6-15/16-13 Killer Whales T65As and Friends...

Saturday/Sunday, June 15/16th
Saturday
...some whales were spotted early in the morning but not located again for a few hours...Capt. Jim had a couple trips in the afternoon, so away we went on the Peregrine to see just who was present...the whales were in Rosario Strait...on the other side of the islands...
...a great looking boat, awesome water with the reflection from the trees and the littlest one - T65A4 - surfacing...

...these were the same whales we had seen a few days ago...this afternoon they were traveling down the strait which provided fabulous looks at Mt. Baker...

...the Rhinoceros Auklets were in abundance...the bird life has been pretty concerning to many as there just hasn't been much, so any increase is welcomed...an indicator of other things regarding the environment...

...that's a WA. State Ferry heading to Anacortes...

...on our late afternoon trip the whales had turned north...we met up with them near the top of Guemes Island...I don't know how much they had already eaten, but this group seems to like to munch a lot (based on other recent encounters with them)...it wasn't long before they went after something...

...some people noticed the whales...

...

...they decided to sit and watch...

...a boat came along and stopped when they saw the whales...

...just like the other day, we didn't see what they had eaten but we got the smell of it...

 ...that is one VERY jagged pectoral fin...wow!...interesting...

...it started with whales and a boat and ended the same...

...we left them heading up Rosario Strait...The T65As and T75B, T75B1 and T75C...

 

...Sunday
...I guess they didn't go very far because the whales were spotted near Friday Harbor today...out with some friends we met up with the whales as they were just exiting Cattle Pass and heading into the sloppy water...
...they were moving at a steady pace when one turned - ah-ha!  a kill maybe...

...yep - T65A2 looks like he is wearing his meal...

...and then they moved on at a steady and rapid pace...

...this grouping of whales - the T65As and T75B, T75B1 and T75C - during my recent encounters with them have done most of their killing quickly, it seems...because during the recent encounters with them I have yet to see the harbor seal at the surface...when the T65As were traveling with the T49Bs their technique was different...their prey (mostly harbor seals) would be observed at the surface and sometimes face-to-face with one of the whales!...

...it will be interesting to see what their hunting technique is like when they are with another different group...

...we humans have different ways we like to do things, eventually ending with the same result...I imagine killer whales are the same...it would be interesting if over time different groups demonstrated their preferred ways...whether we would ever seen enough to be able to determine a trend I don't know, but I find it's something to ponder...