Orca Behavior Institute

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Orca Behavior Institute

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Inspiring conservation of wild killer whales through non-invasive research, bold advocacy, and science-based education.

The Orca Behavior Institute is a non-profit whale research organization based on San Juan Island, Washington. Founded in 2015, OBI was created by a small group of passionate community scientists. Our goal is to establish long-term data sets documenting changes in whale behavior in the Salish Sea to inform protection of Bigg’s killer whales and recovery of Southern Resident killer whales. By tracking and confirming whale sightings throughout the region, conducting field observations of whale behavior, and recording and analyzing whale acoustic communication, we aim to publish current data and trends in a timely manner to inform other research efforts and on-going policy decisions. As we’ve grown in recent years, our work has expanded to include science-based continuing education programs and partnerships aimed towards promoting bold advocacy on behalf of regional killer whales and the ecosystem they rely on.

11/11/2026

In case you missed it, the new episode of After the Breach Podcast is live! After a busy few months on the water, Sara, Monika, and Jeff are finally back behind the microphones to catch up on the 2026 whale season. They compare this year’s sightings with previous seasons, discuss which Bigg’s killer whale families were seen more—or less—often, celebrate several new calves (like T49A7, pictured here), and reflect on the continuing decline in summer visits from the Southern Residents.

A highlight of the season were a few unforgettable all-day trips into the western Strait of Juan de Fuca, where the group encountered extraordinary gatherings of hundreds of humpback whales. They share what it is like to be surrounded by blows in every direction and to witness these incredible events.

They also look ahead to upcoming research projects and the newest Whale University class, Year of the Whale.

You can listen to the newest episode at the link below:

https://www.afterthebreachpodcast.com/e/episode-56-2026-whale-sightings-recap/

11/11/2026

After heavy wind and rain overnight, we knew we would be off the water on November 8th, but with J-Pod in Possession Sound, we were surprised by a morning report of orcas northbound off Vashon Island. Even more amazing was when it turned out to be K-Pod! With so many eyes and ears looking and listening for them in this region, it's always impressive that so many whales can appear somewhere unexpected. They must have come in quickly and quietly the night before!

With Js and Ks having met up, we were extra keen to get on the water with our partners from the Center for Whale Research on the morning of the 9th. Thankfully the day dawned clear and calm. We found the 40+ Southern Residents not far from the marina and were able to have some extended time with them, resulting in our most productive day of data collection yet.

The most remarkable part of the day was seeing how many chum salmon the whales were catching. From a standard perspective, we can detect behavior that looks like foraging, but with the assistance of the drone, we can actually observe when prey pursuits near the surface are successful. And there were a lot of them! Chinook salmon make up the majority of the Southern Residents' year-round diet, but they are known to seasonally shift their diet to include other salmonid species. It's the fall chum runs that primarily draw them into Puget Sound this time of year.

The active foraging we observed was broken up with some moments of socializing, including this breach from J51 Nova. At 11 years old, it's very noticeable how much he's grown. It looks like his dorsal fin is already "sprouting", or growing from the ~2.5' fin of females and juveniles to the ~4-5' fin of an adult male.

11/10/2026

Registration for Year of the Whale is now open! This new, year-long class will focus on the Salish Sea’s most commonly seen whale species during their peak season for sightings:

gray whales in winter ❄️
killer whales in spring 🌸
minke whales in summer 🌞
and humpback whales in the fall 🍁

Each season will consist of 3 virtual classes (including guest experts) and a boat trip focused on seeing the corresponding species in the wild. Check out the link below to learn more about Year of the Whale!

https://www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/whale-university-classes/year-of-the-whale

11/09/2026

On November 7 we had another successful morning on the water with J-Pod while working on our collaborative field project with the Center for Whale Research. The whales were spread out and foraging, so we heard lots of echolocation over the hydrophones along with sporadic calls. The goal of this research is to pair these localized hydrophone recordings with drone observations of orca behavior to gain insights into their communication system. Ultimately, this will inform passive acoustic monitoring efforts to help identify important foraging areas in places where visual observation of the endangered Southern Residents is more difficult.

J-Pod was spread out such that we only saw about a quarter of the pod throughout the course of our encounter while traveling with them up the east side of the channel past Edmonds. Here are a few photos from the day, including J38 Cookie under Tahoma (Mt. Rainier). The other images are pictures of J35 Tahlequah, J57 Phoenix, and young calf J65, who has seemingly learned how to spyhop! We've seen regular spyhops from him this week as he practices this behavior.

11/08/2026

Before we get too far into November, let's check in on our October 2026 killer whale sightings throughout the Salish Sea.

On the Southern Resident killer whale front, they were present for 14 days in October, right on par with their 5 year average. Almost all of the sightings were of J-Pod, with Ks and Ls just being seen in the far western Strait of Juan de Fuca. For the second year in a row, the Southern Residents did not foray into Puget Sound during the month of October. Instead, Js were also seen more often in the central Strait of Juan de Fuca as opposed to further into inland waters.

The highlight of the month was of course the documentation of new calf J65, born to J35 Tahlequah. This little one, her third living son, was first seen in the middle of the month, and bumps the total number of J-Pod whales to 28.

For Northern Residents, the A25s and A42s were seen on 3 days in October, also about the level expected. They made one early visit to the Sunshine Coast in the southern Strait of Georgia, and we hope they'll repeat their pattern of the last couple seasons of being around the Howe Sound area frequently towards the start of the new year.

