Howard Garrett / Orca Network

Three pods of killer whales that live in Washington's inland waters visited Puget Sound near Kingston on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008.

KINGSTON, Wash. - The three pods of killer whales that live in Washington's inland waters have made a visit to central Puget Sound.

Howard Garrett of Orca Network, a group that tracks whale sightings, tells the Kitsap Sun that says observers spotted all three pods -- a so-called "super pod" -- near Kingston on Tuesday morning and in several places off Whidbey Island. The whales usually move south to hunt for salmon each fall, after the chinook salmon runs dwindle in the San Juan Islands.

Howard Garrett / Orca Network

The so-called "super pod" was also seen near Port Townsend.

In typical years, "J" pod, one of the three groups, will spend much of the winter in central and south Puget Sound. "K" and "L" pods normally come and go less often. Sometimes they swim out into the Pacific and along the coast, staying until spring.