Posts Tagged ‘j pod’

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Panoramic Views of L Pod Along the South end of San Juan Island

Monday, June 17th, 2013
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Today we left Friday Harbor with a full boat of eager passengers who were determined to see some Orcas, and L Pod did not let them down! Captain Mike, Naturalist Andrew, and myself, did not have to go far to encounter L Pod stretched out along south end of San Juan Island. We stayed with a subgroup of L Pod hanging around Salmon Bank for the majority of the trip. This proved to be an excellent decision when a group of females and juvenile males repeatedly displayed breaches, tail slaps, and even the occasional barrel roll!
L Pod consists of 39 individual and they all seemed to be out and about today. Only L87 was missing, who seems to have done a switch-a-roo and is commonly seen swimming alongside Granny, our 102 year old J Pod member.
Since the Orcas were out in full and dispersed along the horizon, it gave passengers aboard the M/V Sea Lion an excellent opportunity to see panoramic views of our resident pod! I don’t think that it hurt to have glassy water and brilliant blue skies to add to the trips overall success. Looking forward to another great day on the water tomorrow!

Caitlin, Naturalist- M/V Sea Lion, San Juan Safaris

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Amazing foraging displays from J Pod!

Saturday, June 8th, 2013
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Unlike yesterdays tumultuous seas, it was a rather pleasant day on the water. The sun came out, and was quickly followed by sightings of J Pod. Soon after heading north out of Friday Harbor, we met up with Granny of J Pod, near Open Bay. Captain Mike, Naturalist Kevin, Naturalist Heather, and myself stuck around to watch Granny for a bit, but she was foraging at a brisk pace so we decided to check out some of her more playful family members further south.
Once we got closer, we were in for quite the show with a plethora of behaviors. There was tail slapping, breaching, and lots of spy hopping! Although as whale watchers and avid photographers it’s great to see these animals jumping and splashing around, it’s important to remember that all those behaviors are tools that Orcas use to forage for their food source. Whether it be tail slapping or breaching, Orcas can use those techniques to corral salmon into tight balls, or ‘bait balls’, to make their food easier to manage. Today we also got to see J pod utilizing the deep waters right off the coast of Kellets Bluff to potentially back salmon up against the coastline. It was amazing opportunity to see the intelligence and efficiency of these animals while foraging! Can’t wait to see what our Naturalists will see next on our sunset whale watching tour today!

Caitlin, Naturalist M/V Sea Lion, San Juan Safaris

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Great sighting of Blackberry, J-27, of J Pod!

Wednesday, June 5th, 2013
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Heading out of Friday Harbor, we zipped out towards Salmon Bank, where reports of J Pod and a few L’s were hanging out. Captain Jim and myself were able to make great time out to the whales since we were riding out in style in the Kittiwake, our original San Juan Safaris boat! Kittiwake is a great boat to get a very personalized and scenic view of the whales. This trip only emphasized that point. Our guests, along with the crew, were extremely surprised when Blackberry, J-27, and a few others from J pod, popped up right next to our boat! J Pod seemed to be moving steadily northwards but made a quick underwater change of direction. It’s difficult to say what exactly caused this sudden change in direction, but it is possible they were on the prowl for their favorite food source, Chinook salmon. What ever the reason, this was a first time sighting of Orcas for our out of town guests, and I don’t think it could have gone any better! Overall, today was a success with great sightings and great company.

Caitlin, Naturalist- Kittiwake, San Juan Safaris

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J Pod cruzin the west side.

Tuesday, June 4th, 2013
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Another wonderful day on the water! Sun was out and it was HOT. Captain Mike, Naturalist Emily, and myself went south out of Friday Harbor and then steadily made our way north along the west side of San Juan Island. While meandering along the west side, we first encountered a large group of bobbing seals in the water. After sitting in silence for a bit we realized our boat was surrounded by harbor seals! It was great to see them enjoying the crisp 46 degree waters.
After saying goodbye to our harbor seal friends, we headed further North along the west side of the island where we met up with multiple smaller groups of J Pod. Coasting alongside them we were able to get great looks at Blackberry, Onyx, and even Granny! Granny is clocked in at 102 years old, our oldest Orca in this area. Orcas have a very similar lifespan as humans; reaching maturity at 13-14 yrs of age and averaging 80 yrs old. Pretty impressive! Looking forward to another warm and sunny day on the water, especially with great sightings of Orcas!

Caitlin, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris

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‘J-Pod and the L-12s’

Saturday, June 1st, 2013
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Mega has a large nick on the back edge of his dorsal fin and small nick farther down which makes him easy to identify.

