May 25
Dave Ellifrit said orcas were heading south, approaching the Center for Whale Research at 12:45 PM.
May 25
Jeff Hogan was hearing calls on the Lime Kiln Hps at 12:55PM.
May 25
We left J pod in big seas near Middle Bank headed south this evening about 7:00PM. The last time they did this, they were back the next day, after visiting Pt. Angeles.
Capt. Jim
May 25
J-1 with maybe 6 other whales porpoising fast to the southeast around Eagle Point, with a strong flooding tide, at 1:13pm They all slowed down around False Bay, going on long dives, appeared to be foraging. Pretty bumpy out in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, so we left them at about 2pm.
Caroline Armon, San Juan Excursions
maandag 25 mei 2009
zondag 24 mei 2009
J's on Lime Kiln hydrophone
May 24
Jeff Hogan called with a Lime Kiln acoustic alert. J's live on the hydrophones at 1:30 PM.
May 24
At 13:10 I was hearing faint calls on the Lime Kiln Hps.
At 14:23 still hearing calls and clicks on Lime Kiln Hps.
At 14:54 started hearing calls and clicks on OrcaSound Hps. Whales are obviously traveling North.
Thanks
Cathy Bacon
May 24
J1 Ruffles moves past kayakers, all looking the other way.
Photo by Marie O'Shaughnessy
May 24
We left J Pod going north at the Pender Bluffs yesterday at 7:00 PM. The should again be back today.
J 44 was having a great time strolling along with mom, J 17, and her family.
Capt. Jim
May 24
Hi Susan and Howie,
Tagging on to Jeff and Cathy's reports of calls on the HPs on Sunday. I was at LimeKiln and have posted a video clip of Samish J-14 and her three youngest - Hy'Shqa J-37, Suttles J-40 and baby J-45 as they spent time there. It was interesting that with all their activity there were more echo clicks than vocals. Was it a training session or just lunch time?
Jeanne
May 24
Sunny skies, calm waters.... Ahh, summer is finally here in the San Juans! And to make the day even better, we had J-Pod riding in the huge flood tide. When we were getting ready to leave the dock, we had a report that J Pod was at Constance Bank heading east, so we hoped they'd be somewhat close by the time we got in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. By the time we made Cattle Point, they were already along the shore of San Juan (must have been the 6 knot current speeding them along!) They were very spread out, making any ID's very hard, but I did manage to spot J27 near False Bay. For our second trip in the late afternoon, the whales had made a decision to head north, and we found the trailing whales near Stuart Island. This time however, things were different. The currents were almost ebbing, so the whales had slowed way down. We were lucky enough to find two good-sized groups traveling closely together, and not in a big hurry. Lots of spyhops, tail lobs, rolling on top of each other, and even a sea-snake! We were able to ID J16 Slick, J17 Princess Angeline, J22 Oreo, J27 Blackberry, J28 Polaris, J34 Doublestuff, J35 Tahlequah, J38 Cookie, and new calf J44. We watched the whales pass the Turn Point Lighthouse before heading home, full of smiles!
John Boyd (JB), SSAMN
Marine Naturalist, Western Prince
Jeff Hogan called with a Lime Kiln acoustic alert. J's live on the hydrophones at 1:30 PM.
May 24
At 13:10 I was hearing faint calls on the Lime Kiln Hps.
At 14:23 still hearing calls and clicks on Lime Kiln Hps.
At 14:54 started hearing calls and clicks on OrcaSound Hps. Whales are obviously traveling North.
Thanks
Cathy Bacon
May 24
J1 Ruffles moves past kayakers, all looking the other way.
Photo by Marie O'Shaughnessy
May 24
We left J Pod going north at the Pender Bluffs yesterday at 7:00 PM. The should again be back today.
J 44 was having a great time strolling along with mom, J 17, and her family.
Capt. Jim
May 24
Hi Susan and Howie,
Tagging on to Jeff and Cathy's reports of calls on the HPs on Sunday. I was at LimeKiln and have posted a video clip of Samish J-14 and her three youngest - Hy'Shqa J-37, Suttles J-40 and baby J-45 as they spent time there. It was interesting that with all their activity there were more echo clicks than vocals. Was it a training session or just lunch time?
Jeanne
May 24
Sunny skies, calm waters.... Ahh, summer is finally here in the San Juans! And to make the day even better, we had J-Pod riding in the huge flood tide. When we were getting ready to leave the dock, we had a report that J Pod was at Constance Bank heading east, so we hoped they'd be somewhat close by the time we got in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. By the time we made Cattle Point, they were already along the shore of San Juan (must have been the 6 knot current speeding them along!) They were very spread out, making any ID's very hard, but I did manage to spot J27 near False Bay. For our second trip in the late afternoon, the whales had made a decision to head north, and we found the trailing whales near Stuart Island. This time however, things were different. The currents were almost ebbing, so the whales had slowed way down. We were lucky enough to find two good-sized groups traveling closely together, and not in a big hurry. Lots of spyhops, tail lobs, rolling on top of each other, and even a sea-snake! We were able to ID J16 Slick, J17 Princess Angeline, J22 Oreo, J27 Blackberry, J28 Polaris, J34 Doublestuff, J35 Tahlequah, J38 Cookie, and new calf J44. We watched the whales pass the Turn Point Lighthouse before heading home, full of smiles!
John Boyd (JB), SSAMN
Marine Naturalist, Western Prince
vrijdag 22 mei 2009
J's west of Whidbey
May 22J14 and J45 west of Whidbey Island.
Photo by Jill Persick
May 22
Hi Susan,
We had a great encounter with J pod today. We travelled quite far south of Vancouver towards the Juan de Fuca Straight and found J pod not far off of Smith Island. We found J14 with new calf J45 (see photo) and his siblings, including Big brother J30. We travelled back home along the west side of San Juan Island, where we saw J1 all by himself. He was quite far away from the rest of the pod, but we were happy to have a look at him and get away from the wind. Long trip but beautiful day!
Jill Persick
Steveston Seabreeze Adventures
May 22
We left the trailing Js in the center of Haro St. at 6:30 this evening, headed north.
Jim Maya
May 22
Hi Susan,
I had the pleasure of accompanying a home- school group field trip today. It was super weather, sunny and clear, we could see both Mt Baker and Mt Rainer at the same time. We sighted J pod foraging in small scattered groups of 4- 7 orcas each. Tail whack after tail whack, and numerous breaches, even a bit of la amour- amour.
The latter activity was not elaborated on as the group was very young children, the exciting details would have been wastedanyway. I positively I D'd J17 and baby J44 riding high over her back. And J27- Blackberry. All sightings 2-3 miles S.W. off Iceberg Point in the Juan de Fuca.
The children also enjoyed a pod (20-30) of Harbour porpoises, S.E. of Colville Is. and an Eagle in a nest off the south end of Lopez Island, and a lazy ole' California Sea Lion #651 on the entrance buoy of Guemes channel. He had been there all day.
These were all first experiences for most of the childr - wow! They were excited.
Caroline Spehar
Transboundary Naturalist
Mystic Sea, Anacortes
We left the trailing Js in the center of Haro St. at 6:30 this evening, headed north.
Jim Maya
May 22
Hi Susan,
I had the pleasure of accompanying a home- school group field trip today. It was super weather, sunny and clear, we could see both Mt Baker and Mt Rainer at the same time. We sighted J pod foraging in small scattered groups of 4- 7 orcas each. Tail whack after tail whack, and numerous breaches, even a bit of la amour- amour.
The latter activity was not elaborated on as the group was very young children, the exciting details would have been wastedanyway. I positively I D'd J17 and baby J44 riding high over her back. And J27- Blackberry. All sightings 2-3 miles S.W. off Iceberg Point in the Juan de Fuca.
The children also enjoyed a pod (20-30) of Harbour porpoises, S.E. of Colville Is. and an Eagle in a nest off the south end of Lopez Island, and a lazy ole' California Sea Lion #651 on the entrance buoy of Guemes channel. He had been there all day.
These were all first experiences for most of the childr - wow! They were excited.
Caroline Spehar
Transboundary Naturalist
Mystic Sea, Anacortes
donderdag 21 mei 2009
May 21
J 44, the calf surfacing close to its mother J 17.
