First SRKW encounter with the Center for Whale Research in Puget Sound this year

On November 2nd, after waiting out the whales and some weather, we had our first Southern Resident killer whale encounter with the Center for Whale Research in Puget Sound this year, and what a memorable day it was.

We spent the day with J-Pod, K-Pod, and the Greater L4 sub-group of L-Pod, a total of 59 whales, as they made their way south from the Shilshole area towards the south end of Vashon Island. The weather was unseasonably warm with blue skies and sunshine and great visibility of the whales from overhead via the drone. Thankfully, during the first half of the day, the whales were also very vocal, giving us some excellent opportunities for data collection. They were in mixed social groups, then later in the afternoon, separated into pods, with Js in the lead, followed by Ks, then Ls. As the sun set, we heard from observers reporting to Orca Network the whales were all spread out and foraging in Dalco Passage.

The goal of this project is to look for links between discrete calls and specific social behaviors, and yesterday provided our first data of this field season, so we called the day a big success. In addition, it was fun to see so many people get to experience the whales from shore at Point Robinson! Here are a few photos from our day on the water. -MWS