Date: 06-Feb-17

Sequence: 1

Encounter Number: 14

Enc Start Time: 12:50

Enc End Time: 14:45

Vessel: Mike 1

Observers: Mark Malleson, Brian Glennon

Pods or ecotype: Jpod

Location: Discovery Island

Begin Lat/Long: 48 28.6/123 08.5

End Lat/Long: 48 22.6/123 23.4

 

Encounter Summary:

There was a report of Jpod calls on LK hydrophone at 9:50 so I went out on Mike 1 with Brian Glennon. We left Victoria harbour at 11:50 and headed north through Oak Bay as Tom and Jane Cogan saw L87 and a few others head north past their place.
We made it as far as Kellett Bluff when we heard from Jane Cogan that the few that they had seen had turned back south. We headed down to Hannah Heights as we had heard that Jeanne Hyde had received a text from a friend that they were spread out there. After a quick scan we workded our way offshore towards Beaumont where I spotted a couple individuals. They were headed south and I could see that there were several more closer to Seabird Point and at least 1 bull well to the east also headed south. We started with L87 slightly east of Seabird Point on Discovery Island and then moved west where we picked up J37, 22, and J38 in a tight group. They looked like they found a fish in the Oak Bay Flats at 1338 but it seemed as though it got away. All the whales seemed to pass within a mile of the south end of Trial. It started to snow heavily as we crossed Victoria's waterfront and as the visibility diminished we left them at the Victor Hotel buoy just south of the entrance to Victoria Harbour. They were continuing at a good pace towards the west.