Seemed like the first day of Spring and we sailed downwind wing on wing to Flattop Island only to hear J pod showed up out of the blue into Friday Harbor. We doubled back pronto and spent a glorious afternoon drifting back to Flattop with lazy cavorting whales. Vocalizations and echolocations on our hydrophone drew a picture of their world that we fell into. J38 Cookie was energetically chasing fish. L87 Onyx is still a part of the J pod family. Spread wide across the San Juan Channel – who would choose Presidents, Spieden, or North? Who is making the decisions without J2 Granny? We left them at Flattop headed towards Waldron Island at sunset.
Common Mergansers on Yellow Island
Harbor Seals at Jones Island
Harbor Seals on Flattop Island
J Pod heading north in San Juan Channel
Southern Residents of J Pod heading north up the Channel
Playful orcas
Playful Orcas
A beautiful day to go sailing
Beautiful backlit blows
Some of the J16’s traveling tight together
Southern Resident coming our way
Playful orcas
Big male orca
L87 Onyx
L87 Onyx Tail Lob
J36 Alki and J52 Sonic
J38 Cookie foraging north of Jones Island
J49 T’ilem Inges breaching multiple times in a row
J49 T’ilem I’nges breached four consecutive times
Playful Calf
Steller Sea Lions hauled out on Green Pt
Steller Sea Lions on Spieden Island
Steller Sea Lions warming up in the sunset