A long haul!

We had a long haul northwest of East Point, Saturna Island to get to a group of 10-11 Transient Orcas today. Not sure if time would allow, we decided to go for it, and luckily made it up to view the Orcas. A long drive, but well worth it! Caught up with the Ts near the Bell Chain Islands on the north side of Saturna and Mayne Islands. I am unsure of the animals...looked like T19B....I'm speculating mom T19, sibling T19C, and grandmother T18 along with another 6 or so Orcas. They were spread out, changing direction a bit, but steadily heading towards Active Pass. Then they all swam towards each other, as if a little meeting had been called. There were a few breaches, inverted tail slaps, and belly rolls. Having come such a far way, we had to head back before we had a chance to put the hydrophone in, but according to another Captain they were vocalizing quite a bit! This little Transient social party made our trip well worth the long journey!

-Jaclyn Van Bourgondien, naturalist