[CINC] CX 9/9 Orcas!

[thusone at aol.com]

 4 orcas, 1 male 2 female and 1 Baybee

150-200 Risso's

a few groups of commons

We were prepared for a long drive from the sparkling smoothish seas around SB, out West to rougher weather
and wind to search for the whales which seem to be illusively on the move lately, when the cx gets a call from
capt. Anthony of Island Packers reporting Orcas. (!!)  Nw of Anacapa.  So we drive off opposite of our original
planned direction.

We found them!  Probably a combination of sharp eyes (Dave!),  instinct and luck, as you know , Orcas are not
all that easy to relocate. 

We followed them for a while, one largish male, two females, one might have been a juvenile and
a cute little baybee... very cute unless you happen to be a pinniped.  There were some mini breaches and
they all swam under the boat twice, almost scraping the bottom with their dorsals.  Great sighting.

When, who should I spy  out ahead of the boat?  It's Lizette, the sea lion, blithely playing with her fishie.
And then Gunther the gull joins her, "can i play with your fish, Lizette?"    Lizette says, "playing with my fishie,
splish splash, playing with my fishie."  Not sharing much with Gunther.    The orcas are 50 ft away, 40 ft.  
away, thirty.    I am just amazed that Lizette seems to have no inkling, even with the orcas so close.  Flippity 
floppity, playing with the fishie.  Maybe she is just teasing Gunther.  So, I am on PID and I train my camera
on the Lizette, -  I have missed just about all the orca mini breaches because by the time they break
the surface it's too late to snap.   I take a few set up shots of Lizette & Gunther.   ... I can just hear Cascadia Research now,
"HEY, there's Lizzy and Gunther!  But, why is Shirley taking pictures of Lizzy and Gunther when she is supposed
to be shooting photo ID of the orca's dorsal?"

Sure enough,  whammo!  One of the orcas strikes at the sea lion  (it wasn't the big male).  Snap, snap, snap.
I look back at my pictures and i see Lizzette's little tail, straight up amid the white water of the orca strike.
It missed her, and we did see her swimming back toward the boat.  Happy ending for Lizette and Gunther.
Whew.  Maybe the Orcas weren't all that hungry anyway.

Seeing so many Risso's was also unusual.   Looking like sleek white ghosts, gliding through the water, we were off Santa Cruz.

Mat & David & Denis, along with naturalists Brian Resnik, GAry Sullivan and moi.

Great day,
   Shirley Johnson







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