Well, with the changing of the month, I come to my favorite whale month of the year.  That’s right–September whales.  What makes them so different from the whales we see the rest of the year?  It’s hard to really put into words.  Do they breach more, or spyhop more, or vocalize more?  Not really.   They just are different.  Maybe it’s the cooling temperatures marking the arrival of fall.  Maybe it’s the sun moving back south that lights them in a more orangey glow.  All I know is that September tends to be the month I enjoy most with whales.  And yesterday was off to a good start.  We left on the morning trip aboard the Western Explorer with 12 intrepid souls.  We had no reports of orcas–just one vague rumor that was already 4 hours old.  But we decided to head north and search into the “nooks and crannies” where other boats wouldn’t normally look.  And that’s fine with me as it takes me to one of my favorite areas–Plumper Sound and Georgoson Pass.  We stopped and scouted all the bays and inlets looking for Transients, but didn’t see anything.  But the scenery of the pass is spectacular and we were all quite happy to view it.  And as we popped out into Georgia Strait, we got a call that whales were found, and only about 4 miles away from our location!  So off we sped,and soon found ourselves watching members of J Pod, K Pod, and some Ls too.  Our first encounter was with J Pod, and it was easy to pick out J26 Mike and his open saddle patch.  The whales were in nice tight groups, and were meandering slowly west.  Lots of tail slaps, a few breaches, and a huge spyhop.  We also got to see the K13s, which include K27 and her new calf K44.  What an orangey looking guy he is!  A quick stop at Eastpoint to look at harbor seals and then it was time to head back to the dock.

Mt. Baker from Georgia Strait

Our second trip was also amazing (and one thing I love about my job is I can have multiple trips in one day and they won’t be anything alike!)  This time we still headed north, but first had to make a stop off above Flattop Island so we could look at a minke whale.  He was mid-sized, but it was great to actually see a whale on our trip (since orcas are really dolphins…)  After 4-5 surfacings, the minke would make a long 5-7 minute dive, so we watched for 2 intervals before heading west.  But as we passed the Canoe Islands, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and Ivan made the quick turn so we could watch a pair of bald eagles hunting in a large patch of bull kelp.  One eagle made 2 attempts to grab something out of the kelp, but missed both times and returned to the trees.  Soon we were off again, wondering what we’d find next on our way to see the orcas.  4 very playful harbor porpoises were zooming around at the surface.  As the sun headed more westerly, everything started getting that cool late afternoon glow.  And before we knew it, we had huge groups of whales passing the boat.  At one point, there must have been 5-6 whales all in a huge resting-type line, practically on top of each other.  The whales by this time were pretty mixed together, with Js, Ks, and the Ls all mixed in big groups.  J30 Riptide hanging out with a bunch of other J whales.   K21 following behind the rest of Ks.  The whales appeared to kind of gather themselves up and then practically launched down Haro Strait, with lots of tail slaps, breaches, and porpoising.  It was amazing.

Did I mention I love September whales?