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T2Cs And J Pod: 3/9/18 - 3/11/18

3/13/2018

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On the evening of March 9th, orcas were spotted heading north in Haro Strait, close to the San Juan Island shoreline. My friends and I headed out on the water and soon found ourselves with the T2Cs as they slowly passed San Juan County Park. The family was in no hurry and occasionally milled about or logged at the surface as they waited for T2C2 to catch up. T2C2 has what is likely severe scoliosis of the spine and does not move very fast. He is almost always trailing behind his family but they do not leave him behind. They also appear to hunt for him.

The T2Cs arrived just outside of Snug Harbor by sunset and found a harbor seal as the light faded. They went after the seal, with almost all the family members lunging out of the water. T2C2 hung back for most of the hunt but moved in as it was drawing to a close. He even tail slapped a few times. We stayed with them until it was almost too dark to see. We left them milling and feeding in the same spot. Center for Whale Research coworker Dave Ellifrit was also on scene and his encounter summary/photos can be viewed here.

On March 11th, we had a short encounter the T2Cs again, this time in San Juan Channel. This encounter can viewed on the Center for Whale Research's encounters page.  We then headed far north into Georgia Strait and acquired J pod. At first, the pod was very spread out over a large area but most of the members eventually came closer together. A social group even formed and those whales were full of breaches, tail slaps, cartwheels, tail slaps, etc. This encounter can also viewed on the Center's encounters page.

What will happen next?

Please do not use my photos without my permission. Just ask.

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Resident And Transient Encounters 1/14/18 - 3/4/18

3/6/2018

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Time for a long overdue update! I have had six more orca encounters since my first 2018 encounter on January 3rd with the T100s, some of the T124As, and T124C. All of the encounters have been Center for Whale Research encounters so the summaries and photos can be found on the Center’s 2018 Encounters page.

On January 14th, we spent time with a very spread out J pod in Boundary Pass and San Juan Channel.

On Feb 2nd, we had J pod in San Juan Channel again. This time, almost all of the pod was in a beautiful resting line. It was an amazing sight.

On Feb 10th, we had an interesting encounter with the T10s in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Haro Strait. T10C seemed to be toying with a harbor seal.

On Feb 16th, we spent some time with the T60s in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. They were rather elusive until they made a kill or two.

On Feb 24th, I got to see T87 for the first time while he traveled with the T124A2s and T124C in Rosario Strait. They were in a very social and playful mood. We also got to see the T124As and T124A1 in Harney Channel on the way back to the harbor.

On March 4th, we found J pod and K pod near Active Pass and followed them into Georgia Strait. It was wonderful seeing them all again and in a social mood for most of the encounter.

Who will we see next?!
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    Author

    Melisa Pinnow grew up on San Juan Island in Washington State. She attended The Evergreen State College from 2013 to 2017, receiving a Bachelor of Science in marine biology and ornithology. She has been a certified marine naturalist at San Juan Excursions since 2010. It is her hope that sharing her orca encounters will inspire others to love and protect these magnificent creatures for generations to come.

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