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Amazing J Pod Encounter On 12/24/14

12/28/2014

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On the morning of December 24th, reports came in that orcas had been spotted in Upright Channel and that they were headed into Harney Channel between Shaw and Orcas Island. I quickly called Ken Balcomb at the Center for Whale Research to pass the report the on. Ken notified David Ellifrit (who is also a researcher at the center) and it wasn't long before Ken, Dave, and I were out on the water aboard Chimo to find and identify the orcas.

We motored down San Juan Channel, then through Wasp Pass. As we passed Bell Island, I gazed over towards Pole Pass and noticed a group of orcas surfacing, one of them being a male who was tail slapping. As we turned the boat and made our way over to them, we quickly realized that we were looking at J pod! Closest to us was a tightly packed all male group made up of Cookie J38 (born in 2003), Mako J39 (2003), Moby J44 (2009), Se-Yi'-Chn J45 (2009), and Onyx L87 (1992). Doublestuf J34 (1998) was also part of the group for a bit. The males were being quite tactile and playful, and even showed their sea snakes off a few times! The rest of J pod (minus the J16's) was traveling a little further ahead of the males and was also in an active/playful mood. I don't think I have ever seen so many spy hops during one encounter! Princess Angeline J17 spy hopped at least five times, but Granny J2, Samish J14, Shachi J19, Oreo J22, Polaris J28, Doublestuf J34, Hy'shqa J37, Se-Yi'-Chn J45, and Ti'lem I'nges J49 also spy hopped at different points. There were also tail slaps and cartwheels. Granny J2 even did one of her back flip type cartwheels!
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Shachi J19 spy hops. She was born in 1979. Photo taken under NMFS Permit #532-1822.
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Polaris J28 spy hops. She was born in 1993. Photo taken under NMFS Permit #532-1822.
We traveled with J pod through Pole Pass, then on to North Pass, and through Spring Passage. The orcas were not in much of a hurry, and a few, including Tahlequah J35 and Notch J47, even took time to roll around in a kelp bed near Jones Island for a bit. Once J pod rounded Jones and entered San Juan Channel, they spread way out to forage. We were happy to see Doublestuf J34 chase after a salmon a few minutes later. Many of the orcas then began to head down the channel, while a few others aimed for Spieden Island. I wondered we were going to see J pod split into Group A and B, but after awhile the orcas that had swam down the channel turned around and began to head toward Spieden Island too.

At this point, I transferred to a friend's boat that was also on scene while Ken and Dave headed back to the dock on San Juan Island. My friends and I then headed motored over to identify orcas that were far away on the opposite side of San Juan Channel to see if it was the independent J16 matriline (the only orcas/matriline unaccounted for). The orcas turned out to be Granny J2 and sprouter male Cookie J38 traveling side by side. The two soon entered Spieden Channel and headed toward Battleship Island. They were followed by males Onyx L87 and Mako J39. Bringing up the rear was the rest of J pod traveling in two separate groups. One group traveled very close to the Spieden Island shoreline, while the other was further offshore. As they neared Sentinel Island, Blackberry J27 split off from the offshore group and headed towards Battleship Island.
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Granny J2. She was born around 1911.
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Blackberry J27 with Spieden Island behind him. He was born in 1991.
Once all of J pod entered Haro Strait, they spread way out to forage again and we witnessed both Tahlequah J35 and Doublestuf J34 chase after a salmon. We left the orcas as they slowly foraged their way up Haro Strait toward Canada. Since then, they have come back down and were in Puget Sound on 12/27/14 and 12/28/14.

What an amazing encounter with J pod! The water condition, sunny weather, and company (on both boats) couldn't have been better too! You can become a Center for Whale Research member here.


Please do not use these photos without permission. Just ask.
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K Pod Way Out West On 12/22/14

12/23/2014

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A few days into my Christmas break back home on San Juan Island, some friends and I decided to head out on the water to look for orcas and other cetaceans. We left Snug Harbor and slowly headed down towards the South end of the island. From there we angled toward Smith Island. The water was generally calm and the skies were overcast, perfect for spotting dorsal fins. However, the recent high tides and storms had brought tons of logs and debris off the beaches. This made traveling difficult at times and it looked like the straits were full of resting orcas.
Once past Smith Island, we went to Partridge Bank and Dungeness Spit near the opening of Admiralty Inlet. The day before, the Southern Resident orcas (possibly members from J, K, and L) had exited the same inlet as they headed for the open ocean. There was no sign of them now though, so we headed West in the Strait of Juan De Fuca, the route the orcas would have taken to get to the open ocean. The Strait of Juan De Fuca is a very large area to cover and can have some choppy water. Luckily, there were just low, well spaced rollers on this day.

Out in the middle of the strait between Port Angeles and Race Rocks it seemed that we were not going to find any cetaceans what so ever. Then, I looked off to our right and was quite surprised to see orcas!! Two males were surfacing far off in the distance, their tall dorsal fins much easier to spot compared to the females and juveniles. The mist from their exhales rose up into the air and slowly dissolved. We turned the boat and gradually motored over to them. At first I thought we were with marine mammal eating Transient orcas. The orcas were taking long deep dives and it seemed like there were only a handful of them. Then Sequim K12 and her son, Rainshadow K37, surfaced off our bow and we had our answer. It was K pod!
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Rainshadow K37, born in 2003. He will start sprouting soon.
The orcas were very spread out but we eventually spotted more members. We saw Yoda K36 next, then Saturna K43, Sekiu K22, Lobo K26, Tika K33, Lea K14, and Kelp K42.
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Sprouter male Tika K33. He was born in 2001.
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Kelp K42, born in 2008.
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Lea K14, born in 1977.
Interestingly, we did not see any more K pod members then the nine mentioned. All the members of the K13 and K16 matrilines were not located, as well as Cappuccino K21, who I include in the K16's since he travels closely with them. Of course, the K13's and K16's could have been around since the orcas were so spread out.

We traveled along with the orcas as they generally continued West with some occasional zigzagging. At one point, all nine orcas came together for a bit, then split back up and became even more spread out than before. We decided to stick with Lea K14 and her son Kelp K42. Lea's other son, Lobo K26, was back behind them. As Lea and Kelp came up on a large patch of drifting logs and detached seaweed, Kelp spy hopped. The two then appeared to play with something in the patch for a moment before swimming on their way. Towards the end of the encounter, Lobo joined back up his mother and younger brother. With limited sunlight, it was time to head back home. They were still heading West when we left the scene. I am happy to report that we saw every member of the matrilines we did locate (the K12's, K14's, K22's). I wonder now if more of the Residents were further ahead of our K's. Maybe the K13's were up there, or perhaps J and L pod. What a great find way out West!!


Please don't use my photos without my 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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