9-13-18 Hope for Scarlet J-50 is Now Gone

I learned today, September 13, that it has been announced by the Center for Whale Research that Scarlet was last seen on the day mentioned below.
At that time I had to hold on to hope.
But now that hope is gone.
With tears streaming down my face, I am glad she is no longer suffering.

 Slick J-16 and Scarlet J-50

She was such a fighter, right from the very beginning.
As sad as I am, I am glad your suffering is over. 
You taught us all, to continue on, to not give up until there is no other option. We all must keep on doing all we can to restore this community of Endangered orcas. 
Scarlet, you gave us such joy when you were in our presence. I cannot begin to image the loss your mother, brother and sisters, especially Echo J-42 must feel.

~~

Below was written on September 7, when I still had hope.
Friday, September 7th
J Pod and many L Pod whales had been north for a couple days...they came down last night...likely via Rosario Strait.  Earlier there was a large group of Transients who were coming down ahead of them and they were looking like they were aiming for Rosario Strait.
Later, J Pod was in Boundary Pass and to us humans 'that means' they'll be coming down to Haro Strait sometime in the night and passing by the Lime Kiln hydrophones...NOT!

...instead of hearing J and L Pod calls in the night I heard Transient calls!

Now it's the afternoon, Sept 7th...
Ls and Js coming up island...
I love the lighthouse, but sometimes the lighthouse walls get in the way...
...inside talking to folks and based on info I had the whales were still coming up island...NOT!
...hearing one call on the hydrophones I chased everyone, including me, out the door!  Oh, my they're here already!
...the whales were spread, moving quickly with the current...Cookie J-38 was chasing a fish...Moby J-44 chasing a fish...and others were too!
...the last of the whales to come by were Slick J-16...4 minutes behind her were Echo J-42 and Alki J-36, sisters...4 minutes behind them was brother, Mike J-26...and 4 minutes behind Mike was Scarlet J-50...
...they were together, though not in a bunch...the physical distance between them was not that far...they appeared to be going up island at about the same pace...
...after passing Lime Kiln, I could see that Scarlet was moving offshore...

...'bye folks'...and off I went up island to see what I could see of the J16s...
...Soundwatch and a research boat were far offshore... 

...hmmm...where was Scarlet...lousy lighting and such distance I doubted I would see her...
...but then I saw someone coming back down - that whale was foraging...it looked like Echo J-42 (from my image) and another whale was foraging too - it was Mike J-26...
...I knew that Scarlet was in the area because Soundwatch and the research boat had her as their focus...of course...

...I did find out later that Scarlet, Echo, and Mike were seen together up island from where I had seen them...

...I know she is not 'out of the woods' yet...but they were together, sometimes spread and sometimes close...but still together.

8-3-16 They Passed By the Park in the Early Evening

Wednesday, 8-3-16
...(I've missed some days and will fill them in soon)..
...now back to today!
...in coming whales all day long...last time they made it in here it was in the middle of the night...this time it was still daylight when they came across from Discovery Island toward San Juan Island...sometimes they will go down island and sometimes up...
...this time they chose UP!!...it was a very strong current going up and the whales sure took advantage of it...they appeared to be using the current to take them along but at the same time they were not zooming through as they can...so that indicates to me that they were conserving energy as were heading up...that is except for Echo and Scarlet!
...in the lead - well - what do you know! Alki J-36 and Sonic J-52 - again!  They have been up front way ahead of the rest of their family group several times now...
...Hy' Shqa J-37 and several others surprised us by surfacing just passed the lighthouse...didn't know they were even in the area but later saw they had made some really loud calls as they passed by quite close to shore...
...Granny J-2, Shachi J-19 were more in the middle of the whales who were spread from in close to way off shore...off from Shachi was Eclipse J-41 and Nova J-51...
...Princess Angeline's J-17 family was quite a ways offshore...I got a glimpse of Polaris's notch and saw her little one, J-54, and a few others, but they were too far off to ID all of them...the sun created back lighting which didn't help matters...
...also offshore were the L4s - Nugget L-55, and with her was Lapis L-103, baby L-123, and Finn L-116 - Nugget's grandoffspring...Finn's mother was not traveling right with them...
...there was a lot of echolocating...didn't see much foraging though...
...Mako was in the middle of it, his brother way offshore...
...also in about the middle were the rest of the J16 family...Slick J-16 was in the lead, Echo J-42 and Scarlet J-50 were goofing around and behind them was Mike J-26...
...Moonlight L-83 and Midnight L-110 were together and with them was baby L-122...I had seen Muncher L-91 surfacing without her calf, and was relieved to see the calf with Moonlight and Midnight...
...the last whale to pass by was Crewser L-92...

...all in all it appeared that all family groups of J Pod were present and that the 19 whales of L pod who travel together were here...but I'm not sure if I saw Racer L-72 and her offspring Fluke L-105...they may have passed by with that group in the beginning who surfaced past us, but I'm not sure...Racer and Fluke were not with the other Ls when they came in the last time, so they might have stayed out again this time...just don't know for sure...
some images from the pass by:

...they continued north...it sounded as though they were taking a route common to them and heading toward the Fraser River...

