Friday, December 16, 2016

12-16-16 J Pod - Still in the Area

Friday, December 16th
...over the last week...

...J Pod has been in the area - a large area...from Puget Sound to at least the mid section of the San Juan Islands and possibly farther to the north or east and who knows where else...

...it was another one of the those surprises...on December 10th...
...Blackfish Whale and Wildlife Tours (aka Hobbes -for those who know Hobbes) happened upon orcas just as they were heading back to their harbor...the whales were approaching a location that might yield a view or two, so out the door to see if I could make it...
...got lucky...they were just approaching my view...however, far from shore and in some pretty choppy seas...
...so when Onyx L-87 and Blackberry J-27 came into view...okay - J Pod whales!
...a few pics which will show you just how far from shore they were :)...

...the whales were heading down San Juan Channel and binoculars were a must to even see them as they passed by the entrance to Friday Harbor...

...in the night...at about 3:30 a.m. J Pod whales were on the Lime Kiln hydrophones...very faint and not for a long time...a very short clip with only 2 calls...but they were there - wherever 'there' was!

...which way did they go? 
...I learned later some J Pod whales showed up in Puget Sound.  That's expected at this time of the year.

...here's who I got proof of presence images of:
Blackberry J-27
Eclipse J-41
Nova J-51
Shachi J-19
Onyx L-87
Notch J-47

DoubleStuf J-34

...here are a few images of some of them...




...there were others as well...

Moby J-44
Mako J-39
Cookie J-38

...it seems that J Pod whales have been using a similar 'route' - for now...
...and there was a fishing derby in the San Juans last week...they too were fishing in the same general area where J Pod whales have recently been seen up here around the San Juans.
...after all that does make sense.


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