J Pod Near Eagle Point, May 15th.

The picture below show the large plume of water created when one of J Pod breached.

It was a beautiful warm day to be on the water as can be seen from these pictures.

We set out this morning on Supercat and Fastcat with a group of Spanish Tourist in search of whales and other wildlife. Shortly after our departure we received a report that J Pod had been spotted near Eagle Point off the San Juan Islands.

When we arrived on scene we could see several members of J Pod slowly moving through the water. Once again we saw new calf "J-42" and mother "Slick" (J-16). The Orcas were being very vocal and our guests were thrilled when we dropped the hydrophone into the water and heard the Orcas calling to each other. Orcas make a variety of sounds, ranging from clicks to whistles to chirps. The vocalizations of Orcas are pod-specific, allowing for identification of individual pods by their characteristic vocalizations.

Just as we were about to head back to Victoria one of J Pod breached in the distance, which was a thrill for our guests. Breaching is when the Orca launches its entire body out of the water and lands on its side. The reasons why Orcas breach are not fully understood, but it is thought to be a playful behaviour, which could also be used for communication and to knock off an ecto-parasites that may have settled onto the Orcas skin.