The Center for Whale Research announced today that Sonic has died.
...In memory of Sonic J-52...
...when this little baby was first seen...oh, my, what a day...link to the first post of new baby, Sonic J-52, in 2015...
Showing posts with label J-52. Show all posts
Showing posts with label J-52. Show all posts
Monday, September 25, 2017
9-25-17 In Memory of Sonic J-52
Monday, September 25th
The Center for Whale Research announced today that Sonic has died.
...In memory of Sonic J-52...
...the reason I mentioned 'blaming' is that so many people are looking outward to lay blame for problems when they might do better to look inward and take responsibility, no matter what the issues are...
...when this little baby was first seen...oh, my, what a day...link to the first post of new baby, Sonic J-52, in 2015...
...a few additional memory images...
...something to think about when you watch the whales of this endangered Southern Resident Community...
Rest in Peace little guy...all our hearts are sad that you are gone.
The Center for Whale Research announced today that Sonic has died.
...In memory of Sonic J-52...
...when this little baby was first seen...oh, my, what a day...link to the first post of new baby, Sonic J-52, in 2015...
Thursday, September 8, 2016
9-8-16 Surf's Up!
Thursday, September 8th
...the whales were coming down, spread for miles and moved through the area slowly...that is until a power boat left a wake that became play time or lesson time for one mom and her young one...
...the whales were coming down, spread for miles and moved through the area slowly...that is until a power boat left a wake that became play time or lesson time for one mom and her young one...
Thursday, April 9, 2015
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...
...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...
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
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...
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...
...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...
...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...
...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...
Monday, April 6, 2015
4-6-15 More About Baby J-52
I realized that my very best image of baby J-52 was all over the internet, yet I neglected to put it and others on my blog!...so...
...the fetal folds can be seen clearly in the above image...below is a closer look from another angle...they are very deep looking, the most obvious I have even seen...researchers said this calf was just a couple days old...
...well on March 27th while out on Maya's Westside Charters with the whales in the Strait of Juan de Fuca in flat calm seas, we left the whales at 3:44...looking back on that encounter, the J16s were far behind the rest of J pod...J pod was all grouped up and eventually the J16s caught up to them...from looking at my images later, at that time there did not appear to be any new calf with the J16s - seen from head on as they approached, from their left sides as they passed by, and from behind and their right sides as they continued on - there was no new calf seen with them...like the researches said the calf was only a couple days old on March 30th.
...and then when you see the two babies on either side of Slick J-16...
...well, back to that question...'who's the mom?'
...we all hope to see J-52 the next time J pod returns and hopefully it won't be too long a wait...
...saddle patches don't seem to have much of a relationship when it comes from moms to offspring...so when I saw this open saddle on J-52, I was so surprised to see how much it resembled Echo's J-42...
...and the other side is also about identical to Echo's as well...
...Echo is only eight years old...that would be pretty young if you asked me...
...so that left Alki J-36 and Suttles J-40...the entire time out there Suttles, from my eyes, was the 'support person'...she was at the back of the group, estimating 50 yards...and sometimes J-50 was ahead of her- by herself - and behind Slick, Echo, Alki and baby J-52, by about 50 yards (difficult to estimate distance but it was an obvious distance at a steady pace - i.e. not in the manner of trying to catch up)...
...at no time, when they were traveling, did I see Suttles even near baby J-52..(for lack of a better way to explain it, it seemed that she was like the playground person who keeps tabs on all the little kids...well, maybe her job was to keep tabs on J-50 - it seemed anyway...there was only that very last picture on my We Know Who Our Moms Are post that showed them all together...but from the angle it still looked like Suttles may have been behind the rest of them...it makes sense to me, with another new baby someone had to look after J-50...
...at the beginning of our encounter, Mike was with them when they went through Active Pass...
...J-50 was in there too, but Suttles, well she was behind them...
...then when they stopped that first time he backed off and looked like he was waiting - it was very unusual...it was soon after that that I discovered there was a new baby in the group...so that explains some of Mike's behavior (to me anyway)...at some points he was a quarter mile or more off from the rest of the group, but he didn't appear to be foraging...
...maybe all this gives more clues was to who the mom might be...I just hope we actually will get to find out when J pod returns...
more posts about J-52:
3-30-15 A Whale of A Surprise!
4-1-15 We Know Who Our Moms Are!
note:
...someone had inquired about the belly markings on the calf who was being pushed up by Slick J-16...that there was a distinct black mark that wasn't showing on my image...however, my image was pretty blown out...the researchers at the Center for Whale Research identified those belly markings as belonging to calf J-50...
...and then when you see the two babies on either side of Slick J-16...
...we all hope to see J-52 the next time J pod returns and hopefully it won't be too long a wait...
...saddle patches don't seem to have much of a relationship when it comes from moms to offspring...so when I saw this open saddle on J-52, I was so surprised to see how much it resembled Echo's J-42...
...so that left Alki J-36 and Suttles J-40...the entire time out there Suttles, from my eyes, was the 'support person'...she was at the back of the group, estimating 50 yards...and sometimes J-50 was ahead of her- by herself - and behind Slick, Echo, Alki and baby J-52, by about 50 yards (difficult to estimate distance but it was an obvious distance at a steady pace - i.e. not in the manner of trying to catch up)...
...at the beginning of our encounter, Mike was with them when they went through Active Pass...
...maybe all this gives more clues was to who the mom might be...I just hope we actually will get to find out when J pod returns...
more posts about J-52:
3-30-15 A Whale of A Surprise!
4-1-15 We Know Who Our Moms Are!
note:
...someone had inquired about the belly markings on the calf who was being pushed up by Slick J-16...that there was a distinct black mark that wasn't showing on my image...however, my image was pretty blown out...the researchers at the Center for Whale Research identified those belly markings as belonging to calf J-50...
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
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!
more posts about J-52:
3-30-15 A Whale of A Surprise!
4-6-15 More About J-52
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...'
...'he's not my mom, that's my brother!'
...'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!'
...'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
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