Winter Wildlife and December 2nd with J-Pod

Overall, the weather has been windy and rainy, not conducive to much outdoor activity. It hasn't stopped us from getting out there completely, as a couple weekend ago we went off island to do some birding, and successfully saw two different owl species.

Snowy owl at Sandy Point near Ferndale, WA

Short-eared owl hunting on Fir Island in Skagit County

With some family visiting over the Thanksgiving holiday, we went down to check out the foxes at South Beach. This one provided a welcome splash of color in an otherwise very gray landscape on a very gray day!

We've also been able to do a lot of bird-watching from the comfort of our own home due to some very active bird feeders, which we have been keeping a closer eye on than usual with the start of Project FeederWatch. Thanks to the counts we've been doing, we realize we get visits from about a dozen species a day totaling about 60 birds! The vast majority of these are a huge flock of juncos, but we also regularly get visits from four different species of woodpeckers.

Pair of hairy woodpeckers

Anna's hummingbirds have been steadily expanding their year-round range northward over the last couple decades. Ten years ago it was rare to have one overwinter on San Juan Island; now, it's commonplace. For the first time I'm getting them as regular visitors to our feeders during the winter. How do they survive without blooming flowers? These adaptive little guys eat insects and sap - though they aren't above sugar water, either!

Anna's hummingbird - in December!

This afternoon (December 2nd) we got word of orcas in San Juan Channel. They were heading away from us, but a bit later a friend on shore saw them turn around, so we headed out to Reuben Tarte county park to take a look. A few others were already there looking, and surprisingly, the first whales they pointed out to us were a pair of humpbacks! Shortly thereafter we spotted three orcas in the distance heading down San Juan Channel. They were spread out and far away, but since we didn't see any others, we assumed they were transients. Later in the afternoon, however, we got a chance to hop aboard a boat out of Friday Harbor with Maya's Legacy Whale Watching. We thought we needed to go a ways to catch up with them when I spotted a whale right near Point Caution just north of Friday Harbor. I zoomed in on the first photo I took and spotted a large "finger" on the saddle patch - something you don't see on transients! It was J17 Princess Angeline and her youngest J53 Kiki.

Surprise! Residents! J17 Princess Angeline and J53 Kiki in San Juan Channel

The whales were very spread out both north-south and across the channel, but slowly more and more came into view. It's amazing the energy and mood boost that comes from seeing whales, especially apparent this time of year when the winter dolrums have set in. 

J35 Tahlequah

J40 Suttles

Some of the whales practically went right into Friday Harbor! I've seen whales right near Friday Harbor from shore, but I've never had the opportunity to photograph resident killer whales with Friday Harbor in the background before. Another item off the orca photographer bucket list! ;)

As the daylight was fading the last two whales we saw approaching were L87 Onyx and J45 Se-Yi'-Chn. The colors of the sunset were becoming more spectacular and we were all crossing our fingers for a perfect surfacing from them in the amazing lighting. Of course, right when the sky looked like this they took a long dive.

Beautiful winter sunset....but what happened to the whales?

After surprising us by doubling back, we did finally get a look at the big male Onyx in front of Friday Harbor. The light had changed by then, but I'm not complaining - at least it wasn't dark yet! It was pretty awesome to see him right off the Friday Harbor ferry terminal, complete with ferry at the dock!

L87 Onyx and a ferry at the dock in Friday Harbor

Unexpectedly seeing J-Pod and L87 was a thrill that helped make up for the long stretch of dreary days. Luckily it looks like there's a lot of sunshine in our near future, so hopefully I will have more photos to share again before long!

August 17th: The Morning We've Been Hoping For

It's a good thing I caught up on my other recent whale encounters on a blog post a few days ago, because my "off" streak definitely ended on the morning of August 17th, with an encounter that most definitely deserves its own dedicated post.

We dream of mornings like these. They're the reason we set our alarms from 6 AM on summer Saturdays, the reason we drive out to the west side extra early before going to work, the reason we spend hours sitting on the shoreline....it's because we hope for encounters like this. Calm waters, hardly any people, gorgeous lighting, and whales right off the kelp, so close you can see them swimming underwater.

It started like several other such mornings this summer, with Jason and I arriving at the west side before anybody else, sitting on the rocks eating cereal and straining our ears for that hoped-for sound of a whale breathing. Soon, the sun rose over the island behind us, and a few other dedicated friends gathered along the shoreline. As I chatted with one, Jason continued scanning with binoculars, until he exclaimed, "Whales. We have whales!" as the first dorsal fins came into view off the coast to the south of us.