Photo by Marie O'Shaughnessy, Orca- Magic, POW
May 21
Hi Susan,
The magic continues out there in the Salish sea. What a beautiful day watching J pod and some of K pod, head north along the shoreline of San Juan Island, between 2-3 pm today. Got to see one of the little ones J 44 swimming close to mom J 17. Not much foraging going on as they were really moving in rather spread out groups. I was on a POW Zodiac enjoying the calm conditions. We actually were surprised by a sudden appearance of a Minke Whale on the west side of Hein Bank during our trip over to the San Juans. The scenery all round was spectacular on this very clear day.
Marie, Orca-Magic, POW
May 21
I went out to Joseph Whidbey State Park at 10 AM, just south of Naval Air Station and saw 4 or 5 orcas heading due west toward Salmon Bank, south of San Juan Island, several miles from shore.
Howard
May 21
Chuck Niedzialkowski called at 9:30 AM with a sighting of at least five orcas heading south along the shore of Rocky Point, on the north side of the Naval Air Station Whidbey, including a cow and calf.
May 21
Sally Reeve called at 8:30 AM to report about ten orcas heading west toward Ice Berg Pt. at the south tip of Lopez.
May 21
J pod off Lime Kiln Park
Photo by Andrew Lees
May 21
This afternoon we caught up with several members of Jpod including J27 Blackberry, J28 Polaris and the new calf J44, just south of Lime Kiln Park. We followed about 12 members of Jpod that also included J17 Princess Angeline, J34 Doublestuff and J38 Cooke, as they moved north along the west side of San Juan Island up to Andrew's Bay. The rest of Jpod could be seen in the distance near Stuart Island.
We also saw this afternoon a Brown Pelican just south of Lime Kiln Whale Park.
Andrew Lees
Marine Naturalist
Five Star Whale Watching
May 21
We left the J trailers headed N. at Turn Pt. at 6:30 this evening. The K13s headed south at Kellet at 4:15. I would suspect we'll see both groups tomorrow. Could the Ks, having split w the Js, be headed south to meet the rest of the Ks?
Thanks,
Capt. Jim
May 21
Hi, Susan.
On May 21 around 8:45 pm, a group of about 8 orcas were travelling eastward through Active Pass. They were moving quite quickly but we saw one spy hop.
It is our first sighting of the season, although fellow whale watchers from Georgeson Bay tell me it is the third time they have seen them in the Pass this week. it was dusk and the light was very low but I am including some photos for ID purposes anyway. Please let me know who they were. Thanks.
Cheers,
Karoline
Galiano Island
woensdag 20 mei 2009
J pd in Haro Strait
May 20
- Wednesday
Today we came across J Pod in Haro Strait headed north toward Stuart Island at 1:30 p.m. We watched Granny (J-2) and Ruffles (J-1) as they headed up the pod working their way north. The whales were in sub pod family groups, with lots of tail slapping going on, some foraging, and lots of traveling behavior. Big brother, Riptide (J-30) was right with his new sibling J-14's new calf. It was a beautiful day on the water with the added bonus of sunshine and warm temperatures. What a day! We left J pod as they headed north past Turn Point on Stuart Island, at 2:40 p.m.
~Nan Simpson
Marine Naturalist
May 20
J Pod with some K's traveling north against an ebbing tide in Haro Strait from 1:15pm to 2:30pm. The family groups were loosely spread out diving and foraging, then showed an array of behaviors as they closed in on Stuart Island; fluke and pectoral slaps, a few breaches, lunges, and flashes of male parts! (It'll be interesting to see if there are any new calves, in about a year and a half, from those K-13/ K-20 girls!!)
Caroline Armon, San Juan Excursions
- Wednesday
Today we came across J Pod in Haro Strait headed north toward Stuart Island at 1:30 p.m. We watched Granny (J-2) and Ruffles (J-1) as they headed up the pod working their way north. The whales were in sub pod family groups, with lots of tail slapping going on, some foraging, and lots of traveling behavior. Big brother, Riptide (J-30) was right with his new sibling J-14's new calf. It was a beautiful day on the water with the added bonus of sunshine and warm temperatures. What a day! We left J pod as they headed north past Turn Point on Stuart Island, at 2:40 p.m.
~Nan Simpson
Marine Naturalist
May 20
J Pod with some K's traveling north against an ebbing tide in Haro Strait from 1:15pm to 2:30pm. The family groups were loosely spread out diving and foraging, then showed an array of behaviors as they closed in on Stuart Island; fluke and pectoral slaps, a few breaches, lunges, and flashes of male parts! (It'll be interesting to see if there are any new calves, in about a year and a half, from those K-13/ K-20 girls!!)
Caroline Armon, San Juan Excursions
dinsdag 19 mei 2009
maandag 18 mei 2009
J17 & J44
Eagle Pt,
San Juan Island
May 18, 2009
Photo by
Jeff Almquist
May 18
Well, I wasn't too thrilled to be doing outdoor work in the rain today, but it sure paid off later! After getting completely soaked over on Stuart Island, I figured I'd head home via Haro Strait since it was so flat. As we rounded Turn Point, we saw an eagle diving with talons extended fully and try and grab a salmon (he missed). Then I got a call that J-Pod had slowly made it's way past Kellett Bluff (they were at False Bay early this morning, so they were definitely not in any sort of hurry! With only 2 boats within 10 miles of whales, it was very serene as the whales slowly meandered by. We saw J17 and new calf J44, as well as J30 Riptide doing very long dives. Even J1 Ruffles was easy to spot in the flat calm water well over a mile away! Blows would carry so far across the water that many times we'd hear the blow and turn to look for the whale and only see a footprint on the water. After watching for about 15 minutes, we were so thoroughly soaked through that we had to reluctantly head for the dock and the warmth of home. It was a gray and rainy J Pod day!
John Boyd (JB)., Marine Naturalist, SSAMN Member, Friday Harbor
zondag 17 mei 2009
May 17
J's and K's went to Jordan River area stopped and turned around. Were off the Canadian PT. no PT.at 1700 going East at about 10kts.
Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria B.C.
May 17
At 9am we received confirmed report from Ron Bates, MMRG, that J Pod had been sighted near Sooke heading west. By the time we caught up with JPod at 12.45pm, they were already traveling south in the Strait of Juan De Fuca a few miles from Sheringham Point (see above photo). We watched JPod in close formation surfing the waves in the strait. Later in the afternoon we heard that JPod had already reached Jordan River and were continueing west. Looks like they have headed out west but hopefully will be back soon. This was my first encounter with Jpod this season and it was such a wonderful feeling to see "Granny", "Ruffles", "Polaris" and the rest of Jpod, especially the new calf: )
Andrew Lees, Marine Naturalist, Five Star Whale Watching
J's and K's went to Jordan River area stopped and turned around. Were off the Canadian PT. no PT.at 1700 going East at about 10kts.
Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria B.C.
May 17
At 9am we received confirmed report from Ron Bates, MMRG, that J Pod had been sighted near Sooke heading west. By the time we caught up with JPod at 12.45pm, they were already traveling south in the Strait of Juan De Fuca a few miles from Sheringham Point (see above photo). We watched JPod in close formation surfing the waves in the strait. Later in the afternoon we heard that JPod had already reached Jordan River and were continueing west. Looks like they have headed out west but hopefully will be back soon. This was my first encounter with Jpod this season and it was such a wonderful feeling to see "Granny", "Ruffles", "Polaris" and the rest of Jpod, especially the new calf: )
Andrew Lees, Marine Naturalist, Five Star Whale Watching
zaterdag 16 mei 2009
May 16
5/16/2009 ORCASOUND
22:10 - Jan start listening. Faint call on the Orcasound hydrophone. 22:16 -They are calling occasionally. Probably Jpod. 22:21 - Calls are fading away. 22:25 -The whales are coming closer. 22:37 Calls are fading away. 22:53-Occasionaly faint calls audible after a short period of 15 minutes silence. 23:04 Jan stop listening. Switching to Limekiln.
5/16/2009 LIMEKILN
23:07 - Jan start listening. Calls of J pod are audible. There is some boat noise. 23:20 Calls stop.
May 16
1805: Vickie from Kent and Carlie from Edmonton reported hearing calls first. Sound like S44 looks but not sure.
