Sunday, September 13, 2015

9/11-13/15 The Whales Got Back Together

9-10-15...by midday there were lots of whales coming down Rosario Strait, that is except for the J17s and the L54s/L84 and L88 who had gone up in the early morning hours...

...the J17s showed up at Lime Kiln, coming down island on the 11th, at about 6pm...the L54s/L84/L88 group went a different direction...

...on the 12th the J17s were still here, off the west side, a place I consider to be the 'holding pattern' place...or the waiting place...seen it several times in the last few years...who was there 'holding' was a different group just about each time the holding/waiting place was being 'used'-sometimes for a couple days and others for a couple weeks...and now for the J17s to be in here with no other J pod whales and not even to travel with the L54 group, well, that is out of the norm, in my opinion...
...out on Peregrine with Capt. Jim to see the J17s...
...those aren't really spots on Star J-46, but they sure look like there is a pattern there!
...Moby and his mom...
...Tahlequah breached a few times...thanks!

...the L54 group (L54, L108, L117s/L84 and L88) is an independent group and they often show up in unusual places, but for them that is normal...

...after locating Nyssa, it was then look for Wave Walker L-88...Coho L-108 was traveling with him, and Keta L-117 was with mom...
 

...both groups did meet up along the west side but didn't come up island very far before they turned and went back down island...

...on the 13th in the morning, the rest of J pod was here, along with most of K pod (if not all), the J17s and the L54 group...by mid afternoon they came up the west side...the J16s stalled out at the park for about an hour...most others were up island from them by a few miles...and there were whales down island and miles offshore who never made it up...and then those north, came back south...which ended up being 4 1/2 hours on the rocks!...I'm not complaining :)

...there's a dorsal fin and a tail fluke in this...


I can't wait to see how they change it up tomorrow.

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