11-26-14 The Answer Came on Wednesday

Tuesday, November 25th
...it was about 8 a.m. when I began hearing the whales over the Port Townsend hydrophones...the whales were heading out...
...several hours later their calls could be heard very faintly over the Lime Kiln hydrophones...I guessed that the whales were somewhere in the Hein Bank area...
...then another hour or so later they came across the Lime Kiln hydrophones again, only this time a bit louder, though still in the distance...as I was listening, their calls (Js and Ks I only heard) increased in volume...and they sounded like they were reacting to something - they were very vocal!...I made a note:  "fish or more whales?"
...soon they moved out of hydrophone range...and I heard nothing more over the hydrophones until the next morning...

Wednesday, November 26th
...early light (almost). flat calm water...in fact it was so pretty out there I stepped outside and just looked...and looked and soaked it all in...I thought "it would be nice if the whales were here." - I didn't think they were...
...over the Lime Kiln hydrophones I heard a short squeak...then nothing...then a ship's noise began...I heard nothing more until 45 minutes later, when at 7:43 a.m. the whales' calls burst over the Lime Kiln hydrophones!
There was the answer from yesterday: "more whales"!  J and K pods must have heard L pod coming in from the west! (but no one would know that until later in the morning.)
 
...I called Ken Balcomb at the Center for Whale Research...he said he could see them...etc...so out the door and to the park I went...
...when I saw the whales they were heading down island...maybe close to three miles off shore (or more)...I wondered if maybe they had come through Baynes Channel...
...I watched as the whales, I was seeing, got to Beaumont Shoals marker and turned away from San Juan Island...I had expected they would have continued on a right to left direction as I was watching them, but instead I could only see them as they headed away...but that is only from my visual point on shore...and I wasn't seeing 78 whales...
...out on Maya's Westside Charters...Capt. Jim gathered up the people early and we were off the dock...by that time the whales were somewhere in the area of the south Hein Bank marker (it's out there in that big span of water-water, and they were heading for Puget Sound...
...on our way Capt. Jim talked to Dave of the Center...he and Ken were out there and stated that all members of the Community were present!  WOW!
...what a wonderful day it was...at one point I felt like on whale overload!...we have hardly had all members of the Community in here at the same time - a real full Superpod - this entire season...

...when we saw them they were in mixed groups...
...with Blackberry and Comet were Spirit L-22 and Mako J-39...there were others with them as well...

...off in the distance was a large group...

...they too were all mixed...they don't all surface as a full group at the same time and this was a good example...best I got in this group were 8 up at the same time...and all the images I took of this distance group showed that there were at least 12 whales - ...Racer L-72 and Fluke L-105, Shachi J-19, Eclipse J-41, Matia L-77, Joy L-119, Ocean Sun L-25... Tahlequah J-35, Notch J-47, Cali K-34, Tsuchi J-31, Calypso L-94...and more I couldn't get a positive IDs on...
...the farthest to the left is the tail fluke of Fluke L-105!...everyone else was moving along and he was 'goofing along'.

...one of the whales spyhopped and then on her next surfacing had kelp on her head...

...she continued on and then surfaced again with the most kelp I have ever seen a whale carry on its head...maybe she had a salmon caught in it!

...a different group surprised us...they too were all mixed...
Moonlight L-83 and Midnight L-110 in front...not sure who is behind them...also in this group were Hy'Shqa J-37 and her boy T'ilem I'nges J-49 and Solstice L-89!

...Ocean Sun L-25 started doing these 1/2 breaches!  wow!

...Capt. Jim caught sight of a submarine next to a ship - whales and ships heading in the same direction...

...when we last left them it was just 1:00pm...

...it was 6pm when I began hearing them over the Port Townsend hydrophones...

...those in Puget Sound may have Thanksgiving whales this year like we did in the San Juans last year....and who knows (well the whales do) we might just have Thanksgiving weekend whales too!

10-29-13 Was That an HB? / KW? / Or...

Tuesday, October 29th
...out on Maya's Westside Charters to see what we might see...there have been humpbacks in the area lately...today one was spotted in Haro Strait near Turn Pt...it was moving in a very large circle...
...as we arrived on scene the whale surfaced and dove again, showing the tail flukes...it was BCY0409!...I had learned from Ivan of the Western Prince, he and some crew had seen this same humpback near Nanimo last Friday!

...a Mt. Baker moment...BUT BCY0409 didn't show flukes!! 

...lots of bald eagles are back...it seems early for so many to be here...but then maybe they are increasing in numbers...speaking of increasing in numbers...maybe now we know why there have been juvenile Steller sea lions showing up in these waters during the last few years...

...their numbers have jumped up so much they have been taken off the Endangered Species List.  

Wish that could happen

for the 

Southern Resident killer whales

some day.

...more Steller sea lions means more salmon getting chomped on...I wonder if they are calculated into whatever formula it is the powers that be use for determining just how many fish can get caught...

...and if so, I'd be really curious as to the calculated number of salmon being eaten by the ever growing number of Harbor seals...

...this 'salmon eater' looks like he/she knows how to save some for later...

