7-4-16 Map of J Pod-Group A and Transient Orcas

Sunday July 3rd
...excitement filled the air about San Juan Island when word came that J Pod whales were coming in...
...I would reserve my enthusiasm until they actually made it across Haro Strait...
...they did come in and came across...it was Group A of J Pod...Granny J-2, the J19s, J14s, and Onyx L-87...
...when they came past Lime Kiln lighthouse they did so in about two minutes...porpoising as they went by...

...with the glaring sun and the fast pass it was difficult to see who all were present...when I saw Onyx L-87 I figured it was Group A...it was...my images proved that...
...Granny took them north...

...as they were getting close to Active Pass, these 10 whales were spread a great distance...Granny was heading straight for the pass, when we hear over the radio that transient orcas are in the pass...we thought they were at the other end going the other direction...
...but those whales were coming out of the pass in our direction!
...there were two groups... 
...Capt. Jim spotted a group of whales, that had just exited the pass close to the shore line and going up Trincomali Channel, at the same time I saw another group of whales crossing the entrance to the pass...they were far in the distance and it appeared they were the Residents entering the pass (not!).  ...instead they were a second group of transients!...

...that might explain why Granny changed her course of travel and angled away from the entrance to the pass...for a short while...


...it was nuts!...we didn't know which way to look or who to follow...
...it was the T100s, T101s in the group that came out of Active Pass close along the shore and headed up Trincomali Channel..

...this is interesting...I haven't ever noticed spots like this on a saddle patch...

...the second group of transients, the T36As, T75Bs and T51, came down Swanson Channel, the same route that Granny and her group had gone up a short while before...

...Granny and the other 9 Residents eventually went through the pass (we heard over the radio)...

...earlier, when they passed by Lime Kiln, Onyx L-87 was seen foraging...later when we were approaching the J Pod whales, Onyx was still about a mile behind and he seemed to still be foraging (but we were quite in the distance)...

Monday, July 4th up until about 5:00pm.
...Group A was spotted coming down from the north and reports I heard were of the whales doing a lot of foraging...hope they were successful...
...the group of Transients we were last with last evening showed up off Lime Kiln lighthouse going up island...
...here's a map to give you an idea of what went on with Group A and the Ts from yesterday through about 5:00 pm today...

answer to: the question about the spots on the saddle patch in one of the images...it's shadows caused from the splashing water!

answer to:  Which way is the whale going?  To the left.  That's T51 and sometimes his dorsal fin looks like it is backward.