1818: Clear calls, buzzes pops on Orca Sound hydrophones. Recording.
Eric McRae
May 16
Calls on the Lime Kiln hydrophones - for a couple minutes then faded out beginning at 1748, it's 1752 now.
Update at 8 pm: Still hearing calls, squeeks, and what sounded like possible echolocation? (sounds like tapping on metal..) I think the echolocation was happening during what sounded like some blow hole burps, very low sounding squeeks (like a human with gas! hah) so was assuming they were possibly hunting some fish/prey? It went on and off for about 30-40 minutes, never really fading out, staying in the same area and very clear. The echolocation was very loud.
I also heard alot of boats, some seem very fast and loud. A big ship passed, about a little bit after 1900, for about a half hour, and now I'm getting ALOT of noise of squeeks, and squeals and calls!!! It's not extremely loud, but it's very audible. I started listening at 1738, got calls at 1748 and continued until now (2000), and we are still getting them. More the squeeks and squeals this time. Sounds like several, rather than a few? I'm just learning the hydrophone listening.. It's like being blind, I can hear but can't see! I'll be up on San Juan Island tomorrow for the day!
Vickie Doyle, Kent
May 16
I heard calls at around 6:40 (Edmonton time) Short bursts. Possibly hunting calls. Still listening, but haven't heard anything recently. Will let you know if any other sounds are heard.
Carlie
May 16
From 5:30-7:30 PM we watched a very spread out J-Pod head slowly south past Lime Kiln Lighthouse.
Monika Wieland, San Juan Island
May 16
J pod went south past Landbank between 5:20pm and 5:50pm, traveling slowly and widely spread on glassy water. When we returned from a tasty and fun Whale Museum Greeting Ceremony benefit dinner (a big thank you to all those who worked so hard to put this event on), J16 and her family were hanging out at Landbank at about 9pm, heading south but being pushed by the flood tide north. The "whoosh," "whoosh's" were loud and magical. After staying in the same hundred yards or so for at least a half hour, J16 and family picked up speed and began traveling south. It was getting pretty dark by this time. Almost as soon as the J16's moved south, J27 and his siblings appeared, whoosh, whooshing and moving south. Three whales came within 10 yards of shore, Ruffles (J1) and Granny (J2) and another whale that I could not identify by sight, but that had a familiar whistle--must be Speiden (J8) I'm thinking. Ruffles' exhalations in such still air exploded in the night. As I wrote this, faint calls at the LimeKiln hydrophones were becoming louder, but after boat noise came and went, the calls have disappeared, at least for now. Cheers and thanks for all you do.
Sharon Grace, San Juan Island
May 16
May 16th, we were on the road to lime kiln around 6:45 pm and saw the two adult whales, but we saw three babies. Two were still small, and one was very tiny, smaller than the two. It looks like it was J pod, J44 and J45, but who was that small-small one? It almost looked like a porpoise, and if we didn't hear it's exhalation, we thought it just might be. One of the bigger but still small babies, stayed near an adult. The other bigger small baby swam a little bit away, and the tiny one stayed with that one. And the other adult stayed in closer to shore? Just wanted to mention it. We were lucky to see them whoever they were!
The Kane Family, Sammamish, WA
5/16/2009 ORCASOUND
22:10 - Jan start listening. Faint call on the Orcasound hydrophone. 22:16 -They are calling occasionally. Probably Jpod. 22:21 - Calls are fading away. 22:25 -The whales are coming closer. 22:37 Calls are fading away. 22:53-Occasionaly faint calls audible after a short period of 15 minutes silence. 23:04 Jan stop listening. Switching to Limekiln.
5/16/2009 LIMEKILN
23:07 - Jan start listening. Calls of J pod are audible. There is some boat noise. 23:20 Calls stop.
May 16
1805: Vickie from Kent and Carlie from Edmonton reported hearing calls first. Sound like S44 looks but not sure.
1818: Clear calls, buzzes pops on Orca Sound hydrophones. Recording.
Eric McRae
May 16
Calls on the Lime Kiln hydrophones - for a couple minutes then faded out beginning at 1748, it's 1752 now.
Update at 8 pm: Still hearing calls, squeeks, and what sounded like possible echolocation? (sounds like tapping on metal..) I think the echolocation was happening during what sounded like some blow hole burps, very low sounding squeeks (like a human with gas! hah) so was assuming they were possibly hunting some fish/prey? It went on and off for about 30-40 minutes, never really fading out, staying in the same area and very clear. The echolocation was very loud.
I also heard alot of boats, some seem very fast and loud. A big ship passed, about a little bit after 1900, for about a half hour, and now I'm getting ALOT of noise of squeeks, and squeals and calls!!! It's not extremely loud, but it's very audible. I started listening at 1738, got calls at 1748 and continued until now (2000), and we are still getting them. More the squeeks and squeals this time. Sounds like several, rather than a few? I'm just learning the hydrophone listening.. It's like being blind, I can hear but can't see! I'll be up on San Juan Island tomorrow for the day!
Vickie Doyle, Kent
May 16
I heard calls at around 6:40 (Edmonton time) Short bursts. Possibly hunting calls. Still listening, but haven't heard anything recently. Will let you know if any other sounds are heard.
Carlie
May 16
From 5:30-7:30 PM we watched a very spread out J-Pod head slowly south past Lime Kiln Lighthouse.
Monika Wieland, San Juan Island
May 16
J pod went south past Landbank between 5:20pm and 5:50pm, traveling slowly and widely spread on glassy water. When we returned from a tasty and fun Whale Museum Greeting Ceremony benefit dinner (a big thank you to all those who worked so hard to put this event on), J16 and her family were hanging out at Landbank at about 9pm, heading south but being pushed by the flood tide north. The "whoosh," "whoosh's" were loud and magical. After staying in the same hundred yards or so for at least a half hour, J16 and family picked up speed and began traveling south. It was getting pretty dark by this time. Almost as soon as the J16's moved south, J27 and his siblings appeared, whoosh, whooshing and moving south. Three whales came within 10 yards of shore, Ruffles (J1) and Granny (J2) and another whale that I could not identify by sight, but that had a familiar whistle--must be Speiden (J8) I'm thinking. Ruffles' exhalations in such still air exploded in the night. As I wrote this, faint calls at the LimeKiln hydrophones were becoming louder, but after boat noise came and went, the calls have disappeared, at least for now. Cheers and thanks for all you do.
Sharon Grace, San Juan Island
May 16
May 16th, we were on the road to lime kiln around 6:45 pm and saw the two adult whales, but we saw three babies. Two were still small, and one was very tiny, smaller than the two. It looks like it was J pod, J44 and J45, but who was that small-small one? It almost looked like a porpoise, and if we didn't hear it's exhalation, we thought it just might be. One of the bigger but still small babies, stayed near an adult. The other bigger small baby swam a little bit away, and the tiny one stayed with that one. And the other adult stayed in closer to shore? Just wanted to mention it. We were lucky to see them whoever they were!
The Kane Family, Sammamish, WA
vrijdag 15 mei 2009
May 15
A lovely, calm, sunny day on the water! From about 1:15pm to 2:15pm, we watched J- Pod very slowly swimming north across Open Bay, off of San Juan Island, against the ebbing tide. They were bunched up into 2 close, tight groups. A beautiful sight to see all those fins coming up together and one after another, with glimpses of J-44 & J-45 tucked in the middle. Their yellowy- orangey patches really stand out! The Orcas seemed to be resting, almost treading water in the same area for quite awhile, then there was some tail lobbing from a few trailing whales and a surprise flash of a "pink floyd"! Reports were of a few of K-Pod with J-Pod. At about 2pm they seemed to wake up, changed direction heading fairly fast south, then they all dove for a few minutes, came up, turned back north, picking up speed as they swam toward Stuart Island. I can only imagine the 'conversation' that took place in deciding the directional changes! Lots of rotund harbor seals sharing space with 3 adult & 2 young eagles- feeding on a fish- on Sentinel Rocks, further awing our visitors with the diversity of wildlife that call the Salish Sea home!
