What A Wonderful Day Watching J Pod!

 J and K Pods had come in to the inland waters in early April.  They went up north to the Strait of Georgia, Canada, and spent many days there.   K Pod came down and traveled far offshore, closer to Vancouver Island and then into the Strait of Juan de Fuca toward the open ocean.

So where was J Pod? They came down a couple days later, or part way.  They were in Boundary Pass and almost to where Haro Strait and Boundary Pass meet.  But instead of continuing into Haro Strait they made a turn and went up along Pender Island to Active Pass and into the Strait of Georgia, something they will do because it takes them to basically to the same area outside of the entrance to the Fraser River where the salmon are before they head up the Fraser River. 

They were seen a few days later in San Juan Channel going down island but then changed their direction to up island!  ...keeping the humans wondering what they would do next.

On April 16 they came down the west side and then later that day they came back up island!  That's how it used to be! It brought a 'hopeful feeling' that just maybe there was going to be enough salmon for them...we hope.

Here are a few images of some of J Pod coming down island and up island passing Lime Kiln lighthouse. It was like it used to be!  Here's hoping...

A big splash from a tail slap.

            Coming down...

This looks like Grandma, Shachi J-19,                                                            with very young new member of this family group.

In the center the orca just about to disappear under the surface after a great spyhop, which I only got this part of!

She was closer to shore!  Many people watching the whales as they either went up island or down island. 

In the distance someone landing from a breach.

And this is the resulting landing! 

They know where to go to seek out salmon.  

Let's just hope they find plenty!

And since they are currently still in the inland waters maybe we'll get to see them again...soon!

Feb 8, 2025 J Pod in Haro Strait

 J Pod had been up north and was last seen a couple days ago moving down the Strait of Georgia. Would they spend time up there where the Chinook salmon are usually at this time of year?

Well what a surprise! one that ended up with an a-ha moment for (hours)!  

Yikes...it's not spring yet, but the whales let me know I better get ready for their next appearance!  Lots to get done and be ready.

I watched the whales for several hours via the webcam, so images I took are rather awful due to the computer screen in the middle of it all.

It was interesting that there were no vocalizations for the first many hours, they were far offshore but usually if they are vocalizing even a couple miles offshore the hydrophones will pick it up...it wasn't until 7:03 pm that I heard vocals, then at 8:17pm and again at 9:15pm.

Most of the time they were traveling north.  The Center for Whale Research boat was out there documenting them.  I think it was after they left the scene the whales began changing direction and as it got later they could be seen heading down island and it seemed like they might be heading out.  But maybe not. The backdrop was great.

-images - fuzzy - it's not your eyes!

-snow on Vancouver Island & it gives an idea how far off from SJI the research boat was...the whales were behind them.

I began focusing on the beauty of it all.

Fuzzy!..oh well, we know who they are - J Pod.  

The Center for Whale Research will have awesome images. 

So very special to see them for so many hours. And hear them too!

June 26-2024 More Happy whales and People too!

J Pod came down from the north today. They were very spread out. Some were miles across Haro Strait and luckily some were closer to the west side.

Suttles J-40 was in the mix with several of the mothers and their littles.  But Suttles wasn't 'on duty' as an escort today, but maybe just in-case she was called on :)

Slick and Shachi were both up front as the whales came down - these next two images are of Slick J-16.  She was changing directions a few times as they were passing by.

Then came some moms and kids.

Shachi J-19 was with her grandson, Nova J-51, and Nova's mom,

Eclipse J-41 was with her youngest, Crescent J-58.

Tsuchi J-31 and her offspring, Tofino J-56 were there too.

Mike J-26 was the only male that I saw in closer to the west side while it appeared the other males were miles offshore, which is not uncommon.

And then some action began and oh how the people on shore were delighted!

...and then came Hy'Shqa J-37 & offspring J-59 Swee-uh-kosh, currently the youngest living member of J Pod.

That's J-59's head and dorsal fin tip landing with a big splach!

It was a great day for the people to learn about the SRKWs and the challenges they face.  Each of us can do somethig to help these whales live long lives and prosper into the future.

Cheers!

4/11/2024 J Pod Spring Time Passby

 4-11-2024

What a wonderful surprise to first hear J Pod calls over the SMRU hydrophones located at Lime Kiln.  I wasn't there but since The Whale Museum has webcam and SMRU has the hydrophones...  Little did I know that J Pod was in two groups.  The first group had already passed County Park, going north and since I am a bit farther north of there I stepped out the door to listen for their blows.  Yes!  Awesome!  I could not see them and they were far offshore, so when their blows faded into the distance I went back inside and opened the web cam site:  TheWhaleMuseum - YouTube

Oh, my goodness! I just heard a very loud J Pod vocal! So I watched and waited and after a while some showed up going north.  

Ahhh - this was group 2.

It's been a long winter and not many sightings, this was very special, even if they were in the distance at Lime Kiln.  Their vocals were awesome too.

