4-11-15 Keeping Up With J Pod All Day!

Friday, April 11th
...at 8:37 a.m. distinct J pod calls came over the Lime Kiln hydrophones...off and running to the park...
...the seas were rough...difficult to see...then blows in the distance...they were coming and it was not the J16s...at least not yet...
...the first whale I saw from the park...Samish J-14...ahhh! Group A is here...at least some of them...

...behind Samish was her daughter, Hy'Shqa J-37...

...glimpses of a few others - T'ilem I'nges J-49, Suttles J-40...there were others but far offshore...off to Maya's Westside Charters...the seas were much worse than I had thought - I'm a whimp...we ended up on the Canada side of Haro Strait...off in the distance baby J-51 surfaced with Eclipse J-41...

...oh, and there's Hy'Shqa J-37 again...

...off in the distance was Onyx L-87, Mandarti Island, and a Washington State ferry on its way from Friday Harbor to Vancouver Island, or on its way back...

...then the whales moved back toward the east side and changed direction...we ended up in 3 to 4 foot seas, going down island... I was now taking pictures through the window...

...off the boat and down island...so far it seemed that only Group A Minus (minus the J16s) whales were present...10 whales total, including Onyx L-87...the whales got as far as about a mile down island from the lighthouse and without so much as stopping, they turned and headed back up island...

...as they were approaching the park I knew there were more whales present than we had seen all day!...this was intriguing...
...three tall fins...Onyx L-87 was one...and the others?...Blackberry J-27 and DoubleStuf J-34...ah, so Group B was here too!  wow!

...and then they began porpoising - another wow!

...with the porpoising and the sun glare it was difficult to see just who was there...then a brief look at Blackberry's saddle patch!

...and then...

...

...I did see some members of each of the family groups in J pod except not any of the J16s...but that was just me...
...on up island they went...maybe next time the seas will be calm, the sun will be shining with no glare, and all of J pod will be together! - ha!