Saturday, September 7, 2013

9/6-7/13 Ah-Ha! Mystery Solved!

Friday and Saturday, September 6/7th

Friday
...with groups in four places at the end of the day yesterday and no internet access to listen to the hydrophones during the night, to top it off the day began with fog! And it just got worse as the morning progressed.
I got a call about whales coming up island but I had to wait for the person to call me back about the internet issue - ugh!...
...no sooner did the connection work than calls were on the Lime Kiln Hps and they were loud...but I could only see a few...a few whales from each of the pods...the rest were hidden in the thick fog...
...out on Maya's Westside Charters for an afternoon trip, which by then the fog had abated to some degree and where the whales were was blue sky and calm seas...they were going up Boundary Pass heading toward East Pt.

...later I was on another boat and we continued on with the whales...there were some whales I did not see and was very curious as to who was present...
I have proof of presence images of from today, Friday of:

-J11s - J27, J31, J39
-J17s - J17, J28, J35, J44, J46, J47
-K21, K16,
-K12s - K12, K37, K43, K22, K33
-K13s - K13, K20, K25, K27, K34, K38, K44
-members of each of the L pod family groups, including the L54 group of 6, and yet not the L12s
(I was pretty certain that L87 and the L12s were not present.)
...a few images from Friday...



 ..the harbor seals were at attention at the reef at East Point...
...before the whales reached East Pt. Capt. Jim put the hydrophones in the water...and then some up ahead began porpoising...




...others goofing around...
...with Patos lighthouse in the distance...

...onward to the Fraser River...


Saturday
...when I learned of a large group of whales coming in from the west today and knowing who the whales were up north at the end of the day yesterday...I concluded it must be everyone else.  Out to the west toward Sooke to see who was exactly coming in, because once they got back together with the other group I would never know for sure and the strange mix of whales who might be out there...well, my curiosity had the best of me...

...off with some friends to see just who it was...and it was!
Granny J-2 and Group A whales, which includes the J14s, J8, J19, J41, J16s and Onyx L-87.
The K14s!  - yes!  Now that is totally strange. K14, K26, K36 and K42.
The J22s! - yes, again!  They are usually with the J11s and J17s, but not during these two days. J22, J34, J38 and J32.
The L12s - all  9 of them.
I believe the total of whales incoming was 31.

I'll post pics later.  I just had to get this chapter of 'the whales' story' written...It's the mix of unusual groupings that I find very curious...
...finally here are a images to show members of each of the groups mentioned above...
The K14 family:  Lea K-14, Lobo K-26, Yoda K-36, and Kelp K-42 a very unusual for the K14 family group to be with this combination of whales, or at least we humans think it is...

Solstice L-89 and that's his mom upside down with her tail flipped up...
...Granny J-2 - incoming!
...very unusual for DoubleStuf and his mom, brother, and cousin to be here...
...I think maybe they were thought to be L pod whales because there were so many tall dorsal fins.  Besides these four there was also Lobo K-26, Solstice L-89, and DoubleStuf J-34...7 tall dorsal fins in total, but only four of them belong to L pod whales... Skana L-79 should be there but he is missing.
Samish J-14 and one of the kids goofing around...
...and Se-Yi-Chn J-45

...since I have updated this after the 7th, the whales did come in that night and the others came down in the night...about 11:15 pm, I heard them on the hydrophones...only for a few minutes...and by the next morning they were all back together again.
Yes, that mystery really did get solved!

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