The Cetacean Gazette: May
The latest whales, dolphin, porpoise and other wildlife sightings from the waters around San Juan Island, Washington.
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May 31st, 2007 at 9:35 am
My Friend Jeanne Hyde collects whale information for San Juan Island’s Whale Museum, and sends out monthly newsletters detail the activity of our resident Orcas. I wish they were posted on the whale museum website, but since they’re not I’m pasting the May newsletter here for your information:
Monthly Orca Update May 2007
Whale Report
By Jeanne Hyde, Orca Adoption Program Coordinator and Volunteer Naturalist at Lime Kiln Point State Park
When J Pod showed up along the west side of San Juan Island on May 2nd, we didn’t know there was a surprise in store for us. Observers only saw that the whales were in small groups and there was an abundance of activity. It seemed that no matter which way a person looked a youngster was breaching! Then we heard that two commercial boat operators saw a very small calf showing a lot of pink coloration - indication of a newborn. Upon further investigation the Center for Whale Research concluded that indeed, Slick (J-16) had a new calf by her side. In fact, Slick’s other three offspring, Mike (J-26), Keet (J-33), and Alki (J-36) were with her, all traveling slowly in a tight group away from the rest of the pod.
After learning of the new calf, given the alphanumeric designation of J-42, many observers wondered if all that breaching action was because the whales were celebrating the birth of J-42, welcoming their new future playmate. Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research later reported that the calf appeared to be less than four days old. Slick and J-42 were again observed from the shore, four days later, leading J Pod as they traveled north along the west side of the island. About 50 yards behind and off to mom’s left was Alki. After a few more days Alki was observed traveling right alongside Slick and J-42. Mike and Keet were together but not with mom and the two youngest. J-42 is the first known calf born to J Pod since July, 2005, when Eclipse (J-41) was first observed. Every known calf born to J Pod since Riptide’s (J-30) birth in 1994, has survived. For several years Ruffles has been the only adult male in J Pod. His dorsal fin towers over all the rest. However, now there are five boys in J Pod who are sprouting their dorsal fins or are in the beginning stages of sprouting (see below for definition of sprouting.)
During mid-May, J Pod went into a travel pattern that continued for several days. Usually the whales will follow a ‘pattern’ for a couple days and then change their travel route, keeping everyone wondering where they will be the next morning. Each day J Pod traveled north along the west side making their way up through Active Pass. It is believed that during the night they traveled down Rosario Strait because they would show up at the south end of the San Juan Islands sometime the following morning. After the third day of this, avid whale watchers were convinced the whales would not follow that pattern again, yet they did. Some visitors to the island thought they could come to Lime Kiln Park each day at the same time and the whales would be there. Usually that is not true, however during one week in May it was!
On May 20th, J Pod was spread out several miles as they traveled north along the west side. In the lead was Blossom (J-11) with her youngest offspring Mako (J-39) by her side. Traveling nearby, were Granny (J-2) with Shachi (J-19) and her offspring Eclipse (J-41). Not far behind these two mother-calf pairs was one juvenile, possibly Tsuchi (J-31) - too far out to get a positive I.D. though - and then Spieden (J-8) with her noticeable ‘wheeze’ as she surfaced to breathe. Princess Angeline (J-17), Polaris (J-28), and Tahlequah (J-35) were traveling one behind the other. Ruffles (J-1), who is often seen traveling with Granny, was traveling farther behind and more than a ½ mile offshore with Blackberry (J-27) not far behind him. A few minutes later Slick and J-42 were seen. Many have observed the ‘spunkiness’ of this baby and on this rainy afternoon J-42 was bolting out of the water ahead of mom by at least 20 feet! Behind them by several hundred yards was Samish (J-14) with two of her offspring Suttles (J-40) and Riptide. There were two juveniles traveling behind Slick and J-42 and ahead of Samish and Suttles. That might have been Hy’Shqa (J-37) and Alki. The whales had barely gone a mile past Lime Kiln Lighthouse when they turned around and headed south, Granny, Shachi and Eclipse, close to shore, surfacing in unison several times as they passed-by going back toward the south end of San Juan Island. Most all observers, from those on boats to those watching from shore got completely soaked by the pouring rain that day, but it was worth it!
