Beam Reach

Serene sounds over Salmon Bank

Snug Harbor to Mackaye Harbor

Today was a terrific day of clear skies and whale sightings! We encountered two leaders from a further southern scattered part of J-Pod off Eagle point around noon time, starting to record at 13:36. We followed them back North to Lime Kiln, only hearing clicks as they traveled fast and far past our hydrophones. We then made our way slowly back around the Southern side of San Juan, encountering a large, spread-out group of whales, where it was hard to keep track of them or catch up to individuals. But our patience paid off, and after all the whale watch boats left we encountered a group of 4-5 whales and heard loud and clear calls, clicks, and whistles! It was a serene moment as we followed them through Salmon bank. We observed breaching, tail and pectoral slaps, spy hops, foraging, and even some social-play mating-like behavior! Confirmed ID’s we’ve made so far are J27, J17, J28, J19, and possibly J30. We stopped recording at 18:45, leaving the whales at the Salmon bank buoy around 18:45, where we hope to catch up with them again tomorrow. Definitely our best day yet!