On the morning of 12/20/15, a few days into my Christmas break back home on San Juan Island, some friends and I headed out on the water to see if we could find orcas that had been reported near Friday Harbor. We left Snug Harbor, headed down Spieden Channel, and entered San Juan Channel. Off in the distance to the South, a humpback surfaced a few times before fluking. Focused on finding the orcas, we searched around the bottom of Presidents Channel, and checked around Jones Island, Reef Island, and Yellow Island, before continuing on down San Juan Channel.
As we approached Cattle Pass, we spotted orca blows up against Goose Island. As we got closer, it became clear that it was a pretty big group. We had been on the fence on whether the orcas we were looking for were marine mammal eating transients or salmon eating southern residents but as I counted the blows it seemed we had residents. We gradually motored over to them as the water in Cattle Pass became fairly rough. I then spotted Doublestuf J34 and his younger brother Cookie J38 and we had our answer. It was J pod and Onyx L87, part of the southern resident population!
The orcas were in a very active mood as they surfed through Cattle Pass. A few played with kelp, including Onyx L87. Granny J2, Blackberry J27, Tsuchi J31, Moby J44, Onyx L87, and a few others tail slapped. Granny J2 and somebody else breached. A few individuals inverted tail slapped, including Mike J26. A few pectoral fin slapped, and Granny J2 cartwheeled at least four times. Between the swells, I caught glimpses of the new calves J53 and J54 beside their mothers.
As we approached Cattle Pass, we spotted orca blows up against Goose Island. As we got closer, it became clear that it was a pretty big group. We had been on the fence on whether the orcas we were looking for were marine mammal eating transients or salmon eating southern residents but as I counted the blows it seemed we had residents. We gradually motored over to them as the water in Cattle Pass became fairly rough. I then spotted Doublestuf J34 and his younger brother Cookie J38 and we had our answer. It was J pod and Onyx L87, part of the southern resident population!
The orcas were in a very active mood as they surfed through Cattle Pass. A few played with kelp, including Onyx L87. Granny J2, Blackberry J27, Tsuchi J31, Moby J44, Onyx L87, and a few others tail slapped. Granny J2 and somebody else breached. A few individuals inverted tail slapped, including Mike J26. A few pectoral fin slapped, and Granny J2 cartwheeled at least four times. Between the swells, I caught glimpses of the new calves J53 and J54 beside their mothers.
J54 surfaces next to its mother, Polaris J28, in Cattle Pass. The calf was first seen on December 1st, 2015.
Granny J2 breaches in Cattle Pass. She was born around 1911.
Once out the other side of Cattle Pass, J pod spread out in several groups and slowly headed for the Strait of Juan De fuca. The sea condition also improved a little. As the orcas swam over Salmon Bank, some of them got within a few feet of the bank marker. We moved between groups and some of the orcas were still in an active mood. Shachi J19 and Princess Angeline J17 inverted tail and pectoral fin slapped a few times. Granny J2, Samish J14, Princess Angeline J17, Shachi J19, Mike J26, Tsuchi J31, Hy’shqa J37, Eclipse J41, and Onyx L87 all tail slapped at one point. Hy’shqa J37, Eclipse J41, and Moby J44 spy hopped, and Blackberry J27 breached.
J53 surfaces with San Juan Island in the background. The calf was born in October 2015.
Eclipse J41 spy hops with Dave Ellifrit on Orca in the background.
Dave Ellifrit (fellow Center for Whale Research staff) arrived on scene little later aboard Orca and his J pod encounter summary can be seen here. After awhile, we both left J pod a few miles North of the Hein Bank Marker as the sea conditions deteriorated again. It was so great to see J pod again and meet the two new calves for the first time! What an awesome encounter!
Please do not use my photos without my permission. Just ask!
Please do not use my photos without my permission. Just ask!