4-9-15 Another Day for the J16s and the West Side

Thursday, April 9th
...just as we were leaving the harbor on Maya's Westside Charters we get word of whales within a half mile...it was the J16s coming down island...
...it's so interesting to watch them these past few encounters...so spread out is what I find interesting...I know that they know where they all are...but this human here gets into her 'auntie Jeanne' mode and worries about the babies!

Slick J-16 was quite a way ahead of Echo J-42, who seemed to be behind baby J-50...then a good half mile or more behind was Mike J-26, who was foraging as he moved along...and then Alki J-36 and J-52...
...they passed Lime Kiln lighthouse and continued down island for a while...then the moms and babies stopped for a while...
...the seas were calm...

...and before long they turned and headed back up island...this time not as spread out...that's Mike J-26's pec fin, then Echo J-42, and the tip of J-50's fin...

...there were lots of people waiting for the whales to pass by!...up ahead of Mike is mom, Slick J-16...

...J-50's scratches - easily visible from such a great distance...

...off the boat and to County Park as they passed by on the outside of Low Island...

...they headed up island...I heard them on the Orca Sound hydrophones for the last time at about 6:00 p.m. and that was it for the day...

4-8-15 Taking Their Time Wherever They Went

Tuesday and Wednesday, April 7-8th 

Tuesday, April 7th
...8:00 a.m. - 'click-click-click' came over the Orca Sound hydrophones loud and clear - whales!
...Lime Kiln hydrophones had been down since 11:30 last night, so who was here and which way did they come from?!
...they were Residents because transients don't echolocate like that...off to County Park...there!...in the distance to the north one adult male...looked like Mike J-26, but so far away...he was foraging like Mike does...so where were the rest?
...it wasn't long before it was known that only the J16s were here...they are an independent group and many times have gone off on their own...
...they didn't get too far north before the flipped and came back down island, passing the lighthouse...

...I thought they might go to Grandma's Cove at American Camp...if you know where I'm talking about you know the exercise I got just getting there and back to the car...and then back to the park because the whales flipped direction again!

...Mike J-26 and his mom, Slick J-16, were in the lead as they came by the lighthouse...way behind them were Alki J-36, Echo J-42, and the two babies...today it looked like Echo had the job of keeping tabs on J-50! (Suttles J-40 seemed to have that job on March 30th)...then just shortly past the lighthouse Mike and Slick, who had been doing some foraging, slowed down and the others caught up and they continued slowly up island...
...then I went up island and watched as they went by...they went on the inside of Low Island (that's the small island just off County Park)...they don't do that very often...

Wednesday, April 8th
...out on Maya's Westside Charters we head north after hearing a report of a few whales...on the way I spotted some blows - it's always exciting to find whales where you don't expect to!...it was the J16s!...
...different day, same 'stuff'...
...Mike J-26 was foraging, sometimes he was a half mile away from the rest...
...Slick J-16 was with baby J-50...
...and for a while we couldn't find Alki J-36, Echo J-42 or new baby J-52...
...then 'out of nowhere' they surfaced, and taking long dives...
...Residents acting more like transients than Residents...

...they were just hanging out...not going anywhere...

...I learned later that the J16s spent the day in that area...
...with two little ones...and some food in the area...they didn't have to go anywhere...just stay, rest, relax and be whales...

...we stayed a short while and then went to see some transients who were acting more like Residents than transients, and boy were they goofing around! ...that will be the next post...

4-1-15 We Know Who Our Moms Are!

Wednesday, April 1

First I need to clarify:  I am not a researcher. Somewhere along the way in the last few days that got added by my name, one of the images of J-52 (now official) Just posted from the Center for Whale Research the 'surprise baby' from March 30th.
I feel that using that term for me is disrespectful to those who actually are researchers.  Too easily 'tags' can get put on things that are incorrect.
However, I am a keen observer of these whales when, where, and however I can see them, but a researcher I am not.  My desire is to find the stories they have to tell and right now, oh, boy, is there ever a story!

Everyone wants to know, 'who's the mom?'
Now the guessing game has begun.
So to make it fun this post is not telling you much information, because there isn't much, only hoping to help keep us all wondering until the whales decide to let us know.  Hopeful we all are, that on the next encounter all members of J pod will be present.

But for now...
Three females in the J16 family group.
One female from another.
And then there's three month old J-50.

J-50 says:

... 'she's my mom...'

...no wait, 'she's my mom...'

...no wait, 'she's my mom...'

...'he's not my mom, that's my brother!'

...'and here's a J pod cousin, Suttles J-40...'

...'glad she is here, but I'm not sure why...'

...'and this little kid even younger than me...'

...'my mom hasn't told me much just yet...'

...'I know that kid is too young for play....'

...'but maybe not, that kid just came my way!'

...'now that we're born and J-51 too'...

...'to keep us alive you know what we need'...
...'it's salmon of course, well our moms do now'...

...'and some day we'll be chasing and eating it too'...

...'so please do all you can to restore the salmon for us.'

