10-24-15 A New Baby In J Pod !

Saturday, October 24th

...out on Peregrine with Andy at the helm we leave Snug Harbor with no word on whales...at this time of year that is often the case...
...no sooner are we out when we get word that whales had already passed Open Bay (which they weren't but we didn't know that) so we headed down island because it was supposed to be that they had gone by about 20 minutes ago...
...okay we had whales! - yay!  that's the first thing...now to locate them...
...we had gone less than a mile when we turned back to see what was up that way...first two humpbacks!...cool...but no orcas...
...and then...who pops up but Muncher L-91 and baby L-122 (first seen in early September by a photographer from shore on San Juan Island)...

...wow!...L pod has come back down from the north...
...we could see that the whales were spread across the strait...
...then Scoter K-25 pops up...wow!...K pod is here too...

...but the big question for me was:  Where was J pod?...as far as I knew no one knew for sure...
...we gradually made our way IDing the whales we saw...it would be great to see J pod...if they were here...ah!...we hear over the radio that some J pod whales are here...
...we came upon Tahlequah J-35, Notch J-47, Saturna K-43, Tika K-33, and his mom Sekiu K-22...I had already seen Rainshadow K-37 who was chasing fish like Scoter K-25 had been doing...and several other L and K pod whales...we had hardly moved at all...and everywhere you looked you could see a whale...
...then Andy begins to move the boat a bit up island...we were looking for more J pod whales...he spots a baby...thinking that it was one of the J16s -- J-50 or J-52 -- (we had already seen Eclipse's baby J-51)...I look...at first I only saw Princess Angeline J-17 and one other...and then a 'very tiny' whale surfaces with those two...huh?...that doesn't compute...neither J-50 or J-52 would be with Princess Angeline...
I said, "this is important, stay with them"...they were about 500 yards away...and I needed to see them again...everyone on the boat was focused on finding this tiny little whale...
...and then...it was so very small...definitely it's a new baby!!!

...and that's the main story for all day today...there is a new baby in J pod. (I will post more of the story of this day in my next post...there is a lot that went on today with all the whales that were present.)
...for now, here are some images of the newest member of the community...

...Tahlequah J-35 for most of the time we were with them, seemed to be the 'support person'...as I call it...she traveled behind J-17 and the baby...Moby spent more time up with his mother than any other whale during the time we saw them...

...the Center for Whale Research documenting this new calf...

...next question everyone asks:  who's the mom?...the Center for Whale Research will determine that provided that this baby is seen again...let's hope...
...it's October the whales were heading out to sea (they might be back soon)...it can be the toughest time of year for a newborn...

...Princess Angeline J-17 might be the mother or the grandmother or even just a friend helping out for the day...

...they were heading west in the Strait of Juan de Fuca..

note - so there is no confusion:  while on the water and hearing that some J pod whales had been seen, as well as some Ks and Ls...there were a few boats up in the direction of who we thought might be the J16s or the J17s...the J16s have two calves the J17s' youngest is five years old...there was NO mention of a new calf or a little whale, or any indication of something new, by any of the boats...it was was around noon that Andy spotted a baby and I began to try to figure out which one it was (as I wrote, above, in this post)...we thought we had discovered a new calf...once sure it was not any of the other J pod babies I called the Center for Whale Research but was unable to connect...I kept trying...

...I knew this was a brand new calf and assumed it belonged to J pod because of who the calf was traveling with...
...I did not know that it had been seen by another person and the people on that boat or that the Center had already been alerted...without that information I believed that we had discovered a new calf (and we needed to stay with this little group until the Center arrived on scene - it just made sense to me)...
...in the end we were not the first eyes on that new calf, but we were glad we were able to stay on scene until the researchers arrived...
...and the passengers?...I think they were delighted to see a new orca calf for the first time in their human lives :)
...and Andy, Jeff, and I - oh, yes!  We were delighted so very much!

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...

4-6-15 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...

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

3-30-15 A Whale of a Surprise!

