...the Residents were not here on the 25th or the 26th and showed up coming back in this afternoon...
...I was on Imagine with Andy at the helm and we were out looking for transients or humpbacks...when we got the call...it was a long way to go but the passengers were ready for it...
...and lucky for us the whales had continued to move in our direction and we toward them and we met up with...guess who?
...yep...I could hardly believe we were getting to see baby J-53 again...and so soon...and so glad we were...everyday they can put another day behind their tail flukes is a good day toward survival...if that makes any sense...and sometimes you have to look really closely to even see the calf...
...we won't know until we either get surprised again or if we don't...but it's pretty darn exciting to think of the possibilities...
...after getting off the boat I went to the west side of the island...they were coming across and just maybe they would come up island... (this image is on my FB page)...
...they stalled out a bit and there was some shuffling going on...the first few seconds are while I was on the Imagine boat...the rest is from shore at the park...enjoy...
..here's the 'set up' as I saw it out there today...
...south of Discovery Island, in the Strait of Juan de Fuca...
...when inbound it was five whales: J-17, J-44, baby J-53, J-28, and J-46...the other two family members, Tahlequah J-35 and her boy, Notch J-47 were not with them...
... when they went up San Juan Island a bit later it seemed that it was three whales: J-17, baby J-53, and Tahlequah J-35...Moby J-44 was somewhere around...
...and behind them were the J16s, Polaris J-28, Star J-46, and Notch J-47...
(of course they can move about rapidly and that set up could change moments later...it's just what I observed at that time)...
...and behind them were Oreo J-22 and DoubleStuf J-34...and then it got too dark...
...and they slowly made their way up island...
...if they continue north and they disappear again...we might all wonder just where the 'delivery room' is!...of course that would only be if they show up with another baby when they come back down...note: Polaris J-28 had her first calf somewhere north because J Pod was seen to the north a few days before they came past Lime Kiln Lighthouse on 11-11-09...and that's when Star J-46 was first seen - back in 2009...
...back to today...before getting word on whales we had come across a not quite adult bald eagle...maybe a late 3rd year, but I'm not sure...
...someone commented on the size of the wing span, someone else said it was the dirtiest eagle they had ever seen, and I always love getting nictitating membrane images of bald eagles...
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