Caroline Armon, San Juan Excursions
May 15
Awesome day on the water, Friday May 15th. I was on a Zodiac and we encountered J pod in resting formation off Kellett Bluff, Henry Island at 12 noon. They were really bunched up together which was amazing to see. They headed slowly north against an ebbing tide. Conditions were fantastic. Saw Ruffles and Granny. Image is cropped in (see photo above) .
Marie . Orca-Magic Prince Of Whales
May 15
With the sun shining and the water sparkling, Captain Nancy, the other naturalist Tristen, a group of (as always) enthusiastic and eager guests, and I took off from Friday Harbor with the hopes of meeting up with J pod. To the excitement of guests, naturalists, and captains alike, J pod (the most resident pod [pod = family unit] from the Southern Resident Community) has been in the area almost every day for the past couple weeks. Captain Nancy heard word that the group was moving slowly up Henry Island. We arrived on scene between Henry and Stuart Island around 1:40 pm to find what appeared to be all of J pod moving in one tight knit group and travelling in a resting pattern. The group moved slowly along. They had no particular destination in mind, switching directions at will. Distinct members of the pod, like - J26 (Mike), J27 (Blackberry), J1 (Ruffles), the two babies (!), and J30 (Riptide), swam amongst the pod. All members made their appearance for the crowd of pleased guests. It was a wonderful afternoon for whale viewing due to the mild weather and calm waters. J pod also made the viewing pleasant because of their slow travel and tight knit group.
On the way back toward Friday Harbor we travelled alongside Speiden, stopping first at Sentinel Rock to glispe at an adult bald eagle and hauled out harbor seals. Grazing and meandering on Speiden's southside we saw a few fallow deer and quite a few herds of both male and female muflon sheep. In a tree overhanging the water in the middle of Speiden's southside shoreline we spotted a bald eagle watching over its nest, which has a chick in this season! We had a full array of wildlife to view today and all returned happy and worn out from a wildlife- packed afternoon!
Ashley Chapman, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
A lovely, calm, sunny day on the water! From about 1:15pm to 2:15pm, we watched J- Pod very slowly swimming north across Open Bay, off of San Juan Island, against the ebbing tide. They were bunched up into 2 close, tight groups. A beautiful sight to see all those fins coming up together and one after another, with glimpses of J-44 & J-45 tucked in the middle. Their yellowy- orangey patches really stand out! The Orcas seemed to be resting, almost treading water in the same area for quite awhile, then there was some tail lobbing from a few trailing whales and a surprise flash of a "pink floyd"! Reports were of a few of K-Pod with J-Pod. At about 2pm they seemed to wake up, changed direction heading fairly fast south, then they all dove for a few minutes, came up, turned back north, picking up speed as they swam toward Stuart Island. I can only imagine the 'conversation' that took place in deciding the directional changes! Lots of rotund harbor seals sharing space with 3 adult & 2 young eagles- feeding on a fish- on Sentinel Rocks, further awing our visitors with the diversity of wildlife that call the Salish Sea home!
Caroline Armon, San Juan Excursions
May 15
Awesome day on the water, Friday May 15th. I was on a Zodiac and we encountered J pod in resting formation off Kellett Bluff, Henry Island at 12 noon. They were really bunched up together which was amazing to see. They headed slowly north against an ebbing tide. Conditions were fantastic. Saw Ruffles and Granny. Image is cropped in (see photo above) .
Marie . Orca-Magic Prince Of Whales
May 15
With the sun shining and the water sparkling, Captain Nancy, the other naturalist Tristen, a group of (as always) enthusiastic and eager guests, and I took off from Friday Harbor with the hopes of meeting up with J pod. To the excitement of guests, naturalists, and captains alike, J pod (the most resident pod [pod = family unit] from the Southern Resident Community) has been in the area almost every day for the past couple weeks. Captain Nancy heard word that the group was moving slowly up Henry Island. We arrived on scene between Henry and Stuart Island around 1:40 pm to find what appeared to be all of J pod moving in one tight knit group and travelling in a resting pattern. The group moved slowly along. They had no particular destination in mind, switching directions at will. Distinct members of the pod, like - J26 (Mike), J27 (Blackberry), J1 (Ruffles), the two babies (!), and J30 (Riptide), swam amongst the pod. All members made their appearance for the crowd of pleased guests. It was a wonderful afternoon for whale viewing due to the mild weather and calm waters. J pod also made the viewing pleasant because of their slow travel and tight knit group.
On the way back toward Friday Harbor we travelled alongside Speiden, stopping first at Sentinel Rock to glispe at an adult bald eagle and hauled out harbor seals. Grazing and meandering on Speiden's southside we saw a few fallow deer and quite a few herds of both male and female muflon sheep. In a tree overhanging the water in the middle of Speiden's southside shoreline we spotted a bald eagle watching over its nest, which has a chick in this season! We had a full array of wildlife to view today and all returned happy and worn out from a wildlife- packed afternoon!
Ashley Chapman, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
May 15
Center for Whale Research staff Dave Ellifrit and Erin Heydenreich responded to J and K pod calls heard on the Lime Kiln hydrophone, early morning on May 15, 2009. J pod and the K13's were encountered off Hannah Heights (48° 32 24 N, 123° 10 14 W) on the west side of San Juan Island at 9:39 a.m. The whales were spread out in groups, traveling North. The whales later came together in a tight group and began resting off Mitchell Bay. The encounter ended at 11:45 a.m. with the whales moving slowly north at (48° 35 03 N, 123° 12 27 W).
Center for Whale Research staff Dave Ellifrit and Erin Heydenreich responded to J and K pod calls heard on the Lime Kiln hydrophone, early morning on May 15, 2009. J pod and the K13's were encountered off Hannah Heights (48° 32 24 N, 123° 10 14 W) on the west side of San Juan Island at 9:39 a.m. The whales were spread out in groups, traveling North. The whales later came together in a tight group and began resting off Mitchell Bay. The encounter ended at 11:45 a.m. with the whales moving slowly north at (48° 35 03 N, 123° 12 27 W).
May 15
Beam Reach called in a report at 2 pm - they were near the entrance to Speiden Channel, and had been with J pod & the few K's that have been with them, from 9:30 this morning at Lime Kiln, heading N/NW with lots of resting.
May 15
Orcas (likely J pod) traveling N at Hannah Heights with calls audible on Lime Kiln and Orcasound hydrophones at 9 am.
Sharon Grace, San Juan Island
May 15
Calls on Lime Kiln Hydrophones 8:47 am.
Cathy Bacon, Texas
May 15
Shari Tarantino emailed a couple reports of calls on the Lime Kiln hydrophoness at 8:15 and 8:50 am.
Eric McRae
Beam Reach called in a report at 2 pm - they were near the entrance to Speiden Channel, and had been with J pod & the few K's that have been with them, from 9:30 this morning at Lime Kiln, heading N/NW with lots of resting.
May 15
Orcas (likely J pod) traveling N at Hannah Heights with calls audible on Lime Kiln and Orcasound hydrophones at 9 am.
Sharon Grace, San Juan Island
May 15
Calls on Lime Kiln Hydrophones 8:47 am.
Cathy Bacon, Texas
May 15
Shari Tarantino emailed a couple reports of calls on the Lime Kiln hydrophoness at 8:15 and 8:50 am.
Eric McRae
donderdag 14 mei 2009
May 14
Capt. Jim Maya of Maya's Westside Charters called at 7:40 pm to relay they were leaving J's & some K's 3 miles NW of the Dungeness Spit Lighthouse, heading NE toward Lopez Island.
May 14
From Beam Reach - 12:49 pm: J pod traveling WNW at Salmon Bank spread out. Listen on Lime Kiln and Orcasound this afternoon?
Then an update:
5 pm: Beam Reach observed J-pod foraging as they traveled south from Iceberg Pt. to Salmon Bank to Hein Bank and on south. Students saw a salmon jumping from the water in front of foraging orcas. Listen to the hydrophone network tonight. Are they going west? Pt. Townsend?
May 14
I was out on the POW, 'Ocean Magic' trip at 12.15pm today May 14th, which took us out east toward San Juan Island where we met up with J 16, family group of five whales between 1.30pm and 2.30pm. Little J 42, 'Echo' was clearly visible along with big brother Mike, J 26. They were travelling south west off Hein Bank (see rest of report below under Minkes).
