L pod at Depoe Bay

Linda Taylor of the Depoe Bay, OR Whale Watch Center called to report a pod of 7+ orcas off Depoe Bay at 9:30 am. At first they were active, circling and feeding - at one point she watched 24 breaches - then they headed north. Carrie Newell of Whale Research Excursions was headed out in a zodiac to try to obtain photos and ID's.

Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Reserach reported that the Jan. 24th Depoe Bay orcas had been confirmed as L pod, heading back north.

L Pod, Depoe Bay OR

Orca Network received a call from Morris Grover at the Whale Watch Center in Depoe Bay, OR, reporting a pod of 16 -17 orcas heading south 1/21 at 4:00 pm, about 1 mile offshore. They thought they may have seen J1, but upon the Ctr. for Whale Research viewing the photos it is believed they were all L pod whales - there were 4 adult males and one pink calf.
In looking at this photo of L73 (far left), you can see how ruffled his fin is becoming, and how he can be confused with J1 these days!




Here are the Orca that we saw passing the Whale Watching Center yesterday evening(Jan 21, 4pm). . We think we were able to identify a few of them with the ID guide from Ken. Please let us know who we saw. It was great fun, we don't see them very often.
Morris Grover, The Whale Watching Center, Depoe Bay, OR

Report from the Center for Whale Research on Depoe Bay orca photos:
It looks like all matrilines of L pod are represented in Morris' photos. I picked out ten ID's and Dave is adding some additional IDs and some probables. That was a good score! We will be sending you and Morris the info on ID's soon.
Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research, San Juan Island

Below are IDs from the photos sent by Morris Grover of the Whale Watching Center of the pod off Depoe Bay OR Jan. 21st.
It looks like all matrilines of L pod are represented in Morris' photos - confirmed ID's are: L78,85,92,41,73,5,12,79,77,22,55,95,108,54?,2,25 ,84?, and 94.
Ken Balcomb, Senior Scientist
Center for Whale Research

L111 confirmed female

Center for Whale Resaerch staff encountered J's, K's and L's traveling southwest from False Bay at 4:52 p.m., August 15 2008. The whales were spread out in tight groups. The first group encountered was the L22's just north of Eagle Point. The next group encountered was the L47's with new calf L111. L47, L83, L91 and L110 were traveling tight with the new calf , exhibiting a lot of social and tactile behavior. L47 was observed pushing L111 around on her rostrum which allowed Center staff to get a photo of the calf's underbelly and determine that L111 is a female. As seen in the above photographs, she still has a piece of her umbilical cord attached. The L47's were shortly joined by K21, K16 and K35 who also appeared to be playing with the calf. The animals were very tactile, rolling around and breaching. J pod as well as the L12's and the rest of the K's were reported in the area but were not seen or documented by the Center staff. The encounter ended at 6:00 p.m., north of Hein Bank. The whales continued traveling southwest.

New calf in L pod! L111, discovered August 12, 2008

Center for Whale Research discoverd a new calf in L pod, early afternoon, August 12, 2008. The new calf, designated L111, is the 6th calf of L47. L111 joins sisters L83 and L91 and nephew L110 as the newest member of the L21 subgroup. L47, at age 34, is not only a new mother but also a grandmother. Her last calf, L107, was born in the summer of 2005 but did not survive more than a few months. Based on L111's size and the apparent featal folds (visable in the above photographs), Center for Whale Research staff believe the calf to have been be only a few hours old. Also, L47 was observed by Center staff without a calf in the evening of August 11, aditionally indicating that L111 was born less than 24 hours before its discovery. The total number of individuals in L pod has yet to be determined this year, however the Center has proposed that there may be at least two L pod whales missing this year. Therefore, this is an important event in L pod and the Center staff is hopefull that the calf will survive. As of December 2007, there are 43 whales in L pod. If L111 returns to the San Juan Islands next summer, it will be officially counted in the population.

3 June 2008, The Centre for Whale Research reports

June 3, 2008
J, K, and L pods
Platform: Orca
Departed Snug Harbor: 10:51 a.m.
Begin Encounter: 11:24 p.m.
Start Lat: 48° 31.981 N
Start Long: 123° 10.009 W
End Encounter: 3:58 p.m.
End Lat: 48° 41.81 N
End Long: 123° 14.51 W
Returned to Snug Harbor: 4:32 p.m.
Observers: Kelley Balcomb-Bartok and Erin Heydenreich

Having not been seen since January 27, 2008 off Monterey, California, and Sekiu, Washington, February 29, 2008, members of Kpod and Lpod returned to the San Juan Islands June 3, 2008. The whales were first reported off the south end of San Juan Island at around 8 a.m., then slowly travelled north up the coast of the island in tight social groups. Center for Whale Research staff encountered the whales off Bellevue Point as they swam in three large, tight and tactile groups very close to the shoreline. Staff confirmed that members of Kpod and Lpod were among the playful social groups, though it has not been determined yet if all the whales from the Southern Resident population were present. During the encounter a small calf was observed swimming in close proximity to sisters K14 and K16, both reproductive age females. Later in the encounter staff determined that the calf was indeed a new calf in K-pod, and observed the calf primarily travelling very near K14 and her older offspring K26 and K36.

29 February 2008, Orca Network Reports:

A pod of about 6 to 9 whales (orcas) came by our house today, 10:00 AM. One mile west of the Sekiu River, WA state about 1/4 mile offshore heading west. I saw 2 juveniles.
Paul Blake
We sent Paul's photos to Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research, & he has ID'd them as L pod!
It's L pod! Whales appearing in the photos include L47, L55, L86, L90, and L26. Others are there too. Very cool since J pod decided to come in.
Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research

2 February 2008, Orca Network Reports:

Ken Balcomb called to relay a report he'd just received of Southern Resident orcas in Monterey Bay CA at 12:40 pm. ID's confirmed are L57 & L41.
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Sarah Graham of Monterey, CA, called at 12:51 pm to report Southern Resident orcas in Monterey Bay.
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Today we saw the residents, about 40 or so very spread out in Monterey Bay. They approached within a mile of the aquarium then turned and headed to NW still spread over 1 plus miles.
Nancy Black, Monterey Bay Whale Watch