We left our Friday Harbor location and eventually arrived on the north end of San Juan Island to find not only our resident J-pod but also a small group of L-pod known as the L-12s. This is the first time this season we’ve seen residents other than J-pod. The L-12s include the oldest male in the Southern Community, big L41, otherwise known as Mega.
After watching the whales continue to swim north in a playful behavior we had three big males, L79 (24 years old), younger brother L89 (20 years old) as well as L85 a 22 year old. Seeing three large males pass by is incredibly impressive.
Resident Orca eco-type males average 25 feet in length with dorsal fins that can be over five feet tall.
Overall a wonderful day on the water with our resident Orcas.

Kevin, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris

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J Pod right off of Henry Island!

Friday, May 31st, 2013
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Couldn’t have asked for a better day on the water. Captain Mike, Naturalist Kevin, and myself were lucky enough to take out a great wedding party. The rainy skies cleared away for a beautiful sunny day and we only had to turn the corner out of Roche Harbor to spot J Pod. Couldn’t get any easier! While watching off of Henry Island, J Pod seemed to be moving quickly along the coastline. We got to witness lots of porpoising and the occasional breaching. It was great to see these whales moving at speed. Orcas can reach 30 mph at top speed! These are amazing animals and it always a great day when we get to see them in their element. Best of luck to the newlyweds, it was a great way to start off a new marriage.

Caitlin, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris

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What a day on the water!!

Monday, August 27th, 2012
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The weather was perfect: high around 70 degrees, clear blue sky, and very light breeze.  The only thing that could make it better would be a day with the Orcas.  Did you order up Orcas?

 

Yes, a large order, please!

 

Coming right up.

 

We ran north – through beautifully calm water, enjoying the spectacular scenery.  Mount Baker was a clear and crisp as I’ve ever seen it.  Along the way, we saw harbor porpoise, common murre, pigeon guillemot, and harbor seals swimming about.

As we got nearer to our destination, members of J & K Pods showed themselves.  Plenty of porpoising, a breach, a spy hop, another breach – lots of activity.  We identified K-25 (Scoter), K-27 (Deadhead), J-27 (Blackberry), and a host of other gorgeous Orcas.  The boat rang out with ohhhhs and aahhhhhs, as the animals were all around us!

We had to “go the extra mile” today, because that’s where the action was.  It’s what we do.  48 47.91N,  122 46.7436W.  Lots of happy guests aboard!

Happy Whale Watching to You!

Captain Jim (Captain, Naturalist, all ’round fun guy)

 

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Oh Canada!

Thursday, August 16th, 2012
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We spent our afternoon near Victoria (48°25.3N, 123°09.5W) where we saw Southern Resident Killer Whales.  At least 15 members of J-Pod were traveling east, separated into 3 groups.  In the largest group 8 individuals were porpoising in close proximity with one another.  The whales were cruising at a fast clip, around 11 knots.  This larger group also performed some surface displays:  breaching, lobtailing, and rolling around at the surface.  We just love these whales (well, okay actually dolphins but you know what I mean).   

Amy, Naturalist, Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours

 

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Oh What a Night

Saturday, August 11th, 2012
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We began our Sunset Tour heading south through the San Juan Channel.  We stopped at Turn Island to see if anyone was home and sure enough a number of Harbor Seals were resting on the rocky shores of the intertidal zone.  After spending a few minutes with the Harbor Seals we continued motoring south and saw 7 Steller Sea Lions relaxing on Whale Rocks.  Another 2 Sea Lions were swimming nearby; these two individuals were very curious and kept inching closer to the boat as they surfacing to take long looks at us. 

As we cruised along the southern end of San Juan Island we found several members of J-Pod offshore of Eagle Cove.  We were first greeted by J37 “Hy’Shqa” and her newborn calf J49, who were traveling with J14 “Samish”, J37’s mother.  Three generations of whales traveling in very close proximity with one another.  A-MA-ZING!  We also saw J34 “Doublestuff” traveling with another 4 individuals.  J27 “Blackberry” was also nearby, cruising along by himself.   A few of the whales were surface active:  lobtailing, spyhopping, and breaching.  As we headed back to Friday Harbor we watched the sun set over the islands casting a magnificent glow across the Salish Sea.

Amy, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours

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A Family Thing

Thursday, August 9th, 2012
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We caught up with at least 12 members of J-Pod today near Boundary Pass (48°43.03N, 123°16.14W). The whales were traveling in small groups headed north along the southern end of South Pender and North Pender Islands. In the first group “Princess Angeline” (J17) was traveling with her daughter “Polaris” (J28) and granddaughter “Star” (J46) along with several other whales. The whales were traveling and surfacing in close proximity with one another. “Blackberry” (J27), a mature male, was also traveling with this group. After spending some time with these whales we had reports of other members of J-Pod further north. In the second group we saw “Mike” (J26), a mature male, traveling with his mother “Slick” (J16) and sister “Echo” (J42) born in 2007. At least four other whales were also seen surfacing near shore.  So great to spend time with J-Pod!

Naturalist Amy, San Juan Safaris Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours

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