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A Surprise Encounter With J And K Pod On 11/29/14

11/30/2014

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The morning of the 29th was incredibly confusing orca report wise. Orcas were seen up in Deer Harbor at Orcas Island and others (or the same individuals) were spotted in San Juan Channel later on in the day. The San Juan Channel orcas first headed North, then South towards Friday Harbor, then North again towards Spieden Island. It sounded to me like these were a small group Transient orcas hunting for marine mammals, so some friends and I headed out to try to find them and see who they were.

We left Snug Harbor on San Juan Island and headed for Spieden Channel. As we exited Spieden Channel and entered San Juan Channel the water became very choppy, due to some wind and tidal exchange. However, through the waves I could see the mist from blows up ahead of us towards Jones Island. We aimed the boat in that direction for awhile but did not see the orcas until one of my friends spotted a group behind us. As I watched the group and clicked my camera away, I was surprised to see that it was a pretty large group and that there were lots of males. Then, we saw more orcas, including even more males, trailing behind our group. This was looking less like Transient orcas and more like Residents. Though multiple Transient orca matrilines can come together and form a superpod, it is not too common. I soon identified the males as Mike J26, Blackberry J27, Doublestuf J34, Cappuccino K21, Scoter K25, Lobo K26, Tika K33, Sonata K35, and Onyx L87. It was J and K pod, not a superpod of Transient orcas! And they were traveling in San Juan Channel and just about to enter Spieden Channel, an occasional path of travel for them, but one I have only seen them take about three times!

The big leading group was made up of all of J pod, the K12's, K16's, and Onyx L87. The trailing group was made up of the K13's and K14's. Once they were in Spieden Channel the leaders stalled and seemed indecisive on where they wanted to go, while the K13's and K14's continued toward Battleship Island, but not without a few spy hops first. After a bit of milling, logging, socializing, and direction changes, the large group decided to also continue through the channel, but aimed in a resting line like fashion for Sentinel Island. Soon after, they split into two groups, one made up of J14's, J16's, J19's, and Onyx L87, while the other consisted of the J11's, J17's, J22's, K12's, and K16's. Once they made it to Sentinel Rock, they regrouped, spy hopped a few times, formed a rough line, and aimed for Battleship Island.
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Doublestuf J34, born in 1998.
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Adult male Blackberry J27 with his sister Tsuchi J31 (left), and two K pod females named Opus K16, and Sekiu K22.
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Tika K33, Moby J44, Princess Angeline J17, Cappuccino K21, Sonata K35, Opus K16 and others.
We left the big group and relocated the K13's and K14's, who were now off near Stuart Island. However, they soon turned back around and joined back up with the larger group, who had also turned around and was now at Danger Shoal.
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Cali K34, born in 2001, and his brother Scoter K25, born in 1991.
Suddenly there was a explosion of activity! All the orcas lunged out of the water together, constantly changed direction, and made big splashes. It was like an orca version of a mosh pit. It almost looked like they were all chasing a school of salmon, but I don't think this was the case. When the orcas have been separated from each other for a bit, they will sometimes do what is called a greeting ceremony. It is a complex ritual, during which the pods reunite with each other and celebrate. I think that they also take part in a departing ceremony occasionally, though it seems less organized at times. The mosh pit could have been one of their departing ceremonies because as soon as it was over, J pod literally vanished. K pod slowly turned towards Henry Island and swam down the West side of San Juan Island as the sun set. They were in Puget Sound the next day.
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Lobo K26, Cappuccino K21, and the rest of K pod swims past Henry Island.
By the end of the day we had seen all the members of J and K pod, as well as Onyx L87, which means that we saw a total of forty five orcas. This was an extraordinary encounter, but a confusing and odd one at times too, from thinking we were looking at Transient orcas, and the location, to their social behavior, and the disappearance of J pod. My guess is that J pod headed over to Stuart Island and continued North, but I could be wrong. What a great way to end Thanksgiving break!

Please don't use my photos without my permission. Just ask :)

Note: This was the last time I saw Rhapsody J32. Her body was found a few days later on December 4th, 2014, near Comox, BC.
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J And K Pod Encounter On 11/25/14

