Sunday, September 22nd
...I went for a scan...they are still here!...not sure who, but I could see a couple whales way down island, foraging...
...out on Maya's Westside Charters...we come upon DoubleStuf J-34 and his mom, Oreo J-22...they were spread a quarter mile...just two whales...we knew there were more, but as we went down island there wasn't a whale in sight!
...then up ahead we saw a few...but where was everyone else?...Moby J-44 and Sonata K-35 were having a great time...
...one of the passengers asked some questions about a male whale's male parts, commonly referred to as a sea snake, and did it hang outside of their body?...so we had a few chuckles at the thought of all the things something that could be up to about five feet long could get hung up on...chuckle, chuckle...so I said something about what does hang out are the pec fins on an orca, not really meaning anything...but two minutes later Moby showed us!
...sometimes all you have to do is think it!
...we heard there was a humpback whale in the vicinity so we saved time to go see it...on our way to see the humpback we heard that the whales who had gone up north last night were coming back down and were coming fast!...
...and we heard that someone spotted a very large group of Pacific white sided dolphins...we'd try to fit that in on the later trip...that is if those dolphins were still in the area...things were getting wild!
...we watch the humpback for a few minutes but I doubt enough info for an idea as to who this humpback is...
...we were soon off to find the whales who were coming down...then we hear that they had already passed by Snug Harbor entrance...we caught up to the J14s...that's the family group that was in 'stealth mode' yesterday...
...so by the afternoon we thought that all the whales were now down south...we come upon a few whales figuring it would be some who had come down earlier...it was DoubleStuf J-34 who met up with Tika K-33, who was one of those who had come down from the north...
...Cookie J-38 was in shore with some of the J14s and Oreo J22 his mom...
...someone off shore breached four times...
...then to the LAGS...they were feeding, going in huge circles...it was estimated there were a couple hundred but impossible to actually count them all!...here's one of the hookiest fins I've ever seen...
...then back to the whales...some were coming off shore and a large group was coming back in toward shore...we went out to meet them...first I see Blackberry J-27 and his sister and brother...and a few other whales...then I get a glimpse of something tiny - "there's the baby"!!! I yelled out - of course!
...that was totally unexpected...but the baby is getting to meet more members of the Community, so no telling which group this little family will be with next time we see them...I just love watching this!
...off to the east of this group were Mystery L-85, Matia L-77 and Joy L-119 - I have hardly seen the L12s at all this year...
...we left them heading back in and back down island...
...until next time...
Saturday, September 13th
...when I stay up too late...I wake up too late and missed Granny J-2 and Group A, anyone else??, who went north past the lighthouse...
...I did get to the park in time to see Slick J-16, Mike J-26, and Alki J-36 moving up island...two Pacific white sided dolphins took off after Mike or Slick...the Pacific white sides were last seen heading across Haro Strait to Canada!
...Mike continued his foraging...
...just about to get on Maya's Westside Charters when I spot the moon behind the trees...I couldn't resist...
...down island we went to see the whales who had not gone north this morning...on the way a Dall's porpoise zoomed by the boat...the whales were spread for several miles...Tika was doing a lot of foraging...he burst through the surface chasing a salmon...the salmon was in the air in front of him...I hope one of the passengers got that image...I sure missed it...my phone rang!
...he's just 13 years old and is growing fast...
...it's terrible to say that him growing fast 'worries' me, but Riptide J-30 grew fast and large...he died before he reached 17 yrs....then this year Indigo L-100...just starting his journey into adulthood at age 13 and he is gone...
...I have no idea if the appearance of growing fast has anything to do with the early deaths of some males, but it causes me to pause and wonder...
..are they having to work so much harder to feed themselves?...probably so...they require more food, just like growing boys in the human realm...
...on the way back to the harbor we catch up to the humpback whale that had been spotted earlier...
...one way to remember this humpback - the letter 'H' is on the left fluke...
...earlier we saw the K12s and the K13s...and later on we saw some of the others who had come back in yesterday...and of course the baby...
...I love seeing the progression of the family arrangement with a new baby...
at first - mom, auntie, baby in the middle and big brother off to the side and behind them...then another pod mate, an adult female, who has not yet been seen with any offspring, was traveling with mom, baby and auntie...
...ta-da!
...hoping this is good progression for this baby and family...
...the rest of this subgroup called the L4s was present today as well...auntie Ophelia L-27, Nugget L-55 and all of her family, and Nigel L-95...
...does he have a specific role to play in all this?...if so, then maybe that is why his sister Racer L-72 and her son Fluke L-105 aren't present..
...the rest of the whales who had come in last night were here, though I am curious as to where the K14s are...maybe tomorrow will shed some light on that...
Friday, September 12th
...on our way to see some transient killer whales...almost to Active Pass we saw something...screech to a stop and wait...and wait...and when it surfaced after the blow came the pectoral fin waving...
...there were two... Split Fluke and another...I've seen both before but don't have an ID number on 'Black Dot Left' that's what I'll call that one until I figure out the ID...
...out again on Maya's Westside Charters in the late afternoon we headed west...word had come that the Residents were seen heading back in...
...on our way...
...other than that one drop I saw a helicopter doing a water drop...
...not far past there the whales were coming in just south of Race Rocks...so we made a quick trip past the rocks...
...they were in two groups...with Surprise and calf up at the lead of the L pod whales...
...now if only Lobo K-26 was 'up' on this surfacing...
...it's like they are coming 'home'...
