6-24-16 So Many Days So Many Transient Orcas

...catching up on a couple transient (marine mammal eating) orca encounters...there have been transient orcas in many locations in the inland waters over the last week or so...
...even on the morning of 6/23 there was a large group of several families of Ts who came in ahead of L Pod whales...the L Pod whales stayed out in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and word was that there was a lot of salmon and they were feasting on it - that's a good thing...
...the L pod whales did not make it much farther east and turned and went back out...
...and tonight while working on this post CTV News (Canada) had video of the T137s near Stanley Park, Vancouver, B.C. - taken by a helicopter...they are all over...whether it's more eyes who are seeing them and reporting them, or it's because the Residents aren't here people have to go looking for the Ts, I don't know but there sure seem to be a lot around...

...back on June 16th the T46s and the T73As were present...the T46s had been present before and on this day the T73As were with them.  This is the first time I had ever seen the T73As...they were mixed together...here are some images of them from that day while on Peregrine with Capt. Jim...

...there were lots of Ts in the area yesterday and many of them broke off into different groups...one group, the T73As - again - came up San Juan Channel late in the day...so they were in the area for at least a few days...
...T49C and his 'new' companion T91 were seen yesterday and again today...so they too are still in the area...
...the next encounter I had with Ts was today, June 24th...
...Ts were spotted at the north end of Boundary Pass this morning...out on Peregrine with Capt. Andy (aka Sparky -from a passenger!) for an afternoon trip...we met up with the whales...they were very close to shore and it looked like they were taking something...oh, yes they were!
...it was the T36As - mom and her three offspring, and T75B and her one year old offspring T75B2...we first saw that one in April 2015 and it hadn't been seen prior to that, so it was very young...

 

...one last shot before heading back to the harbor...

...I only hope the Fraser River Panel soon announces that their monitoring will begin for the summer salmon run...I know they focus on Sockeye, but in the 12 years I have been paying attention there appears to be a correlation with Chinook - that's mainly from watching what the Residents are doing or not doing and where they are or are not going...here's hoping for the sake of change that Obama will announce that with the swipe of his pen the 4 lower Snake River dams will be breached...it will not only be good for the whales...it matters to the other 136 species that rely on salmon as well. 

...in the meantime we'll be watching the transients and watching for harbor seal pups...yes, it's that time of year...and watch eagle take birds, and hope every night that the Southern Residents will wake me up with their vocalizing over the hydrophones...