The Superpod together for the first time on West Side

Yesterday morning I got a call from Sidney Jeff, saying that Mallard had said, that someone had told him that at 7:30 there had been a report of Orcas at Cattle Pass. You got that. OK. Cool! But just who had Mallard heard if from. Hmmmmm?Well, it turned out that the info was good, but surprising.

Surprising because we have only been seeing Js and three Ls, including the L male, Faith, and the night before they were way north. (Faith's name is another story. A boy named "Faith?" He was mis-sexed as a calf and named as though he was a female. Faith is the one with the magnificent dorsal the bends over at the top. See above pic. I think he has a girlfriend in J pod since he travels with them from time to time.)

So we went down to see the Cattle Pass Orcas, and who should appear but K Pod and the rest of L Pod. Then the rumors started about the Js, and we assume Faith, being over near Anacortes, which might be expected, considering where they were the night before.

They all got together for the 4:30 trip, and for the first time this year, the total Superpod was together on the West Side of San Juan Island.

Capt. Jim

Capt. Jim Maya

Maya's West Side Charters

San Juan Island, WA

Dick Cheney and our Orcas...

This is turning out to be an unusual year for seeing Killer Whales on the West Side of San Juan Island. 

By this time of the year we are usually seeing J Pod on a daily basis. Not this year. They were in the area last Friday and Saturday, after being absent for almost 5 weeks. (During that time we were seeing a lot of Transients, the mammal eating Killer Whales.) 

Then they disappeared for two more days and but returned yesterday. And now they are gone today. Last night they were headed west toward the Pacific, which is one of the places they "vanish" to from time to time. Why? We don't know for sure, but it's likely that they are looking for a good supply of food, which for them is Salmon, not seals and other marine mammals.

And that brings me to the issue of the state of our salmon. Not good! 

Officials have banned salmon fishing in all of Oregon and California due to the lowest numbers of returning Salmon in memory. The stocks of salmon have crashed in those states due in large part to policies of our federal government. They have allowed the building of dams, clear cutting of water sheds that flow into spawning streams, pollution in countless forms, and a century of overfishing. 

And  DICK CHENEY! 

Yes, Bushie VP Dick Cheney, the master of darkness, one of the chief architects of the Iraq War, perhaps the worst expression of U.S. policy since slavery. His fingerprints are all over the largest kill of  salmon in the history of the world in the Klamath River in 2002. (www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/06/27/18431074.php

If we don't restore salmon stocks, many feel that our local killer whales are doomed. No less than Ken Balcomb, the #1 expert in the world on our resident orcas, feels that is true.

And why don't we ban salmon fishing in this area?

More in the next blog.

Capt. Jim

mayaswhalewatch.biz

Where Is J Pod...

May 1 has come and gone and NO J POD! Is the sky falling?

Usually by this time of the year we are seeing J Pod every day.  J Pod is one of the three Resident Pods of the Southern Resident Killer Whales of Northwest Washington. The Js are the pod that stays in the general area of the San Juan Islands and the Salish Sea all year long. It's the pod that is seen much more than the pods, the Ls and the Ks. Js are seen often, sometimes every day for weeks, somewhere around the islands from May 1 through October. We haven't seen them for over four weeks, not even a rumor. Hmmmmm.

So what does this mean? It means they are late. Most likely they have found a lot of Salmon out there near the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and are happily munching away. 

I remember one year when the Ks didn't show up until July. The sky didn't fall. It's not falling today.

Have a good one. It'll be in the med 60's here today, and sunny. Yea.

Capt. Jim

Maya's Westside Whale Charters

San Juan Island, WA

mayaswhalewatch.biz

Ling Cod Season Opened Today

So, do I go whale watching or fishing? Hmmm? Yep, I went fishing!

A lot of people don't know about Ling Cod, an amazing fish of the Northwest. First there is Salmon, and then Halibut, and then...Ling Cod. Lings can grow to five feet and weight 75 lbs, they look prehistoric, and for many, they are the best tasting fish in the Northwest. I know for a fact they make the best fish and chips.

