K Pod back in the Salish Sea

EncSummary: The day started with Lodie letting us know that her neighbors at Eagle Point were seeing whales spread out from Eagle to Pile Point. This sounded suspiciously like southern residents, so the team began to mobilize. We left Snug Harbor at 0905 but had to make a stop at the Roche Harbor fuel dock first. By the time we had left Snug Harbor, we had heard from Taylor that she had K pod porpoising north at Lime Kiln. After topping off, we exited Roche through the northeast entrance, went around Battleship Island, and pointed south. We saw our first whales shortly afterwards, and the encounter began at 0948 just north of Kellett Bluff off Henry Island.

The whales were spread out in singles and pairs and were moving quickly north. K14 was the first whale to pass inshore of us and was backlit. K35 was following her. K27 passed on the outside of us more slowly, and she breached once. Other K pod whales were beginning to catch up, and K37 was seen further offshore. We had a nice group form up that included the K14s, K43, and K47. K12 and K27 were also nearby. The K16s also joined the group soon afterwards. This larger group was together for several minutes before it broke into two groups of four, with K14, K42, K43, and K27 porpoising ahead of the rear group of four by several hundred yards. The rear group included the K16s, K36, and K47. K47 had been with K43 earlier in the encounter, and we are confident that K43 is K47’s mother, but the calf sure seems to enjoy spending time with K36. This rear group would eventually spread out by the time the whales made it to Tiptop Hill on Stuart Island. The spread-out K pod whales started to group up again as they made their way over to the Stuart Island shoreline and continued towards Turn Point. The K14s, K16s, K27, K43, and K47 grouped up tight on the other side of Turn Point and began heading up Boundary Pass. The trailing whales, which were the K20s and remaining K12s, were catching up, and they quickly rounded Turn Point themselves. All the K12s and K20s were in one loosely spread-out group that was trailing the leading K pod group by several hundred yards. We ended the encounter at 1130 about a mile and a half northeast of Turn Point, with the two groups of K Pod whales heading northeast up Boundary Pass towards East Point.