Friday, May 31st
...what a day...it began with three family groups, the T65Bs, T75Bs, and T75Cs several miles from shore off Lime Kiln. They were going down island and they were so far out that I could barely even seen the boats that were there...
...but it was not windy, and the air wasn't cold, so I decided to just watch...not thinking anything other than knowing there were whales out there near those boats...but oh, well...
...then the boats slowed to almost a stop...hmmm...then a boat turned...hmmm, interesting...then another boat turned and another...very slowly...the whales were going back up...
...then a boat turned in the direction of the lighthouse...still couldn't see a whale out there, but this was getting really interesting...
...then another boat..and now the boats were actually coming directly toward the lighthouse...
...a fella visiting with his family was telling me that his son's school class had built rain gardens that act as a natural filter to clean the water that runs off driveways, roads, roofs, etc....he asked what I was seeing, at this point the boats were at their furthest...his comment, "If I could see them today that would be just fabulous!" Well, the whales must have gotten his 'desire' because they came all the way across and were close to shore, right in front of the lighthouse. WOW !
...the whales, three moms, two juveniles, and three under the age of two, were very surface active...having a great time...
...in between the above images and the below image there was a boat incident, with a sail boat, motoring, no sail up, appearing to not have a clue as to the presence of whales right in front of him...(incident reported)
...here are four of the eight whales, right after the event...I followed them up island and was able to verify that all were present as they passed by County Park...whew...
...while this was going on today, here...along the outer coast, off Tofino, J Pod was encountered and they have increased in size by one!
There are images on the news, on social media, and all of us in this area and everyone who isn't, hopes J Pod will eventually, when there is enough salmon, make their way here, with the newest member of their pod !
It's been a long time since J Pod had a calf...
The mother is not yet confirmed...but the only images I saw - the calf was next to Tushci (J-31), and with them were Star (J-46) and Suttles (J-40).
...and that's a very interesting group...
...Star and Suttles were both escorts with Tahlequah (J-35) in the early part of her long mourning period in 2018, when Tahlequah would not let her deceased baby go.
...Star helped as best as she could when her mother, Polaris (J-28) was declining and her baby brother was too, in 2016.
...Suttles acted like a playground monitor, traveling behind Scarlet (J-50), as if to make sure she kept up...J-50 was just 3 months old and her mother, Slick (J-16), was helping her daughter, Alki (J-36), with her brand new baby, in early 2015. ...see Blog Post from 3-30-15
...There are more accounts of others...Tsuchi (J-31) has been like an auntie whale...she seemed to be in attendance with Polaris and Star, after Polaris lost her second calf in January 2013.
No matter who mom is...I just hope we all will get the opportunity to meet this new member to J Pod, watch him/her have a long life.
~~~
...on May 29, two humpback whales came up island, then down island and then up island again...and sometime during the night they came back down island and were seen heading west in the Strait of Juan de Fuca...
...this one actually has three IDs - MMX0005 (temporary ID by Mark Malleson, when first seen in these waters), BCY0660, and BCY0458...
..not easy to see but the dots and line on the left fluke match up and on both flukes the raggedy edges match up...what was confusing was the right fluke...
...this is BCY0160...that's an easy one, due to the 'H' mark on the left fluke...
...I wonder what this next week will bring?....
...in the meantime maybe it will bring for you:
- a reduction in your use of anything plastic
- being stingy with your water usage
- reading labels to find how close to your area your food comes from
...that's just for starters...I think we all might agree that each of us must, without delay, make changes for the sake of saving the earth and all that live on the earth...
- have you read about setting up a water dish for bees? - they need water too
- do you bring your cloth bags to the grocery when you shop?
just a few ideas...think of what you can do and then start doing it.
Change isn't easy, but if we don't change we will not make the world a better place.
On May 6th, J Pod was encountered in Rosario Strait as they came south.
They then headed west and then a short distance up the west side of San Juan Island before turning to the west and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
There have been no, known to me, sightings of them since.
On May 6th NOAA researchers were able to get drone images of J Pod whales, and especially Princess Angeline J-17.
Here is a link - copy and paste it...
https://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/stories/2019/15_05152019-srkw-j17.html
I learned that getting information from an above view and getting information from a side view can give different information.
over the last several days...
...and a bit of personal venting here...
...I am sad to not see J Pod as we used to, along the west side of San Juan Island, in the Spring...
...I am glad to get to see them once in a while and to see that Princess Angeline J-17 appears to have put on more weight...and that she, Kiki J-53, and Moby J-44 (when I saw them from the Western Prince recently) were with all the other members and were not the trailers...
...it concerns me that there are some people out there who want to 'poke and prod' her to get samples of this or that...
..."hey, Princess Angeline J-17 - 'run - run' the other way as fast as you can!!!"
Stress is NOT good for you or me,
Why should it be okay to stress out the 'people of the sea'?
Princess Angeline's daughter, Tahlequah J-35, brought the world's attention to their plight...Tahlequah J-35 showed us their sadness, grief, and their strength of spirit and their caring for one another.
Now Princess Angeline has been showing us their determination to continue on in spite of all the negative things humans have done to the environment.
Most important is for us to 'get it'...to be able to translate that to others who come to see the orcas:
-their depth of family
-their determination
-the orcas' needs:
...food...in order to have that, those salmon need food too.
...quiet seas...vessels of all sizes--shh---...quiet please
...clean water...you should already know the drill on that...
...now that I've vented...thanks...and often it seems that the whales read my blog and show up just when I say they won't :)
- here's hoping for salmon and lots of it wherever it is the whales can get it...
~~~
Over the last several days I have been out on the Western Prince...some days there have been whales, Transients - the marine mammal eating orcas, other days no whales but fascinating eagles, lots of Steller sea lions (that usually are gone from here by late May and return in late summer)...
...these 2 images (above and below) - taken from shore...
...he was lying there like a lump...
...some Steller sea lions have brands on them...always interesting to get images and then send them off to the sea lion researchers who will often send back a list giving information as to where the sea lion was branded, it's age and where he has traveled...
...one California sea lion and lots of Steller sea lions...no brands...
...a challenge to get the 3 numbers and 1 letter of the brand!
...May 3, the T123s, 65Bs, 49As, 75Bs and 75Cs...we learned who was there from those who were first on scene, so we knew who to look for...two adult males, T123A and T49A1...then moms and kids...and oh, my, so many little kids...(will post those later - they were in close groups and goofy kids...will be a challenge to figure them all out...and fun too...
...it was so fabulous to see so many Whale Warning Flags...it's a great tool for everyone and especially those who are out on the water and don't realize there are whales present.
The Whale Warning Flag means - whales present - slow down - pay attention and stay out of their way!
...later I discovered I had missed one of the flags - my apologies to Five Star...
...kudos to everyone who is helping to educate others...not just others on your boat - they too ask what the flag is for, but those who might just run over whales if those flags weren't flying...
...hoping to see more boats, private, commercial, local gov't too learning about what those flags mean...
...then they will begin looking for the flags! And that's a good thing!
...and hoping to hoist the Whale Warning Flag at Lime Kiln lighthouse one of these days soon!
...last year, first day it was hoisted at the park!
...we're learning...