Marie O'Shaughnessy, Orca- Magic, Prince Of Whales
May 14
One of my friends is on her way to Victoria on the ferry out of Anacortes. She and her husband spotted J-Pod with the new baby off Blakely Island at 8:15 AM today, northbound. She said the ferry slowed to a crawl and the whales were pretty close to the boat and "put on quite a show."
Vicky Miller, Marysville
Capt. Jim Maya of Maya's Westside Charters called at 7:40 pm to relay they were leaving J's & some K's 3 miles NW of the Dungeness Spit Lighthouse, heading NE toward Lopez Island.
May 14
From Beam Reach - 12:49 pm: J pod traveling WNW at Salmon Bank spread out. Listen on Lime Kiln and Orcasound this afternoon?
Then an update:
5 pm: Beam Reach observed J-pod foraging as they traveled south from Iceberg Pt. to Salmon Bank to Hein Bank and on south. Students saw a salmon jumping from the water in front of foraging orcas. Listen to the hydrophone network tonight. Are they going west? Pt. Townsend?
May 14
I was out on the POW, 'Ocean Magic' trip at 12.15pm today May 14th, which took us out east toward San Juan Island where we met up with J 16, family group of five whales between 1.30pm and 2.30pm. Little J 42, 'Echo' was clearly visible along with big brother Mike, J 26. They were travelling south west off Hein Bank (see rest of report below under Minkes).
Marie O'Shaughnessy, Orca- Magic, Prince Of Whales
May 14
One of my friends is on her way to Victoria on the ferry out of Anacortes. She and her husband spotted J-Pod with the new baby off Blakely Island at 8:15 AM today, northbound. She said the ferry slowed to a crawl and the whales were pretty close to the boat and "put on quite a show."
Vicky Miller, Marysville
dinsdag 12 mei 2009
May 12
We last saw J pod traveling N in Swanson Channel Tuesday evening. Throughout their passage up Haro Strait they traveled at 5+ knots, so we were unable to observe them with our towed hydrophone array.
Beam Reach crew, aboard the Gato Verde
May 12
We left the dock at Snug at 11:00 AM since both Jeanne and Jeff Hogan had seen members of J Pod on the West Side of SJI. Alas, they headed into big seas south of Discovery Is. and no one could find them. We came back in at 1:30, and I proceeded to go to Hannah Hts. to look for them. Jeanne began to hear them, but I still couldn't see them. By around 3:30 or so, they appeared at Lime Kiln headed north. We got everyone back onto the boat and by 4:00 the leaders were almost to Henry Is. still going N. Ken Balcomb and David Ellifrit came out and took pictures. We left them at 5:30, with Ken and Dave still on scene, still headed N toward Turn Pt. I didn't see all the Js, but I think other boats did, including J1 and J2. There were some Ks with them still.
Capt. Jim Maya, Maya's Charters, San Juan Island
We last saw J pod traveling N in Swanson Channel Tuesday evening. Throughout their passage up Haro Strait they traveled at 5+ knots, so we were unable to observe them with our towed hydrophone array.
Beam Reach crew, aboard the Gato Verde
May 12
We left the dock at Snug at 11:00 AM since both Jeanne and Jeff Hogan had seen members of J Pod on the West Side of SJI. Alas, they headed into big seas south of Discovery Is. and no one could find them. We came back in at 1:30, and I proceeded to go to Hannah Hts. to look for them. Jeanne began to hear them, but I still couldn't see them. By around 3:30 or so, they appeared at Lime Kiln headed north. We got everyone back onto the boat and by 4:00 the leaders were almost to Henry Is. still going N. Ken Balcomb and David Ellifrit came out and took pictures. We left them at 5:30, with Ken and Dave still on scene, still headed N toward Turn Pt. I didn't see all the Js, but I think other boats did, including J1 and J2. There were some Ks with them still.
Capt. Jim Maya, Maya's Charters, San Juan Island
May 12
I heard that earlier this morning, J Pod was seen about 3 miles south of Discovery Island heading west. So I thought, OK, they're out of here for a few days. But much to my surprise, at 4:00 PM, I saw J Pod heading north past the Center for Whale Research!!! DOH! At least they are hanging around regularly these days!
John Boyd (JB), Marine Naturalist, Friday Harbor, Member, SSAMN
May 12
Been recording calls amid ship noise on both Lime Kiln and Orca Sound hydrophones since 1452.
Eric McRae
May 12
Thanks Jette! It's rough out and blowing 17m/s but you were right. We on the Beam Reach research vessel have just seen multiple breaches about 2km offshore from Lime Kiln at ~ 4 pm. The whales appear to be traveling slowly northward.
Scott Veirs, Beam Reach
May 12
After I received message that orca's were heading west, I started listening to the Lime Kiln Hydrophone - and waiting and patience paid off! Right now, 2:38 pm PST - very faint calls but definetely southern residents!
Then an update at 4:08 pm:
About 1.5 hour ago I heard faint calls at the Lime Kiln hydrophone. Just now, since a few minutes, really clear calls at the OrcaSound hydrophone. Too bad the boat noise is just - - boat noise.
Jette, the Netherlands
May 12
Around 4 pm we heard some strange and faint whistles on the Lime Kiln hydrophone - then ship noise drowned them out. Didn't sound like the usual J pod calls, but they were pretty faint and hard to detect.
Susan Berta, Orca Network
May 12
Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research called to relay a report of J pod off Hannah Heights, west San Juan Island earlier this morning, and at 10:20 am south of Discovery Island heading west.
May 12
08:30 J pod at S end of SJI traveling W toward Discovery Island.
Ivan Reiff, Western Prince, San Juan Island
I heard that earlier this morning, J Pod was seen about 3 miles south of Discovery Island heading west. So I thought, OK, they're out of here for a few days. But much to my surprise, at 4:00 PM, I saw J Pod heading north past the Center for Whale Research!!! DOH! At least they are hanging around regularly these days!
John Boyd (JB), Marine Naturalist, Friday Harbor, Member, SSAMN
May 12
Been recording calls amid ship noise on both Lime Kiln and Orca Sound hydrophones since 1452.
Eric McRae
May 12
Thanks Jette! It's rough out and blowing 17m/s but you were right. We on the Beam Reach research vessel have just seen multiple breaches about 2km offshore from Lime Kiln at ~ 4 pm. The whales appear to be traveling slowly northward.
Scott Veirs, Beam Reach
May 12
After I received message that orca's were heading west, I started listening to the Lime Kiln Hydrophone - and waiting and patience paid off! Right now, 2:38 pm PST - very faint calls but definetely southern residents!
Then an update at 4:08 pm:
About 1.5 hour ago I heard faint calls at the Lime Kiln hydrophone. Just now, since a few minutes, really clear calls at the OrcaSound hydrophone. Too bad the boat noise is just - - boat noise.
Jette, the Netherlands
May 12
Around 4 pm we heard some strange and faint whistles on the Lime Kiln hydrophone - then ship noise drowned them out. Didn't sound like the usual J pod calls, but they were pretty faint and hard to detect.
Susan Berta, Orca Network
May 12
Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research called to relay a report of J pod off Hannah Heights, west San Juan Island earlier this morning, and at 10:20 am south of Discovery Island heading west.
May 12
08:30 J pod at S end of SJI traveling W toward Discovery Island.
Ivan Reiff, Western Prince, San Juan Island
maandag 11 mei 2009
May 11
We had a great encounter with J pod today in the Straight of Georgia. They were breaching like crazy and we saw several spyhops as well. It was a bit rainy when we first arrived on scene, but luckily the sun came out for us and we got an amazing show!
Jill Persick, Steveston Seabreeze Adventures
P.S. I've attached a photo of a breach from the many we saw today (see photo below) . Unfortunately, my lens was zoomed out too far to catch the double breach!
Orca Breach
Strait of Georgia
May 11, 2009
Photo by Jill Persick
We had a great encounter with J pod today in the Straight of Georgia. They were breaching like crazy and we saw several spyhops as well. It was a bit rainy when we first arrived on scene, but luckily the sun came out for us and we got an amazing show!
Jill Persick, Steveston Seabreeze Adventures
P.S. I've attached a photo of a breach from the many we saw today (see photo below) . Unfortunately, my lens was zoomed out too far to catch the double breach!
