Blog Archives

A Surprise Visit From J Pod On 3/24/15

3/28/2015

Around 11 AM on Tuesday morning, a report was posted on Orca Network's Facebook page. A few orcas had been seen off of Eagle Cove on San Juan Island! Eagle Cove is just South of my house so I quickly headed out to scan from shore to see if I could spot them and get their direction. I suspected that if I were to see the orcas that they would be elusive marine mammal eating Transient orcas. I was surprised when I immediately saw multiple blows far offshore of me, and even more surprised to see Eclipse J41 and J51 pop up closer to shore! We had seen J pod a week prior on March 18th, and it is likely that between the 18th and 24th J pod spent some time up in Northern Georgia Strait looking for Chinook/King salmon, their favorite type of salmon to eat. Unlike the Transient orcas I mentioned, the Southern Resident orcas (J, K, and L pod) only eat salmon. Soon after the quick viewing from shore, I was out on the water with some friends and joined the leading members of J pod off of Hannah Heights as they slowly made their way North.

In the lead was Slick J16, an adult female born around 1972. She foraged on her own for a bit offshore but we soon saw her two daughters, Echo J42 and J50, making their way towards her. Echo J42, who had been doing some babysitting, then passed off J50 to mama Slick J16 and headed far inshore, joining adult female Shachi J19. Either Shachi J19 or Echo J42 spy hopped soon after. Slick J16 continued to forage, often back tracking and zig zagging in search of salmon. J50 would either surface beside her mother or pop up off by herself and then swim back to mom. At one point, Slick J16 abruptly turned around and went to collect J50, who was somewhere off on her own again. We could see the two beelining for each other and once they met up, Slick J16 pushed J50 around at the surface with her head before the two swam off together towards the shoreline of Lime Kiln State Park.

Eclipse J41 and J51 soon appeared but our attention was turned to a huge splash well offshore of us. This turned out to be a well known humpback whale called Big Mama BCY0324, and she proceeded to cartwheel, tail slap, and pec slap her way South down Haro Strait. We watched her for a short time before we turned around and headed back North to find more J pod members.

Big Mama BCY0324 tail slaps offshore of San Juan Island.

Up ahead, we spotted Blackberry J27, an adult male born in 1991. A little further inshore, we also saw Granny J2, an adult female born around 1911 and Onyx L87, an adult male born in 1992 who travels with J pod (mainly Granny J2) though he is from L pod. At one point, Granny J2 tail slapped. Soon after, Onyx L87 split off from her and joined Blackberry J27. The two males rolled around with each other for a moment before continuing slowly North. We then aimed back inshore and found the Slick J16, Echo J42, and J50 again North of Lime Kiln State Park. The three moved back and forth very close to shore and Echo J42 playfully draped kelp over her tail flukes. Off to the South towards Lime Kiln, Alki J36 and Mike J26 surfaced. Shachi J19, Eclipse J41, and J51 then popped up near us again and hugged the small island off of the County Park before continuing North. Either Eclipse J41 or Shachi J19 cartwheeled a few times and then they headed offshore and dropped back South of us while we were with Slick J16 and family again.

Slick J6 and her two daughters continued North while we waited for a nice social groups that had formed to make their way slowly towards us. The first group was made up of Princess Angeline J17, Shachi J19, Polaris J28, Tsuchi J31, Tahlequah J35, Eclipse J41, Star J46, Notch J47, and J51. The group was in an active mood with lots of tail slaps from Princess Angeline J17, Shachi J19, Tahlequah J35, Eclipse J41, Star J46, and Notch J47. Star J46 was goofing off with Notch J47 for most of the time and Princess Angeline J17 rolled onto her back and did an inverted tail slap. It was great to see J51 getting to know other pod members.

J51, born in February of 2015, surfaces in the middle of the social group.

We hung out with this group for a little while before turning our attention to the other one, which was just off the bluffs of Henry Island now. The second group was made up of Samish J14, Oreo J22, Mike J26, Doublestuf J34, Hy'shqa J37, Suttles J40, and Ti'lem I'nges J49. This group was in an active mood too, but it seemed that almost everyone got active once they slowly rounded Henry Island. Hy'shqa J37, Suttles J40, Samish J14, and Doublestuf J34 were the tail slappers in this group. Suttles J40 and Ti'lem I'nges J49 spy hopped, Doublestuf J34 and Ti'lem I'nges J49 did inverted tail slaps, Samish J14 and Hy'shqa J37 aerial scanned, Oreo J22 dorsal fin slapped, and Ti'lem I'nges J49 breached. Off in the distance, Mako J39 and Se-Yi'-Chn J45 were goofing off together with Mako J39 aerial scanning and tail slapping, and one of them also breached a few times.