...no word on orca...but about an hour after getting home I learn there are whales on the west side...who?...how many?...direction?...the sun was going down quickly...I didn't have much time to spot whales...

...it didn't take long...I saw three whales, close to two miles off shore...but that's all I saw...

...it got dark...at about 6:30 I began hearing Southern Resident Calls on the Lime Kiln hydrophones...I cropped to get the calls closer together, so you'll hear short pauses when I did that...

...some of those sounds made me think 'humpback?'

...was a killer whale mimicking a humpback whale?

...either that or maybe someone was having a baby!

7-10-13 And Up Island They Went!

Wednesday, July 10th
...they woke me up at 1:00 a.m. on the hydrophones...
...they woke me up again at 4:00 a.m. on the hydrophones...
...and they continued on the Lime Kiln hydrophones until after 6:00 a.m.
...they were spread out in small groups foraging...Mike J-26 and Rainshadow K-37 at 'the wall' at the park...

...they showed back up at the park at about 9:30 a.m...who were thought to be the trailers were Spieden J-8, Shachi J-19 and Eclipse J-41...they were moving up island...ahead of them was Skana L-79 by a few hundred yards, and behind them were Spirit L-22 and Solstice L-89...at one point Shachi spyhopped...

...I find it very curious as to what is occurring (if anything) with Spirit and her boys (see posts earlier in July)...somewhere along the way Spirit, Skana and Solstice changed direction and went back down island...

...out on Maya's Westside Charters we encountered whales shortly after leaving the harbor...the whales were coming north, several groups, spread quite a distance...

...they were pretty tight to shore...one kayaker kept paddling along keeping up with the whales...this was a great example of distance distortion on the water...if the whale had been really close that kayaker would have been learning back and/or looking up at that dorsal fin!

...in the middle of enjoying the whales we saw billows of black smoke...a boat had caught fire in Roche Harbor...the toxins released into the air made me cringe...
...K pod and J pod whales and Onyx L-87 were to the north, and possibly some L pod whales, but the whales were so spread out that it was difficult to determine who was where...
...in the afternoon near the harbor there were two whales who were the trailers, believed to be two females, but in the end it was Opus K-16 and her boy Sonata K-35... 
...we headed up toward Turn Pt. and met up with J pod - Group B...

...up ahead of them was J pod - Group A and some K pod whales...they were starting to head up Boundary Pass then stopped...at the same time the whales who were in Swanson Channel stopped too...Granny J-2, Onyx L-87 and a few others began to change direction...

...they didn't seem to be able to decide which way to go...then for a few moments they began to head back toward Turn Pt....

...they decided...

...in the end Group B and some K pod whales went up Swanson Channel and Group A and other K pod whales went up Boundary Pass...
...Onyx L-87 with kelp...

...I find this next image interesting...Are there 2 whales or one?

...just one...the image below is actually the image taken just before the image above...Onyx was turning, which gave the illusion that maybe there were two whales...to me anyway...

...and by the end of the day we were all wondering where in the world they would be in the morning!

...they certainly are doing things differently this season...

6-29-13 "J Pod Are You Here?"

Saturday, June 29th
...it began a little after 4:00 a.m. they woke me up on the Orca Sound hydrophones...a short while later I stepped out the door and could hear their blows as the came back down island...

...yesterday all the L pod whales were here except the L12s...so today when I was at the park and the whales were approaching, I was assuming it was L pod...but when I heard distinct J pod signature calls I was shocked!...was J pod here?

NOTE: the audio clip was recorded from the radio at the park (88.1fm) to my mp3 player.  The playback is a bit rough, but the 'downward end' of each of the calls is what made me think these are J pod calls.


...the leading whale was Lulu L-53...

...and then Ophelia L-27...

...in shore and behind them were many others...
...Nyssa L-84 - draped in kelp...

...Ino L-54 and her youngest Keta L-117...

...what a surprise when Mega L-41 surfaced (his group was not seen by anyone yesterday) with Wave Walker L-88...

...right in the beginning, as the whales were approaching, were the 3 distinct sounding J pod calls - huh?...what?...those calls came from some L pod whales, because no J pod whales were present...I've heard K pod mimic calls from Ls before, but this is the first time I have heard J pod mimic calls done by L pod whales...this is exciting!!!
...I think (and it's just my opinion) someone was calling to find out if J pod was here - during the time the whales were in vocal range on either LK or OS hps many of us were 'tuned in' to listen for that call again, but we didn't hear it again...
...these calls were also recorded on the automatic recording from the hydrophone system and were verified by Breanna - thanks!

...some of the kids were very playful...Fluke L-105, Pooka L-106 here...

...Keta L-117 surprised me, but I got 'a bit' of his/her action!

...then mom, Ino L-54 and Keta, when they surfaced past me...

...some had passed by...get ready, more are coming!

...Mystic L-115 was back traveling with his mom, Marina L-47, and his aunt Muncher L-91...

...yesterday Mystic was with Nigel L-95 and today as they went up island, Nigel was in that group that was farther offshore...with him was Keta's brother, Indigo L-100 as well as the L22s, and Mystic's sister Moonlight L-83 and her boy Midnight L-110, probably others too...the whales were in very mixed groups!