Orca Breach
Strait of Georgia
May 11, 2009
Photo by Jill Persick
zondag 10 mei 2009
J1 & J2
Rosario Strait
May 10, 2009
Photo by
Kate Janes
May 10
We observed J pod making only clicks for almost 1.5 hours as they traveled northwestward from between Matia and Orcas Islands. Then they began milling and whistling intensely. They were again traveling northward slowly when we left them at 6 pm. Maybe listen to Orcasound tonight as they occasionally seemed to travel towards Boundary Pass.
Beam Reach students onboard the Gato Verde
May 10
I honestly didn't realize just how much I had missed the Southern Residents until their dorsal fins and exhalations came into view just south of Lummi Rocks. My entire being was trembling as we slowly approached seeing the tall dorsal with the unmistakable wavy trailing edge belonging to none other than Ruffles! Quickly I began searching out Granny and it was no surprise that Ruffles was being a "good son" on this beautiful Mother's Day staying very close to J2 (see photo above) . Then a flash of the most beautiful orange caught my eye- it was little J45 surfacing by Samish and surrounded by the rest of their family (see photo on Orca Network's Photo Page)! I can't describe just how amazed I was to see the growth the youngster has gone through in the past few months. 11 year old Doublestuff (J34) is really coming into his own as well as Riptide (J30). Not to mention seeing Echo (J42) in contrast to the newest members of J Pod, to think she was that small only 2 years ago! I was able to identify a handful of K Pod whales that were amongst J Pod (Spock K20, Comet K38, and Scoter K25). There were others, but I was unable to get clear photos for identification. Happy Mother's Day to all - it seemed that the Orca mom's were celebrating too! All the best,
Kate Janes, Naturalist, Island Adventures
May 10
Jeff Lamarche and I had J's & K's from 1600-1830 today heading NW up Rosario. After passing through Obstruction Pass, nearing Lawrence Pt (Orcas Island) we found out that J's & Ks turned around and headed NW rather than come down Rosario which is what they were doing previously. I left them 3 miles NW of Sucia Island at 1845 when the rain began.
Brenden Onorato, Seafun Safaris
Js at Lumni Island
May 10
Mother's Day whales off west side Lummi Island right around noon! (They say it's an annual Mother's Day event here) - for many of us, first orca sightings of the year on the Lummi side. Looked to be J pod - a few small groups ambling pretty close to shore, with a baby tucked in close in one of the groups. Didn't see J1 - he may have been off by himself, farther out. Amazingly enough, there were NO whalewatch boats - they must have had something else to look at elsewhere! Beautiful calm day - could hear the whales blowing still when they were miles away!
Penny Stone, Lummi Island
May 10
The Beam Reach students were with J pod at 5:45 pm, traveling north from between Matia & Orcas Islands. By 7:25 pm they were west of Patos Island.
Mother's Day whales off west side Lummi Island right around noon! (They say it's an annual Mother's Day event here) - for many of us, first orca sightings of the year on the Lummi side. Looked to be J pod - a few small groups ambling pretty close to shore, with a baby tucked in close in one of the groups. Didn't see J1 - he may have been off by himself, farther out. Amazingly enough, there were NO whalewatch boats - they must have had something else to look at elsewhere! Beautiful calm day - could hear the whales blowing still when they were miles away!
Penny Stone, Lummi Island
May 10
The Beam Reach students were with J pod at 5:45 pm, traveling north from between Matia & Orcas Islands. By 7:25 pm they were west of Patos Island.
zaterdag 9 mei 2009
J & K pods
with new calves
Boundary Pass
May , 2009
Photo by Ivan Reiff
May 9
After having an amazing encounter with small groups of Dall's Porpoises, literally 100's of Harbor Porpoises, and about a dozen Steller Sea Lions feeding on Skates off of Patos Island this afternoon, we found J-Pod (and part of K-Pod) traveling northbound in tight formation west of Alden Bank at 2:45 PM. It was a truly breathtaking sight to see! (see above photo)
Ivan Reiff, Owner/Captain, "Western Explorer", Western Prince Whale & Wildlife Tours
vrijdag 8 mei 2009
Js calling
May 8
Not sure why I can't sleep, but J pod calls on Lime Kiln Hydrophone at 2:23am! and OrcaSound too (N. of Lime Kiln, so J's are heading north) at 2:27 am. Help!
Jeff Hogan, Killer Whale Tales, Seattle
Not sure why I can't sleep, but J pod calls on Lime Kiln Hydrophone at 2:23am! and OrcaSound too (N. of Lime Kiln, so J's are heading north) at 2:27 am. Help!
Jeff Hogan, Killer Whale Tales, Seattle
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!
Granny, "J2", and
Grand-calf, J45
Strait of Georgia May 8, 2009
Photo by Joan Lopez
May 8
After a brief visit with some Dall's Porpoises in the middle of the Strait of Georgia, we encountered J Pod a little further south, shortly before noon, with flat calm conditions. The pod was spread out over miles, and were travelling slowly southeast in matriline groups. Our boat first encountered the J2 Matriline, with new calf J45. It was thrilling to see J Pod again after a long winter, and even better to see that all the whales look fat and healthy. It warmed my heart to see Granny take a turn at babysitting the little one - photo attached (see above - aaaww!) (zoomed and cropped). We also had an opportunity to visit with the J17 group (Princess Angeline and family). Little J44 seems to be quite the explorer, often swimming ahead of the remainder of the family, and showing off some fine tail slaps as well. We were fortunate to also encounter J16 and family after our visit with gray whales. This group was the furthest east, and were just rounding the tip of Point Roberts, travelling in about 10 feet of water, heading towards Boundary Bay. For all the distance that the pod was spread, we heard no vocals on the hydrophone, just some echolocation clicks.
Joan Lopez, Naturalist, Vancouver Whale Watch
donderdag 7 mei 2009
May 7
Center for Whale Research staff Dave Ellifrit, Erin Heydenreich and guest John Boyd encountered J pod 1.5 miles off Hannah Heights (48° 29.08 N, 123° 07.31 W) t 6:53 p.m. The whales were spread out in groups and traveling west. The encounter ended a few miles off False Bay 48° 27.13 N, 123° 06.58 W), at 7:59 p.m. with the whales heading steadily southwest.
May 7
As I am writing this, I am once again listening to what sounds like J pod calls on the Lime Kiln hydrophone at 8 p.m. We heard calls on the OrcaSound (further N. on SJI) hydrophone at 6:07 pm, then began hearing calls at Lime Kiln at 7:33 pm, so they must be moving south.
Susan & Howard, Orca Network
May 7
Hi, tonight around 7-8pm there were orca on the Lime Kiln hydrophone, they kept getting weaker and weaker as the 8pm hour arrived. Could not tell which direction the whales were heading Great to hear them though.
Sandy Weideman
May 7
6:57 pm - Faint Calls on Lime Kiln Hydrophones.
7:40 pm - Calls getting louder on Lime Kiln Hydrophone. Sounds possibly like J pod. Cathy Bacon, Texas
May 7
What an afternoon. First the Transients, then the Js at Iceberg Pt. S Lopez Island,
Capt. Jim Maya, Maya's Westside Charters, San Juan Island
May 7
While at home doing computer work, got a call from Shane about a report of orcas in the south end of Bellingham Channel headed south. Went upstairs to the scope and saw at least three groupings of orcas cruising past Fidalgo Head toward Burrows Island lighthouse in Rosario Strait. Saw Ruffles and two other sprouted males, a tiny babe, and some activity: spy hops, tummy-up tail lobs and pec fin slaps. They were going at a pretty good clip, I'm guessing with the ebb tide. So fun to see them from home!
Shane & Jennifer Aggergaard, Island Adventures, Inc., Anacortes
May 7
What an absolutely incredible day. I'd heard that J's were slowly making their way around Lopez this afternoon, and that Transients were between Discovery & San Juan Islands heading north. After watching the Transients, we decided to head down towards False Bay to see J-Pod. We did manage to spot J17 and new calf J44, along with J16, J26, J27, J41.The Residents were quite spread out over several miles and were meandering slowly towards the southeast. (remainder of report below)
John Boyd (JB), Marine Naturalist, Friday Harbor
Center for Whale Research staff Dave Ellifrit, Erin Heydenreich and guest John Boyd encountered J pod 1.5 miles off Hannah Heights (48° 29.08 N, 123° 07.31 W) t 6:53 p.m. The whales were spread out in groups and traveling west. The encounter ended a few miles off False Bay 48° 27.13 N, 123° 06.58 W), at 7:59 p.m. with the whales heading steadily southwest.
