Encounter # 02 • February 2 • J's

Begin Encounter: 12:01 p.m.
Start Lat: 48° 36.4566 N
Start Long: 123° 1.3836 W
End Encounter: 1:49 p.m.
End Lat: 48° 37.6452 N
End Long: 123° 10.3104 W


Observers: Dave Ellifrit

After receiving several reports of whales between Orcas and Shaw Islands, we left Friday Harbor at 11:40 a.m. and found the whales around 11:55 a.m. heading westerly just south of Deer Harbor. It was Jpod and L87 and they were very spread out in singles and small groups. Other than J19 and J41, who were entertaining J40 and J45, the leaders (J14s, J19s, J2, J8, and L87) appeared to be foraging and were all taking long dives and being very hard to find until the whales approached and began funneling into Spieden Channel. Around 1:30 p.m. The J10's (J22, J34, J38, and J32) came together for a period of lazy and tactile intermingling. Afterwards a gull swooped down and picked up something near the whales so perhaps they were sharing a salmon. The rest of J pod soon showed up in a loose but quick moving and active group that included the J11's, J16's, J17's, and the J19's who still had J40 and J45 with them. Once again, there was no sign of J16's calf J48. We left the whales at 1:50 p.m. just east of Battleship Island as they were about to enter Haro Strait. We arrived back in Friday Harbor at 2:20 p.m. Many thanks to Amy Traxler for taking us out on Buzzard.

These photos were taken under MMPA permit #532-1822and/or DFO license #2006-08/SARA-34.