T124A2s Run Laps Around Puget Sound
J Pod
J Pod made a brief appearance on February 6, moving through Active Pass near the Canadian border. Multiple hydrophones picked up their calls throughout the morning. J Pod appears every February without exception — they are the most reliable Southern Resident presence this time of year.
T124A2s, T100Bs, T100E, T125A, T128, T99s
The T124A2s spent an entire week running laps around Puget Sound. This tight family of three, Elkugu, Agafia, and Litton, appeared in the same waterways six days straight, hunting everything from Tacoma to Seattle and back again. They traveled Colvos Passage and the Tacoma Narrows repeatedly, circling between Olalla, Point Defiance, and Commencement Bay. On February 8 they pushed all the way north to Richmond Beach and Carkeek Park, feeding inshore before drifting south past West Point into Elliott Bay.
The T100Bs and T100E, Freya, Seidr, Selkie, and Tharaya, spent February 10 hunting through Holmes Harbor and Penn Cove on Whidbey Island, thrilling shoreline viewers with extended time near the mussel rafts. T125A and T128 made a quick northbound pass through the San Juans on February 13, and the T99s were spotted in Haro Strait on February 5.
The T124A2s have been February regulars going back to at least 2021. If they stick to recent patterns, expect more Tacoma area sightings in the coming weeks.