My brother is a gourmet eater! After he moved to the island eight years ago, the first time I had him over for dinner, I served him my special Ling Cod Fish and Chips. He asked what we were having, and I told him we were having fish and chips. He kinda stuck his nose up in the air, and said, "Fish and chips?"

My brother is not quick with the compliment, but after dinner he took me aside and said, in a whisper, "Jim, that was the best f*****g fish I've ever had! What was it?"

Ling Cod fish and chips...

I wish I would have caught one...

Capt. Jim

mayaswhalewatch.biz

Transients for the fourth day in a row...

It's unusual to see Transient Orcas (the mammal eating Orca) four days in a row. It's especially unusual to see the same Ts four days in a row, but that's been the case here on the West Side. Again today we saw T14 and the T36A's and the T49A's. What's even more unusual is to see the big male T14 with other Ts for even one day and he has been with these others since Friday. It will be interesting to see if he's seen the next time by himself, or with these other Ts.

T14 use to travel with his mom and sister, but they disappeared a few years ago, and he's traveled by himself since then. Very sad for these human eyes to see. But for the last four days, he's been a very social guy. Since Orca mate all year long, not just during a mating season, like some baleen whales, he may be motivated by lust. Orca are called the "humans of the sea".

It's late, and it's raining like mad here on San Juan Island's West Side. Off to bed.

Capt. Jim

Maya's Westside Whale Charters

mayaswhalewatch.biz

Mammal Eating Orcas, the Tranisents

And a good Monday morning to all. It's foggy for the first time in  while, but we will go out twice today.

The weekend was wonderful for watching Orcas. We saw 7 Transients Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and twice saw them go after Steller Sea Lions, once right in front of the boat. My passengers were in awe!

In this part of the world, Northwest Washington and Southwestern British Columbia, we see four different cultures of Orca. By culture, I mean the same species of mammal, but with different languages, family patterns, hunting habits, eating habits, breathing patterns and seemingly different values. 

For the last three days we saw Transients, as opposed to our Residents, or Off Shores or Northern Residents. The latter two I have seen only three or four times in my 1100 hours  with Orcas in this area.

So, we will go out again today and try and find them, or perhaps the Js, one of our local pods which should be showing up on a regular basis around this time of the year.

Have a great week.

Capt. Jim

mayaswhalewatch.biz

April 23rd on the water...Great time, but no whales.

The  24th was a windy and raw day on the water of the San Juans. We went out twice, and had a great time and saw lots of wildlife. Mink, River Otter, Dall's Porpoise, tons of Bald Eagles, Harbor Seals, (OK, tons of Harbor Seals, and lots of Eagles) Steller Sea Lions, Harlequin Dukes, Bufflehead Ducks, Loons, Surf Scoters, and lots of other birds.

My boat is a 30' Glacier Bay Catamaran, and is great in rough seas. The passengers were fine once they got use to the seas.

We are out again today, and I sure hope that we see Orcas. It's been five days. 

The weather is warming up, so it should be a good weekend...

Captain Jim

April 24, 2008

This is a first! Captain Jim blogging. You have to remember that Captain Jim has a college degree, from Indiana University, '62, with a "PWP" behind it. PWP? Pre-word processor! No spell check, no grammar check! Only a typewriter with a ribbon, and I cut and pasted with scissors.

After teaching for 35 yrs., I'm now a whale watch captain on beautiful San Juan Island, WA. I take folks out to see whales and other wildlife on our boat, "Peregrine," My wife, Mrs. Capt. Jim, and I run our little business out of our home, and have a great time doing it.

I think this blog will be a running commentary on sightings. (We saw one Orca on Saturday, and seven Orcas on Monday, and none for the last three days. We did see river otters, Steller Sea Lions, Dall's Porpoise, Bald Headed Eagles yesterday, but no whales.) I might write a bit on the grandchildren, the weather, life on an island, and other topics. I think I'll stay away from God and politics. (Being an environmentalist, you might guess what the color of my blood.

So, there it is. Blog #1. There it goes, up the flagpole.

Capt. Jim