It continues to be the most mixed up whale season I've ever experienced!
And so to begin the day I'll start with where all the players were at the end of yesterday:
Below the lighthouse: The L12s, L54s, L92, L90, J22s, and the J17s.
Above the lighthouse: everyone else!
Chapter 1
...out on Peregrine with Capt. Jim for a morning trip we headed north to see those who were coming down...spread far and wide in Boundary Pass...
...some began porpoising...
...as they got closer to Turn Pt. more began porpoising (which they often do when in that area)...
Chapter 2
...no afternoon trip...so off to the park to watch the whales coming down...
...when I got there, there were a couple whales just down from the lighthouse milling, and no direction...one was DoubleStuf J-34...a few calls could be heard over the Lime Kiln hydrophones...they were J pod calls, but then there was an L pod call in there too?...that was curious...
...then I spotted another whale at least a mile offshore...a male, he too was milling...
...the whales that were coming down from the north were very slowly making their way down...some were in closer to shore than others...those others were about a mile offshore...there aren't a lot of pictures to show you, because the whales were spread out and traveling...having the hydrophones added a layer to the experience and witnessing of what you were seeing at the surface...
...this will give you an idea of the distance between the inshore and offshore whales -
...DoubleStuf began to move up island slowly...at the same time Crewser L-92, who was offshore, moved up island too...around this same time a lot of calls started to come over the hydrophones...
...they were calls from whales coming from both directions!
...this was getting quite exciting...DoubleStuf, his mom Oreo J-22 and soon Cookie J-38 moved up island and met with the in shore whales who were coming down, Granny J-2 being one of them...it all happened just about in front of the lighthouse, making it a really unique opportunity to watch it unfold...
...at the same Crewser who was a mile offshore met with other whales out there...
...there was a mix of J, K, and L pod whales both inshore and offshore...maybe DoubleStuf and Crewser were the greeters :)
...there was no fancy greeting ceremony that could be seen, but there was a lot of chatter as they approached one another...those going up, turning and all going down island with the others...
Chapter 3
...out on Peregrine with Capt. Jim for a late afternoon trip...(was that perfect or what?! - no afternoon trip so I got to see all that unfold at the park)...and now off for the next chapter of the day...
...somewhere after passing we met up with Nigel L-95 and Mega L-41.
...we knew that Js and Ks were somewhere out there, so we went looking for them...we did happen to see 'The Cookies' a couple miles off of Eagle Pt. heading south...we went back to see the L pod whales for a few minutes before heading back to the harbor...I always look for everyone and there are some that I really look closely for...Ballena being one of them...she's had some struggles in the last few years, so I'm glad when I see her.
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