Monday, March 30th
...out on Legacy Charters to see if we could locate J Pod whales who I had heard earlier over the hydrophones (see prior post)...
...we met up with whales as they were just entering Active Pass...it appeared to be the J16s...
...little did we know we were in for a surprise!
...it wasn't until we had exited Active Pass and were in the Strait of Georgia that this group of whales stalled out and and we weren't quite sure what they were doing...maybe with baby J-50 they were taking a rest?..I don't know...but what I do know is what occurred when they started to move on...
...Slick J-16 and baby surface as they passed by us...I thought to myself, "there's mom and the baby."...but then right in front of us and about 25 yards behind mom and the baby, another baby surfaces!...that's when I told Capt. Spencer, "I think there are two babies here!"

...and so began our quest to figure it out...and then Suttles J-40 surfaces - huh? what?...you don't even belong in this family group...just what is going on?

...our quest was to get two calf fins up at the same time, so we could prove there were two babies here, J-50 and someone else...that took a while...

 

...when Legacy was about to leave the scene, Maya's Westside Charters arrived, so I boat hopped and was able to stay out with these whales longer - thanks captains!

...we know that J-50 is a female, and that belly marking is a female, but is this J-50?!  So many questions...the answers may take a while...

...Suttles J-40 was behind this group...an unfolding mystery...these whales could be babysitting the new calf...we've seen it before...

...The Center for Whale Research was contacted while we were on the water to let them know about this calf...then after looking at images and seeing open saddle patch on each side of the calf, they were contacted again with this information.  J-50 and J-51, the other two new calves in J Pod do not have open saddle patches.

More posts on J-52
4-1-15 We Know Who Our Moms Are

4-6-15 More About J-52

2-12-15 J Pod Had a Surprise For Us All

Thursday, February 12th
...at 6:40 a.m. I began hearing faint calls over the Lime Kiln hydrophones...the volume increased a bit but not much and then, after about 25 minutes no more calls...then at about noon there were a couple very faint calls again...and in no time at all whales were passing by the Lime Kiln lighthouse going up island!  J Pod and it's February and you're at the light?! WOW!
...getting out of the car and hearing blows is not what I was hoping for...'oh, no, they're already going by!...
...it was rainy and of course overcast...
...Slick J-16 with baby J-50 and Echo J-42...and one other...were some who were ahead of me...

...some were in close to shore...it's one of those times you just snap as many as you can and look later at what you got!
...Princess Angeline J-17 and all her family all came in right along the shore...

...the last of the J17s to pass by the lighthouse...

...and little did anyone know...

...yes, there was a surprise hidden between these two!...and no one knew about until the Center for Whale Research boat with Davie Ellifrit and I got on scene with the lead group who were quite a distance from shore...that's when we discovered a wonderful surprise!


Read below then go to CWR website for the first images of this new addition to J Pod. I'm sure there will be an encounter posted soon. 

PRESS RELEASE

From Center for Whale Research

12 February 2015

Another New Baby in J pod!

            After spending the past two weeks near the west entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, J pod finally came back into the interior Salish Sea waters and showed off another brand new baby whale to the few observers that braved the mist and light rain and watched the whales swim by from land and from vessels at respectful distance. Dave Ellifrit from the Center for Whale Research, and Jeanne Hyde who first heard the whales on Lime Kiln hydrophone this morning, embarked on the Center ‘s research vessel “Chimo” to Haro Strait while CWR Senior Scientist, Ken Balcomb, watched from shore and managed communications.

            The late December calf, J50, with its J16 family were seen today as well; but, the big news is that J19 and J41 were swimming protectively on either side on another new baby that we estimate is about one week old. This newest addition to J pod is designated J51, and the presumed mother is thirty-six year old J19. Her ten-year old daughter, J41, was also in attendance. The newest baby appears healthy.

            This brings us to twenty-six whales in J pod, the most viable pod in the Endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale population of the US and Canada Pacific Northwest. K pod has 19 individuals, and L pod has 34 individuals for a total population of 79 SRKW’s as of today. That number can change anytime with the birth or death of one of these charismatic whales.

--------
...all of J Pod and Onyx L-87 were seen today.  Granny, Cookie J-38 and Oreo J-22 were traveling in a medium distant proximity to one another, while the J14s were in closer to shore...
...they went north...it's about the time of year for the herring runs up north there, so maybe they are headed up there to eat the salmon who are there to eat the herring...they'll be back down, but when and which way remains the mystery!