They - Js and Ks - were swimming north against a strong ebb tide. It was slow progress for them, and they stopped to mill a little ways south of us, which had us all holding our breath against the possibility of the dreaded "T-word" (turnaround). But then, in characteristic fashion, J2 Granny led the way north.

J2 Granny

Behind her, one after another, came members of the K14s: K14 Lea, K26 Lobo, and K42 Kelp. Last year, the K14s were nearly always with Granny's group, but as seems to often be the case, each year brings different association patterns and it's not a group we've seen together too much yet this year.

With a few whales going north, we were hopeful the rest would follow, but it still wasn't guaranteed - we often see Granny and a few others pass Lime Kiln but then come back south before everyone makes it up to us. We anxiously watched the action south of us off Land Bank, where it looked like many whales were quite close to shore. It can be hard in these moments to sit still, when you know if you were somewhere else the whales would be right in front of you and have no guarantee they'll keep swimming to where you are. But, more often than not, patience pays off, as it did on this day.

Two "waves" of whales approaching

The whales were, as we say, "right off the rocks". If you wonder what this phrase means, here's the asnwer:

J26 Mike and J42 Echo

J40 Suttles

The first group to pass including members of the J14s and J16s. The morning light was so perfect, making for awesome reflections and the ability to see the whales underwater.

Awesome reflections

Underwater whales are the best! Prints of this photo available here. <3 br="">

J37 Hy'shqa. Prints of this photo available here.

So many photos, it's hard to narrow down which ones to share....

J37 Hy'shqa

J40 Suttles. Prints of this photo available here.

Prints of this photo available here

While some people have a hard time figuring out what part of the whale they're looking at in photos like these, I tend to love the abstract whale shots the best:

How many whales are in this photo? At least three!

Of course this shot, featuring the two loves of my life, is a contender for favorite of the day, too:

My husband Jason with J16 Slick and her son J26 Mike

On second thought, on days like this, there are too many favorites to pick just one:

Prints of this photo available here.

Closely following the J14s and J16s was another group made up of the J11s and J19s. Interestingly, the J17s and J22s were not present - just another chapter in the constantly changing association patterns! It was a special moment to check in with my favorite whale J41 Eclipse and her one year-old son J51 Nova. (Maybe this one is my favorite? ;) )

J41 Eclipse and J51 Nova. Prints of this photo available here.

J41 Eclipse and J51 Nova. Prints of this photo available here.

J19 Shachi

I feel like I haven't seen this big guy in forever - I was pretty excited to see him emerging from the depths!

J27 Blackberry

Following behind this group, but further offshore, were the K16s and K21. Then bringing up the rear was L87 and his new buddy, J45 Se-Yi-Chn (I've seen them together several times recently, which I love, because Onyx had been on his own a lot lately and J45 can feel like one of the big boys now (in my head anyway, haha).

The close passes like this only last a couple of minutes, but the images stay etched in your memory forever and leave you smiling for days! It's nourishing for the soul, that's for sure.

July 7-9: 3 Days of Js

After being gone about three weeks, members of J-Pod finally returned to inland waters on July 3rd. They zoomed north, and have alternated between spending some time at the mouth of the Fraser River and doing laps on around the San Juans. Until July 7th, it was just the J2s and J19s (plus L87) here, a total of 10 whales. I caught up with them a couple times, including on the evening of July 6th as they made their way north past Lime Kiln towards Turn Point. Off Stuart Island, they stopped and had a good old-fashioned "cuddle puddle", as after traveling for a while they all grouped up, rested at the surface, and rolled around together for about 10 minutes.

The only whale not included in the mix was L87 Onyx, who for whatever reason stayed well offshore of the socializing whales. He did participate in some playful behavior, however, by throwing a couple of inverted tail slaps.

L87 Onyx

As they continued north again, little J51 Nova kept up the friskiness, doing several tail slaps and cartwheels.

Cartwheel from J51 Nova

From left to right: J40 Suttles, J2 Granny, and J51 Nova

Even though the rain started coming down, we couldn't quite leave them as they approached scenic Turn Point.

J37 Hy'shqa off the cliff at "Lover's Leap" on Stuart Island

As my research partner Michael commented, the drizzly, overcast evening seemed like "the kind of weather killer whales should be seen in".