May 7
As I am writing this, I am once again listening to what sounds like J pod calls on the Lime Kiln hydrophone at 8 p.m. We heard calls on the OrcaSound (further N. on SJI) hydrophone at 6:07 pm, then began hearing calls at Lime Kiln at 7:33 pm, so they must be moving south.
Susan & Howard, Orca Network
May 7
Hi, tonight around 7-8pm there were orca on the Lime Kiln hydrophone, they kept getting weaker and weaker as the 8pm hour arrived. Could not tell which direction the whales were heading Great to hear them though.
Sandy Weideman
May 7
6:57 pm - Faint Calls on Lime Kiln Hydrophones.
7:40 pm - Calls getting louder on Lime Kiln Hydrophone. Sounds possibly like J pod. Cathy Bacon, Texas
May 7
What an afternoon. First the Transients, then the Js at Iceberg Pt. S Lopez Island,
Capt. Jim Maya, Maya's Westside Charters, San Juan Island
May 7
While at home doing computer work, got a call from Shane about a report of orcas in the south end of Bellingham Channel headed south. Went upstairs to the scope and saw at least three groupings of orcas cruising past Fidalgo Head toward Burrows Island lighthouse in Rosario Strait. Saw Ruffles and two other sprouted males, a tiny babe, and some activity: spy hops, tummy-up tail lobs and pec fin slaps. They were going at a pretty good clip, I'm guessing with the ebb tide. So fun to see them from home!
Shane & Jennifer Aggergaard, Island Adventures, Inc., Anacortes
May 7
What an absolutely incredible day. I'd heard that J's were slowly making their way around Lopez this afternoon, and that Transients were between Discovery & San Juan Islands heading north. After watching the Transients, we decided to head down towards False Bay to see J-Pod. We did manage to spot J17 and new calf J44, along with J16, J26, J27, J41.The Residents were quite spread out over several miles and were meandering slowly towards the southeast. (remainder of report below)
John Boyd (JB), Marine Naturalist, Friday Harbor
woensdag 6 mei 2009
dinsdag 5 mei 2009
J pod is calling on Lime Kiln hydrophones
May 5
Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research responded to a report of J pod on the west side of San Juan Island, May 5th, 2009. At 5:48 p.m. the J14's were encountered traveling slowly toward the southeast just off False Bay (48° 27.61 N, 123° 06.58 W). The K13's soon join up with the J14's and begin heading northwest. At 7:40 p.m. Dave finds the J22's followed by the J16's. The whales were spread out in groups all traveling north at a slow pace. The encounter ended 1 mile west of Lime Kiln State Park (48° 30.95 N, 123° 10.22 W) at 8:20 p.m.
May 5 - 6
As I am writing this, I am still listening to calls on the Orcasound hydrophone at 12:20 a.m. Today (actually yesterday 5/5) I got my first good look at the whales this year. It was so good to see J pod all afternoon, then listen to them most the night, barring ship noise. I saw both of the newest calves, J44 and J45 for the first time. Both were romping around, tail slapping, bouncing, and turning and twisting on the surface. J44 practiced his/her swan dives frequently and spent a lot of time close to J28, with J17 and J35 sticking fairly close. They joined with J8, J27, J31, J39, J19 and J41 and spent some time socializing and "foraging" as a group at Hannah Heights before moving north at around 4p.m. and continuing to "forage". All the orcas stalled out for awhile, with the northernmost whales at Lime Kiln, the southernmost off Land Bank, and J1, J2 and reportedly the J16's about 1-2 miles offshore. At about 4:45pm they headed south again. This time I got a photo of K20. (I thought there were too many whales to be just J pod. Later I learned that the K13's had been spotted by others.)
During the time I watched the whales (about 2pm to 6:30pm) they seemed to be not in the constant search for food/traveling mode that was so prevalent last year, but more relaxed and less purposeful. There was lots of social activity and lots of hanging out. Hope this continues. I also saw my first sea snake of the year-either J27 or J30, but couldn't accurately identify b/c they were traveling together and I couldn't find an ID catalog for this body part (now THERE's a good project for someone! sb). Cheers,
Sharon Grace, San Juan Island
May 5
Thanks to all the emails from folks listening in to OrcaSound, we have been listening to great J pod calls on the Orca Sound (NW San Juan Island) hydrophones since 10 pm tonight. Hope to get this out in time so you can all tune in too!
Susan & Howard, Orca Network
May 5
9:35 pm: Great chatter from Val Viers site (orcasound.net), for the last 30 mins at least.
Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria B.C.
May 5
Those beloved whales are within hydrophone distance - not sure who but sounds like SR's. Orcas are talking on Orcasound right now, 9:28 pm.
Marie O'Shaughnessy, POW, Victoria
May 5
Most incredible J Pod vocals on the hydrophones right now (9:26 pm)!! I'm recording and will send you a copy shortly!
John Boyd, San Juan Island
May 5
J pod heading north in Haro Strait at 8:45 pm. just starting to hear them on OrcaSound Hps right now, just coming north, far off shore.
Jeanne Hyde, San Juan Island
May 5
4:17 pm: orcas on lime kiln hydrophone, j's or k's. lots of echo location and whistles!
Jordan Ferguson
May 5
Jeff Hogan of Killer Whale Tales called at 4:14 pm to say he was hearing J pod on the Lime Kiln Hydrophones - we tuned in at 4:40 pm and heard great, very LOUD calls!
May 5
Jim Maya of Maya's Westside Charters called at 1:44 pm to report J pod moving north up San Juan Island from Cattle Pass.
May 5
I may be an inlander (Walla Walla) but my heart's in the San Juans, and it's jumping for joy that the whales have finally come home!!!! It's been a long 44 days!
Donna Spencer, Walla Walla, Wa.
Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research responded to a report of J pod on the west side of San Juan Island, May 5th, 2009. At 5:48 p.m. the J14's were encountered traveling slowly toward the southeast just off False Bay (48° 27.61 N, 123° 06.58 W). The K13's soon join up with the J14's and begin heading northwest. At 7:40 p.m. Dave finds the J22's followed by the J16's. The whales were spread out in groups all traveling north at a slow pace. The encounter ended 1 mile west of Lime Kiln State Park (48° 30.95 N, 123° 10.22 W) at 8:20 p.m.
May 5 - 6
As I am writing this, I am still listening to calls on the Orcasound hydrophone at 12:20 a.m. Today (actually yesterday 5/5) I got my first good look at the whales this year. It was so good to see J pod all afternoon, then listen to them most the night, barring ship noise. I saw both of the newest calves, J44 and J45 for the first time. Both were romping around, tail slapping, bouncing, and turning and twisting on the surface. J44 practiced his/her swan dives frequently and spent a lot of time close to J28, with J17 and J35 sticking fairly close. They joined with J8, J27, J31, J39, J19 and J41 and spent some time socializing and "foraging" as a group at Hannah Heights before moving north at around 4p.m. and continuing to "forage". All the orcas stalled out for awhile, with the northernmost whales at Lime Kiln, the southernmost off Land Bank, and J1, J2 and reportedly the J16's about 1-2 miles offshore. At about 4:45pm they headed south again. This time I got a photo of K20. (I thought there were too many whales to be just J pod. Later I learned that the K13's had been spotted by others.)
During the time I watched the whales (about 2pm to 6:30pm) they seemed to be not in the constant search for food/traveling mode that was so prevalent last year, but more relaxed and less purposeful. There was lots of social activity and lots of hanging out. Hope this continues. I also saw my first sea snake of the year-either J27 or J30, but couldn't accurately identify b/c they were traveling together and I couldn't find an ID catalog for this body part (now THERE's a good project for someone! sb). Cheers,
Sharon Grace, San Juan Island
May 5
Thanks to all the emails from folks listening in to OrcaSound, we have been listening to great J pod calls on the Orca Sound (NW San Juan Island) hydrophones since 10 pm tonight. Hope to get this out in time so you can all tune in too!
