The resident killer whale aficionados (aka orca dorks) who live in the San Juan Islands in Washington state are always excited when the best-known of the endangered Southern Resident families, J Pod, makes at least a salutary springtime visit to the Salish Sea, its traditional summertime hunting grounds. But ever since the large population losses of 2016 onward—immortalized by the globally infamous story of the orca mother who mourned her lost calf for 17 days in 2018—both their arrival, as well as the lingering absences that underscore what a loss their absence has become, have been shadowed by ongoing concerns for their survival.
Nonetheless, when J Pod made its first “official” visit to San Juan Island on Tuesday evening, the excitement and joy was so palpable that those concerns, at least for the time being, evaporated. My friend Erin Corra, who runs the Friends of Lime Kiln Society that helps run the famous lighthouse on the island’s west side, ran up the lighthouse stairs to snag video footage of the orcas cruising past from the balcony.
What’s particularly charming about this video is that it’s possible to see the whales swimming underwater—thanks to their white markings—in ways that you really can’t from a lower perspective. Erin also posted a version of the video on Facebook. Wait for the finish to see where she was standing.
As it happened, Dante Aubert happened to capture the audio from the lighthouse’s hydrophone as they went past, and he synched it up to video from the facility’s camera feed. It makes for a similarly delightful view and sound experience. And yes, that’s my son out there on that rock.