Js pass the Turn Point Light Station on Stuart Island, July 6th, 2016

On July 8th, the J2s and J19s started heading up Haro Strait past Lime Kiln in the late afternoon, but stalled out before they had all passed. Looking west, I spotted the reason for their delay as whale watch boats came into view past Discovery Island. The J16s, J17s, and J22s (the rest of J-Pod except the J11s) were on their way in! Granny's group went out to meet them, and they all reunited in the middle of the straits before making their way over to San Juan Island. It looked like they were aiming for False Bay, and as it got later in the day, many of the people who had been anxiously awaiting the whales on the rocks left the park. As so often happens, after many people cleared out, that's when the whales showed up. And they didn't disappoint. As the J17s led the way north, we were treated to a close pass on the rocks at Lime Kiln - my first such pass of the year. I can't believe it took until July to see the whales this close from shore, but I'll take it!

J47 Notch surfaces right off the rocks in front of Lime Kiln Lighthouse

The J2s and J19s followed the J17s north, while the J16s and J22s spread out and foraged to the south of Lime Kiln. With daylight fading and most of the boats clearing out, we headed out for a brief evening encounter with the northbound whales. The first whales we caught up with were J41 Eclipse and J51 Nova, still cruising north:

J41 Eclipse and J51 Nova on the evening of July 8th

While we only had a short time with the whales before it got dark, it was well worth the trip out for the stunning hydrophone recording we got of the Js vocalizing in the tranquil seas. Listen to a clip of what we heard on the Orca Behavior Institute's Sound Cloud here.

Sometime overnight, the J22s and J16s must have made their way north to join up with the others, because on the morning of July 9th, they along with the rest of Js (still minus the J11s) went south past Lime Kiln in the late morning. The whales were all very spread out and pretty far offshore, but it was still a chance to check in with all of the J-Pod youngsters.

J51 Nova, who is proving to always be full of spunk

J17 Princess Angeline and her youngest, J53, with a freighter in the background

I predicted the whales would come back north on the flood tide in the mid- to late-afternoon. Usually when I voice something like this out loud they like to prove me completely wrong, but today that's exactly what they did! At around 3:30, they began passing Lime Kiln heading north again, and it was pretty quickly apparent it was going to be a special passby.

J19 Shachi was in the lead, followed by J2 Granny, who came in close to shore:

J2 Granny

Following Granny were members of the J16s, particularly J16 Slick with J50 Scarlet and J42 Echo.

J16 Slick in the foreground with her daughter J42 Echo behind her

Next were two young mom with their firstborn calves traveling together: J41 Eclipse and J51 Nova with J36 Alki and J52 Sonic. Alki broke off for a bit, leaving Eclipse to babysit the two youngsters.

J41 Eclipse with J51 Nova and J52 Sonic

After this group passed, all the other whales (the J14s, J22s, and J17s) meandered there way towards the shoreline of the park together in one big, slow moving, playful group. As a few whales ducked into Deadman Bay, I had to climb down lower onto the rocks to experience what I knew was going to be a special moment.

A family enjoying just how close the whales come to the rocks at Lime Kiln Point State Park

J28 Polaris and her calf J54 approaching the kelp

It was my first time seeing whales in the kelp this year. Again, I can't believe it took until July for this to happen - but again, I'll most definitely take it!

J28 Polaris kelping

J28 Polaris kelping

Here's my artsy shot of the day, a black and white close up of J35 Tahlequah. 

J35 Tahlequah

It was nice to get a close up look at J34 Doublestuf, who I hadn't seen in a while. As usual, he wasn't far from mom!

J34 Doublestuf

J34 Doublestuf and J22 Oreo

Doublestuf's younger brother J38 Cookie was further offshore, but is getting so big! Look at how straight that fin is now.

J38 Cookie

Several of the whales were in a playful mood. I could see them swimming upside down underwater. While the camera didn't capture that so well, it did capture their rolling at the surface, tail slapping, and surface lunges.

It was awesome to get another close pass from J47 Notch, who was traveling with his uncle (who is just one year older than him), J44 Moby.

Seven year-old J44 Moby (left) and six year-old J47 Notch (right)

I was at the south end of the park, and as the whales approached the lighthouse several of them did a series of breaches, including J40 Suttles.

Nice big breach by J40 Suttles

I could get used to this seeing whales every day thing again! Fingers crossed there's enough fish for these guys to stick around, and for the rest of the Southern Residents to come in soon too!