The Resident orcas have been crazy this week and constantly around, which leaves me with no time for blogging. However, I now have some free time and can catch all of you up on what has been happening.
On the morning of 7/12/14, I had a great encounter with J and K pod from shore at Lime Kiln State Park on the West side of San Juan Island. Granny J2 (estimated to have been born in 1911) was in the lead, followed by the J14's, J16's, K12's, K13's, Onyx L87, and the K14's. There was still no sign of Group B J pod members, two Group A members called Shachi J19 and Eclipse J41 or Opus 16, Cappuccino K21, and Sonata K35, who of often split off from K pod and do their own thing.
On the morning of 7/12/14, I had a great encounter with J and K pod from shore at Lime Kiln State Park on the West side of San Juan Island. Granny J2 (estimated to have been born in 1911) was in the lead, followed by the J14's, J16's, K12's, K13's, Onyx L87, and the K14's. There was still no sign of Group B J pod members, two Group A members called Shachi J19 and Eclipse J41 or Opus 16, Cappuccino K21, and Sonata K35, who of often split off from K pod and do their own thing.
Granny J2, the oldest known orca at the moment!
Onyx L87, born in 1992. He travels with Granny instead of L pod.
 Scoter K25, born in 1991. The barb(s) from his satellite tag he had during the winter of 2012. . . |  . . .are still embedded in his dorsal fin. |
Spock K20, Scoter's older sister. She was born in 1986.
Ripple K44, born in 2011.
On the 13th, I headed out with some researchers a couple of hours before sunset to see if any of the absent J's or K's had returned. While on our way to the orcas, we spotted a minke whale in front of us and stopped the boat. He or she took a few more breaths before disappearing on a deep dive. Once with the orcas, we identified the K14's, K13's, and K12's as they foraged off of False Bay at San Juan Island. At one point Yoda K36 and Kelp K42 were in pursuit of a salmon. Once they caught it, Yoda carried it around on top her head for awhile. As we were heading back home, we came across the K14's again and stopped to watch them. Suddenly, a HUMPBACK whale unexpectedly surfaced off our stern. Where did that whale come from!? It had not been sighted by any of the whale watching boats that day and was suddenly right behind us! The humpback swam closer and closer, until it arched its back and dove right under us, just a few feet away!
Minke whale!
Yoda K36 carries a salmon on her head. She was born in 2003.
Humpback!
On the morning of the 14th, Group B of J pod, the two Group A members (Shachi J19 and Eclipse J41), the three independent K's (Opus K16, Cappuccino K21, and Sonata K35), and nearly all of L pod (minus the L54's) returned to San Juan Island and formed a superpod with the the rest of Group A and K pod along the West side of the island. Aboard the Odyssey of San Juan Excursions, we caught up with members of all three pods as they socialized and foraged. At the beginning of our encounter, we spent time with Onyx L87, who was slowly swimming off by himself. Suddenly, Onyx did two big breaches and a dorsal fin slap. He then aimed offshore and sped up, right for Granny J2. They reunited soon after.
Onyx L87 breaches!
Onyx breaches again!
 |  Dorsal fin slap! |  |
On the 15th, while on the Odyssey of San Juan Excursions, we were able to hang out with two humpback whales, which turned out to be a mom and calf! We watched as the two played in some bundles of bull kelp together, turning on their sides, and lifting their pectoral fins and tail flukes into the air. The two even poked their heads out of the water a few times. A short distance away were the Resident orcas, which only eat salmon, and I'm sure the humpbacks were aware of this. After watching the playful pair, we headed off to check out the orcas and identified the L4's, L43's, and L47's.
Humpback calf pectoral fin!
Ophelia L27 tail slaps. She is part of the L4 matriline and was born around 1965.
As the sun set on the 16th, J, K, and L pod gathered offshore of Lime Kiln State Park. I believe that the L12's exited the area earlier that day but all of J and K, as well as the rest of L pod remained. While the L54's have not made it back to San Juan Island yet, they came close on this day, and were seen entering the area through the strait of Juan De Fuca, but they decided to turn around and head back out. At Lime Kiln, the orcas were split into a few different large to medium sized groups fighting the flooding tide, while also socializing with each other, resting, and foraging. At one point, four orcas were out of the water at the same time in a quadruple spy hop, not far from where I sat on the shoreline.
Quadruple spy hop/cuddle puddle! There is another orca behind these three!
On the 17th, San Juan Excursions caught up with L pod, specifically the L4 and L47 matrilines off of False Bay again. The orcas were in travel/forage mode and zoomed past us as they headed South. All three pods had been heading North during the morning, but while J and K pod pressed on for the Fraser River, L pod turned around. While we didn't see them, there were all two different groups of Pacific white sided dolphins harassing the orcas throughout the day. The larger group was following the J's and K's, while the smaller group (about 6) was with L pod.
Pooka L106, born in 2005. He is getting big!
Jade L118, born in 2011. She and Pooka are part of the L4 matriline.
Moonlight L83, part of the L47 matriline. She was born in 1990.
What will happen next??
Please do not use my photos without permission. Just ask :)
Please do not use my photos without permission. Just ask :)