Susan & Howard, Orca Network
May 5
9:35 pm: Great chatter from Val Viers site (orcasound.net), for the last 30 mins at least.
Ron Bates, MMRG, Victoria B.C.
May 5
Those beloved whales are within hydrophone distance - not sure who but sounds like SR's. Orcas are talking on Orcasound right now, 9:28 pm.
Marie O'Shaughnessy, POW, Victoria
May 5
Most incredible J Pod vocals on the hydrophones right now (9:26 pm)!! I'm recording and will send you a copy shortly!
John Boyd, San Juan Island
May 5
J pod heading north in Haro Strait at 8:45 pm. just starting to hear them on OrcaSound Hps right now, just coming north, far off shore.
Jeanne Hyde, San Juan Island
May 5
4:17 pm: orcas on lime kiln hydrophone, j's or k's. lots of echo location and whistles!
Jordan Ferguson
May 5
Jeff Hogan of Killer Whale Tales called at 4:14 pm to say he was hearing J pod on the Lime Kiln Hydrophones - we tuned in at 4:40 pm and heard great, very LOUD calls!
May 5
Jim Maya of Maya's Westside Charters called at 1:44 pm to report J pod moving north up San Juan Island from Cattle Pass.
May 5
I may be an inlander (Walla Walla) but my heart's in the San Juans, and it's jumping for joy that the whales have finally come home!!!! It's been a long 44 days!
Donna Spencer, Walla Walla, Wa.
maandag 4 mei 2009
J pod near Pender Island
May 4
Ken Balcomb and Erin Heydenreich of the Center for Whale Research encountered J pod traveling north at 4:02 P.M., just off Thieves Bay, Pender Island, B.C.(48° 47.384 N; 123° 19.350W). The whales were spread out in groups and traveling slow. At approximately 4:45 p.m. the whales grouped up and headed through Active Pass, (48° 51.327 N; 123° 20.452 W) where the encounter ended due to rain.
Report & photos at: Center for Whale Research
Ken Balcomb and Erin Heydenreich of the Center for Whale Research encountered J pod traveling north at 4:02 P.M., just off Thieves Bay, Pender Island, B.C.(48° 47.384 N; 123° 19.350W). The whales were spread out in groups and traveling slow. At approximately 4:45 p.m. the whales grouped up and headed through Active Pass, (48° 51.327 N; 123° 20.452 W) where the encounter ended due to rain.
Report & photos at: Center for Whale Research
J POD IS BACK!
J14 & calf J45
Haro Strait
May 4, 2009
Photo by
John Boyd
May 4
It was soooo great to finally get the news - J Pod was back in town. The last I heard was about 4:30 and they were in Active Pass headed North.
Capt. Jim Maya, Maya's Westside Charters
May 4
J-Pod is absent no longer!!! After 44 days of traveling hither and yon (don't ask me where "hither and yon" are, look them up yourself), J-Pod made a special appearance on the west side of San Juan! Luckily I was available this time, and took the opportunity to go out with Ivan in the new boat, Western Explorer. The whales were spread out from one side of Haro Strait to the other, and they would speed up for awhile, and then take their time and zig-zag around randomly (well, it appears random to us on the surface.) After hearing about new babies all these weeks, I was finally able to see with my own eyes J14 and her new calf J45 (see above photo)! He's (well, we'll use artistic license and say "he") sure was active as he'd surface so exuberantly! We also spotted J1 Ruffles off in the distance (about half a mile away and still so recognizable!) J30 is surely sprouting big time and it was so good to see everyone once again. I heard from Jeanne Hyde that K20 had been spotted earlier in the day, but we only saw J's in the afternoon. It did this naturalists' heart good to see familiar fins and saddles once again! Welcome back J-Pod, welcome back indeed!
John Boyd, Marine Naturalist, Western Prince
May 4
Leslie Veirs reported Southern Resident orcas off San Juan Island at Orca Sound hydrophones at 12:25 pm, heading north.
May 4
J pod came in past Clover Point to Haro Strait this morning, but it is too windy for us to go out, or even see them. Mallard got'em (see report below).
Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research
May 4
We received a call from Mark Malleson of Prince of Whales at 10:45 am reporting J POD heading NE past Oak Bay/Victoria B.C. toward San Juan Island! Another group of orcas was sighted by others south of Discovery Island, heading east in rough waters, but no ID's on them at the time.
zaterdag 2 mei 2009
Where is J Pod
Orcanetwork reports:
We recently received this email from Scott Veirs of Beam Reach:
Hi Susan and Howie, The Beam Reachers are out at Port Angeles today (4/28), listening for some incoming residents. I've been mulling over my observations from last year about springtime return patterns, and looking a bit deeper into your archives.
It seems like we have now set a record for continuous days with no J pod sightings/hearings in April. We're at about 35- 38 as far as I can discern! Am I right in thinking that in a couple days we'll have seen zero residents in April for the first time ever?
Scott Veirs, Beam Reach Marine Science and Sustainability School
Orca Network has also noticed the absence of J pod reports lately. This time of year whale reports are often few and far between, but J pod has historically been the pod that stayed around and was sighted at least once in Salish Sea waters every month of the year.
J pod has not been reported since March 20th -that means April 2009 is the first April with no reported sightings of J pod in the Salish Sea, & we are now up to 44 consecutive days with no sign of them, according to Orca Network sightings archives.
In looking back at the Annual Arrival and Departure tables compiled by Rich Osborne on the Whale Museum website, you can see the change taking place over the past few years. Since 1978 when the data was collected for all of J, K & L pod, J pod had been seen every single month of the year, every year, until 2005, when they weren't seen or reported in February. In 2006 & 2007, they weren't seen/reported in January. But every single April (& March) for the past 31 years they have shown up - so this does seem to be a disturbing trend.
Orca Network's Sightings Archive Summaries list all the sighting reports we have received, and can be searched with Google Search to look for other trends. It seems all 3 pods spent less time off the San Juans this past summer, and headed out to the ocean (or up to BC? or??) more than they have in past years, though we haven't had time to look at the exact count & compare data for this yet.
But it seems there are some trends these past years, where the whales are spending less time in the Salish Sea in all seasons. No one knows why, though our guess is that it is likely due to lack of food (salmon), which often seems to be the driving force behind their travels.
What better case can be made for salmon restoration and recovery efforts?!
We recently received this email from Scott Veirs of Beam Reach:
Hi Susan and Howie, The Beam Reachers are out at Port Angeles today (4/28), listening for some incoming residents. I've been mulling over my observations from last year about springtime return patterns, and looking a bit deeper into your archives.
It seems like we have now set a record for continuous days with no J pod sightings/hearings in April. We're at about 35- 38 as far as I can discern! Am I right in thinking that in a couple days we'll have seen zero residents in April for the first time ever?
Scott Veirs, Beam Reach Marine Science and Sustainability School
Orca Network has also noticed the absence of J pod reports lately. This time of year whale reports are often few and far between, but J pod has historically been the pod that stayed around and was sighted at least once in Salish Sea waters every month of the year.
J pod has not been reported since March 20th -that means April 2009 is the first April with no reported sightings of J pod in the Salish Sea, & we are now up to 44 consecutive days with no sign of them, according to Orca Network sightings archives.
In looking back at the Annual Arrival and Departure tables compiled by Rich Osborne on the Whale Museum website, you can see the change taking place over the past few years. Since 1978 when the data was collected for all of J, K & L pod, J pod had been seen every single month of the year, every year, until 2005, when they weren't seen or reported in February. In 2006 & 2007, they weren't seen/reported in January. But every single April (& March) for the past 31 years they have shown up - so this does seem to be a disturbing trend.
Orca Network's Sightings Archive Summaries list all the sighting reports we have received, and can be searched with Google Search to look for other trends. It seems all 3 pods spent less time off the San Juans this past summer, and headed out to the ocean (or up to BC? or??) more than they have in past years, though we haven't had time to look at the exact count & compare data for this yet.
But it seems there are some trends these past years, where the whales are spending less time in the Salish Sea in all seasons. No one knows why, though our guess is that it is likely due to lack of food (salmon), which often seems to be the driving force behind their travels.
What better case can be made for salmon restoration and recovery efforts?!
Abonneren op:
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