Sprouter male Doublestuf J34, born in 1998, with his mother Oreo J22, born in 1985, and Suttles J40, a female born in 2004.

Ti'lem I'nges J49, a male born in August of 2012, spy hops.

As we were watching this group, another small group appeared nearby. It was made up of Shachi J19, Tsuchi J31, Tahlequah J35, Eclipse J41, and J51 (who had all split off from the first social group) and Blackberry J27.

J51 surfaces beside Eclipse J41.

This group pushed North at a good speed and we decided to spend to spend a little more time with the previous group before heading home.

Adult female, Samish J14, tail slaps. She was born in 1974.

What a fabulous encounter with J pod!

Please do not use my photos without permission. Just ask :)

4 Comments

J Pod In Active Pass On 3/18/15

3/20/2015

4 Comments

We then motored to the middle of Haro Strait and soon spotted Tsuchi J31, Mako J39, and Alki J36, who were also foraging occasionally as they headed North. J pod was very spread out as we could see blows far off in the distance in many different directions. Ken Balcomb and Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research were also on scene with the orcas and to help Ken and Dave find all the members of J pod, we headed up Haro do some scouting. We eventually spotted Blackberry J27, an adult male born in 1991 who was also in forage/travel mode between Gooch and Stuart Island. At one point, he rolled on his side and pectoral fin slapped, then righted himself and tail slapped. Soon after his siblings, Tsuchi J31, and Mako J39 joined him and they headed North together loosely, occasionally stopping to forage.

Adult male Blackberry J27 in mid pectoral fin slap.

On the morning of my first day back home on San Juan Island for spring break, J pod vocalizations began on both the Lime Kiln and Orcasound hydrophones so some friends and I decided to head out on the water to get a look at the orcas and see if we could spot J50 and J51, the two new calves of J pod. We left Snug Harbor and aimed for the bluffs of Henry Island. Almost immediately, we spotted an orca ahead of us! It was Doublestuf J34, a sprouter male who was born in 1998. Nearby was his mother, Oreo J22, who was born in 1985. The two were foraging along the bluffs for salmon, most likely Chinook/King salmon, which is the Southern Resident orcas' favorite type of salmon to eat. Unlike Transient orcas who eat marine mammals like seals, sea lions, whales, dolphins, and porpoises, the Southern Resident orcas (J, K, and L pod) only eat salmon.

Doublestuf J34, a male born in 1998, searches for Chinook/King salmon off the bluffs of Henry Island.

Shachi J19 in mid pectoral fin slap with J51 and Eclipse J41 off to her right in front of the Active Pass entrance.

We then headed off to look for other orcas in Swanson Channel and soon spotted Shachi J19, Eclipse J41, and J51 along the North Pender Island bluffs as they headed North. J51 was with Eclipse J41 while Shachi J19 was a little further up the coastline. Shachi J19 then did a big cartwheel and Eclipse and J51 joined her. The three stopped occasionally to forage and J51 was with Shachi J19 for a moment or two before they continued North and the calf was back with Eclipse J41. We then spotted Hy'shqa J37 and her son Ti'lem I'nges J49 coming up behind us and once they passed, we continued further up Swanson.

We stopped near Otter Bay for awhile to scan for other orcas and Shachi J19, Eclipse J41, J51, with Hy'shqa J37, Ti'lem I'nges J49 further back behind them also paused for a bit to forage and back track a little, waiting for other members of J pod to catch up with them. Soon, Tahlequah J35, Notch J47, Tsuchi J31, and Mako J39 joined Hy'shqa J37 and Ti'lem I'nges J49 and as a group they continued North, aiming for Active Pass, with Shachi J19, Eclipse J41, and J51 still further up in front. To see if Shachi J19 and the other two were really the Northern most orcas, we headed up through Active Pass and scanned Georgia Strait but we did not find any more orcas. Shachi J19, Eclipse J41, and J51 were now clearly in the lead.

