September 2021

Here is the September 2021 map for orca sightings in the Salish Sea!

Finally there are a lot of purple dots as the trend of recent years continues, with September being the best month of the year for Southern Residents present in inland waters. At least some of them were in the Salish Sea on a confirmed 20 out of 30 days. You can see they spent some time both in the Strait of Georgia and off San Juan Island, as well as some additional reports of other members of the population out west near Swiftsure Bank.

Meanwhile, the Bigg's killer whales, or Ts, keep adding to their record year. Families that spent a lot of time in the Salish Sea last month include the T18s, T37As, T65As, T100s, T101s, as well as the two brothers T60D and T60E. Other groups that made an appearance include the T46Bs, T69s, and the T99s - with a brand new calf!

If recent trends hold, what can we expect in October? The T reports might finally start to drop off a bit after the six month "peak" of April-September where they have been around daily. We also expect the Southern Residents to start making more forays into Puget Sound for the fall chum runs; over the last few years they've been documented on about half the days of October.

Thanks as always to our map maker Tomislav Flip and to all the community scientists who make these reports possible!