5-3-19 Whale Warning Flag and more

over the last several days...
     ...and a bit of personal venting here...

...I am sad to not see J Pod as we used to, along the west side of San Juan Island, in the Spring...

...I am glad to get to see them once in a while and to see that Princess Angeline J-17 appears to have put on more weight...and that she, Kiki J-53, and Moby J-44 (when I saw them from the Western Prince recently) were with all the other members and were not the trailers...

...it concerns me that there are some people out there who want to 'poke and prod' her to get samples of this or that...
..."hey, Princess Angeline J-17 - 'run - run' the other way as fast as you can!!!"


Stress is NOT good for you or me,
Why should it be okay to stress out the 'people of the sea'?

Princess Angeline's daughter, Tahlequah J-35, brought the world's attention to their plight...Tahlequah J-35 showed us their sadness, grief, and their strength of spirit and their caring for one another.

Now Princess Angeline has been showing us their determination to continue on in spite of all the negative things humans have done to the environment.

Most important is for us to 'get it'...to be able to translate that to others who come to see the orcas:
-their depth of family
-their determination
-the orcas' needs:



...food...in order to have that, those salmon need food too. 
...quiet seas...vessels of all sizes--shh---...quiet please 
...clean water...you should already know the drill on that...

...now that I've vented...thanks...and often it seems that the whales read my blog and show up just when I say they won't :)  
- here's hoping for salmon and lots of it wherever it is the whales can get it...



~~~

Over the last several days I have been out on the Western Prince...some days there have been whales, Transients - the marine mammal eating orcas, other days no whales but fascinating eagles, lots of Steller sea lions (that usually are gone from here by late May and return in late summer)...

...these 2 images (above and below) - taken from shore...

 ...he was lying there like a lump...

 ...some Steller sea lions have brands on them...always interesting to get images and then send them off to the sea lion researchers who will often send back a list giving information as to where the sea lion was branded, it's age and where he has traveled...

...one California sea lion and lots of Steller sea lions...no brands...

 ...a challenge to get the 3 numbers and 1 letter of the brand!

...May 3, the T123s, 65Bs, 49As, 75Bs and 75Cs...we learned who was there from those who were first on scene, so we knew who to look for...two adult males, T123A and T49A1...then moms and kids...and oh, my, so many little kids...(will post those later - they were in close groups and goofy kids...will be a challenge to figure them all out...and fun too...

 ...it was so fabulous to see so many Whale Warning Flags...it's a great tool for everyone and especially those who are out on the water and don't realize there are whales present.
The Whale Warning Flag means - whales present - slow down - pay attention and stay out of their way!

...later I discovered I had missed one of the flags - my apologies to Five Star...

...kudos to everyone who is helping to educate others...not just others on your boat - they too ask what the flag is for, but those who might just run over whales if those flags weren't flying...

...hoping to see more boats, private, commercial, local gov't too learning about what those flags mean...
...then they will begin looking for the flags!  And that's a good thing! 

...and hoping to hoist the Whale Warning Flag at Lime Kiln lighthouse one of these days soon! 
...last year, first day it was hoisted at the park!

 
...we're learning...