Way of Whales Conference 2017

Way of Whales

The view from the Coupeville ferry. Photo by Mattie Stephens

The time has come and gone for the annual Way of Whales Conference, or as I like to call it, Whalefest 2017. Coupeville high school was the host, and in order to arrive in time, Jan North, Betsy Carlson and I caught the 8 am ferry to make our way into Whidbey Island. When we arrived, I caught a whiff of the local agriculture before setting up our exhibition table while Jan and Betsy signed us in. We displayed skulls of all kinds, including a steller sea lion that took many as a bear skull. Our save the shore sign was displayed and many a pamphlet were spread around to give the good word. After speaking to a few visitors to our booth, I was able to walk around and explore the other organizations and their tables while awaiting the day’s many presentations.  

Our proud table! Photo by Mattie Stephens

As I wandered, looking at all the tables, gathering stickers and snacks, I realized how nice it was to be surrounded by fellow “whalers.” My goal of the conference was to expand my marine science network, including my interesting new friends, London, and her father. I spoke with them after overhearing London is heading to New Zealand to work with a graduate student – something I didn’t expect to have in common with a nine year old. London is invited to come to the Port Townsend Marine Science Center (PTMSC) and train her brain on our many cetacean skeletons.

The first presentation was by Howard Garrett of Orca Net, welcoming us all to Whalefest. After introducing the day, he spoke about freeing Lolita, an orca taken from the Salish Sea in the 70s, currently kept at Miami Seaquarium.

Howard Garrett of Orca net. Photo by Betsy Carlson

John Calambokidis of Cascadia Research Collective and others. Photo by Betsy Carlson

The second presenter was John Calambokidis. He gave a presentation about Sounders – local gray whales. It was fairly early for a PowerPoint, but I was wide awake when he presented awesome videos of gray whales he received from suction cup video tags. I met him afterwards, and he knew the professor I worked with in Galveston. He said he would happily be in correspondence.

I’ll remember you all when I’m famous.

Val Viers, an environmental physicist, spoke on his 15 year quest to learn about orcas and acoustics in the Salish Sea. He presented interesting and rare footage of orca communication sequences matched with recorded orca actions and position. What I found most interesting was Val’s deciphering of an orca mother scolding her offspring, which we were able to see on film. Val and his son work with PTMSC and installed our hydrophone, a device that allows us to hear boat and animal noise underwater. We work with his son Scott in the Salish Sea hydrophone network, monitoring ship noise and orca/marine mammal communication.

Current hydrophone network of the Salish Sea. 

Lastly, we watched a beluga whale documentary on the endangered St. Lawrence whales. An orphaned baby beluga is found alive on the beach with time running out. The responding scientist tries something unusual – releasing it back into the wild in hopes another mother will adopt the calf as her own. I’m no movie critic, but the message of the movie was critical – there needs to be widespread knowledge and support of environmental and animal stewardship. Without a change in human behavior, the environment of these whales will deteriorate.

Drone footage of St. Lawrence beluga whales. Photo by Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit

Whalefest was closed with a special music video about saving the Salish Sea and played a part in explaining the inter-connectivity of the diverse organisms. Helping people connect emotionally with a place like the Salish Sea can inspire them to protect it. This resounds soundly with the Port Townsend Marine Science Center’s mission of inspiring conservation of the Salish Sea. The Way of Whales conference and its presenters, all wonderfully well-spoken and knowledgeable, moved strongly for the Salish Sea's conservation. I enjoyed my experience at Whalefest 2017, hope to return, and would recommend a visit to anyone.

See more of our wonderful organization on our Facebook and Instagram, and please consider donating today.

Matthew (Mattie) Stephens is an AmeriCorps serving at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center.

Orca Saturdays

June is Orca Month and here at PTMSC we celebrated with two Orca Saturdays.  These events were all about sharing our orca knowledge with the public.

Young visitors got creative at the craft table!

Up until recently, the majority of our interactions with the public have focused around the articulation of the orca skeleton, Hope (learn more HERE).  Of course Hope's presence and stories were with us for our events, but it was also nice to incorporate other orca-related activities into our celebration.  Many of these activities were new to the public and our volunteers because most of them were adapted from orca curriculum developed and taught here at PTMSC.


A family worked together to build an orca family tree!



Visitors learned about hydrophones (underwater microphones) and how they are used to listen to sound underwater.

In our local waters, scientists use hydrophones to listen to orca vocalizations and have learned many of the different calls orcas make.  At our Orca Saturday events, we set up a portable hydrophone and let visitors create and listen to how a variety of objects create sound underwater.

At one point, the craft table was filled with kids, orca volunteers were immersed in conversation with visitors, and a father and daughter read an orca storybook in the corner of the room.  I stepped back, took in the moment and smiled like a proud parent.


Although our Orca Month festivities have come to an end, June isn't over yet!  I encourage you to find your own way to acknowledge, celebrate and learn about these amazing creatures.

Enjoy!

