The Orca Files

Sonar Blast

2009-04-08T10:51:00.001-07:00

Well, most nights the Lime Kiln hydrophones are busy picking up the passing freighters and other ship traffic plying Haro Strait. But last night, an unexpected visitor made it's presence known in a loud way. After being alerted by Jeanne that she was hearing strange sounds, I hit record on my computer. Metallic voices could be heard speaking a string of numbers, letters, and words. I could only make out a few of them. Then came the blasts of sonar pings. So loud that my ears rang. You can clearly hear the echo of the blasts for up to 7 seconds after the initial sound. A call to the Bellingham Coast Guard station confirmed that there was a submarine in the area, but they could not tell us what it was doing. This event went from 7 PM Tuesday night until around 4:30 am Wednesday morning. Others confirmed to me that they had noticed a greatly increased presence of Coast Guard cutters and helicopters around Whidbey Island.

More concerning though was the fact that the last few days, we've had quite a few transient orcas in the area. While listening to the Naval sonar, I was able to turn down the volume to a comfortable level. I can only imagine how painful that must be for the cetaceans in the area. I would not be surprised at all to learn that anyone going out today for a wildlife cruise finds no porpoises or whales in the area.

I'm a bit perplexed that the Navy would decide to do sonar exercises in an area well-known for cetacean presence. But even more surprised that they would do it in an area that is also well-known for having 4 hydrophones in the water that are pretty much monitored 24/7, and that these hydrophones stream onto the Internet for everyone in the world to listen to.

Someone opined to me that perhaps this is a reaction to the Korean missile thing that happened last week. I only know the broad strokes of that as I am somewhat blissfully unaware of world events right now as my life is too busy studying or working!

Here's the shortened version of what transpired last night.

Sights And Sounds

2009-03-14T13:26:00.000-07:00

Well, the sunny days we've enjoyed the last few days have gone away, and as I sit at my computer and watch the rain fall, I can't help but think about the whales that mean so much to me. I wonder what they are doing right now, what must be going through their minds as the seasons change from winter to spring. With spring fast approaching, I am heartened by reports of more plentiful salmon runs than have been seen in the last couple of years. Maybe this is why Southern Residents have shown up early?

In the meantime, until the whales show up on a regular basis, enjoy this photo montage with vocalizations of a Super Pod.

Excitement!

2009-03-09T17:53:00.000-07:00

Well, if you haven't heard by now, there is good news and bad news for our Southern Resident Orcas. In January, all three pods of whales arrived into our local waters, a very rare thing. No one really knows if this means that there isn't enough food to eat and so the whales are swimming further to find things to eat, or if perhaps this is a signal of some sort of global climate change. It seems the more we learn about these mighty creatures, the more we know that we don't know!

Sadly, it appears at this very early and preliminary stage that L57, also known as Faith, has not shown up with other members of the SRKW community. But I for one haven't given up yet. Faith has been known to kind of swim in his own circle since his immediate family is no longer with us. He was frequently seen last summer in the company of J-Pod & K-Pod females, so who knows for sure at this point. What makes it harder to ascertain is that unlike most whales, orcas do not float at the surface when they die. They sink, so it means that more often than not, we don't really know what happens to the whales. They just don't show up when they return to their summer waters.

Happily, it appears that as of this point, there are not one, not two, but THREE new baby orcas already! One new calf was observed with L-Pod, and 2 were seen very recently with J-Pod. It is all but confirmed that the new moms are J14, who lost a calf in 2007, and J17! I have not seen a J-Pod whale yet (darn it I keep missing them by hours!) But I hope to be able to post a picture or two soon.

In the meantime, we on San Juan continue to watch March roar like a lion, and can't wait for the spring-time lamb to show up! So keep your ears open on the hydrophones, and your eyes on the horizon!

Winter Musings

2009-03-02T09:18:00.001-08:00

Well, 2009 hasn't been the best year for whale sightings. Wait a minute, you say. Haven't there been tons of sightings already? OK, let me clarify. 2009 hasn't been the best year for ME to see whales. Seems like every time I go to the mainland, whales show up. Or whales show up and everyone in their excitement forgets to call me. Or I've stepped away from my computer to do chores or spend time with family and whales swim by the hydrophones vocalizing like mad. In the words of Homer Simpson---"D'OH!"

Well, I have managed to hear the whales twice on hydrophones. So I haven't totally been skunked. And last week, after working at the cabin on Stuart Island in the cold and rain, I got a call from my friend Simon who told me that the 25 Transient Orcas that had been slowly traveling north up Haro were not too far away from Gooch Island. So we decided (OK, I decided and my wonderfully patient wife Sharon went along with it) to go over to Gooch and see if we could actually SEE whales in 2009. Just when we were about to give up, we found a group of 9 Transients (don't have a clue where the other 16 disappeared to) speed-swimming, or porpoising north at about 10 knots. We watched them for a while, but it seemed the further north we went, the wetter we were getting. So here we are, cold, wet, and tired, but excited that at least for a change of pace, we saw whales instead of hearing about how everyone else saw them!

As we motored back towards Snug Harbor, we slowed down at Mandarte Island to look at some birds. And wouldn't you know it, 5 additional Transients, including T20 discovered us! They were making their way slowly south (where I might add it was raining much less), so we followed along with them for awhile while watching them search the tidal rips for something to munch on.

Finally, my wife's patience was running low, and we were both getting very chilled and soaked to the bone, so we made the now shortened run home and left the Ts at the bottom of Sydney Island heading south.

So as I sit here at my desk and see the storm from last night finally slacking in intensity, I have hopes that maybe today will be the day I see Southern Residents. J Pod headed north 2 nights ago, so maybe today they will visit San Juan while they feast on the salmon that seem to be running right now. If so, I'll have some pictures for you to see soon. I'm excited that J's have another baby, and I hope and pray it will survive.

Welcome To The Orca Files

2008-10-21T09:12:00.001-07:00

Well, having been on this Internet thingy for 13 years, you would think that I would have gotten around to having a blog long before now. Well, I wish I could say I had lofty reasons for not doing this, but honestly, I think that laziness and procrastination had a strong say in that.

Anyway, in the coming days, weeks, months, and hopefully years, I will be adding my thoughts and experiences of my days as a marine naturalist on the incredibly beautiful waters of the Salish Sea.