9-18-16 They Were Not In Their Places Today

Sunday, September 18th
...after three days the whales once again arrived undetected...or almost..waking up at 1:00 I thought I had awakened to vocals over the Lime Kiln hydrophones, but then after thinking I knew it was specific whales I figured I must have been dreaming :)
...one of those mysteries...
...so when I hear of a rumor and then look down island from the lighthouse at about 10:30 and see two dorsal fins - yikes - you would have thought it was the first time I had ever seen whales :)
...so who was leading?...Granny J-2 of course...

...and then the rest of all who did go by was a pretty mixed up bunch...
...Slick J-16...
...then Mike J-26 must have had baby sitting duty this morning...with him was Scarlet J-50...mom looked like she was sort of waiting up ahead on them - she had slowed her pace at one point...fun to see Mike and his very tall dorsal fin with Scarlet and her little size...
...even these lead whales were very spread out...
...then in closer to shore was Shachi J-19 and traveling with her was Echo J-42...now that was very unusual...
...then came Hy'Shqa J-37, her offspring T'ilem I'nges J-49, and J-37's sister, Suttles J-40...

...and with them - behind them was Lobo K-26...
...when in travel mode they are usually more in their family groups...
...not liking it when they are not 'in their places'...
...we watched them as they continued up island...someone breaching in the distance a couple times...

...25 minutes later along comes Lobo's mom, Lea K-14...and about 6 minutes behind her was her oldest female offspring, Yoda K-36...mile+ off shore was Kelp K-42, Lea's youngest, foraging - hope he got that salmon he was chasing...
...10 minutes later Eclipse J-41 and her offspring, Nova J-51 - porpoising he was...
...another 10 minutes later Alki J-36 and her offspring, Sonic J-52 - porpoising he was too!...

...and still another 10 minutes later Mako J-39 surfaced in front of us...
...a just behind him was Se-Yi-Chn J-45 - his sisters had come by an hour ahead of him...
...and Se-Yi-Chn was with Onyx L-87 (who travels with Granny's Group)...
...so sad to see Se-Yi-Chn with Onyx...he should be with his mom, but his mom has been missing for well over a month now...and also glad to see he has Onyx to be his companion, at least for today...
...I remember when Se-Yi-Chn had a big brother, Riptide J-30...and Riptide didn't return in 2012...I had seen Se-Yi-Chn traveling with Lobo - a big brother replacement, at least for a while...
...it was now 12:20...
...would there be more...yes...
...DoubleStuf J-34 and his mom, Oreo J-22 came up at 1:21, yes, an hour later...they were a bit more offshore...and Blackberry J-27 and Tsuchi J-31 were not far behind and in closer...I didn't see Cookie J-38, but I imagine he was either off with another group who had stayed down island - they were so mixed today...
...another 15 minutes go by and here comes - in a resting pattern - the K13 family group of 7 whales...they were all there...and I can hardly believe how Cali K-34 has grown - wow!
...not in the lead today...today he was traveling right with him mom Skagit K-13 and Scoter, who is usually right with mom, was one position off from them...

...don't like that either...
...they continued up island...and that was it...
...other whales were down island...don't know where but not near Lime Kiln...that is until...
...sometime after 7 pm a few calls came over the Lime Kiln hydrophones...someone had come up to the light and evidently turned and went back down island or got completely quiet...another mystery...
...doubt anyone was out there watching...I think it was pouring rain at the time...
...tomorrow is another day, no telling where they will be...
...doesn't matter as long as they are getting enough food to eat...