It's T time!!
I have to start this blog with a little quote from Captain Pete: "Because these animals are wild, I'll be able to tell you exactly what we're going to see, when we get back to the dock."
And that is the kind of day it was. Although Cpt. Pete wasn't driving today (Mike was), we left with no reports of Orcas in the area. Then we heard it was confirmed the Resident Orcas were westbound for the Pacific Ocean. No J,K,L pods. Now we were focusing on scouting for Transient Orcas who are very unpredictable in their whereabouts. Next a report from another captain....Ts off to the south, somewhere off of Hein Bank. And away we went!
What an experience!! As it turns out, we met up with a group of 11-16 Transient Orcas. A "superpod" if you will, made up of the T18s, T46s, and T30s. I have never seen any of these animals before! From what I heard via other captains and what I saw...the 2 males were T19B (a 13 year old with a large dorsal that leans to the left) and T30A (22 year old male). (It may have just been T30 of his pod out there today...not sure.) These 2 males were cruising around separated from the rest of the group. Maybe a little male bonding time? The others included the T46 pod...and T46 is a grandmother again with new baby T46B2!! We all love the babies, especially T babies...which we don't often get to see. The pink/orange coloration is very evident on the underside and this little one is very active! Lots of spyhops and breaches. The group as a whole was very active, milling about and changing direction....no real place to be....a little logging as well.
We were also fortunate enough today to listen to the Transients vocalizing! I've never heard Transients "live". They sound incredibly different than the Residents. The calls were loud "MeeeOWWS" and a few reminded me of those classic "party blowout whistles" that kids use at birthday parties....you know the ones that have the paper that curls like a tongue...I wish we could have recorded what we heard.
The encounter got better, which is hard to believe, as we witnessed an Orca hunting-training session. A Common Murre (a diving bird) was sitting at the surface, the T46s and T18s pass beneath the bird. All of a sudden we see the Common Murre try to take off, as if it was being chased, much like a jumping baitfish would! It was hopping on the surface, as if tip-toeing on hot coals....but couldn't quite take off to fly. Then one Orca did a breach/cartwheel as it chased and landed right where the Murre had been. The bird was fine and swam off, lucky that it was not a pre-dinner snack. Probably a little training session for the younger calves and baby. Interestingly enough, the hydrophone was in and the Orcas had become somewhat silent compared to earlier....a little sneak attack on the bird?
I could have stayed out there all day enjoying this amazing display of behaviors with the Ts...but all good things must come to an end....at least for today anyway. :)
-Jaclyn Van Bourgondien, naturalist
And that is the kind of day it was. Although Cpt. Pete wasn't driving today (Mike was), we left with no reports of Orcas in the area. Then we heard it was confirmed the Resident Orcas were westbound for the Pacific Ocean. No J,K,L pods. Now we were focusing on scouting for Transient Orcas who are very unpredictable in their whereabouts. Next a report from another captain....Ts off to the south, somewhere off of Hein Bank. And away we went!
What an experience!! As it turns out, we met up with a group of 11-16 Transient Orcas. A "superpod" if you will, made up of the T18s, T46s, and T30s. I have never seen any of these animals before! From what I heard via other captains and what I saw...the 2 males were T19B (a 13 year old with a large dorsal that leans to the left) and T30A (22 year old male). (It may have just been T30 of his pod out there today...not sure.) These 2 males were cruising around separated from the rest of the group. Maybe a little male bonding time? The others included the T46 pod...and T46 is a grandmother again with new baby T46B2!! We all love the babies, especially T babies...which we don't often get to see. The pink/orange coloration is very evident on the underside and this little one is very active! Lots of spyhops and breaches. The group as a whole was very active, milling about and changing direction....no real place to be....a little logging as well.
We were also fortunate enough today to listen to the Transients vocalizing! I've never heard Transients "live". They sound incredibly different than the Residents. The calls were loud "MeeeOWWS" and a few reminded me of those classic "party blowout whistles" that kids use at birthday parties....you know the ones that have the paper that curls like a tongue...I wish we could have recorded what we heard.
The encounter got better, which is hard to believe, as we witnessed an Orca hunting-training session. A Common Murre (a diving bird) was sitting at the surface, the T46s and T18s pass beneath the bird. All of a sudden we see the Common Murre try to take off, as if it was being chased, much like a jumping baitfish would! It was hopping on the surface, as if tip-toeing on hot coals....but couldn't quite take off to fly. Then one Orca did a breach/cartwheel as it chased and landed right where the Murre had been. The bird was fine and swam off, lucky that it was not a pre-dinner snack. Probably a little training session for the younger calves and baby. Interestingly enough, the hydrophone was in and the Orcas had become somewhat silent compared to earlier....a little sneak attack on the bird?
I could have stayed out there all day enjoying this amazing display of behaviors with the Ts...but all good things must come to an end....at least for today anyway. :)
-Jaclyn Van Bourgondien, naturalist
posted by San Juan Safaris Whale Watching at
5:37 PM
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