Sunday, April 13, 2014

4-13-14 K Pod Showed Up - Creating Lots of Questions

Sunday, April 13th
...Residents?...Yes!...J pod?...No!...K pod-Yes!

...I bet some people are checking their sightings archives tonight!
Why?...well, it might be the first time that K pod has come in during April AND it might be the first time K pod has come in before J pod at this time of year...BUT I'm not sure...I too have to do some checking...

I do know it's the first sighting of K pod in many months - and thanks to the spotting by Ken Balcomb, head of the Center for Whale Research, and Dave Ellifrit, also of the Center, who got out there early in the day and confirmed that all of K pod was accounted for!

...this is the first sighting of any of the pods of the Southern Resident Community since March 3rd, when J pod was seen heading west in the Strait of Juan de Fuca...

...out on Maya's Westside Charters for the afternoon trip...David had met the whales at Race Rocks on the morning trip and we needed to fuel up...timing is always great...and when we headed down Haro Strait the whales had already started crossing over toward San Juan Island...
...the had split into three groups...we met the most northerly group...that's the Olympic Mountains in the distance...
...it was the K13 family group (7 whales)...Skagit K-13 spyhopped several different times as the whales crossed the strait...
...I could see Lime Kiln lighthouse in the distance...
...one more spyhop and down island they went at a steady pace...
...the K13s began porpoising and continued that for about 25 minutes...
...they met up with the rest of K pod members and all began traveling east...
...when I looked at my pictures a bird caught my eye (see ? above) ...what kind of bird is that?...I have no idea...
...Sequim K-12 and some of her family members...
...I learned later that the whales had gone east for a while and then turned and headed back...

lots of questions: - back to where?...back out? up San Juan Channel? up the west side? (didn't see them before dark)...or did they change direction again and head east?

Did they come in looking for J pod?
Did they come in because someone is going to give birth?
I don't think they came in looking for food, because I think J pod would have done that first.
So where is J pod?
...and the list of questions goes on and on...

Tomorrow may shed a bit more light on the subject...

2 comments:

Connie B said...

Red Neck Grebe - It was amazing to see K-Pod yesterday, and today they are down in the sound, circumnavigating Vashon Island.

Jeanne said...

Connie, Thanks for the bird ID! Yes, I heard that K pod is down in Puget Sound today. Enjoy, if you are down there.