As we wrap up logistics for 2025, we've taken some time to reflect on what OBI has accomplished over the last year. 2025 was fantastic, in large part thanks to our ever-growing community, and we are continually grateful for all of it! Here are a few highlights "by the numbers".

8:35 one orca westbound off the Orcas Island ferry terminal - report via Orca Network #wssjis #whalesky

We only had to wait 2 days for our first orcas of 2026! We found the T77s near Sidney, BC and while on scene with them they met up with T73A2. I only saw the T77s once in 2025, so certainly didn't expect them to be my first Bigg's killer whales of 2026! #whalesky #salishsea

1/2/26 at 17:19 - Bigg's killer whales audible on the Andrew's Bay hydrophone in Haro Strait off the west side of San Juan Island live.orcasound.net/listen/andre... #orcas #whalesky #wssjis

🎉 We are very excited to announce the winners of our Patreon Giveaway! Congratulations to Margot K, who won a 6-month free membership at the Jack's Summer Camp tier, and to Rachel L, who won a 6-month free upgrade! Thank you so much to our Patreon supporters and welcome to the new members!

Our final orca encounter of 2025 was an acoustic one on the evening of 12/29, as we heard Southern Resident calls for over 2 hours on the North San Juan Channel hydrophone! You can listen to the recording of this bout here courtesy of @orcasound.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/dec29bout #whalesky

10:20 report from Orca Network of at least 1 orca outside Friday Harbor, direction of travel unknown #orcas #whalesky #wssjis

Join OBI's monthly giving community at patreon.com/orcabehavior as a free or paid member by 12/31 for a chance to win a 6 month subscription or tier upgrade! We've also just released a freebie collection of content available to all so you can check out what we offer at different tiers. #giveaway

Watch Monika try our whale edition of the Say the Word on the Beat challenge here, then give it a try yourself via the link below! Let us know how you do in the comments 😎 youtu.be/LPAbHARxd_Y

We have a whale-themed edition of the viral Say the Word on Beat game for you to try! Look at the words on the screen for the first part of the song, then say them out loud in time with the red squares appearing. How long can you keep up with this tongue twister? #saytheword #reindeergames

⏰ REMINDER: Today is the last day to send your comments! A big thank you to all of you who have already sent yours!

We’re excited to share that Part 2 of our three-part Q&A with Monika from OBI and Michael from the Center for Whale Research is up on our YouTube channel! This is just a sneak peek, make sure to check out the full video! ℹ️ You can find the link to the second episode in comments.

Faint Biggs killer whale calls heard on N San Juan Channel hydrophone from 8:30-8:45ish. Listen live here: live.orcasound.net/listen/north... #wssjis #orcas #whalesky

T34 Grace, a 50+ year old Bigg's killer whale great-grandmother, is sporting a bit of a different look! We saw her and her family as part of a T-Party last weekend, and the notch on the trailing edge of her dorsal fin has gotten larger. We can only speculate what she's been up to! #whalesky #orcas

Lately, the bad weather has kept us from getting out to look for whales, so we’ve been looking back at some of our favorite summer encounters. One encounter that really stands out for us was on July 1, 2023. Here’s a short highlight clip from the longer video available on our YouTube channel!

🐋🎓There are still a few open spaces remaining for our Spring 2026 Whale University Course: 50 Shades of Gray Whale, and after confirming the speaker line up, we can't WAIT for this course to start! Register online at our website: www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/whale-univer...

Last month, there was a fun group of Bigg’s killer whales that spent most of the month in the area! This set of 11 whales consisted of T36 and the T36Bs, the T137s, and T99B. Here is the animated map we made to track their movements over the course of November! #whalesky #orcas #killerwhales

J-Pod audible on the @orcasound.bsky.social Andrew’s Bay hydrophones Haro Strait 13:40 #orcas #whalesky #wssjis live.orcasound.net/listen/andre...