...cruise ships are usually so far away that I can't tell if anyone is watching what's going on around them in the sea...these folks were!
...
...with Yoda K-36 and Lobo K-26 dorsal fins showing...I wonder what male owns that inverted lobbing tail...
...way up ahead of us they were starting to make their turn toward San Juan Island...
...this tail lob made a great waterfall...
...I didn't think the whales would make it to the west side before dark and was pretty sure they'll be there tomorrow - I hope...
...enjoy a short clip...
...I stayed up really late making sure who was present...not all of the Community...it's an interesting combination...
All of J pod and Onyx L-87, All of K pod - that includes the K Klik (Cappuccino, Opus, and Sonata), and the family group the L4s - new baby in that family, the L21s, and Nigel L-95...
Who are Racer L-72 and Fluke L-105 and Crewser L-92 and Ballena L-90 with?...or are they now creating their own 'independent' group?...
...this inquiring mind has lots of questions!...
Thursday, September 11th
...it was a long search and then just wait for someone to find the whales today...and what do you know, they were 'all' (not sure if the entire Community was present or not) not very far away!
...we were hoping to see baby L-120 but were not specifically looking to find her/him...there are others there we wanted to see too, but you know how babies are...oh, so tiny...well 7 to 8 feet long and possibly up to 400 pounds...doesn't sound small, but next to an adult a calf sure looks tiny...
...today Muncher L-91 was traveling with Surprise! L-86, and baby L-120, aunt Ophelia L-27, and Pooka L-106 - who was still off to the side...
...the groupings were very social, I would say...
...Granny J-2 was leading the way...not far behind were some of Sequim K-12's family members...interesting enough that during the day the K12s were mixed around: Sekiu K-22 was with Granny, Saturna K-43 was with Tika K-33, and of course Rainshadow K-37 was with mom K-12...
...the K13s- Cali K-34 was with Onyx L-87 - these two are doing a lot of hanging out together...
...and the K14s...K-36, K-42 and K-44...both family groups were in the same vicinity, but these 3 were traveling and playing around...
...Scoter K-25 and his mom, Skagit K-13 were with them...I don't remember seeing Spock and Comet though...
...most of those whales made it up to the lighthouse before turning around...
...what was most interesting to me was that the four whales and the baby - all members of L pod - were with the Js and Ks...and the rest of the Ls who were present remained down island...now this might sound strange, but I have seen them 'parade' a new calf up the island to the lighthouse and then back down...it's almost as if they are showing off the new member of their community...this image I took from the boat, Maya's Westside Charters, after the whales had turned around and were coming back down from the lighthouse...
...later in the day the rest of the family, the L55s, joined the group...even Nigel was there and the L21 family group...I'm not sure who else...
...I am curious as to where Racer L-72 and Fluke L-105 were, they are usually with Nigel L-95...but the whales have been so mixed up this season...will just have to wait to see them again...
...Sonata K-35...well, he took a minute to figure out!...look at how his dorsal fin is sprouting - wow!
...I saw him and his mom, Opus K-16...but like Racer and Fluke, I didn't see Cappuccino K-21 who travels with Opus and Sonata...maybe next time...
...before we left, Granny J-2, the J14s, and the K12s were heading back in toward shore, toward the south end of the island...
...and the K13s were heading back up to meet them...others were off shore, but they didn't look like they were getting into travel mode...perhaps they will be here tomorrow...
Saturday, September 6th
...with great anticipation I hoped to hear the vocalizations of the Residents on the hydrophones during the night...but all was quiet...
...that didn't mean they weren't here...
...because here came Granny J-2 leading the way...it was about 8 a.m.
...Slick J-16 was traveling near Granny...Mike J-26 was in the mix...
...then came (in no special order) Onyx L-87, Alki J-36, Shachi J-19, Eclipse J-41, the J14s...but Echo J-42 was nowhere to be seen......it took close to two hours before Group A passed by Lime Kiln lighthouse...and Echo still wasn't there...
...it was not only a busy morning watching the water for the whales...a California sea lion came by - whale watching too it appeared - probably for his safety...
...a Kingfisher...
...and then some mergansers too...
...off in the distance, down island, we could see more blows...okay, who could this be?...
...Princess Angeline J-17, Moby J-44, Tahlequah J-35, Notch J-47, Rhapsody J-32, Echo J-42, and Mako J-39 - until he changed direction and moved on out to be with his brother Blackberry J-27 and sister Tsuchi J-31...behind them came Polaris J-28 and Star J-46...
...on up island they went...there were a few whales really far offshore...not sure who...but it looked like we had just about all of J pod going north...
...out on Maya's Westside Charters...we traveled with the whales until Turn Pt. lighthouse...I know Capt. Jim has been wanting a breach in front of Turn Pt. lighthouse...he got it today, thanks to Shachi J-19...I was almost too late but managed to get her as she was just coming down for the landing...
...this next part of the day is rather comical I think...we went into Roche Harbor for fuel and came down Mosquito Pass, which is on the east side of Henry Island...at that same time K pod was going up Haro Strait off the west side of Henry Island!...we had no idea we had completely missed K pod (except for K-21, K-16, and K-35)...
...but things always work out, because if we had known that K pod was so close we would have gone with them...instead we went down island to see the L pod whales...
...that's where the Plus ONE comes in...
...It is 2 years and one month since the last surviving baby was born into the Southern Resident Community. It's not only time to celebrate but maybe it's time to re-look at what needs to be done for this population to survive and grow again. We certainly need more than just hope.
