6-25-16 the Transient Orcas Just Keep Showing Up

Saturday, June 25th
...another day with transient orcas in several different locations all day long...
...out on Peregrine for both morning and afternoon trips...every encounter is unique - this morning was about the whales and a seal and the afternoon was about those same whales, some who had the folks on the boat laughing because of their playful antics...young orcas are taught and with 'school' comes play time too...so it seems we got to see a bit of both today...

...summer in the San Juan Islands...only thing we are missing are salmon so the Southern Residents will return...

 

6-24-16 So Many Days So Many Transient Orcas

...catching up on a couple transient (marine mammal eating) orca encounters...there have been transient orcas in many locations in the inland waters over the last week or so...
...even on the morning of 6/23 there was a large group of several families of Ts who came in ahead of L Pod whales...the L Pod whales stayed out in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and word was that there was a lot of salmon and they were feasting on it - that's a good thing...
...the L pod whales did not make it much farther east and turned and went back out...
...and tonight while working on this post CTV News (Canada) had video of the T137s near Stanley Park, Vancouver, B.C. - taken by a helicopter...they are all over...whether it's more eyes who are seeing them and reporting them, or it's because the Residents aren't here people have to go looking for the Ts, I don't know but there sure seem to be a lot around...

...back on June 16th the T46s and the T73As were present...the T46s had been present before and on this day the T73As were with them.  This is the first time I had ever seen the T73As...they were mixed together...here are some images of them from that day while on Peregrine with Capt. Jim...

...there were lots of Ts in the area yesterday and many of them broke off into different groups...one group, the T73As - again - came up San Juan Channel late in the day...so they were in the area for at least a few days...
...T49C and his 'new' companion T91 were seen yesterday and again today...so they too are still in the area...
...the next encounter I had with Ts was today, June 24th...
...Ts were spotted at the north end of Boundary Pass this morning...out on Peregrine with Capt. Andy (aka Sparky -from a passenger!) for an afternoon trip...we met up with the whales...they were very close to shore and it looked like they were taking something...oh, yes they were!
...it was the T36As - mom and her three offspring, and T75B and her one year old offspring T75B2...we first saw that one in April 2015 and it hadn't been seen prior to that, so it was very young...

 

...one last shot before heading back to the harbor...

...I only hope the Fraser River Panel soon announces that their monitoring will begin for the summer salmon run...I know they focus on Sockeye, but in the 12 years I have been paying attention there appears to be a correlation with Chinook - that's mainly from watching what the Residents are doing or not doing and where they are or are not going...here's hoping for the sake of change that Obama will announce that with the swipe of his pen the 4 lower Snake River dams will be breached...it will not only be good for the whales...it matters to the other 136 species that rely on salmon as well. 

...in the meantime we'll be watching the transients and watching for harbor seal pups...yes, it's that time of year...and watch eagle take birds, and hope every night that the Southern Residents will wake me up with their vocalizing over the hydrophones...
 
 
 

5-24-15 Transient Orcas in Haro Strait

5-24-15
...out on the Peregrine in the afternoon to go see some transient killer whales who had been spotted in the late morning...they were coming our way...
...one male, with a small notch near the top...Dan of Orcas Island Eclipse Charters called to ask me who it was and told me that some were saying it was T51..."okay"...I didn't know T51 so that sounded good to me...well now I know who he is and I'll not likely forget him either!

...I looked at my files later and saw that I had seen him, briefly in 2012, but no images, that would show who he was, to put in The Book, so I didn't...

...he was traveling with the T36As and the T75Bs they have the newest baby of the group...we first saw this calf on April 13th...this baby would surface at about the 1/2 way mark of the adults down time...that was great, it gave us a marker as to where they were!

...they would get active for a few minutes and then it was back to resting...
here are some of their more active moments of the day...

 

 

...on the way back to the harbor Capt. Jim stopped to show the folks an eagle's nest...one of the passengers spotted not only the mom but a chick!

...back out again, the whales, who had gone in pretty close to shore, coming up island, veered offshore into some pretty choppy seas...oh, but Capt. David and his sailing ship...fun attempts for me to try to get in focus pictures!

...the whales were in a resting mode a good part of the time and with the choppy seas it wasn't easy to see the two babies...the one popping his/her head up is T75B2...

...the seas had settled somewhat and then the wakes of a couple really loaded down ships came our way and they got active for a few moments...relationships to the wake of the ships??...don't know...

...we left them heading west and we headed east...

...tomorrow will be another interesting day...there were transients all over the place so I imagine there might be again tomorrow...
...today no Southern Residents were seen at all...they might still be in here and if they are they are either in Trincomali Channel, which I doubt - too busy a time of year for them to be missed by eyes - or they went farther north...
...for the SR killer whales its about the salmon...where's the salmon, not just any salmon, but the kind they prefer - Chinook.  That's where the whales will be.