11/26/2014

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On November 25th, a few days into my Thanksgiving break back on San Juan Island, reports came in that J and K pod were exiting Puget Sound through Admiralty Inlet. Anxious to see if it was all of J and K pod, or if there were any new calves, some friends and I headed out to try to find the orcas. We left Snug Harbor on San Juan, and aimed for Dungeness Spit and Sequim Bay. The weather wasn't the best, dark with intermittent rain, but that water was flat as can be. Once we were in front of the Dungeness Spit lighthouse we turned off the boat and listened. No blows to be heard. We backtracked a little and then headed towards Whidbey Island for a bit. Just when we didn't think we would find the orcas, I spotted a large splash from a breach on the horizon towards Eastern Bank. We aimed in that direction and soon spotted many dorsal fins spread out in front of us as they headed northwest.
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Straight travel path = transiting. . . Squiggly travel path = on scene with orcas
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Onyx L87 chases after a salmon. He was born in 1992.
The first group of orcas we identified was made up of Samish J14, Shachi J19, Tahlequah J35, Hy'shqa J37, Suttles J40, Eclipse J41, Se-Yi'-Chn J45, Ti'lem I'nges J49, Lea K14, Opus K16, Sonata K35, Yoda K36, and Kelp K42. There was lots of energetic foraging/chasing from this group and we even saw Ti'lem I'nges J49 spy hop/back dive out of the water with a salmon in his mouth, which was a first for me. The group was also socializing quite a bit with lots of rolling, splashes, and flirting. Opus K16 breached a few times, Sonata K35 belly flopped twice, and Lea K14 tail slapped multiple times. Onyx L87 joined this group periodically but also went off to forage by Lobo K26, who at one pointed breached high out the water twice. When Onyx L87 went off foraging he seemed to chasing salmon around quite a bit, which made me feel hopeful that these orcas were at least finding some salmon to eat.
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Opus K16, born in 1985, breaches.
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Sonata K35 in mid belly flop. He was born in 2002.
There were more orcas in the distance so we headed over to see who they were. This next group was made up of  Slick J16, Mike J26, Alki J36, Sequim K12, Sekiu K22, Tika K33, Rainshadow K37, and Saturna K43. While we were with them, Slick J16 breached multiple times and so did Mike J26. Rainshadow K37 is an orca I never really see, though I do encounter his family a lot, so it was great to finally spot him. He will start sprouting within the next few years, just like Tika K33 has, and man is Tika getting big!
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Rainshadow K37, born in 2003.
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Tika K33, born in 2001.
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Mike J26 breaches high out of the water. He was born in 1991.
Another small group of orcas was splashing nearby and we soon had their ID's. It was Granny J2, and young males Cookie J38, Comet K38, and Ripple K44. Granny J2 would surface and the three males would be right on her tail or at her sides, rolling around, goofing off, and Comet K38 even showed off his sea snake at one point. She didn't seem to be engaging the youngsters but maybe she was doing so underwater. Ripple K44 has three new (small) nicks on the trailing edge of his dorsal fin that he acquired recently, and they seem to be healing up, but he does look a bit scuffed up on and around his dorsal fin.
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Cookie J38, born in 2003, plays with kelp beside Granny J2, born around 1911.
Spock K20 was off foraging by herself close by and Skagit K13 and/or Deadhead K27 was off in the distance doing the same. Far off to the north was a lone male, which after quite a bit of searching in the low visibility turned out to be Cappuccino K21. We did not see any of the J11's, or the rest of the J17's and J22's, though I do believe that they were there somewhere.

After hanging with Cappuccino K21 for a short time, Slick J16, Mike J26, Alki J36, Sequim K12, and Rainshadow K37 approached from the south, followed by others like Shachi J19, who breached as she swam past us. All were moving at a quick pace, but the others behind them were moving even quicker. Members of first group (
Samish J14, Tahlequah J35, Hy'shqa J37, Suttles J40, Se-Yi'-Chn J45, Ti'lem I'nges J49, Lea K14, Opus K16, Sonata K35, Yoda K36, Kelp K42) as well as Sekiu K22, Tika K33, and Saturna K43 suddenly came into view along the horizon behind us. They had all lined up and were speed swimming or porpoising along at a pretty good clip towards us. Shoulder to shoulder, they all surfaced high out of the water together, which created large splashes. I had never seen anything like it before. Why were they in such a hurry? They were aiming in a northwesterly direction, towards Victoria. What was over there for them? I wondered if L pod was inbound and if J and K pod had heard them and were rushing over to reunite with them.

Their quick approach took us by surprise and they were soon closing in on us. We didn't want to be unpredictable when they were moving at that speed so we stayed put and held our breath. They all rushed past on both sides of the boat and one orca, Saturna K43 even splashed me as she zoomed by. They continued on at the same speed, even after we left to head back to San Juan Island. Another boat reported that J and K pod got to Constance Bank and then headed west in the Juan De Fuca Strait, porpoising along with an occasional break to forage. Were they just in hurry to get to the open ocean, or was it possible they were meeting up with L pod?
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Cappuccino K21 forages off by himself, something I have seen a lot of the adult males do.
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Here they come!
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Tika K33 porpoises toward us.
By morning, J and K pod were back, and L pod was with them! All seventy eight Southern Resident orcas were now headed for Admiralty Inlet and Puget Sound. What an amazing encounter with J and K pod!