Just 24 hours after seeing the 15 members of K-Pod as they exited Puget Sound, we were lucky enough to get on the water with 15 Bigg's killer whales in a T-Party in the San Juan Islands! Present were the T34s, T37 and T37Bs, the T75Bs and T75Cs, and T65A5 Indy. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW3J...

📣 Important action alert: your comments are needed by December 22nd to help protect the Endangered Species Act! Our BOLD Action guide helps guide you through the process: tinyurl.com/boldactionesa Comments can be brief but it's important many people register their opposition to these changes!

Welcome K47! The Center for Whale Research announced the official designation for the new K-Pod calf today. Here’s a short video clip of Ks exiting Puget Sound yesterday, filmed by Jason Shields. Can you spot the tiny dorsal fin of the calf? 😍 It surfaces three times in this clip! #whalesky #srkw

Every Southern Resident killer whale calf is a gift, but due to the pod's small size and low reproductive rate, K-Pod calves hit differently. We were honored to have the chance to glimpse this newest little one in person today as the orcas were leaving Puget Sound. #whalesky #salishsea

Did you know that some K-Pod alphanumerics were given out of order? K45 was born in 2021, but K46 was born in 1974! Read the full story (that we originally posted in 2023) of how that came to be on our website here: www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/orca-updates...

Patreon has created the option to gift subscriptions to your loved ones this holiday season. Perks include livestream chats with OBI researchers, logbook reports from the field, detailed updates on our international field work, bonus videos, and more! (Learn more via link in comments)

The latest @afterthebreach.bsky.social podcast dropped today! Monika joins Jeff and Sara to recap 2025 whale sightings in the SalishSea, check in on how we did with our predictions for the year, and make a whole new set of bold predictions for 2026! www.afterthebreachpodcast.com/e/episode-46...

We are excited to release of the first part of a three-part Q&A featuring Monika from OBI & Michael from CWR. You can watch the full video on our YouTube channel, including both drone footage and video footage taken by Jason during our time in the field in Puget Sound! m.youtube.com/watch?v=GbRS...

Orca lovers, if you’re still on the hunt for orca-themed goodies to add to your whale collection or searching for the perfect gift, this is your last chance! Make sure to snag everything you need by December 12th so your gifts arrive right on time for the holidays! www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/shop

Here are a few more stats from November 2025 orca sightings in the Salish Sea! - November 29th was the busiest day, with 8 unique groups of orcas reported. - 17 SRKW sightings in November. Lower than in March, April, and September. - 15 OBI field encounters. Which one surprises you the most?

November sightings map is here! Last month, we predicted that November would be the highest month of the year for Southern Resident sightings in the Salish Sea and that Bigg’s killer whale sightings would drop off considerably. Find out about it here! www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/sightings-ma...

There are many hours of data analysis ahead, but we never let that supersede the awe that got us into whale research in the first place. This still from a drone video filmed over J38 was too stunning not to share. We can't wait to see what else is revealed once we start adding acoustics! #whalesky

We're 25% of the way to our year-end fundraising goal! A generous donor has offered a matching contribution, meaning that any amount you support this week is doubled. $10 becomes $20, $25 becomes $50, like magic! 🪄 No matter how big or small, your contributions matter 🫶 givebutter.com/obi2025

This year for #GivingTuesday we are raising funds to cover open-access fees for upcoming publications, which ensures our peer-reviewed papers are accessible to everyone for free. All donations up to $4k will be matched dollar for dollar! givebutter.com/obi2025 #communityscience #whalesky

Over the last month we've spent a few weeks in Puget Sound on a collaborative project with the @whaleresearch.bsky.social. Here is Jason's video highlight reel from our encounters with Bigg's killer whales! #orcas #killerwhales #pugetsound #whalesky www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqYD...