Toward the end of May J Pod traveled part way out the Strait of Juan de Fuca toward the open ocean. Here is one boat captain’s thoughts as to what they did and why: “They went out, pointed their ‘noses’ west, gave a shout, waited for a reply. When they didn’t hear any response they came back in.” Maybe they were calling to their friends K and L pods?
The last pass-by to share in this update occurred on Friday, May 25th. The afternoon began with southbound travel by J Pod, traveling through Boundary Pass, past Stuart Island, then Henry Island and south along the west side of San Juan Island. They were offshore and spread out. A short while later J Pod came back north past the lighthouse, somewhat closer to shore and in several small groups. Ruffles (J-1), with that tall dorsal fin, making him very noticeable as the whales approached. However, he didn’t surface as they passed-by. A few observers commented that it seemed as if the entire pod had not gone by. This would give explanation to what occurred next.
It had been about fifteen minutes since the whales had passed the lighthouse, when someone yelled, “They’re coming back!” Sure enough here they came and most were about 150 yards off shore. Once again they passed-by going south and after waiting a while it appeared that J Pod was going to continue south, but then a call came in that it looked like the whales might be turning around again! This time all of J Pod came north very close to shore, bunched, and moving very slowly. It appeared as if they were getting into a resting mode. Granny was in the lead with Samish and her youngest offspring Suttles. Next to them was Ruffles with his towering dorsal fin and on the near side of Ruffles was Spieden with Riptide and Hy’Shqa. As they began to dive others surfaced to reveal Slick and the new baby J-42 with Alki alongside them. The next whales to surface were Mike, with Keet nearby, and Blossom with Mako surfacing in the area where Samish and Suttles had been. A little farther offshore Polaris surfaced just behind her mom Princess Angeline. Others began to emerge as well -Tahlequah wasn’t too far from Polaris; the ‘Cookies’ - Oreo (J-22), DoubleStuf (J-34) and Cookie (J-38), in their tight knit family group, were traveling with Princess Angeline and her kids. Blackberry, Tsuchi, Shachi and Eclipse all part of another family group were traveling with Princess Angeline’s and Oreo’s families. After all 25 whales passed the lighthouse they began to adjust their groups into one line of whales, all side-by-side. It appeared as if they were alternating their surfacing, half surfacing and diving three or four times and then making a longer dive and then the other half surfacing and diving several times before taking a longer dive. What a great way to end a day!
All of us, along with J Pod, are waiting for word from K and L pods. Will J Pod be the first to hear from them or will we humans be the first to spot them?…….
What is ‘sprouting’?
Sprouting is when a young male whale’s dorsal fin begins to straighten out and grow tall. Sprouting usually occurs at about age 13, however it has been noticed that Riptide began to sprout a year or so early. Keet, at age twelve seems to be in the beginning stages of sprouting, as well as DoubleStuf, age ten, whose dorsal fin, though still narrow, is beginning to grow taller. Mike and Blackberry are age 16 and their dorsal fins will continue to grow for a few more years. Blackberry’s dorsal fin was much smaller than Mike’s and it now looks like it is catching up, making it all the more challenging to identify these boys as they pass-by!
Orca Fact:
What is an alphanumeric designation?
An alphanumeric designation is the whale’s scientific pod identification. The letter stands for the pod the whale belongs to, and the number is the order in which the whale was first seen in the pod. For example, Spieden (J-8) was the eight whale seen in J Pod, and Mako (J-39) is the 39th whale identified as belonging to J Pod.
The next in a series of Salmon lessons: Coho Salmon or Silver Salmon
Average size: 6-12 lbs, up to 31 lbs.