I watched and took pictures, though very distant.  This group spent a good bit of time offshore from the lighthouse...with many direction changes and their behaviors indicated they might have been chasing salmon This is often the time of year for the endangered SRKWs to begin coming in...likely following their food source.  Let's hope!

These are not good images but it gives you an idea...they are heavily cropped and taken from the video cam as the action was occuring...

...there were many direction changes and eventually upisland they went.

Thank you J Pod.

2-16-2024 Very Vocal J Pod Today

It started at about 4pm when faint calls were detected over the Lime Kiln Hydrophones. I went to the TWM web cam where I could hear and see at the same time. Right now it's 3 hours later and J Pod is still in the area.

They did not appear to be close to shore as they came down Haro Strait. The web cam scanning was going on in attempts to locate the whales and after a while it did. Difficult to tell how far offshore but they seemed to be a mile or more (just a guess). At one point there were very loud echolocation clicks making it seem that some were in close. Could be or not.  The seas were flat calm and no marine traffic/boats did I hear, until much later.

The whales didn't just pass through they stayed 'wherever they were' likely over near Discovery Island, where Juan de Fuca and Haro Strait merge.

It was a bit over 3 hours later they were last detected. Interesting that they would stay in that one area for multiple hours but their vocalizations indicated that they did.

3+ hours of hearing them makes me wonder if they had met up with some salmon coming in. That would certainly be good if they did. Were they chowing down on some food? Were they hearing others who were out of HP range and were waiting for them? Then there appeared to be a straggler. One call repeated over and over.  hmmm...

Maybe tomorrow will provide more information.                                They know what they are doing!                                                           

One Day Joy the Next Day Shock & Sadness

August - one day joy and the next shock & sadness.

J Pod & the L12s were last seen in the inland waters on July 4th and last seen heading west in the Strait of Juan de Fuca on July 5th. K Pod & the rest of L Pod had not come all the way in to Haro Strait yet this season. Now, 8/17, members of J, K & L pods were incoming!

It was mid-afternoon when they were seen coming up island toward Lime Kiln lighthouse. They didn't just pass by.  Instead for the next few hours there were very many energetic whales. It had been a long time since seeing such a large grouping with lots of behaviors during an extened time, going up-island & a few minutes later the same group going back down...no, wait!...they changed direction again...and again.  At times it was challenging to keep up with all the social and energetic SRKWs. They seemed to be celebrating their return.  They know the Lime Kiln lighthouse area and often come in close to shore, passing through kelp, where salmon will often be. It appeared that a large amount of salmon had come in and most of them eventually followed the salmon north. A few images to show some of what occurred:

While so many people were glad to see the SRKWs back in the inland waters, it wasn't known that Lolita, aka Tokitae, was dying. There was great anticipation that she was coming 'home' to the Pacific Northwest after 53 years in captivity, but for some reason it wasn't to be. It came as a shock to all. There has been anger, sadness, shock, lots of questions as to why? - Why was she doing so well and all of a sudden gone? So many have written many wonderful words honoring Tokitae. 

If each of us are willing to look back... look at what she taught you over many years. There's a saying 'each one teach one'.  Yep, that's what she had done all these years but did we notice?  She is free now and her spirit will carry on and perhaps cause positive changes for those who care to think deeply about what she 'gave each of us' even if you have never been to see her. She will live on in our hearts and perhaps 'ah-ha' moments will cause you to smile because you just realized what she was teaching you. 

J Pod & L12s and Whale Comics

 August 6, 2023

J Pod and the L12s came inland to Haro Strait at the end of June, as most are already aware.  The L12s have two calves, estimated to be a two to three months old. It was great to see all of J Pod too!  The L12s, as they have historically done, spent their time along the west side of the island and most often off the lower section of it, making it not easy to see them.  But they did come up to Lime Kiln lighthouse a time or two.  When they came in, J Pod continued north and spent time in the Strait of Georgia, as they usually do. On July 4th J Pod came back down, and the L12s were still doing their version of the 'westside shuffle'.  That evening, after dark, calls were heard on the Lime Kiln hydrophones. The next day J Pod and the L12s were seen in the Strait of Juan de Fuca heading west.

From July 5th through July 31st and continuing to August 6th, 6:55pm, (as of this writing) NO Southern Resident Endangered Kille Whales have been seen in these waters.   That is NOT GOOD.

They come here for the salmon and what the whales are telling us is that there are little to no salmon coming in, i.e. enough for them to follow them in. BUT that is only the tip of the iceberg...if you aren't aware of the importance of salmon to this ecosystem - yes, all of it...then you might want to look up -  137 Species Rely On Salmon - you might begin to think a bit differently.

Okay, enough of my rant.

Looking back through some old posts to my blog I realized I had forgotten about the 'Whale Comics' I had created, for a while, of course when all was abundant and appeared to be thriving.  So here are some of the silly text on images from years gone by. They made me smile if only for a short while. Hope they bring a smile to you.  Of course the first of these images is from years ago, but who knows maybe they will surprise us on August 7th - ha-ha!