EncDate:09/06/21

EncSeq:1

Enc#:36

ObservBegin: 02:00 PM

ObservEnd: 04:10 PM

Vessel: Orcinus

Staff: Dave Ellifrit, Michael Weiss

Other Observers: Katie Jones

Pods: Transients

LocationDescr: Haro Strait

Start Latitude: 48 29.14

Start Longitude: 123 06.42

End Latitude: 48 34.50

End Longitude: 123 11.23

 

EncSummary:

Dave, Katie, and Michael were all in the photo-ID office when we decided to head out on the T65As plus T125A and T128. Reports of them heading toward San Juan Island had been coming in over the radio and we headed down to the boat when they were off Eagle Point. We left the dock at 1330 and got on scene near Pile Point at 1400. The whales were close into shore and were just coming from around the corner at Kanaka Bay. They were in a tight group and briefly pointed offshore before continuing up the San Juan Island shoreline. We couldn’t tell if they had made a kill but they seemed to acting socially and there was some splashing, rolling, and several tail lobs. T65A6 did several inverted tail lobs. We had one good pass and then had to be patient as the whales made their way slowly up the west side of SJI with the incoming tide. The T65As (T65A5 was not present) plus T125A and T128 passed Lime Kiln and were off Bellevue Point by 1500. T125A was still closely following the T65As while T128 and T65A2 had moved about a hundred and fifty yards to the outside of the larger group. All the whales had moved offshore a little off Lime Kiln. T65A2 and T128 were socializing and rolling around together while surfacing enthusiastically. These two were occasionally making abrupt direction changes and, by the time all the whales were off CWR, had moved a couple hundred yards inshore of the larger group. We were ending the encounter at 1610 off Snug Harbor with T65A2 and T128 when they surprised us by surfacing right beside the shutdown boat after we thought they were well past us. Made us all jump. The rest of the T65As and T125A were paralleling these two several hundred yards to the west off the mouth of Mitchell Bay as all the whales headed north toward Kellett Bluff.