August 14th - T101's in the morning, and plenty of humpbacks throughout the day including Orion, Smiley and Friend, Zig Zag and calf, and Slate and Calf

On August 14th both our morning and afternoon trips were successful in finding whales! In the morning we had the T101’s, a group of 3 Transient Orcas comprised of Momma Reef and her 2 surviving sons Rush and Lagoon. This pod had a 4th member until last year, when the oldest son, Beardslee, who was roughly 36, was seen traveling with the pod in a dire state. His dorsal had begun to collapse and he was acting sluggish. Dorsal collapse doesn’t happen often in wild whales, and is usually a sign that they are reaching the end of their life. Sadly Beardslee was not seen again with his pod and he’s presumed to have passed away.
The T101’s were always a sight to behold as the males’ impressive fins dwarfed their mom’s. Rush and Lagoon are still healthy boys who will hopefully keep mom company for many years to come.

We also had 2 separate humpback encounters. One of the humpbacks in the first pair was identified as Beak/Nuage. These 2 were traveling slowly and only Beak fluked for us.

The second group of Humpbacks we traveled with were Zigzag and her new calf, and today they had a friend with them. This third whale has not yet been identified, but with some detective work we will eventually figure it out.
IDing humpbacks can be tricky, as often you need a clear shot of the underside of their tail and you don’t always get one, or their tail pattern has changed so much since their last photo ID update that you can’t make a match right away. Some whales can be identified by their dorsals, but it’s not the easiest to do either.

In the afternoon we met up with Orion, Smiley and one of their friends. Orion and Smiley have been seen multiple times this year, but rarely with the same group of companions. Smiley got their nickname from the big “smile” on their tail. Can you see the smile?

Smiley (KEY0019). Photo by Rebecca Stirling, 3:30

Slate and her son were also spotted, and Marble (Slate‘s calf) was his usual playful self. Rolling around the boats as they sat with their motors off, and out of the water, to ensure his safety. He played around the boat for a while rolling around and entertaining the boats before mom came to collect him to leave for their next feeding spot.

Please enjoy these photos by Brad Farrow and Rebecca Stirling.

Rush (T101A) and Lagoon (T101B). Photo by Brad Farrow, 10:30

Nuage (KEX0009). Photo by Rebecca Stirling, 10:30

Zig Zag (BCX1193) and calf. Photo by Rebecca Stirling, 10:30

Scratching the itch! Photo by Rebecca Stirling, 10:30

Scratch, scratch, scratch! Photo by Rebecca Stirling, 10:30

Bald Eagle. Photo by Rebecca Stirling, 3:30

Dinnertime! Photo by Rebecca Stirling, 3:30

Orion (BCX1251). Photo by Rebecca Stirling, 3:30

Showing off some pecs! Photo by Rebecca Stirling, 3:30

Marble (Slate’s calf). Photo by Rebecca Stirling, 3:30

Marble playing. Photo by Rebecca Stirling, 3:30

Jilann LechnerAugust 20, 2021Comment