Orca acoustics
There are several hydrophones live-streaming throughout the inland waters of the Salish Sea, so no matter where you live you can tune in and listen for whales! From a computer, you can record what you hear using the free, open source software Audacity, which works across all operating systems.
CHOOSE YOUR HYDROPHONE AND LISTEN LIVE!
CHOOSE YOUR HYDROPHONE AND LISTEN LIVE!
Hydrophones in The Salish Sea
Map of hydrophone nodes in the Salish Sea:
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- San Juan Islands, WA (hosted by Orcasound and partners and SMRU/The Whale Museum)
- Gulf Islands, BC (hosted by SIMRES and Raincoast)
- Puget Sound, WA (hosted by Orcasound)
Orca Vocalizations
Orcas make three primary types of vocalizations: clicks, whistles, and discrete calls. Clicks, or echolocation, are used by the whales to navigate and forage. Whistles are the primary social vocalizations for most dolphin species; orcas use them in social communication as well, but they are relatively rare compared to discrete calls. Discrete calls are short (1-2 second) tonal vocalizations with distinct harmonic structure.
Different social groups of orcas use different repertoires of stereotyped discrete calls, making it possible to identify which populations or sub-populations of orcas are present based on acoustic data alone. For example, the Southern Residents, Northern Residents, and Bigg’s killer whale populations that have an overlapping geographic range all sound acoustically distinct. Within the Southern Residents, while some call types are shared across pods, J-Pod, K-Pod, and L-Pod can also be distinguished acoustically.
Just like the whales themselves, killer whale whistles and discrete calls are given alphanumeric designations: S1, S2, etc. for discrete calls and SW1, SW2, etc. for whistles You can find the original catalogue of discrete call types for Northern and Southern Residents and Bigg’s killer whales (transients) published by John Ford in 1987 at this link.
Different social groups of orcas use different repertoires of stereotyped discrete calls, making it possible to identify which populations or sub-populations of orcas are present based on acoustic data alone. For example, the Southern Residents, Northern Residents, and Bigg’s killer whale populations that have an overlapping geographic range all sound acoustically distinct. Within the Southern Residents, while some call types are shared across pods, J-Pod, K-Pod, and L-Pod can also be distinguished acoustically.
Just like the whales themselves, killer whale whistles and discrete calls are given alphanumeric designations: S1, S2, etc. for discrete calls and SW1, SW2, etc. for whistles You can find the original catalogue of discrete call types for Northern and Southern Residents and Bigg’s killer whales (transients) published by John Ford in 1987 at this link.
Spectrograms of Southern Resident killer whale whistles can be found in OBI's 2021 paper by Souhaut and Shields.
Primary type of Vocalizations
Orcas make three primary types of vocalizations: clicks, whistles, and discrete calls.
SW2
Echolocation
S2
Southern Resident killer whale whistle SW2
Southern Resident killer whale echolocation
Southern Resident killer whale discrete call S2
Identify J-Pod
J-Pod's most common call type is S1.
Some of their other common call types – such as S3, S7 S12, are similar in structure, with multiple descending notes.
Another common J-Pod call, often characterized as sounding like a sheep or a goat, is the S4. Other pods to occasionally make this call too, but if you hear a bunch of S4s, it’s almost certainly J-Pod.
S1
S3, S7, S12
S3
S7
S12
S4
J-Pod’s most common call (S1)
Similar in structure, with multiple descending notes (S3,S7,S12)
If you hear a bunch of S4s, it’s almost certainly J-Pod
Identify K-Pod
K-Pod is distinct with their high-pitched, kitten-like calls, S16 and S17
S16
S17
S36
Identify L-Pod
L-Pod has two distinct acoustic groups. The L12 sub-group can be readily identified by their usage of the S2iii
(read as "S2 type 3") call:
The most common call for the rest of L-Pod is the S19:
S2iii
S19
S18
S2iii from the L12 sub-group of L-Pod
Most common call from the rest of L-Pod
Add text here
SRKW Superpod Clip and Pod Quiz
You'll hear the above call types and many others in this short superpod clip. It's hard not to smile when hearing
vocalizations like this! If you enjoy this one, you can check out a highlight reel of some of other favorite
recordings over the years on our Soundcloud.
SRKW Superpod
A Southern Resident killer whale superpod, which sounds a lot like the social party it is when all members of J-, K-, and L-Pod get together
Below you’ll find three two-minute recordings, one from each pod. Using what you learned above, can you figure out which pod you’re hearing in each one? Answers are at the bottom of the page.
Quiz #1
Quiz #2
Quiz #3
Other Species Heard on the Hydrophones
The hydrophones don’t just pick up Southern Resident killer whales, but also anything else audible underwater. Often, you will hear long stretches of engine noise from a passing freighter, or the louder but briefer transiting of a smaller vessel. Sometimes you can even hear wave action or rain! Most exciting though is to detect other marine mammals.
If you listened to the above clips of Southern Resident discrete calls, you’ll hear an immediate difference in the vibrato calls that are distinct for Bigg’s killer whales.
Bigg’s killer whales aren’t nearly as vocal as Southern Residents, but as their presence in the Salish Sea has increased, they are detected more often on the hydrophones. They are most likely to vocalize after a hunt or when in multi-family social group.
Bigg’s killer whales aren’t the only population that has increased in the Salish Sea; after nearly 100 years of being hunted to local extinction, humpback whales have also returned. Beginning in 2013, humpback whale song fragments and phrases have been heard on the hydrophones, most often in September-December.
Finally, every year we also get questions about this “heavy breather”, heard after dark on the Haro Strait hydrophones. While usually silent underwater, this is actually a territorial vocalization from a male harbor seal!
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Bigg's killer whales
Humpback whales
Male harbor seal
Bigg’s killer whale discrete calls
Humpback whale in Haro Strait December 2019
A territorial vocalization from a male harbor seal
Quiz Answers:
- #1. K-Pod
- #2. L-Pod (L12s)
- #3. J-Pod