[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_single_image source=”featured_image” img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Resident Orca Return Home
I had a long day on the water with three tours and lots of whales. First, I headed north to Boundary Pass. It was there that we watched from a distance as the Southern Resident Killer Whales crossed into Canada. Currently, we are not allowed to view the Southern Residents in Canada. Even the Canadian vessels are not permitted to watch them in Canada. It was good to see our Resident Orca return home. I hope there is enough salmon to keep them around for a while.
Humpback Whale in Georgia Strait
After they crossed the border, we continued into the Strait of Georgia. It was there we watched a Humpback Whale that I have not been able to identify. It has an almost wholly black tail fluke. After a few surfacing views, we learned the Rezies had crossed back into the US waters.
We sped down to Stuart Island and approached the area cautiously to see the whales. They were spread out over miles moving south. The Rezies were flying doing 7 to 8 knots. My guests had a few views of the whales and were able to the researchers in action. It has been over two months since any Rezies had been in the Salish Sea.
The second tour started with me motoring over to Orcas Island to pick up our guests. Their ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor canceled. Lisa came up with a solution that worked out great. They hopped a ferry to Orcas Island as walk-ons. As I was coming alongside the dock, the ferry had just docked they were walking down the ramp. Perfect timing.
Minke Whale
Most of them had been out with me before with a couple of first-timers. I took them south this time seeing our Orca Sausages, aka Harbor Seals. Then on to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We spotted a Minke Whale on Salmon bank. I stayed just long enough for a few views and to get a photo
Our Rezies
Once in the area with our Rezies, we mostly drifted watching them forage for salmon. Of those we observed were J27 Blackberry, J38 Cookie, J22 Cookies mom Oreo, J47 Notch. We also see K21 Cappuccino and K17 Rainshadow.
I put the hydrophone down, but only a few vocals and not the chatty conversations these whales are known to share. Plenty of time just shut down observing, and I shot several beautiful pics until it was time to start back to Friday Harbor.
The third tour was with a good deal of tidal chop mixed in with some wind waves and made for slow going. I stopped off at Whale Rocks to see the 3′ to 4′ standing waves from the tide rushing in. I headed to where the minke whales are. It was too choppy on Salmon Bank to spot them much less for taking a photo of them.
Onward to the Rezies. They were mid-Haro Strait southbound. However, just as I arrived, they flipped and were headed back north again towards San Juan. They have spread out over miles once again. I was able to get a few shots despite the choppy water. We were seeing some of the same from earlier but also seeing L87 Onyx, J31 Tsuchi with the newborn calf J56 (no name yet), J44 Moby and J35 Tahlequah.
Tahlequah is the female whose baby girl was born last year and lived for a half-hour before dying. Tahlequah carried her baby girl on her head for a heart-wrenching 17 days of grieving. Some of us were wondering if she was having a mental breakdown.
J31 Tsuchi and her baby J56
Towards the end of the tour is when we observed J31 and her two-month-old calf. The trip back was a much more comfortable ride as we were going with the seas instead of against them. The sky had broken up with some blue sky turning bronze as the sun was setting. Today was the second day of seeing our Resident Orca return home to San Juan Island. I know home is a relative term the last few years, and the coast from Monterey Bay to Southeast Alaska is more home to them now.
How long with they stick around? I fear it will be a brief visit, with our declining salmon population, which is their food. They will eat some squid mixed in their diet. However, Resident Orca will not eat mammals. On the other hand, the Transient or Biggs Killer Whales are doing very well. They are fat and happy with an abundance of seals, porpoise, and sea lions in the Salish Sea.
Check out some of my other photoblog pages at Whale Tales.
Follow us on Facebook.
Follow us on Instagram.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
