Quadfecta of Whales
There are fantastic days when we see three types of whales. In other words, a trifecta. This day we saw four types of whales making today a rare quadfecta. We saw Biggs and Resident Orca, a Humpback Whale and a Minke Whale.
A Visit From Popeye
The day started with a visit from Popeye, our local celebrity seal. She showed up for our second tour too. I shared with our guests what we see here and what we were on our way to see. I went to see T65A’s to start off the day. We had four animals in this group that is usually five. T65A2 the 15-year-old male is still hanging out with his aunt and cousins in T65B pod. I saw a post late today that the T65Bs were on their way south towards the San Juan Islands. Maybe tomorrow, T65A2 will join back up with mom and his siblings.
Seal-a-Meal for Lunch
We saw a seal kill and some playful action taking place. After spending a good bit of time with them, we moved on to go see the T99s up in Presidents Channel. On the way, we saw a couple of blacktail deer bucks on Shaw Islands shoreline. One had the nubbins of a spike coming on and the other a nice beautiful forked antler.
Harbor Seals
I stopped off to show the kids some harbor seals and then we moved on to see the T99s and what was likely a seal kill but could have been a harbor porpoise too. We viewed this pod until it was time to head back to Friday Harbor.
T65As Again
Our second tour, I left the harbor and pointed straight across the channel towards Fishermans Villiage on Lopez Island. The t65A pod had made their way down Upright Channel, and we joined them there. We saw them kill a Harbor Porpoise and snack on it. Then they showed a bit of playfulness.
Humpback Whale Named Mathematician
After a bit, I thought it would be good to see some other marine life and come back to these guys on the way back to the harbor. As I was easing my way out, I heard on the radio a Humpback Whale was located within reach for us. About a 20 mile run to be south of Hein Bank, and we were viewing a Humpback known as “Mathematician.” A couple of beautiful viewings of him and a couple of fluke shots then it was time to head back.
Southern Resident Killer Whales
In route home, I spotted an adult male orca and slowed to show my guests what an adult male looked like with his 6′ tall dorsal fin. We saw a few in the distance as well. J27 Blackberry was there, L87 Onyx was there, and it looked like K37 Rain Shadow, but I am not positive. This day is the best seeing Biggs and Resident Orca plus all the others.
New Baby J with Mom Tsuchi
I eased away from them, and we started back for home. Further on, I was to learn another group was in front of us, and I should shut down. I stopped the boat, and it was not long before a large bunch of Residents was porpoising by. We saw the newborn baby, J56 alongside mom J31 Tsuchi. It is a beautiful little calf that looks healthy with lots of energy. I am not sure this is a good thing though, with a shortage of food it could be more heartache ahead. I was not planning on seeing the resident whales we just happened onto them as we were heading home.
Minke Whale Among the Resident Orca
An odd situation as we watched this group pass us. A Minke Whale was running right alongside them. I am not sure if the Minke knew he was safe or not. Harbor Seals understand when it is resident whales they are safe and transients not so much. Had this been a pod of Biggs Killer Whales they likely would have been chasing the Minke for a meal.
You can see orca and minke in a couple of the pics and a pic of just the Minke Whale. It has a dorsal fin that looks like that of a common dolphin. It was such a great day seeing Biggs and Resident Orca, a Minke Whale and a Humpback Whale. So many whales and yet there were still so many around that we did not have the opportunity to see.
Check out some of my other photoblog pages at Whale Tales.
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