Monday, July 28, 2014

7-28-14 What Was Wave Walker Up To?

Monday, July 28th
...they are so mixed up...which keeps me so mixed up!
...out on Maya's Westside Charters we meet up with whales who were coming back down from their trip to the Fraser River...
...the first of the whales we saw were the K13s and the K Klik (Cappuccino, Opus and Sonata)...we traveled along with them until shortly before they reached the lighthouse...Spock K-20...
...by mid afternoon the rest of those who had been to the north began approaching Kellett Bluff and Open Bay...they were Group A, the K12s, K14s, and Blackberry J-27 and Tsuchi J-31...what a combination!
...that is Tika K-33 next to Onyx L-87...
...


...passing along San Juan County Park...
...along the bluffs just north of the lighthouse, where one of the peregrine falcon nests is...
...after all that waiting...

...that was confusing - where did he come from?...I got confirmation from Dave at the Center for Whale Research that L-88 had been down island all day long!
...so when I saw him in my pictures he had come up and met the others at the lighthouse!...whew!

...so at the end of this day everyone was down island...that is except for the L12s who have not been in the inland waters since the middle of July...Lulu L-53 has not been seen this season either, but we all hold out hope that she will show up...

...someone jokingly commented that the whales were around too much...and I replied with "and there isn't much salmon."  With that they said they thought there was lots.  WRONG - NOT...
...their foraging techniques are very different from anything I have observed over the last 10 years...
...it reminds me of when the Transients go after a harbor seal...circling, changing direction, working together, and then down for several minutes - eating!
...I think they are following small numbers of salmon that are coming in and eat what they can and then go back out and look for another group to come in...but then again I'd have to put on 'my orca suit' to really find out!

It's been a great year for the humans watching,
but is it a great year for the whales?
I think not.

So far that prediction of the huge sockeye salmon return 
was just that - a prediction.
It has not yet occurred.
 

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