EncDate:26/04/24 

EncSeq:1

Enc#:01

ObservBegin:01:15 PM

ObservEnd:03:55 PM

Vessel:KCB III

Staff:Dave Ellifrit, Michael Weiss

Other Observers:Sara Hysong-Shimazu

Pods:J

LocationDescr:Haro Strait

Start Latitude:48 30.67

Start Longitude:123 10.19

End Latitude:48 39.03

End Longitude:123 12.20

 

EncSummary:

There were reports of Southern Residents off the south end of the island throughout the morning. After waiting for the rain in the area to move on, the team met at Snug Harbor and left in KCB3 at 1300. We arrived on scene at 1315 about a mile off Lime Kiln. J pod was spread out in singles and small groups as they headed up Haro Strait. The first whales we encountered were most of the J19s and J22 as they passed us heading inshore toward the San Juan Island shoreline. Behind them was a loose group of J36, J38, and J51. This group appeared to be social and J38 was following J36 around while inverted. Offshore of these three, we found J39 cruising north by himself. We had to move further west to find more whales. The next group we came across was J16, J26, J44, J45, and J49. J44. J45, and J49 moved off to the east but J16 and J26 moved nearer to some other whales to our northwest. J46 passed through the groups and continued north but J16 and J26 acquired J40 and J42. This group briefly merged with the J31s and J27 before there were two instances of some somewhat confused milling. It looked like there was a disagreement on direction but the whales who wanted to go north, won, and the whales continued north. The J31s, J27, and J40 fell behind the J16s as they headed slowly north just a little east of D’Arcy Island.
We weren’t seeing many other whales on the Canadian side of the strait so we began crossing back across hoping to find some of the whales we hadn’t seen yet. We found J39 again, still cruising north by himself mid-strait off of Battleship. The last two whales we found before we called it quits were J47 and J53 traveling together as they headed quickly north, west of the west end of Spieden island. We ended the encounter with these two at 1555.