Orcas?
 

Where and when are the best general areas to spot Orca whales? Have seen the beautiful Humpbacks but really would love to see the Orcas. Any ideas? Thanks!

We had a very special and up close meeting with an Orca at sunset, Lime Kiln Park, San Juan Island, Puget Sound. It was incredible. Saw Orcas a couple of times off shore during that trip, but this fellow was just a few feet away from us, swimming back and forth, and gently blowing. Oh, it was something really special. The month was July.

Spent years in the Pacific NW, I really recommend San Juans. Best way to do it is either a tour..or my preference charter a sail boat and set sail for the islands. You will see them in summer..but so will the masses too so have anchorage or mooring buoy plans ready..and BTW summer doesn't always mean sunny. We had one memorable day where we encounterd dense fog, 50 knot winds and lightening and thunder all in one day. Tides and rip curents are not for the beginer.
Often seen in deep channel around Friday Harbor.

We saw a spectacular show of orcas at Lime Kiln Park, San Juan Island, near the light house. It was about 3 p.m. in mid-September and there were at least 6 whale watching boats following the pods. They really put on a show and it was the highlight of our visit!

You aren't likely to see them in Alaska, as all above mention, Wa. and BC are the areas. Add a couple days and get to Victoria BC or Friday Harbor Wa. I go out on zodiacs every trip. From a cruise ship and IF you go inside Vancouver Island southbound I have seen them several times at Alert Bay, BUT it requires a great deal of time invested at the front of your ship with a good pair of wide angle binoculars, AND the ship has to go that routing. For all the effort you will likely get 2 minutes of viewing, if you want more, definately add the time on Vancouver Island or San Juans.

Our boat tour must have been out of the ordinary, but we saw 2 different pods going and coming on the NW Kenai Fjords boat tour over Memorial Day weekend last year. Their other boats saw them that day, too. Our captain told us immediately what to look for, saying there were a couple of pods they saw very often--they had even given them names. One's dorsal fin was bent over and he explained that that happened after it's mother died--a physical sign of emotional grieving, and would never straighten up.

So maybe if you are taking one of those trips you'll get lucky, too.

I've seen orcas on a number of occasions out of Seward, but not as often other whales, so it's possible, but I wouldn't count on it.

Bayougal, I have taken Kenai fjords boat trips many many times. Overall, orcas are not seen. You were very lucky. There is a pair of transients, called the "bad boys", that hunt in the Kenai Fjords, it is a huge area, so pure luck if you are in the area of sightings.

As all my posts reflect, we do consider ourselves very blessed to have seen all the wildlife we saw last year. I have lots of photos if anyone would like me to email them, just let me know. One pod of Orca had a young one with it, so I guess that's not the hunters BQ is referring to. If you are interested in more information, I'd suggest a phone call so they can give you informaton about what wildlife you MIGHT see at particular times of the season.

We had hoped and prayed we'd see whales on the NW Kenai boat tour, and we really got exactly what we wanted. However, first day on shuttle in Denali, didnt' see anything besides foggy bus windows--it was raining/snowing. So you just never know! ;-)

My recommendation, Northmole, is to choose what you think will be the best boat tour for a CHANCE encounter with whales--if it's that important to you, and go. The boat tours are wonderful even if you miss the whales on that trip--there is so much more to see, and the whales are there only a couple of minutes then gone the next.

Enjoy your trip! Alaska is beautiful!

We were in Alaska August 05. We took the Kenai Fijord tour out of Seward and saw 5 orcas. It was unbelievable. They came right up to the boat (within 2 feet) and put on a great show. The tour guys said it was a rare show. And were we ever thankful. It made the entire ride worth it. We saw one humpback from afar and it didn't do anything great (like we did in Hawaii). We loved the orcas in Seward, but we know its not typical. But our whole trip wasn't typical. Alaska was setting record highs, we went 5 days without seeing a cloud, got sunburned and never saw rain. :) It was fabulous!

I was happy to see from Texasjo that you can see whales the middle of September in the San Juans.

On one of these forums, there was a link (which I can't find now) that listed all the months and what pods can been seen in the SJ's. It had no pods listed for Sept. or Oct.

We planned to go to the SJ's middle of Sept. and really want to see the whales. Do most people think that is a good time?

Thanks to all.

You'll find that info, with the chart showing sightings, on the Friday Harbor (on San Juan Island) Whale Museum's website.

You MAY see orcas anytime of year there, there are just more orcas that hang out in the San Juans in the summer. Contact one of the Whale Museum approved tour operators about the chance of sightings in September. These pods are pretty predictable about where they go during which times of year, and you can ask the tour operator if you'd be better off doing a trip out of another location (like Vancouver BC) if they are hanging out at the mouth of the Fraser River or in the Canadian Gulf Islands.

1Artist-I thought it was strange you said the chart indicated there were no pods in the area in September, so I double checked. If you look at the key at the bottom, you'll see that all of the green areas, which includes September, mean "J,K and L" pod sightings. They don't write it in every box, they expect you to look at the color key.

http://www.whale-museum.org/educatio.../arrivals.html

A couple of years ago on Memorial Day, we also spotted orcas on our Kenai Fjords 6hr tour. At least 6 or 7 and in no hurry to leave our boat side. But, on our last tour there in first week of Sept, we saw no whales and none had been spotted from boats for a couple of days, humpbacks or orcas.

I have orca watched several times in Sept out of Victoria. Always have seen them but the sightings stats are down compared to the summer. IF a priority, spend several days there or Friday Harbor. Best places for likely sightings, forget Alaska. Just too vast.

FYI: Northmole posted on another thread that she has cancelled her Alaska trip.

Thanks Christy1 for the whale museum link. I didn't read the bottom of the chart.