We had a brilliant autumn day out on the water with part of J pod, the L5's, and the L7's. The whales were spread out from Eagle Point up to Lime Kiln Lighthouse for most of the afternoon doing great amounts of foraging and some socializing. We had a few looks at all the different groups of whales, however we spent the majority of the afternoon with J1 "Ruffles". "Ruffles" was being his typical independent self - traveling steadily up Haro Strait offshore by himself. His surfacings were very rhythmic. First you see the very tip of his fin begin to slice through the water. The fin then becomes bigger as it rises from the depths. As his head breaks the surface there is an explosion of air as he takes a breath! Here are some photos from today:
J1 "Ruffles" surfaces:
L5 "Tanya" and J2 "Granny" forage off Land Bank:
L5 "Tanya" peeking above the surface as she chases a fish:
Orcas surfacing in front of Lime Kiln Lighthouse:
Probably my favorite shot of "Ruffles" I have ever taken. Look at that wavy fin! His name, even though it's not very masculine, certainly fits him:
Autumn has arrived here in the islands. For my parting shot, I wanted to share this picture - beautiful, fluffy thunderheads over the Olympic mountains and fog laying on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Fall is in the air!:
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