Whale Watching Report

We didn't have to go far today. Within 15 minutes of leaving the dock today we found a gray whale just south of Jetty Island. What a nice surprise. We spent about 30 minutes with this whale then headed toward Camano Island looking for more whales and wildlife. Along the way we saw lots of western grebes, some harbor seals, rhinoceros auklets, red-necked grebes, common loons, and eventually we saw the bald eagle incubating eggs on the south end of Camano Island. From there we headed toward Clinton, on Whidbey Island looking for more whales. We found two more gray whales just north of Mukilteo swimming northward. They were #22 and #383. Both whales were traveling close together and showed their tail flukes on several dives. The picture I included is of #22. Captain Carl set us up nicely for some photography opportunities with Mount Baker and the Cascades in the background behind the whales. On the way in to the dock we stopped to watch several California sea lions hauled out of the water. Other species seen include brant, surf scoters, common mergansers, red-necked loons, and double-crested cormorants. Naturalist Bart Rulon