If you need a break from the world today keep your eyes on the Sound as several whales have been spotted today. 💕

Thanks for mentioning this! Also, last year @jazzyspraxis.bsky.social and I went into even more depth on this topic at @theurbanist.org

There's a heated environmental debate happening right now in Seattle that's being touted as Trees + Orcas vs Housing, which you can hopefully see is simplified politics at its best. We've been gathering our thoughts on it but Sierra Club Seattle Chair @robertcruickshank.com said it best here:

🫧💜🫧 Sun, Dec 14 Endangered Southern Resident orcas are back inland Puget Sound! J pod at least was audible on the @orcasound Bush Point hydrophone ~08:00. Have a beautiful day w/these beauties. If you see them please share. 📸 J pod during an early November foray. By Catherine Soto. #psws

Some positive political news via @wcav.bsky.social “Today the FPB voted to adopt the Type Np rule. We will now have continuous, 75-foot buffers along the perennial, non-fish bearing streams in Western WA. Industry will no longer be able to clearcut straight to the streambank.”

“Someone looking from the outside would say this is a junky old golf course that has been left to rot,” said David Crowder, a professor and researcher in WSU’s Department of Entomology. “But it has 118 bee species in it, some that have never been seen before in our state.” @wsunews.bsky.social

Throwing back to a dreamy day with the Southern Resident Killer Whales off of Lime Kiln State Park in San Juan Island. Today they’re making their way through Puget Sound, hopefully finding lots of returning chum salmon along the way.

Reports have the SRKWs milling + foraging in Possession Triangle right now, which is the southern end of Admiralty Inlet, between Edmonds, Possession Point (Whidbey) and Point No Point (Kitsap). They can be heard through the ferry noise on the Sunset Bay hydrophone:

If you’re around Seattle take a look at the water. There are 74 endangered orcas hanging out in Central Puget Sound today. 💕

The rivers around Puget Sound are alive with chum salmon right now. Have you been lucky enough to spot any near you? 💕🐟

If you need something cuter this morning, the orcas are back and they’re very chatty. There’s a ferry going through right this second that’s loud af, but after that docks you’ll hear whale calls galore.

The endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales are being very vocal (and adorable) this morning on the Sunset Bay hydrophone, just north of downtown Edmonds: live.orcasound.net/listen/sunse...

The Southern Resident Killer Whales are chatting up a storm on the Port Townsend hydrophone as they exit Puget Sound 💕🐬 live.orcasound.net/listen/port-...

💦💚💦 Mon, Nov 3 Yesterday's SRKWs per @orcabehaviorinstitute.org & @whaleresearch.bsky.social: J-Pod, K-Pod, & greater L4s; 59 Southern Residents! Shout out to @ferries.wsdot.wa.gov for exemplary response to being enveloped by orcas in Dalco Passage. 📸 SRKW & WSF by Mervin Claxton 11/2. #psws

The salmon are returning to Carkeek Park in Seattle! We swung by yesterday and saw quite a few chum just below the beaver dam and even a couple of Coho closer to the beach. 💕🐟

“Just a year after four dams were removed, fall Chinook have migrated nearly 300 miles into the Upper Klamath Basin in Southern Oregon…” Salmon are unbelievably resilient when given a chance. @opb.org

Can we get a roll call of north Puget Sound peeps? Whatcom/Skagit/San Juan/Island/Snohomish counties, where you at?

We just heard our first snow geese of the year, which means it’s officially fall in the Skagit Valley! 💕🪿

Are you still holding on to summer like we are? There's one more day left in our tee shirt sale (kiddo tees are also included!) There are 100% cotton, designed + printed by us using ecofriendly ink, and give back to local initiatives. 💕 Code: SUMMER2025 www.ourwildpugetsound.com/shop/adult-c...

♥️ Sat, Sep 13 SRKW in North Puget Sound this morning? It's the right time of year for Southern Residents to begin their late summer/fall forays inland. Let's see! ‼️ Reminder, any type vessel stay 1000 yards distance from SRKWs. 📸 J27 Blackberry - Pt Robinson - Jan 1, 2025. By Alisa LB #psws

Are you still holding on to summer like we are? There's one more day left in our tee shirt sale (kiddo tees are also included!) There are 100% cotton, designed + printed by us using ecofriendly ink, and give back to local initiatives. 💕 Code: SUMMER2025 www.ourwildpugetsound.com/shop/adult-c...

Members of the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales are in Puget Sound right now, between Edmonds, Point No Point, and Possession Point. Connect with other people around the Salish Sea + follow along in real time + provide your own sightings on Discord, here: discord.gg/GKHJHUTm

I'm doing a big ol' tshirt printing party next week for @ourwildpugetsound.com if you want to get in on the action! (PSST: Enter the code 'SUMMER2025' for 30% off any tee) ♥️🐬

J Pod is currently audible + visible on the Lime Kiln hydrophone as they make their way north in Haro Strait off of San Juan Island 💕 www.youtube.com/watch?v=54dZ...

