March 3 Double Header: T46s and T90s/T101s

Last weekend we headed out on the water with Maya's Legacy on a beautiful day. With heavy winds to the north, we headed south down San Juan Channel and made a stop at Whale Rocks, my favorite sea lion haul out.

With a report of whales in Puget Sound, they made the decision to go for it - a bit of a long trek, but new boating territory for me! It was awesome to check off my bucket list going under the Deception Pass Bridge on a boat.

We're starting to see signs of spring, but winter is still keeping her grip on the region, as evidenced by the snowy foothills providing a backdrop to our journey:

When we got on scene with the T46s (and T122 who travels with them) we started by watching the two males T46D and T46E traveling together. It was impressive to see them with all the houses in the background, as it really shows how urban these whales are!

T46D (left) and T46E (right)

T46E (left) and T46D (right)

The T46s are such a cool family for many reasons. One is that T46 Wake was part of the last killer whale capture in Washington State in 1976. She was released and is still plying the same waters as one of the most successful mothers on record. As we discussed on the boat while we were on scene, if she had been taken into captivity as many other whales were in the 1960s and 70s, there would be nearly 20 fewer transient killer whales in the region, because that's how many living descendants she has.

T46 Wake with her son T46E.

Another reason the T46s are so cool is because they actually "disappeared" for 13 years, where they left the area and weren't seen during that time. When they returned, there was actually some confusion about the whales that were present. Two of the returning whales were given new designations as T122 and T123, but were later determined to be the likely offspring of T46. T122 still travels with the T46s, and was actually determined to be the same whale as T46A, a calf who was seen in 1982 before the long gap in sightings.

It's long been my dream to be able to name a killer whale, and my dream recently came true when my suggested name for T122, Centeki, was voted to be her name among the local whale community. (An effort is under way from naturalists, captains, researchers, and others in the region to give common names to many of the transient/Bigg's killer whales in the region that don't yet have them.) Centeki is one of the 13 lunar phases recognized by the Coast Salish people, and I thought this was appropriate given the confusion over her identify after her 13 year absence.

T122 Centeki, named by yours truly!

While we were on scene in Saratoga Passage, the whales appeared to be in travel/passive hunting mode, but shortly before it was time to leave it became clear they were on the hunt. Four of the five whales in the family group made quick work of a harbor seal, which we got a brief glimpse of as one of the whales lunged through the surface with the seal held in its mouth. As they shared the spoils, gulls came down to partake in the scraps. I thought this was a unique perspective of gulls fighting over a piece of seal meat while an orca surfaces in the background:

One more look at the impressive 16 year-old male T46E, with his wavy dorsal fin:

As we started making our way back north towards home, reports came in of another group of whales picked up between us and Friday Harbor. At this point, the trip was already running long, so why not just keep it going, especially when more whales in calm waters and beautiful lighting are right in front of you? Too good to pass up!

T101 and T101B under Mt. Baker

It was the T90s and T101s, and we watched them make their way into Cattle Pass from Iceberg Point.

Spyhop from T90B

The whales just added to what was already a stunning scene, with seals, sea lions, porpoises, and birds actively feeding in what was shaping up to be a pretty dramatic sunset!

Pelagic cormorant flyby

Sunset over the Cattle Point Lighthouse

While it ended up being a much longer trip than expected, it was a particularly memorable one! I absolutely love being on the water this time of year when things are still pretty quiet, especially as the whale sightings start picking up. It's looking like the heightened transient/Bigg's killer whale sigthings are continuing so far in early 2019, so we'll see what the rest of the spring will bring!

Whales on the westside - but who are they?

This morning a report came in of whales on the west side of San Juan Island, right where we might have expected L-Pod to show up after their travels yesterday. We kept receiving conflicting reports that it was either L-Pod or some transient orcas, and when we left the dock on the Western Explorer we still didn't know. But, we had a whale report, so we started heading in that direction.

Along the way we stopped to check out a couple of harbor seal haul outs. It was low tide so many of the low-lying reefs were covered with seals. (Note: today's photos were taken by Captain Ivan)

We also got several good looks at adult bald eagles, the coolest of which was an eagle on Spieden Island with a fish that was still flopping at its feet!

By the time we got on scene with the orcas part of the mystery had been solved - the whales in Haro Strait were definitely a group of seven transients. At first we got a nice look at the big male T87, who, along with a few other whales, has been spending a lot of time in the area over the last many weeks. Often, transients will just be in the area for a day or two and then move on, but these guys have been hanging around a lot - not that we mind one bit!

I heard from Jeanne that T87 was traveling with T124, T124D, and T124E, though we didn't get a great look at these whales ourselves. Instead, we headed offshore towards another group of three orcas - T88, T90, and youngster T90B. Here's the four year old T90B right behind mom T90:

On our way back to Friday Harbor we spotted some small groups of harbor porpoise, then made a last stop to check out the California sea lion that hangs out on the buoy in San Juan Channel. Since he's been there all spring and last spring as well we decided he needed a name. One of our passengers came up with Oscar, and I think that might just stick. So here's a picture of Oscar on his buoy:

In the end, the other part of the mystery - where was L-Pod? - was solved by a confirmed report of the whales heading west towards the open ocean out the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Hopefully they are just going to get their compatriots and will be back soon!