Salmon, salmon, salmon are what the whales need most.  
All the enthusiasm for these new babies is wonderful!
Now look at what you can do to help them survive.
Immediate differences and differences that will see results in the future.
Sign the petition (upper right corner of this blog) pass it on to friends.  
Stop using toxic ingredients on your lawns and down your drains...and the list goes on.
Think natural.

...and as they all moved along...all together now, giving us no clue as who belongs to who!

If you love them then do all you can to save them!

more posts about J-52:

3-30-15 A Whale of A Surprise! 

4-6-15 More About J-52

2-19-15 They Found More Salmon and Followed It

Wednesday/Thursday, February 18/19th
Wednesday
...knowing that J pod was north (in my mind anyway) it was now a matter of waiting for them to come back down...but when?...which way - Rosario Strait?  San Juan Channel? or Haro Strait?
...would they 'show up' over the Lime Kiln hydrophones? ...even if they came down Rosario Strait or San Juan Channel and not Haro Strait, they sometimes are heard faintly in the distance...if they came down Haro Strait there is a greater chance they would first 'show up' over the Orca Sound hydrophones and then Lime Kiln...
...the wait was on...

...that is how it began...the whales were echolocating...it is almost not recognizable in the beginning and gets clearer as they get closer...it wasn't long before the whales' calls began as they continued traveling down Haro Strait...
...fish had been coming through over the last day or so...

...I had notice the sounds of what I believed to be a harbor seal...it (they, whoever) had been quite noisy...it was in the middle of the night some times so I knew it wasn't a diver or someone throwing rocks into the water by the hydrophones...

Thursday
...at about 4 a.m. I was surprised to hear J pod on the Lime Kiln and then over the Orca Sound hydrophones...they were still here!...and they were near...but of course it was too dark to see them...I last heard J pod calls at about 6:30 a.m. over the Orca Sound hydrophones...
...when it was getting a bit of light out there and not having heard the whales I went to Lime Kiln, just in case they had gone into a resting pattern (they are silent) and were possibly going back down island...that is when I saw and heard a harbor seal in close proximity to the location of the hydrophones make a sudden move where it 'jumps' up and then over with a loud splash and slap - I said, "there it is, there's that sound!"
...after scanning for the whales for a long time I was convinced they had gone north...and that too proved to me that yes, there was enough salmon that had moved up Haro Strait to cause the whales to follow them back to the north...
...what an eventful day and I hadn't seen a whale yet!

...Capt. Jim had a trip in the afternoon and we headed out on a very long journey to see if we could catch up to the whales as they went up one of my favorite places - Trincomali Channel...and we did, just as the whales were about to exit Porlier Pass, at the north end of Galiano Island, B.C...
...both babies, J-50 and J-51 were present, traveling next to their moms, J-50 next to Slick J-16, and J-51 traveling next to Shachi J-19...I didn't do very well on images...but I did see them and so did the passengers who had to look really closely for the little ones to 'pop up' - they are so quick!...Shachi and Eclipse on the left and Hy'Shqa J-37 acting goofy...both J-49 and baby J-51 were not at the surface...

...I kept trying...barely...had to do a lot of cropping and adjusting so J-51's fin would actually show up next to mom...

...as the whales exited the pass, similar to how they are when they exit Active Pass they got a bit energetic ...

...after exiting the pass they continued along...it was interesting to watch Granny J-2...she was with Samish J-14, her kids, and Onyx L-87...

...with them were Shachi J-19 with her two kids - 10 year old Eclipse J-41 and new baby J-51...

...accompanying them was Tsuchi J-31...Tsuchi has been being an auntie whale for a while now...she reminds me of Ophelia L-27...
...then at one point Granny slowed down...Shachi and her group continued as they had...and then Granny altered the pod's direction of travel...it wasn't a real obvious alteration, such as a 180 degree turn about, it was subtle, about a 30 degree course change...and soon the others were making the change as well...
...however, the J16s who were the whales farthest to the right of the group, ended up traveling about a 1/2 mile off from the others...Onyx L-87 and Blackberry J-27 had dropped back and were traveling together as the trailers when we left them...Mike J-26, one of the J16s family group was with his family of five way far off from the rest...they were all going the same direction...

...didn't realize I had this until later...I had to lighten it up so the buildings would show up through the haze...

...now that's a 'proof of location' shot!
 
...our visit was short but sweet and back toward home we headed with lots of conversation about the whales' need for salmon, and the alarming salmon situation that just seems to keep going on and on and not much getting done to fix it...
 
...sport fishing is great for some and maybe fine for catching some types of fish, but how about stop catching any Chinook at all for a few years...

...a while ago, someone asked the question about eating Alaska wild caught salmon...don't some of those salmon come to the Fraser River to spawn?  I don't know the answer to that at this time, but if they do, and if some of the seafood cards out there are saying that it's okay to eat Alaska wild caught salmon...I just wonder are we hurting the salmon runs here by it being caught before it gets here???
"food for thought"...
Just where does the salmon you eat come from?
better yet:  What sustainable seafood are you eating instead of salmon?