Coho are a very popular sport fish in Puget Sound, Washington. This species uses coastal streams and tributaries, and is often present in small neighborhood streams. Coho can even be found in urban settings if their needs of cold, clean, year-round water are met.
Spawning – They are fall spawners. Coho spawn in small coastal streams and the tributaries of larger rivers. They prefer areas of mid-velocity water with small to medium sized gravels. Because they use small streams with limited space, they must use many such streams to successfully reproduce, which is why coho can be found in virtually every small coastal stream with a year-round flow.
Returning coho often gather at the mouths of streams and wait for the water flow to rise, such as after a rain storm, before heading upstream. The higher flows and deeper water enable the fish to pass obstacles, such as logs across the stream or beaver dams that would otherwise be impassable.
Rearing - Coho have a very regular life history. They are deposited in the gravel as eggs in the fall, emerge from the gravel the next spring, and in their second spring go to sea, about 18 months after being deposited. Coho fry are usually found in the pools of small coastal streams and the tributaries of larger rivers. source: http://www.wdfw.wa.gov/outreach/fishing/salmon.htm
Whale Birthdays Deadhead – 1st seen 6/3/94
Father’s Day – Celebrate Father’s Day by adopting an orca for your Dad!
Be sure to visit http://www.whalemuseum.org for news and information about whales. As an active member you receive free admission to the Exhibit Hall and a 10% discount on store and on-line purchases from the Museum Gift Shop. To report marine mammal strandings or sightings call The Whale Hotline at 1-800-562-8832 (WA only).
Help raise money for The Whale Museum and our programs just by searching the internet with Goodsearch – http://www.goodsearch.com – powered by Yahoo!…it doesn’t cost you a penny…but those pennies add up to help the whales!
Do you work for a company that has an Employee Giving Program? If so, you can double your support by matching your adoption dollars. Just send in your company’s employee giving program form (from your HR Department) with your adoption renewal and you’ll be doubling your gift to help the whales!
Thank you for your support!!
May 24th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Captain Jim took me out yesterday afternoon. What a blast. We saw bald eagles, seals, a falcon’s nest, rich people’s houses and plenty of whales from our resident J-Pod: among them the oldest male, Mr. Ruffles, a loner, and the absolute highlight, our new baby and his mama. I was hanging from the side of the boat, wind in my hair, when the mama jumped and the baby copied her jump. A tiny little thing with a yellow belly. None of us got a good picture, it all went so fast, but I will never forget the sight.
May 24th, 2007 at 9:53 am
Me too Steffi!! my favorite thing to do in late afternoon for those of you with patience, I head out to the west side of the island, find a mossy spot to sit and wait. Some times you see the whales pass, maybe an eagle will fly just above my head. The most amazing thing for me is when it is so silent you can hear the orcas breath, and if you are still the foxes will play right in front of you. I thank all visitors of our islands in advance for “leaving no footprints” and enjoying the peace and quiet we islanders (foxes, eagles, otters, orcas, birds, bugs and people) enjoy so much!!
May 6th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Captain Jim from Maya’s Charters just said that the J’s are moving up the island, right now, in the rain. Oh I love it here.
May 5th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Wow, Ivan! That’s really going out of your way. I’m impressed with your effort; bet your guests were thrilled! It was really nice to see you at ELEMENTS Grand Launch party tonight, thanks for coming by and touring some of the new rooms. See you around town….
May 5th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
After disappearing Wednesday night, J-Pod was found at about 1:30 PM today all the way up near Vancouver, B.C. It was a very long run, but well worth the beautiful scenery and the wonderful encounter we had with our old friends.
We also passed 3 Bald Eagle nests today, all with eagles in the nest! We should start seeing fledglings in the next couple of weeks.
Ivan Reiff
Owner & Captain
Western Prince II
May 5th, 2007 at 6:09 am
New J-Pod Baby!
The newest member of J-pod was seen and confirmed by the Center for Whale Research on May 2nd. It’s always great to see whale numbers increasing. Consider a donation to the Center if you are so inclined….