5-10-15 An Afternoon Full of Whales

Sunday, May 10th
...on an afternoon trip with Capt. Jim we headed north to meet up with others who were watching the two humpbacks, Windy MMY0006 and Big Mama BCY0324...they were definitely into boat watching today...
...sometimes they watch us while we are trying to figure out where they will surface next and other times we watch them while they leave us alone - really.
...at one point, we were getting ready to go a bit further north to see a minke whale that just showed up, when we hear that killer whales were also just spotted but much farther away...
...after a few calculations we were on our way...just hoping the whales would continue to come our way...
...they didn't, but we got there...
...what a combination and what a challenge it was to figure out who was there...
...T124E and T101B were pretty much to themselves...two teenage boys...

...T102 passed up this sail boat...

...I had seen T124 - she has the most pointed dorsal fin of all the Transients in this regional Transient community...and with her was T124A1 - that would be one of her grandkids...there is one whale in between these two, who is just surfacing, and that is T124E...note that T124D and her offspring T124D1 were not present today...they're off traveling with others...they'll be back to visit mom and the family from time to time...

...when I had seen T102 and T101B, I figured that T101A and mom - T101 were around...

...and now for mom...

...but there were two others a mom and a juvenile...and it took me until I got home to figure it out...it was T100B and her first offspring T100B1!

...so today we had all the T101s and T102 is considered to be part of them; two of the T124s and there are five of them; two of the T100s and there are six of them; one of the T124As and there are six of them...
...you can see how they split up...that's how Transients are...you just never know who will be with who...the next time they are seen they might all be with their family groups...or not...
...that's totally different from the Southern Resident Community - they never leave their moms - thank goodness!
...we didn't have long to stay with the whales...we had come a long distance...one of the passengers had her first look at orcas in the wild...I think she was pretty happy!
...as we were leaving and they were going the other way...

...not sure the name of that cliff face...but it's beautiful, especially with whales in front...


...note on J Pod...they've been gone...today is the 9th day since they were here...from what I saw there wasn't much food here when they came in the last time...that's based on where they traveled, which wasn't very far before they turned and left...
...someone said the other day, "bring in the whales"...I replied with "bring in the salmon" and the whales will then be here.

It's May...
Will J pod return with salmon and L pod whales?
Will L pod come in without J pod being here?
They did that last year. - highly unusual.
Will K pod show up with no other pods in here?  
Last year they did in April?  Will it be May this year?
 

5-4-14 A Slice of Life - Orca Style

Sunday, May 4, 2014
...it was May 4th 2009 when J pod and the K13s showed up in Haro Strait  but that wasn't going to happen today...they were in California!...
...instead we had word of transients (Bigg's killer whales), marine mammal eating orca, a large group coming our way...
...out on Maya's Westside Charters for an afternoon trip...the rain was subsiding and the seas were calm...and when we arrived on scene the whales appeared to be heading east...
...as the scene began to unfold we could see there were some individual males up ahead - T102 shown here...also T101A and possibly T87 were spread out close to a 1/2 mile ahead...

...one of several groups...

...the T90s surfaced and the T65As (not in this frame) were near by...

...wow! T124, so the rest of her family is around somewhere...

...members of the T100s, T101s(because T102 is here- I know-confusing), T90s, T65As...and we were only getting started!
...then this whale with a very distinguishing notch surfaced...

...I don't stop to try to figure it out while out there...if I do then I miss images that I could get...so I wait...and was I ever surprised and excited - I've only seen her in 2011 - it's T023!!..now meet the whole family!
...the two youngest I've never seen before...T023C3 and T023D3 are in the DFO (Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans the official book on the transients), but the youngest one (in the middle) isn't...so I've sent my images to the Center for Whale Research...

...soon they stopped traveling...so we all stopped too...and enjoyed being surrounded by a 'slice of life - orca style'...
...it didn't require breaching, or fast travel, or wild leaping or them coming up close...they were just hanging out on a springtime afternoon...it was amazing to watch and not easy to capture the event because the groups were spread all over...
...some groups playing around, others moving slowly in large circles...

...above - the taller fin belongs to T100C...here's a bit closer look...

...luckily I got a picture of him from his other side...

...then I compared his dorsal fin from the last time I saw him (2012) to another image I took of him yesterday and I could see no indentation...

...it might be that with his dorsal fin beginning to grow taller it can be a bit 'wobbly' at the top and that might be causing the strange look...it will be interesting to watch how he grows - he's like a 6th grader who is 'heads above' the rest of his class - tall and gangly!


...the very youngest in this large group of about 27 whales, T65A5, taking a rest next to mom...

...naps don't have to last a long time in the whale world...T65A with baby T65A5 on the right...oh, so sweet...I noticed T65A was doing a lot of resting today...I guess a mom with 4 kids, one a brand new baby, needs lots of rest!
...her oldest,T65A2, and friend T101B were 'whaling around' (as opposed to 'horsing around')...

...heading toward the Swartz Bay ferry terminal...

...a different group heading away from the Swartz Bay ferry terminal...

...kids!

...the folks on that sailboat were about to enter a Slice of Life - Orca Style!

wild and free,

free to roam,

they raise their kids,

teach them the ways of the whale world.

There is something special

that touches our hearts

when we get to see a 

slice of their life. 

Thank you whales.

 

3-31-14 Here's How The Transient Orcas Get Their Food

Monday, March 31st
...we went for it...on Maya's Westside Charters...to a large group of Trainsients (Bigg's) killer whales...up to the north...it was chancy...however...
Simon of Ocean Ecoventures had stayed with them and then had to leave (oh, he'd be back), so it might be up to us...
...we headed up to Trincomali Channel...Capt. David spotted the whales at the top end of Thetis Island...and there they stayed for the next very long while...

...it is best seen on the YouTube video clip...the clip is from the first part of their encounter...it looked like it was a training session for the kids which would end up with a reward...
...then they ate and played...

...T86A and T124, both matriarchs of their families were moving about together...

...T87 would surfaced all around, from being on the outskirts to passing through the middle of some of the groups...

...he has no immediate living family members so he will show up traveling with different groups...we did see him earlier in the month with a new wound... link to that post...a better image of his wound...

...notches from this wound appear visible from his other side...

...there was another 'new to me' baby!...based on its size I imagine this calf is maybe 6 months old and may have been seen sometime during the late fall or winter months...and a juvenile who I didn't think belonged to any of these family groups, but he/she does...mystery solved...will post about those kids in my next post...

...the gulls began to get active and all of a sudden they were around our boat, the whales weren't - just the birds...as if we were a fishing boat...then we saw them picking up bits and pieces off the surface...

...the whales were getting into travel mode and began moving off to the north...and with one last image of a most beautiful day with magnificent whales...those are snow covered Canadian mountains in the distance!

Thank you whales!