J, K and L pod calls were heard...
...however, when the whales were documented by Dave of CWR, he found no L Pod whales, except for Onyx L-87 and J and K Pods...
...I had recorded the entire encounter, but wasn't listening during the entire encounter - intermittent cell connection to listen and I couldn't take my eyes off the water to try to reconnect (ugh!), while taking photos and watching the whales...
...I noticed Cappuccino K-21 right in front of the lighthouse, and expected him to pass on by as others were...but he didn't...he hung out there, close to shore...
...it was sort of curious as to what he was doing...he would surface, coming up - like in 'up periscope' and then 'down periscope'...there was very little movement forward, but when he surfaced again he had changed direction...
...one time up island...the next, facing down island...it was quite interesting watching him and wondering what he was up to...
...he was there for at least eight minutes with loud echolocation clicks and up-tick calls, one sequence lasting for over four minutes...
...and he was in the kelp too!...
...here's a 30 second sample of what occurred...
...the calls are more extended than the 'normal' L Pod up-tick (S19) calls, to me...so maybe they have a different technical name...
...this call was heard several different times during the whales extended time on the west side that day...I haven't looked at all the other recordings from the day, yet, to compare if they are the same or if Onyx was making any of them...
...however, since Onyx has traveled with J Pod (since 2010) this up-tick call is rarely heard when only J Pod and Onyx are present...
...it is a fact that the L54s not only make L Pod calls, they also make the K Pod, Kitten call!
...and Cappuccino K-21, Raggedy K-40 (deceased) have a history of traveling with the L54s...Cappuccino used to leave K Pod and show up with L Pod whales in the late fall...that was back in about 2009...and Cappuccino, Opus K-16 and Sonata K-35, who travel together most often, had been heard making this call...
...they keep us on our toes and our ears tuned in...that's for sure. Fun stuff!!
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