so the markings are visible – which J60 did (Thursday), twice!

(Photo by Maya Sears, NMFS Permit 27052)

J60’s mom is J40 (aka Suttles), a 19-year-old female. This is her first calf (that we know of). Maya said that J46, a 13-yr-old female named Star, spent a lot of time around the new calf too.

An interesting bit of history – Mark and Maya were the first people to spot J40 in 2004, when she was a newborn calf. The Sears encountered J40 and her mom J14 (Samish) mid-channel between Lincoln Park and Blake Island on December 21, 2004:

(2004 photo of then-newborn J40 and J14, by Mark Sears)

Nearly nineteen years to the day after they spotted J40, they spotted her first calf (J60).

There’s long been speculation that central Puget Sound is a calving ground for the southern residents. At least for J pod, that appears to be true!

(Photo by Maya Sears, NMFS Permit 27052)

There are now 10 calves under five years old in the southern resident population, and six of those are female. The future of the population is here! Whether they survive and thrive into adulthood is up to us.

Here’s how people can help:
-Give the orcas the acoustic space they need to forage, rest, and socialize.
-Watch southern residents from shore, and stay 1000 yards away from them at sea..
-Take the pledge at givethemspace.org and encourage your friends to take it too.
-Download the free app Whale Alert to learn when southern residents are near. Share any whale sightings with the app too..

This year Washington State passed legislation to establish a 1000-yard acoustic buffer around the orcas. The setback will become mandatory in 2025 – a welcome step forward. But the orcas need our help today. Take the pledge and help us give J60 a fighting chance!

J60’s birth brings the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales’ population to 76.