8-18-13 Not Enough For Us To Stay

Sunday, August 18th
...I was so glad to learn in the morning that there were more than 6 whales down near False Bay...that meant that other Residents had come back in...
...good for us for being able to see them...and curious as to whether they followed some salmon in or there wasn't much out west where they had been...time may tell an answer to that...
...out on Maya's Westside Charters for an afternoon trip...we stop for all bald eagles these days...it's the time of year they are leaving the area to go to the inland rivers where the spawning salmon are...we hope...

...now off to the whales!
...the whales were spread for miles and it appeared that maybe all the Community had come back in...
...we briefly saw some of Group B whales of J pod...and then there were several whales all spread out - one here, one there - Cali K-34, Nyssa L84, Sonata K-35 and from a different direction a whale was coming toward us...

...glad she showed me her saddle patch or I never would have figured out it was Samish J-14!...she has been showing up in some unusual places within the social groups these last two encounters...
...a few minutes later, as we moved on, Mega L-41 surfaced...

...up ahead of him was Ocean Sun L-25, and others...but we were on a mission to locate Mike J-26 and we heard from Dan, the owner and Captain of Eclipse Charters' Orcas Express boat, that Mike and others were near him...
...we had a young boy on the boat who wanted to see his adopted whale...

...mission accomplished! Thanks Dan!

...Tika K-33 and Indigo L-100 were having some fun...

...then Midnight L-110 surfaced in the mix of these two bigger boys...

...Coho L-108, Ino L-54, Keta L-117, and Finn L-116 were all nearby...I kept questioning that L-116 would be there, but then I saw his mom a few hundred yards off from this group...not sure who is in this mix...

...all afternoon the whales were spread out...some were over 2 miles from shore while others were close in...the most interesting thing is that they never went very far north, similar to the last time they were in...
...we watched as they all seemed to be heading south and west...I could see them for miles and every dorsal fin was aiming outward...then, not any whale could be seen on the surface...if you had just come along in a boat you would have had no idea that there were any whales in the area...
...we wait for them to surface and it seems like a really long time - probably just 45 seconds or so - and soon they were back on the surface but soon they were heading back in...
...there was some socializing as well as traveling but not much if any foraging did we see during the encounters today...

...and then...
...imagine you are out there...whales a few hundred yards away...you notice whales in the distance, maybe 3/4 of a mile, easy to see with calm seas...some up island from you and others down island - still spread a long distance...they are all heading up island and moving in towards the shore..."gee, maybe they are going to go to the Fraser River"...

...and then to your amazement you watch as they all turn around at about the same time!!...it was like synchronized swimming...
...we were bid a fond farewell by one of the whales...

..."until next time", they might be saying...and, "maybe you'll have some salmon available for us, please, when we return".