Transient orcas
and new calf
S. of Race Rocks
Feb. 3, 2010
Photo by
Jeanne Hyde
New calf and T100s - Transient orcas
SE of Race Rocks, B.C.
Feb. 3, 2010
Photo by Marie O'Shaughnessy
Photo taken with zoom lens and cropped
Feb. 3
One just had to be out on the water this special day when it was reported that a big group of Transients were heading this way past Oak Bay, Victoria BC. Mark Malleson and Ken Balcomb were out there first in the morning, so by 2pm when the Prince of Whales zodiac, skippered by Mark, left the harbour I was wondering which direction those whales might be traveling and how much distance they had made. Luckily the exact location was known and we found them south and east of Race Rocks in American waters. It is always helpful to relocate with a couple of boats on scene. It was impressive to see so many Transients together. Initially, we found them in resting formation, and then doing what transients do best, Zig-Zagging all over. It was lovely to see a brand new calf with the T100's. Eventually we left them while they headed back east. It was an amazing sight to see so many transients together.
Marie, Orca-Magic, Prince of Whales, Victoria BC.
Feb. 3
Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research called at 12:35 pm to report 20 - 25 Transient orcas in Oak Bay, Victoria. They observed at least 1 kill.
Feb. 3
5:51 am: very faint transient calls being heard on Lime Kiln hydrophones, San Juan Isl.
5:58 am: loud calls on OrcaSound now.
8:12 am : There they are again.
8:33 am: visual on Transient orcas going down - 4+ miles from shore 1+ m south of Kelp reef marker - visual of 4 fins up at same time.
Jeanne Hyde, San Juan Island
Feb. 3
7:40 am: The WHO_listener automatic detection started picking up orca calls at Lime Kiln at 4:21 this morning. By 5:03 the detections had shifted to OrcaSound where many calls were recorded up until 6:33.
Val Veirs, OrcaSound/The Whale Museum
Feb. 3
I am a new user of the hydrophone network, but this morning, from about 0910 to 0920 Eastern Time (0610 - 0620 Pacific time), I heard some echolocation coming from the hydrophones at both Lime Kiln and the OrcaSound hydrophone on San Juan Island. The calls were stronger at the OrcaSound hydrophone, not Lime Kiln, but came in stronger at Lime Kiln towards the end of my listening bout. I am not certain these are killer whales; like I said, I am a new listener and cannot identify everything I hear. But this is the first time I have ever heard anything of note on the hydrophone network, and I am excited about it. I would have listened longer, but had to go to work. Cheers,
John Rohrback
Feb. 3
Transient calls loud and clear on both Lime Kiln and OrcaSound hydrophones at 6:23 am.
Cathy Bacon, Marine Mammal Research Assistant
Feb. 3
0615 PST - ORCA'S LOUD AT LIME KILN.
Lon Brocklehurst
Feb. 3
Mark Malleson and I have made a preliminary review of our photos today (2/3) and it appears that there were 27 Transients, including the new calf of T100 which Graeme Ellis and Jared Towers have given the designation T100E. Great day!
Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research, San Juan Island
