Luckily first thing this morning we had a couple of reports of killer whales (Orcinus orca) when we left the dock. Some Resident 'fish eating' killer whales were seen off the west side of San Juan Island (and we suspected them to be J pod since they were around yesterday) and some Transient 'mammal eating' killer whales near the Race Rocks Marine Protected Area south of Victoria at the most southerly point on the west coast of Canada.
We departed in Five Star Charter's Fastcat at 1000 and decided to head to the group to the east. We travelled along the Victoria waterfront, through the Chain Islands in Oak Bay (where we saw a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) on the Double-crested cormorant nests (Phalacrocorax auritus) at Great Chain and then out through Baynes Channel and across Haro Strait to San Juan Island in Washington State.
When we arrived the whales were indeed J pod and they were in groups spread out and travelling in a northerly direction up the west side of San Juan Island. We had a nice sighting and got to seet the J14s, J17s and got an especially nice look at the "cookie bunch" the J22s (J22, Oreo and her sons J34, Doublstuff, and J38, Cookie) (Whale Museum Orca Adoption, Center For Whale Research Matrilines). We even had a couple whales breach! After a nice sighting we left J pod still heading north quite quickly off Andrews Bay, San Juan Island, at 1155.
J34, Doublestuff (11 yrs old) and his younger brother J8, Cookie (6 years old)
J22, Oreo, J34 and J38's 24 year old mother
Breach!
Members of J pod travelling offshore of the Center For Whale Research (probably the J14s)
J34, Doublestuff probably following behind J38
J17, Princess Angeline, a 32 year old female who had one of the newest calves this year
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