On my last day of Christmas break on San Juan Island, some friends and I decided to head out on the water one last time to look for orcas and other cetaceans. We departed Snug Harbor and aimed across Haro Strait for Baynes Channel. Once through Baynes, we motored past Trial Island and Race Rocks, scanning for cetaceans all along the way. Off of Sooke, we got a call from the Center for Whale Researcher's Ken Balcomb. There had been a report of six orcas near Harney Channel (between Orcas and Shaw Island) and he wondered if we might help in the search. Hopeful that the orcas might be a Southern Resident orca matriline called J16's (who just had a new calf), we turned around and charged toward San Juan Island. Not long after, we received another report of orcas off of Sooke! We turned around again to get some quick ID's and were able to see a few surfacings by the T068C's, a Transient orca matriline I had not encountered before. The highlight was seeing T068C1, the juvenile that accidentally stranded on rocks in Klakas Inlet at Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, on September 30, 2013. Luckily, T068C1 was rescued and eventually found its way back to its family.
T068C, born in 1992. She is T068C1's mother.
Though we did not see them, there were more Transient orcas sighted offshore of us. These orcas turned out to be the T077's. After our quick encounter with the T068C's, we turned back and dashed for San Juan Island again as we had limited light to find and ID the orcas near Harney Channel. We encountered rough seas on our way back past Trial Island from Race Rocks and had slow the boat for a bit of time, but once back in Baynes Channel, we got back up to speed and were soon back over in Haro Strait off of San Juan Island. We then headed around Henry Island, took a listen/scan near Stuart Island, headed down San Juan Channel, through Wasp Passage and into Harney Channel.
Once in the Channel, we saw tons of very excited seagulls in the area, a possible indication that Transient orcas were nearby and had made a kill. Could we have really just found them? The reports were hours old by now, which meant the orcas could have traveled many miles away from their original location. Harney channel, and well as a good portion of the surrounding area had also already been searched. We slowed the boat, and it wasn't long before one of my friends spotted the orcas off to our left! What luck!! The orcas turned out to be the T060's and an unrelated female known T002B, six in total. They had obviously made a kill, but unlike the Southern Resident orcas that only feed on salmon (especially Chinook/King salmon), these Transients had probably caught a harbor seal or some other marine mammal. We observed a short post-kill celebration by the orcas before they changed into travel mode and headed past the Orcas Island ferry dock toward the Shaw Island ferry dock. Soon after, they went down on a deep dive, so we shut off the boat and waited for them to surface again. We notified the center's Dave Ellifrit to make sure he could encounter them too and it wasn't long before he arrived on scene.
A few minutes into their deep dive, the females and juveniles unexpectedly popped up right off the stern. They had either made another kill or were just continuing to feed from their last. They ended up circling around the boat for a quite bit of time and we were unable to start vessel and move due to their proximity. The male, T060C surfaced off in the distance and joined them in the feeding soon after. There was good amount of blood in the water and I even saw remains (looked like lungs) as they sank beside the boat. I had never been so close to a kill before. While all this was going on, I managed to film a bit of it with my new GoPro and you can view the footage (no audio) below! T060D surfaces with flesh in its mouth at 1:14. T002B spy hops at 1:32.
Once in the Channel, we saw tons of very excited seagulls in the area, a possible indication that Transient orcas were nearby and had made a kill. Could we have really just found them? The reports were hours old by now, which meant the orcas could have traveled many miles away from their original location. Harney channel, and well as a good portion of the surrounding area had also already been searched. We slowed the boat, and it wasn't long before one of my friends spotted the orcas off to our left! What luck!! The orcas turned out to be the T060's and an unrelated female known T002B, six in total. They had obviously made a kill, but unlike the Southern Resident orcas that only feed on salmon (especially Chinook/King salmon), these Transients had probably caught a harbor seal or some other marine mammal. We observed a short post-kill celebration by the orcas before they changed into travel mode and headed past the Orcas Island ferry dock toward the Shaw Island ferry dock. Soon after, they went down on a deep dive, so we shut off the boat and waited for them to surface again. We notified the center's Dave Ellifrit to make sure he could encounter them too and it wasn't long before he arrived on scene.
A few minutes into their deep dive, the females and juveniles unexpectedly popped up right off the stern. They had either made another kill or were just continuing to feed from their last. They ended up circling around the boat for a quite bit of time and we were unable to start vessel and move due to their proximity. The male, T060C surfaced off in the distance and joined them in the feeding soon after. There was good amount of blood in the water and I even saw remains (looked like lungs) as they sank beside the boat. I had never been so close to a kill before. While all this was going on, I managed to film a bit of it with my new GoPro and you can view the footage (no audio) below! T060D surfaces with flesh in its mouth at 1:14. T002B spy hops at 1:32.
T060, born around 1980, is the matriarch of the family.
T060F, born in 2012, surfaces while gulls try to grab some scraps.
T060D with blood in the water. T060D was also observed with a piece of flesh in its mouth.
After more milling about, the orcas lined up in travel mode again and headed toward Lopez Island.
From left to right: T060, T002B, and T060C.
The sun was just about to set so we got our last looks in and headed home. What a great encounters to end my time on San Juan Island with! I'll be back during spring break, but until then, I'll be at Evergreen State College studying ornithology. Birds are great too! See y'all in March!
Please do not use any of my photos without permission. Just ask.
Please do not use any of my photos without permission. Just ask.
