6-22-13 Whale Sightings Guaranteed!

Saturday, June 22nd
...leaving the harbor we came across our first orcas...

...this was just too funny...there were several little vessels like this, each tied to the other, making a long procession being pulled along by one larger vessel, and this was the 'orca boat'!!
...we knew the L12s were not far, so on down island we proceeded on Maya's Westside Charters to visit them...the L12s who, I think, are a very interesting group...
...there are two moms and each has a little one...the two moms are sisters, and they look very much a like - their saddle patches that is...

..Matia L-77 has the youngest offspring, baby L-119, shown here...

...also Matia has a notch on the trailing edge of her dorsal fin...not easily seen, but it's about 1/3 of the way down...

...Mega L-41...who is uncle to both of the little guys L113 and L119...he is often off to himself...he needs lot of salmon to keep him going...

...Mt. Baker and Cattle Pt. light in the distance (above) and big water in the distance (below)...long dives, zigging and zagging after some salmon...

...Ocean Sun L-25 is most often seen in the proximity of Mega when they are spread out foraging...

...there are the L22s, who seem to be spending a lot of time on their own...actually today they were a few miles from some of the others...
...and then there is Mystery L-85...
...Mystery lost his mother when he was young...then he lost his aunt when he was a teenager...he has a cousin name Onyx L-87 who travels with J pod...Spirit L-22 might also be a cousin- she has two adult boys and they stick to themselves mainly...Alexis L-12 became his companion and the two were inseparable, then she didn't return with L pod in spring 2012...and now Mystery is traveling with Ocean Sun, Mega, his sisters and their two kids...they make a nice group!...that is if you see them all together...
...it can get very confusing sometimes...
...of course when they are all spread out Mystery is a lot like Mega, off on his own, but in closer proximity to the two sisters and their kids...
...as we were heading back toward the harbor we passed by each of the small groupings or the individuals...10 whales spread out over several miles...
...Mystery L-85...

...one more stop...the eagle's nest with the eaglet...

...will there be enough salmon to keep the whales, even just the 10 of them in here?...if not that may be a huge 'wake up call' to the powers that be that something is just not right in the environment around here...of course, that could all change by tomorrow or the next day and the salmon could show up in huge numbers...which usually means the whales will too...
...let's hope...for the eagles, the whales and whatever else depends on salmon for survival...