Heather Jones

Sailing on the Adventuress

Last month, Elizabeth Becker of Sound Experience contacted us to see if we would want to sail aboard the schooner Adventuress and talk to folks about marine mammals and the Salish Sea Hydrophone Network. Of course we said yes and, on March 21st, we joined the crew on the first public sail of the season. It was perfect weather and everyone was excited to be on the water. We had such a wonderful time that we decided to make a video, complete with interview by fellow blogger Allison.

Press play button to start.

If you get a chance to go out on the Adventuress this season, go for it. The staff and crew are knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful; I can't imagine a better group of people running this ship!

Unusual Sounds on Hydrophones

Last night, on both Lime Kiln and Orcasound hydrophones, listeners were surprised to hear some peculiar sounds. Not the sounds of orcas, or the regular shipping traffic, but the sounds of human voices and mid-frequency sonar pings. I'm listening to the recordings made by Scott Veirs of Beam Reach now and it is very obvious that these sounds are not a part of the natural environment.

Jeanne Hyde of The Whale Museum contacted the Bellingham Coast Guard and confirmed that the Navy was doing exercises in Haro Strait. Scott Veirs recorded the sounds and created spectrograms.

To listen to the recordings, go to the Lime Kiln or Orcasound hydrophone sites, scroll down through the archived sounds, and click on one of the most recent recordings with the words "voice" and "sonar" in the title.

Also, the Port Townsend Peace Movement is holding a meeting on Thursday, April 9th at 7:30 pm to discuss the Navy's proposal to expand training exercises, which includes areas in Admiralty Inlet, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Olympic National Marine Sanctuary. For more information on this meeting, and how to send in your comments to the Navy by April 13th, click here.

Did You Hear?

Where were you on the evening of Thursday, March 19th? If you weren't listening to the PTMSC hydrophone then you were missing out! J Pod snuck by around midnight and, luckily, Scott Veirs of Beam Reach and the Salish Sea Hydrophone Network recorded their vocalizations and posted it on the Port Townsend Hydrophone site. To listen, go to the archived sounds section and scroll all the way down. The most recent recording is on the bottom. Live audio from any of the Salish Sea hydrophone nodes can also be played on iTunes, Real Player, or Winamp.

Orcas on Hydrophone!

I know I write about orcas on the hydrophones a lot, but... Go to OrcaSound.net right now, click on "Listen to OrcaSound on San Juan Island" (works on RealPlayer, iTunes, WinAmp), and hear some of our resident orcas! I hear at least J pod and, thanks to MarineTraffic.com, the cargo ship, Star of Sawara.

PTMSC on King 5 News

As I reported last Thursday, while teaching a class on Sound Underwater, we got a very special treat. While listening to ship noise on our hydrophone, we also heard orcas. Orcas! Chrissy McLean, PTMSC's Marine Program Coordinator, ran to confirm what we were hearing and also to call Orca Network so they could get out on the water to identify the orcas.

Last night, on King 5 News, this exciting story was reported. At the very end of the informative 2-minute segment, PTMSC was mentioned. Anchor Dennis Bounds said, "This most recent visit was first reported by a volunteer at the Port Townsend Marine [Science] Center who was letting a visiting class of third graders listen to some hydrophones when they suddenly heard dozens of approaching orcas."

To see the video, click on the image above. Thanks to blog reader Daphne for letting us know we were on the news!

Perfect Timing

While teaching a Free Science Class on Sound Underwater this morning, I turned on the hydrophone so the kids could hear the sounds of Admiralty Inlet. I expected to hear the ferry and maybe a tug or cargo ship. We heard those things, but we also heard orcas! It was hard to believe that we had such amazing luck, so we wrapped up the class and headed outside to locate the orcas. Off in the distance, towards Marrowstone Island, we could see a few spouts and splashes. Even though the orcas were far off, the kids were excited to see them. And I, well, I was excited too! Seeing the kids so interested in our resident megafauna was wonderful, and reminds me of why I love sharing knowledge with others. What an inspiring experience!

Orcas on the News

Local news coverage on KOMO mentioned the Salish Sea Hydrophone Network I wrote about in the last post. They compare two of the hydrophones and acknowledge that boat noise in our waters can have a detrimental effect on the endangered Southern Resident orca population. Click here to view the short video on KOMO's website or here for a text version.

Speaking of last post, we weren't the only ones watching the orcas pass through. Howard Garrett of Orca Network on Whidbey Island was on the water identifying the orcas. He took this great picture of J1 (right), known as Ruffles, and K12 (left), known as Sequim.

Photo by Howard Garrett.

The Orcas are Here!

What a sight! I've just gotten back inside after hearing and seeing orcas out in Admiralty Inlet, just off our Marine Exhibit building towards Whidbey Island. As we watched, amazed by the number of orcas, Chrissy McLean, Marine Program Coordinator here at PTMSC noted that they seemed to be feeding. We watched their spouts while waiting for a large ship to pass by so we could listen to vocalizations on our hydrophone.

Did you know we're part of a hydrophone network? It's called the Salish Sea Hydrophone Network and includes five different stations around the Salish Sea. To hear our hydrophone, click this link: Listen to Port Townsend Marine Science Center. (It will open in iTunes or Winamp.) Check out our hydrophone site profile for more information and to see photos of the installation of our hydrophone here.