7-17-15 Leaping Fish - A False Sense That All is Good

From July 14 - July 17th
Tuesday, July 14th
Group A Minus, plus the K14s and the K13s went up island and it looked like they were heading toward the Fraser River...
...while on Peregrine a half mile from shore watching the whales, as they were passing Lime Kiln Pt. State Park very close to shore, a cargo ship came up island a few miles offshore...it was heavily loaded...so............we had a big wake coming our way...we held on while the wake passed us and watched as it moved toward shore...little did the folks sitting on the rocks realize they were about to get very wet!
...the whales were already wet and if they were in the mood some might actually surf the freighter wake...go Lobo!

...as the whales continued up island, Eclipse J-41's baby, J-51, became very surface active...it's the first time I have seen this 5 month old 'trying out' some new stuff!

...we left them just after they passed by Turn Pt.

Wednesday, July 15th
...out on Peregrine, the K13s showed up this morning coming down Haro Strait...but where were Granny J-2 and the rest of that group?...they showed up coming up island!...and they spent most of the day shuffling back and forth...and eventually heading up island later in the day...

Thursday, July 16th
...a day to catch up or sleep...this group of whales total 21 animals...that's less than 1/4 of the Southern Resident Community...the rest come in or almost in for a day and then turn and go back out...evidently there is not enough food in these waters to feed everyone...
NOTE:  if you have been on island and you have seen jumping fish, those are Pinks (Pink salmon - small in size - 4 to 6 lbs) the whales don't eat Pinks...
It can be a false sense that 'everything is good' when you see leaping fish. And since the whales don't eat Pinks, things may not be as rosy as it might look at the surface. 
...the whales were seen late in the day, north, in the Strait of Georgia...coming back down from the Fraser River area...

Friday, July 17th
...the whales were coming up island...
...an eagle flew out and got a fish...

...a canoe appeared from the north...

...and brought a gift to those who watched...

...The drumming and singing were heartfelt. 

...back up island and toward the Fraser River, feeding just 1/4 quarter of the population of these federally listed endangered orcas of the Southern Resident Community.
...go to previous post to see what occurred with the K13s and Onyx L-87...they stayed behind when the rest of the whales went north...