...they all went up and a little while later they all came back...

...when they came back down island, Mystery L-85 was the lead whale of those who came in closer to shore...

...behind him and a bit farther offshore were Matia L-77 and baby L-119...

...others were far offshore...the last group to pass a bit closer to the shore had put on the speed...

...as the last group came along I noticed a small sport boat with two people in it...they zoomed at high speed past the whales - evidently they hadn't read the guidelines for boating around whales...

...but they just wanted their pictures...and they got them...and they could have gotten them by driving a bit slower...please, when out there treat these 'humans of the sea' with the common courtesy...it's that simple...
...Mega L-41 along with Kasatka L-82, Ocean Sun L-25, and others came past the lighthouse and headed down island...

...all that and it was only 2:00!...

...by the late afternoon out on Maya's Westside Charters we went down island to see the whales...it was surprising to me that they hadn't gone west again, and we were glad they had stayed a while longer...
...to be continued in the next post...just too many images to share - it was very unusual and totally awesome day...

6-6/7-13 You Win Whales! We're Totally Confused!

Thursday, June 6th
...last night at about 10 pm I heard L Pod calls on the Orca Sound and then on the Lime Kiln hydrophones...it sounded like the L12 subgroup was coming back down island...
...at 5:00 a.m. I hear them again on the Lime Kiln hydrophones...
...at about 8:30 I see two whales heading down island...one was Skana L-79...
...okay, so the L12s are doing what they do...meander up and meander down...
NOT!
...when we went to locate the whales on Maya's Westside Charters, there were only three whales present instead of 10 - Spirit L-22, Skana L-79, and Solstice L-89...

...then we hear that whales were located way north heading our way but it would be several hours before they reached the west side...
...believed to be J pod and most of the L pod whales from yesterday...and someone said that Mega L-41 (one of the L12s) was up there...but that part could not be confirmed...
...when we met the whales coming down Boundary Pass at about 4:30 pm they had decreased in number, from close to 60 whales to about 15!...now where in the world were the others...no one seemed able to locate them...:)
...Racer L-72 and Fluke L-105...

...rounding the turn at Turn Pt. with Mt. Baker in the background, Crewser L-92 and Ballena L-90...

...heading down toward Kellett Bluff, the whales found a pocket of salmon and stopped for some...I've seen this a lot lately...they turn and converge and then are down for a few minutes, then up with some chin showing, sometimes rolling around on one another, and then move on...

...after getting off the boat I went to the park as quickly as possible and made it just in time to see the approximately 15 whales go by...
...I went home and turned on the hydrophones to listen to them to fade off into the distance...and that's when things really got wild...
...those 15 L pod whales had passed the lighthouse at 7:30...as they were going by...someone went after some salmon...

...it was about 7:30 when Lulu L-53, one of the whales in this group of L pod whales, passed the lighthouse going down island...

...an hour later when I began hearing L pod calls on the Orca Sound hydrophones (4 miles to the north) - maybe that's the others???
...and then some L pod calls (from other whales) on the Lime Kiln hydrophones...
...all of a sudden J pod calls!!!  They were about an hour behind the rest, coming down!...amazing, and no one could find them...stealthy whales!
And since I could only hear them and not see them, I assumed it was all of J pod...NOT!

Friday, June 7th
...whales were located out by Constance Bank in the late morning and were heading in toward the island...
...it was a shore day for me so I went to the park to wait...
...while waiting for the whales to come up island, I learn that whales are coming down island, a few miles north of the park - now who's that?
...after a while I see 4 whales approaching the lighthouse from the north and then stall out not far from the lighthouse...The J16s - Slick J-16, Mike J-26, Alki J-36 and Echo J-42...
...off to my left was a large group of whales was coming up island...

...and in this group were some J pod whales - those must have been the whales I heard on the hydrophones last evening...Blackberry J-27, Tsuchi J-31, Mako J-39, Oreo J-22, DoubleStuf J-34, Cookie J-38, Rhapsody J-32, Polaris J-28, Star J-46 - I have proof of presence images of all of these coming up island today, but I don't have them for the other four members of Polaris' family...-
...this is J-34, J-38, J-22... 

...there were many more whales in the group and they were L pod whales...they all went down under the surface and after what seemed like a long time a group surfaced to the north, but it was not the large group...we waited and soon another group surfaced...they had stopped and turned around and faced south...

...and they stayed there...I was able to get positive IDs on some of the members of the L26s, L4s, L37s, and L21s...shooting into the glaring sun and rough seas makes it a challenge, at the least!...

...three more whales came up from our left - The L22s - Spirit L22, Skana L-79 and Solstice L-89...they met up with the large group...
...there was a party - just listen! - it's really loud at times...

...they all went down island - L pod whales only...when they surfaced the L22s appeared to be the leaders...

...she was one of the last as they moved down island...

...Lulu L-53 taking a big leap!

...here's a snippet...then my cell phone began ringing...

...the J pod whales that I have in bold above had already moved farther north to join up with other J pod whales - and who else I don't know - and from what I heard they continued north...


...this has been two wild days of trying to figure out who was where!...and we still don't have all the pieces of this puzzle :)