After being down for a few months, we are happy to report that the @orcasound.bsky.social North San Juan Channel was redeployed today and we are back to live-streaming! This is a great time of year to listen for Southern Residents, Bigg's, and humpbacks. live.orcasound.net/listen/north... #orcas

This headstand from T19C Spouter was part of an unorthodox but successful seal snag in Boundary Pass this afternoon. It's still hard to wrap my ahead around the T19s now being a family of three after grandmother T18 hasn't been seen in over a year ❤️‍🩹 #orcas #killerwhales #salishsea #whalesky

Get a little holiday shopping done early and snag some orca-themed stocking stuffers here: orcabehaviorinstitute.org/shop/ Or you can make a donation in support of our research here, with contributions matched dollar for dollar up to our $4000 goal thanks to a generous donor! givebutter.com/obi2025

Orcas live on the Skunk Bay weather cam in Admiralty Inlet right now! 13:07 PST on 11/27 #salishsea #psws www.skunkbayweather.com

The spate of recent humpback whale entanglements has brought up many emotions; we are channeling them into action to improve the marine ecosystem. Over this long weekend, we encourage you to #optoutside and pick up trash at a beach or park. Every little bit helps; comment if you participate!

After 6 weeks of learning how to draw and paint orcas from our very own, very talented, Sara Hysong-Shimazu, our fall iteration of Drawing and Painting Orcas class met for the last time earlier this month. 📧 If you're curious when we'll offer another art course, sign up for our email list!

Today, in this "Throwback Monday," we are going to take a look back to almost exactly one year ago, on November 23rd. On that day, we met T34A2, the second known calf of T34A Pachamama. Can you recall the relationship between T34A2 and T37B3? We will share the answer tomorrow in the comments!

After returning to San Juan Island from Puget Sound on Saturday, I didn't even make it home before having a shore-based killer whale encounter. T36 and the T36Bs, T75Bs, T75Cs, and T137s (17 orcas!) were on a prolonged sea lion hunt off Cattle Point. Here are a few photo highlights! #whalesky

Our 2026 Southern Resident killer whale photo calendars are now available! All images were taken by OBI director Monika Wieland Shields during shore-based field encounters from San Juan Island throughout 2025, and proceeds support our ongoing research. #whalesky #orcas

A still shot from drone footage of Bigg's killer whales stalking sea birds in the shallows off Bainbridge Island earlier this week. This was the first time we recorded Bigg's vocals in conjunction with aerial observations of behavior in our work with @whaleresearch.bsky.social ! #whalesky #orcas

Quintessential Seattle 💙🩵 T36B2 Greenfelder this afternoon with the @spaceneedle.bsky.social and snow-capped Cascade Mountains in the background #whalesky #orcas #salishsea #pugetsound

One of the coolest moments from our Bigg's killer whale encounter off Bainbridge Island on Sunday was when the wake of a passing cargo ship came in to the beach prompting the whales to breach and surf! Here's T36B2 Greenfelder, a 12 year-old orca, leaping over a wave. #whalesky #salishsea

A clip of the active orcas we saw off Bainbridge Island while out with the @whaleresearch.bsky.social yesterday 🤩 In addition to being very surface active, they were also vocalizing, allowing us to get our first-ever Bigg's killer whale calls paired with drone video. #whalesky #salishsea

Earlier this week, we were thrilled to witness back to back days of a Southern Resident superpod. Here is our map covering their movements over the course of three days. A true superpod occurs when all members of the J, K, and L pods gather together in the same location. That’s 74 whales! #orcas

Today we and the @whaleresearch.bsky.social caught up with the T46s and T46B1s in Puget Sound near Seattle! It was a spectacular sight to see them all grouped up together, including the massive fin of T46E Thor and the little fin of 2 month-old T46B1D. #orcas #killerwhales #whalesky #salishsea

Today is the scholarship deadline for our spring 2026 Bigg's 201 class! This adult program lets you dive into the world of whale research through virtual lectures and in-person field trips. Learn more, register, or apply for the scholarship here: www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/whale-univer...

If you're looking to add more orca-related items to your whale collection, or scouting for unique gift-giving opportunities as the holidays approach, new items have just been added to our online store! 🎁 Orca soap, 2026 SRKW Calendar, Whale U sticker & more! www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/shop