January 2026

How is it we have already completed the first month of 2026? Here's the January killer whale sightings summary for the Salish Sea, with each dot indicating the first sighting location for every confirmed group of orcas we were able to verify.

We threw out the possibility of Bigg's killer whales being confirmed present every single day of the year right off the bat this year, as there were three days in the month of January where we had no reports (though they were almost certainly here, somewhere!) Winter regulars like the T19s, T60 brothers, and T99s were all seen throughout the month. One highlight was a visit from T87 Harbeson, the oldest known male orca to regularly visit the Salish Sea. He was traveling with T49A2 Jude, another local fan favorite roving male.

We were able to confirm Southern Resident killer whale presence on 12 days in January, which is actually the highest total for the month since we started tracking year-round presence over a decade ago! That said, we speculate they (J-Pod specifically) are usually here most of the month of January each year, they just often go undetected while up north in the Strait of Georgia. Js and Ks both spent some time in Puget Sound, giving excited onlookers better looks at the latest addition to the population in K47, who was born and first documented in December.

Northern Resident killer whale presence was way down this January compared to the same time last year. The A25s and A42s were photo documented on at least 3 days of the month (compared to 14 in 2025), but the spacing between the reports has us guessing that they , too, were around more than reported somewhere in the Strait of Georgia. They're most often seen and reported along the southern Sunshine Coast and in Howe Sound, but if they spend time further north, it's very likely this time of year they could be undetected.

The gray dots that appear more often on our winter maps are labeled as "Unknown Ecotype" meaning that we were able to confirm the presence of killer whales, but were not able to determine what population they were from. Most of these are probably Bigg's killer whales, but some of them may be Southern or Northern Residents, too.

If recent patterns hold, February will be another quieter month before sightings start to pick up again in March. For all three orca populations that are regulars in the Salish Sea, their February sightings have varied widely over the years, so we never know for sure what to expect!