If you need some serious cuteness in your life head to your neighborhood pond or lake because the goslings are melting hearts all around right now

New screen day for @ourwildpugetsound.com 🫎

Low tide is full of surprises. Sometimes that includes a hermit crab attempted eviction (with some shrimp assists)

Lots of whales in the Sound today! T100Bs + T100E + T124As northbound in the central Sound, T23Cs southbound in Admiralty Inlet, and grays everywhere! Maybe humpbacks? Maybe minkes? Report sightings below and follow along in real time on Discord!

"This year in Washington, we're expecting to see somewhere around 7.5 million pink salmon returning. That would be in the top five of our records going back to 1959. We're also expecting a record return to the Fraser River, which will definitely impact our North Puget Sound fisheries..." @kuow.org

Sadly one of our beloved Sounders, gray whale CRC2259, was among the whales that washed up in San Francisco Bay last month. The necropsy below revealed that he was in good health, but had been struck by a ship, which led to his death.

"Bills to standardize recycling statewide, tweak the state’s cap-and-invest program and allow fusion energy development all made it through this session..." John Stang | @cascadepbs.bsky.social

A dreamy Salish Sea night ✨

Everyone's favorite beach hog, Miss Elsie Mae, living the life 💅

Printing day for @ourwildpugetsound.com 🐬

Lots of whales around the Salish Sea today! If you spot any let us know by replying to the threads below, using the #PSWS hashtag, and you can also follow along + report in real time in the Salish Sea-wide Discord community 💕 discord.gg/jktDygSDV8

“Washington is once more under a drought emergency, state officials announced Tuesday, marking the third such declaration in as many years and underscoring the damage wrought by year-after-year droughts…”

Whales galore today! T65As in Hood Canal T46s + members of the T124As in Admiralty Inlet T99s [minus T99B] north of Edmonds So many gray whales in the Whidbey Basin, plus CRC2362/Thidwick hanging out on the west side of Whidbey Let us know if you see anything + join us in real time on Discord!

A sweet little sequence from yesterday of the newest orca moms in the T36Bs — T036B/Tattertip (on the right) and T036B1/Bhotia (left) with their newest calves, T036B1A (first calf) and T036B4 (second calf). T036B/Tattertip is also T036B1/Bhotia's mom, making this three generations of cuteness. 💕🐬

"This is WhaleSpotter, an artificial intelligence-powered whale detection system that aims to transmit real-time alerts to ships to prevent them from colliding with whales—a threat that leads to the injury or death of thousands of whales each year." @ashleybraun.bsky.social @biographic.bsky.social

The flight delay gave me time to swing by the Tender Loving Empire shop in the N Concourse and scope out my @ourwildpugetsound.com goods, which is both very surreal and very fun.

J Pod is currently being very chatty on the Orcasound hydrophone 💕🐬 live.orcasound.net/listen/orcas...

J Pod is back in the Sound today and we’re ecstatic to have a March visit from this sweet fam.

A little San Juan Island timeline cleanse ✨

We’re going to be feeling the effects of these cuts for longer than we’d like to admit. So many federal programs are severely underfunded and to see them be gutted without any kind of analysis or a clear plan for rebuilding is maddening, to put it very mildly.

“Every single time I come down here, I see something different. I see something amazing, unique. Being able to show people something that they haven't seen before is probably one of my favorite things out here,” Robinson said. “Fostering that sense of wonder.”

Another big whale day! J Pod in Bellingham Bay T124A2s + T124Ds near Edmonds/Kingston Gray whales in the Whidbey Basin and the Strait of Juan de Fuca Report sightings below or with #PSWS and follow/report in real time on Discord discord.gg/jktDygSDV8

I'm really glad I decided to bring these @ourwildpugetsound.com towels with me to Istanbul 🥰 @saramontourlewis.com I just love these.

Lots of whales around today! Bigg's Killer Whales southbound from Mukilteo and southbound on the east side of Vashon Gray whale in the Whidbey Basin Potential humpback near Alki Maybe even a Dall's Porpoise in Edmonds! Report sightings below or with #PSWS and follow in real time on Discord:

A little February Puget Sound magic ✨

There is a lot going on in the world right now. Come "take a breath" with OBI: 12 weeks, 12 whale-themed creative prompts to give yourself a break from the chaos and anxiety. Open to all ages, suggested $25 donation, or join for free. Learn more and join us here: tinyurl.com/obitakeabreath