Written by Traci
on Apr 30, 2016

Western Explorer: April 29, 2016

Western Explorer: April 29, 2016

It started out as a beautiful sunny day in the San Juan Island with a brisk wind. No reports at first, but that changed! The T65As and T65Bs (Bigg’s Killer whales) were still in the area. We started out checking out Steller sea lions foraging in Speiden channel. Got some fantastic looks at 5 juvenile and 1 adult Bald eagle. We then headed over to the orcas. They were in a very social mood as we arrived. We were able to put our hydrophone in and listen to some fantastic vocals. The kids were in one group goofing off and playing, breaching, and tail lobbing. And the older of the groups staying just slightly apart from the playing kids. Every now and then the kids would catch up to the moms and then soon they would be racing off on their own, back to their antics. At some point, their games changed. We noticed some major chasing going on and looked to see them harassing any Rhinoceros auklet in sight! They would stalk from below, leap on top of, or try to swat with their tails. No auklet was safe in the area. Not really fun for the birds, but for the young orcas this is a teaching opportunity. They can practice the skills they will need for the rest of their lives. It is much safer to practice on seabirds than with other marine mammal prey with teeth! It was incredible to watch this family social time. (All images taken with a 600mm lens and cropped)

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Written by Traci
on Apr 30, 2016

Western Explorer: April 29, 2016

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