Please don't use my photos without permission. Just ask :)
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Transient Orcas On 10/24/14 And Humpbacks On 10/26/14

11/1/2014

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On October 24th, I headed back home to San Juan Island for the weekend to attend an orca recovery workshop that was hosted by The Whale Museum. This workshop, called CALF (Community Action Looking Forward), was very informative and it was great to see so many caring people concerned for the survival of the Southern Resident orcas. To read a great summary of the workshop, check out my friend Monika Wieland's blog here.

Once aboard a Washington State Ferry bound for the island, I became glued to the window. I yearned to see a cetacean of any kind. Evergreen State College is great but I do miss cetaceans when I am there! Almost immediately, a small group of harbor porpoise appeared. They were porpoising the oposite way as us and were soon far off in the distance. As we were approached the North end of Decatur Island, I spotted what I thought were dorsal fins in the distance.
Fumbling for my 500mm camera, I headed outside onto a viewing deck and aimed. Sure enough, there were about four to six Transient orcas amongst a large flock of seagulls. The orcas had made a kill and were milling around quite a bit while the seagulls were feeding on the scraps. The ecnounter was quick. Soon, the ferry rounded the corner of Decatur and the orcas were out of sight. I went through my photos back inside and identified the orcas as the T035's. The matriline is made up of T035 (the matriarch, born around 1970), her daughter T035A, and two grandchildren; T035A1 (born in 2010) and T035A2 (born in 2013). It is possible that the two T034's were also there.

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T035A, a female born in 1998.
On October 26th, some friends and I headed out on their boat to look for some cetaceans. Hearing reports of a humpback whale (there were a lot more than just one!), we headed North and soon spotted a lone whale near Gooch Island. This individual was very unique and one that I had never seen before. Its dorsal fin had a single large notch out of the top and when it fluked I did not recognize the tail, though it was backlit. I called this individual Lone HB #1 for this encounter.

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Lone HB #1 with its notched dorsal fin.
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The underside of lone HB #1's tail fluke.
While he or she was on a deep dive, we gazed over toward Moresby Island and were excited to see TWO MORE humpbacks! We headed on over and I was able to identify one of the individuals as MMY0024, but I'm not sure who the other was. The two whales were very synchronized in their behaviors, often surfacing, breathing, and fluking side by side. They even played in some kelp together. I called these two HB Pair #1 for this encounter.
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MMY0024 and. . .
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. . . the other individual of HB Pair #1.
While on one of their deep dives, ANOTHER humpback far off in the distance toward Pender Island breached. Since the breach was far away, the sound of the impact did not reach us for a few seconds, but when it did it sounded like a clap of thunder. We headed over to the area where the humpback breached to find TWO OTHER humpbacks! It was HB Pair #2, and I identified one of them as Split Fin BCZ0298. These two were also quite synchronized.
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The unknown individual (left) and Split Fin BCZ0298 (right).
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The underside of unknown individual's flukes.
Then, behind us, THREE MORE humpbacks appeared. I believe that one of them was the one that breached, as these three were the most active of all the humpbacks we saw on this day. I labeled them as HB Trio and was able to identify all three of them; MMY0028, Split Fluke BCX1068, and MMX0007. I had never seen humpbacks behave like these three did. They were socializing, wrestling, breaching, pec slapping, tail slapping, cartwheeling, kelping, aerial scanning, tail waving, lunging, rolling, etc for our entire encounter with them! Later that night and over the next few days, a friend recorded humpback songs over a hydrophones off of San Juan Island and I wonder now if the songs were coming from one of the Trio members. They seemed to almost be competing and showing behavior that I would expect to see in Hawaii. . .
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MMY0028.
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Split Fluke BCX1068.
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MMX0007.
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HB Trio!
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Split Fluke plays with kelp, draping it over his/her dorsal fin.
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Split Fluke in mid pectoral fin slap while playing with kelp.
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Split Fluke!
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Just one of the many breaches from this whale!
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Split Fluke cartwheels!
While waiting for the Trio to re-surface from a deep dive, ANOTHER humpback popped up close by but remained dissociated with the Trio. I was not able to identify this whale, but labeled him/her Lone HB #2. This whale was the ninth humpback we had seen that day. Never before had I seen so many humpbacks in such a small area (between Gooch, Moresby, Pender, and Stuart Island).
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Lone HB #2.
Eventually, HB Pair #1 joined up with the Trio and together they started heading up Swanson Channel. Lone HB #1 stayed by Gooch Island, and Lone HB #2 stayed close to the Moresby Island shoreline. We never saw HB Pair #2 after our first encounter with them. Hands down one of my best humpback encounters ever!

Please don't use my photos without permission. Just ask :)

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    Author

    Melisa Pinnow grew up on San Juan Island in Washington State. She attended The Evergreen State College from 2013 to 2017, receiving a Bachelor of Science in marine biology and ornithology. She has been a certified marine naturalist at San Juan Excursions since 2010. It is her hope that sharing her orca encounters will inspire others to love and protect these magnificent creatures for generations to come.

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