OnBoard Tours Whales

The “Humpies” are running! Lots of salmon fishing by humans and wildlife- Salmon Bank is aptly named!!!

K-Pod ‘Strolling’      Salmon Bank             August 28, 2009

K-Pod spread from Eagle Point out over Salmon Bank, slowly foraging individually and in groups of 2 to 4, from about 2:30 to 3:30pm. With slack flood tide the whales seem to be meandering back and forth, first heading northwest, then southeast, as they swept the area on long dives, almost synchronizing their surfacings. We observed K-21 Cappuccino with his older sister K-40 Raggedy not far behind. K-13 Skagit, and family K-25 Scoter, K-27 Deadhead, and K-34 Cali, stuck close together in somewhat of a resting pattern, yet taking those long dives. We were able to listen to intermittent vocalizations. Flat water, overcast skies, and the mellow whales set the tone for a relaxed trip. The rest of K-Pod was heading back toward San Juan Island when we too had to meander home.

J-Pod & K’s Fishing & Mating? August 26, 2009

Nice to see J-Pod off of False Bay from 2:17pm to 3:25pm. J-2 Granny once again in the lead as she headed offshore toward the southwest, with J-1 Ruffles following. The rest of J-Pod were spread in a line between them and the shoreline, foraging. Not much of an ebbing tide, they seemed to circle back and we realized there were some K-Pod whales with them. Whales rolling over each other and quite a bit of tactile behavior- mating?! The first Northern Phalaropes of the season gathered at the surface too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Listening to Orcas            August 24, 2009

Dripping wet fog in the Strait of Juan de Fuca echoed the breathing of Orcas working the flooding tide from Hein Bank toward False Bay, long before we saw them! We carefully made our way off of Eagle Point and shut down from about 3:00pm to 3:30pm to listen for and watch some L-Pod whales pass through the thick marine layer that only gave limited visibility. L-72 Racer’s unique saddle patch made for easy identification from a distance, as she swam in and out of the fog. Although we didn’t see them, hearing J-Pod calls through the hydrophone along with the powerful exhalations of all the whales out there, gave us a glimpse into their acoustically oriented world.

L-Pod at Hein Bank                                                                                       August 14, 2009

Another flat calm, slack high tide, hardly any following ebb, sunny summer day out on the (pond like) Strait of Juan de Fuca. From 2:27pm to 3:39pm we watched L-Pod whales actively forage Hein Bank. L-12 Alexis with L-22 Spirit, L-87 Onyx, L-89 Solstice, L-78 Gaia, and the L-5’s! Many directional changes, lunges, and what seemed to be a push up- an Orca came up in a vertical slant out of the water with its pectoral fins spread out and down, while we expected a breach, the whale gracefully slid back under!