Date: 07-Jun-17

Sequence: 1

Encounter Number: 41

Enc Start Time: 15:53

Enc End Time: 17:15

Vessel: Orcinus

Observers: Ken Balcomb, D. Giles, Dave Ellifrit

Pods or ecotype: T2Cs

Location: Andrews Bay, Haro Strait

Begin Lat/Long: 48 32.64/123 11.01

End Lat/Long: 48 35.34.75/123 12.34

 

Encounter Summary:

Throughout the late morning and early afternoon, we listened to reports over the radio of a group of transients heading north from southwest of Discovery Island. By mid-afternoon, the whales had made it to mid-Haro Strait and had split into two groups. One group reported as the T101s and T124As aimed for Kelp Reef and the western part of Haro Strait while another group reported as the T2Cs aimed more due north and closer to San Juan Island. Since we had not seen the T2Cs ourselves yet this year, Ken and Dave met Giles at the boat and we left Snug Harbor at 1540 to encounter them.
We arrived on scene at the south end of Andrews Bay at 1553. The whales had gone on a very long dive just prior to our arrival and for several minutes we thought they may have disappeared on us. However, Ken finally spotted them way inshore near Low Island. The T2Cs appeared to be in the middle of a kill as they milled in a loose group near a raft of thrilled kayakers. The whales soon formed up into a tight group and headed slowly north off the County Park. One of the whales may have been carrying something briefly in its’ mouth. After a long dive, T2C2 came up by himself in front of CWR. After he went down on another long dive, the others came up several hundred yards ahead of him just a little south of Smugglers Cove. They milled around and appeared to be waiting for T2C2 to catch up before going on another long dive. At the south end of Mitchell Bay, T2C1 split off from the others and later appeared briefly off the mouth of Mitchell Bay south of Kellett Bluff. T2C2 also moved offshore but did not join T2C1. T2C, T2C3, and T2C’s newest calf T2C4 moved over to the east side of the entrance to Open Bay. Here they milled around and may have made another kill since T2C1 soon joined them and we again thought we saw something in one of their mouths. These four whales soon formed a tight group and headed west and then north around the south end of Kellett Bluff along the rocks. T2C2 slowly moved toward Kellett Bluff but was still traveling behind the others. After briefly stalling out at the south end of Kellett Bluff the whales continued traveling slowly north in one tight group with T2C2 trailing behind and we ended the encounter off the bluff at 1715.