Date: 26-Sep-17

Sequence: 2

Encounter Number: 92

Enc Start Time: 17:30

Enc End Time: 18:15

Vessel: Orcinus

Observers :Dave Ellifrit and Kathy Babiak

Pods or ecotype: J and L pods

Location: Georgia Strait

Begin Lat/Long: 48 52.38/122 55.37

End Lat/Long: 48 51.51/122 53.11

 

Encounter Summary:

After leaving the T10s in Boundary Pass, “Orcinus” headed north towards East Point to encounter the southern residents coming down from Point Roberts. Along the way, we got the word that the whales turned southeast towards Lummi Island. We finally got on scene at 1730 about halfway between Point Roberts and Patos Island where a mix of J and L pod whales in singles and small tight groups were loosely spread out and traveling slowly southeast. The J19s and L83s were in a tight group and the J22s were just north of them by about fifty yards. About 75 yards behind the J19s and L83s, J39, L87, and L92 were horsing around with one another. About a third of a mile to the north of these groups J27 and L115 were hanging out together. L47 was traveling by herself another several hundred yards to the north of these two. Despite an extensive scan with binoculars, we could find no other whales in the area. Most of the other whales must have been to the southeast of us. By about 1800, the J22s had tightened up with the J19s and L83s while L87 had moved off on his own from the socializing group with J39 and L92. These two, however, were still at it and there was much rolling around. J39 breached once and later did two aerial scans in a row with L92 underneath him and a “sea snake” was seen shortly afterward. We left J39 and L92 still fooling around fifty yards to the southwest of the larger group at 1815 with all the whales still slowly heading southeast towards Lummi Island.