We were able to confirm the presence of Bigg's killer whales on every day in the month of October for the fourth year in a row, extending our consecutive day streak to over 250 days and counting for 2026. This was thanks to community scientists posting identifiable photos on regional sightings pages, so know that your reports do matter and are being added to our database!

Some notable sightings included T50B1 and T50D traveling with the T49As for a stretch, the T34s and T37s reunited after spending most of the year traveling separately, and T49A2 Jude and T65A3 Amir meeting up (the duo known in 2022 as "the butcher boys"). The T99s also returned to the Salish Sea after a seven week absence, traveling once again without T99B Holly, leading us all to wonder when and where she will show up next!

For any questions about our sightings maps, please check out our FAQ page here:
https://www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/orca-updates/frequently-asked-questions

11/07/2026

On the morning of 11/5, we headed out with our partners from the Center for Whale Research for our second encounter with J-Pod this field season. This time, we caught up with them just south of the Edmonds-Kingston ferry lanes where they were spread in tight, slow moving groups spread across the channel.

While our day on the water ended up being cut short again due to rising winds, our first drone flight/hydrophone deployment of the day was an incredibly successful one. J-Pod was running through a large portion of their repertoire, vocalizing regularly as they made their way north. We also observed regular tail slaps, spyhops, and rolling at the surface, indicating a variety of social interactions.

These are ideal conditions for the type of data we plan to analyze, hoping to find links between specific call types heard underwater and key behaviors visible from the overhead view provided by the drone. We all felt it was one of the most successful bouts of data collection we've had at any point in this project thus far!

Make sure your audio is on as this photo is actually posted as a "video" with embedded sound. Play the video to hear a clip of the J-Pod vocalizations we recorded during this encounter.

11/06/2026

On the morning of November 4th, we started the day with reports of J-Pod vocalizations over the Orcasound Port Townsend hydrophone. While Southern Residents' visits to Puget Sound in September and October are more variable, November has been more consistent, and needless to say, it was exciting to have them heading into our core study area just a few days into the month!

We headed out with our partners from the Center for Whale Research and caught up with the whales just south of Bush Point. They weren't just moving fast: they were charging south. In the lead were the J19s, J35s, and J46, which gave us an opportunity to check in with the youngest member of the group, newborn J65 who was catching some air as the group porpoised by. The other picture shows J19 Shachi.

We were able to get in a couple of full gear deployments with the hydrophone array and drone, and even better, the whales were vocalizing. Even though the field day was cut short due to increasing winds, this gave us some workable test data to confirm everything was operational. It was a successful day on the water with Southern Residents, we hope the first of many!

11/05/2026

On November 2nd, our first day for this year's collaborative field work with the Center for Whale Research in Puget Sound, we were able to catch up with three of the T37As (T37A, T37A2, and T37A4) and four of the T99s (T99, T99C, T99D, and T99E) off the south end of Whidbey Island.

The flat water conditions were ideal for both viewing whale behavior from the air via drone and listening to any underwater sounds via hydrophones. At first, even though we observed them socializing, all was silent. This isn't too surprising: because Bigg's killer whales hunt by stealth, they aren't nearly as vocal as Southern Residents.

Before too long, however, the group converged and made a quick kill. Shortly thereafter we started hearing some quiet calls as they commenced prey sharing. The first ~30 seconds of this audio clip let you listen to a few of their vocalizations, followed by some prey handling sounds.

https://soundcloud.com/orcabehaviorinstitute/t37as-and-t99s-on-november-2

After 20 minutes, the group continued on their way north with some surface activity, the newly snow-dusted Olympic Mountains towering above them. We headed back to port, happy to have had such a successful day of data collection right out of the gate!

Thanks to the SeaDoc Society and Rock the Ocean for supporting this year's field work.

11/03/2026

Are you a Free W***y kid who got talked out of becoming a marine biologist? Do you want to take the next step in your exploration of the world of killer whales? Have you ever wished you knew more about the science behind whale research? If so, you might want to sign up for our flagship adult continuing education program, Bigg's 201! Registration opened yesterday and there's just a few spots left to join our spring 2027 class.

Bigg’s 201 is a four-and-a-half month course combining virtual lectures and in-person field trips designed to give you deeper insights into the world of whale research and Salish Sea Bigg's killer whales. Working with Monika Wieland Shields and Amanda Colbert, you'll participate in 10 virtual Zoom sessions and four in-person field trips from January through May.

While learning how to read and discuss scientific papers, you will also work with real-world sightings following a specific matriline of Bigg's killer whales, become familiar with creating maps and graphics to illustrate your data, get to try your hand at behavioral data collection in the field, and connect with a group of like-minded orca lovers.

You can learn more about this class, sign up for one of the remaining spaces, and see a video from one of our class field trips here:
https://www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/whale-university-classes/biggs-201

11/03/2026

We are back down in Puget Sound for year three of our collaborative project with the Center for Whale Research! The primary goal of the project is pairing localized hydrophone recordings of Southern Resident killer whales with drone observations of behavior, with this year's fieldwork supported by grants from both Rock The Ocean and SeaDoc Society.

Today was the first full day of our three-week field season, and the weather could not have been better. After completing some equipment calibrations in the morning, we were able to meet up with the T37As and T99s in Admiralty Inlet. When Southern Residents aren't around, we will opportunistically take data on Bigg's killer whales as well with the same goal of linking calls to behavior. While we've had a handful of Bigg's encounters over the previous two field seasons, this was only our second one where we had them vocalizing while we had the drone up!

We'll have more to share soon, but in the meantime, the smiles after our first whale encounter of the trip say it all. It felt good to be back out there with such a great team!

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Friday Harbor, WA

Website

http://www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/

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