The Residents Return On 6/20/15

On 6/20/14, whale watching boats found members from all three salmon eating Southern Resident orca pods (J,K, and L pod) inbound in the Strait of Juan De Fuca and heading toward San Juan Island. J pod, K pod, and the fifteen Ls (L4s, L47s, and L95) had left the area through Juan De Fuca back on the June 17th. Once the orcas crossed Haro Strait and hit the shoreline of San Juan Island, I went out and stood along some cliffs just a little North of my house to see who all had come in. Where there new whales who had not been to the island yet this season? K pod members began swimming past me from the North and to the South of me I could see many more orcas, including Polaris J28 and Blackberry J27. All of the orcas were in an active mood to say the least! The K13 matriline (Skagit K13, Spock K20, Scoter K25, Deadhead K27, Cali K34, Comet K38, and Ripple K44) was the first of the K pod members to swim past me and Spock K20 was full of breaches and backdives!

Spock K20 breaches. She was born in 1986.

The K12s (Sequim K12, Sekiu K22, Rainshadow K37, Saturna K43, and Tika K33) were the next and final orcas in the procession past me and this family was very active too. Saturna K43 belly flopped right on past me and when her mother, Sequim K12 leapt into the air for one of her full breaches during the evening, she was not far behind and made it a double breach! Saturna K43 was also tail slapping, pectoral fin slapping, and inverted tail slapping. Sekiu K22 joined in with a half breach, and her sprouter son Tika K33 also did multiple half breaches and pec slaps. To the South of me, I lost count of all the breaches and big splashes that were happening all over the place by the rest of J and K pod and some Ls.

Saturna K43 belly flops. She was born in 2010.

Sequim K12, born around 1972, breaches. . .

. . .and is followed immediately by her daughter Saturna K43!

What a great way to end an evening! Welcome back guys!

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