We made our way back down through Active Pass and waited near the entrance for the orcas to arrive. Active Pass seems to be a very special place for the Southern Resident orcas, and it is also one of the routes they take to get to the Fraser River, Texada Island or other locations further North in an attempt to find Chinook/King salmon. As we waited quietly off of Enterprise Reef, we noticed Onyx L87 and Granny J2 far off in the distance along the shoreline of Prevost Island. Interestingly, they looked like they were slowly heading for Trincomali Channel instead of Active. Eventually, Shachi J19, Eclipse J41, and J51 made their way over to the entrance of Active but hovered outside of it. The three took this time to rest and socialize. Their movement was slow and methodical, and even J51's surfacings weren't as speedy as usual. Ever so slowly, they inched their way towards the pass. Shachi J19 then rolled on her side and slapped her pectoral fin hard on the surface of the water, blew a raspberry sound, and the three lined up and faced the entrance.

Eclipse J41 and J51, who was born in February of 2015.

Looking back down Swanson we could see more and more blows and fins as the rest of J pod trickled in from different parts of the channel and grouped up as they swam for Active Pass at a good speed. Seemingly impatient, Shachi J19, Eclipse J41, and J51 entered the pass slowly but waited at the Helen Point marker. Suddenly, Granny J2 and Onyx L87 appeared outside of the entrance behind the rest of the orcas. Granny J2 breached high out of the water, followed with a tail slap, and then all of the pod swam into the pass together. Still waiting off the marker with Eclipse J41 and J51, Shachi J19 logged at the surface and then poked her head slightly above the water in an aerial scan. The three were soon joined by the rest of the pod and everyone headed up the pass.

J pod enters Active Pass.

Blackberry J27 tail slaps in Active Pass.

Tahlequah J35 breaches high out of the water. She was born in 1998.

Ti'lem I'nges J49 in mid belly flop. He was born in August of 2012.

The orcas then began to get quite active! Granny J2, Samish J14, Mike J26, Blackberry J27, Doublestuf J34, Tahlequah J35, Hy'shqa J37, Mako J39, Moby J44, and Ti'lem I'nges J49 were just some of the individuals that were tail slapping. Mike J26, Tsuchi J31, Cookie J38, Suttles J40 and one or two others spy hopped. Granny J2, Mike J26, Polaris J28, and Echo J42 were four of many who were inverted tail slapping, Ti'lem I'nges belly flopped multiple times and joined many others in pectoral fin slapping, Princess Angeline J17, Tahlequah J35 and a few others breached, and Moby J44 was one of a few who was dorsal fin slapping. Some the boys, including Blackberry J27, Doublestuf J34, Cookie J38, Moby J44, Se-Yi'-Chn J45, and Onyx L87 also got together for some wrestling. Amongst all this activity, I would spot small flashes of orange and black as J50 and J51 surfaced beside their family members.

Adult male Mike J26, born in 1991, spy hops.

Granny J2, born around 1911, and Alki J36, born in 1999, in Active Pass.

Once the orcas came out the other side of the pass, they calmed down for the most part, spread extremely far out again, and slowly headed North up Georgia Strait. Almost all the orcas except for Slick J16, Echo J42, and J50 disappeared into the vast strait so we decided to parallel them for a little bit before heading home. Slick J16 was off foraging while Echo J42 babysat J50, her new little sister. The two were goofing off together and we even saw J50 attempt a pectoral fin slap and a tail slap. Echo J42 showed her how it was done.

Echo J42, born in 2007, in mid pectoral fin slap while her little sister, J50 , surfaces close by. J50 was born in December of 2014.

As we circled back around to go home, I was little surprised to see Mike J26 and Aki J36, then Doublestuf J34 and Oreo J22, then Princess Angeline J17, Moby J44, Polaris J28, and Star J46, and lastly Tsuchi J31 and Mako J39 again, since the orcas were so spread out. Wishing them luck and safe journey North in search of Chinook/King salmon, we motored on home. What an extraordinary encounter with J pod on my first day back home for spring break!!

Please do not use my photos without permission. Just ask.

4 Comments

A Surprise Visit From J Pod On 3/24/15

J Pod In Active Pass On 3/18/15

Author

Archives