Whale Watching Report

Saturday, April 12, 2008

We Didn't Have To Go Far Today


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

posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 8:06 PM   0 Comments

Friday, April 11, 2008

4 Gray Whales today

The water was very calm and the sun was out for today's trip. We found our first two gray whales in the ferry crossing lanes at the south end of Whidbey Island. It was #383 and #356, and they were both taking deep dives and showing their tail flukes to us. They eventually swam toward the shore of Possession Point. As we watched them an adult bald eagle flew right over our bow for a great view. Soon after we spotted two new gray whales off in the distance, and found out that it was #22, and #49, Patch. We shut down the engines, and both whales came in close for some great viewing. We had lots of time spent with the whales today! Other species we saw today included brant, California sea lions, harbor seals, red-necked grebes, western grebes, and double-crested cormorants. An ideal day on the water. Naturalist, Bart Rulon

posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 7:54 PM   0 Comments

Island Explorer 3 Reports 4 Gray Whales Sighted!

We've now sighted Gray Whales on 20 tours in a row! Our 2008 season is off to great start with our sighting record at 100%! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for more details from today's tour from Naturalist Bart Rulon!!

posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 1:51 PM   0 Comments

Thursday, April 10, 2008

5 Gray Whale Spy-hops!




What a great day we had today! Without a doubt the highlight of our trip today was seeing 5 spyhops from gray whales as they fed very close to the northern shore of Hat Island. The two whales were #21, and #22. They were swimming together for about 30 minutes and when they swam over close to the shore of Hat Island we got to see them spy hoping several times in between feeding dives. We also saw another gray whale, patch #49, at the beginning and end of our trip today. Other great wildlife sightings included close up looks at hundreds of western grebes, a few California sea lions, and the bald eagle incubating eggs in her nest at the south end of Camano Island. With the sunshine on top of it all, it was a day that was hard to beat!

Naturalist Bart Rulon

posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 7:41 PM   0 Comments

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

A Heart Shaped Blow


"Today aboard the Island Explorer 3 our guests got a chance to visit with 3 Gray Whales!! The first whale we found were just inside Port Susan! This whale wanted to remain anonymous as he repeatedly made shallow dives making it difficult to photo identify. Mark, one of our senior crew, announced that he had spotted two blows just south of Camano Head!! We quickly turned south, with a stop off to our favorite Eagle's nest. On our way to more whales we encountered a raft of 200+ Western Grebes, 30+ Surf Scoters and as we came on scene with the 2 Gray Whales we became surrounded by 75 + Bonaparte's Gulls!! Our guests were able to capture some great photos of #22 & #56! We also saw on today's adventure: Bald Eagles, Pigeon Guillemots, Double-crested Cormorants, Harbor Seals, and California Sea Lions!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 8:53 PM   0 Comments

Monday, April 7, 2008

Gray Whales in Port Susan!

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes
"Today the wildlife pulled out all the stops!! Once off the dock we first swung by green channel marker #3 to visit with a hauled-out California Sea Lion! Swimming about the marker was a Harbor Seal!! We proceeded to search for Gray Whales as we headed toward the Port Clinton ferry terminal. Here Captain Michael & Captain Shane spotted the blows of a Gray Whale an estimated 6 miles away!! We quickly turned and started north towards Port Susan! There we found Patch, #49, & #531 feeding in the shallows. We had some AMAZING looks as both showed off their flukes and their heart-shaped blows! After a great visit with the Gray Whales we ventured over to Camano Island! The timing couldn't have been more perfect. Just as we arrived within sight of a Bald Eagles nest the mature Bald Eagle took flight in order to chase off a juvenile Bald Eagle that was coming a little too close!! At one point they were talon-to-talon mid-flight!! We also had 300+ Western Grebes, Pigeon Gullimots, cruising California Sea Lions, Surf Scoters, hauled-out Harbor Seals, Double-Crested Cormorants, Pelagic Cormorants, and our first Rhinoceros Auklets of the season!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 7:46 PM   0 Comments

Sunday, April 6, 2008

100% Gray Whale Sighting Success for 2008!


Gray Whales in sight from The Island Explorer 3! That makes our 2008 sighting record 17 out of 17! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details from today's tour from Naturalist Jami Nagel! "We totally dodged the liquid sunshine today! We started out with our 2 sun-soaked California Sealions on the marker on the way out of the marina. As we headed toward our first Gray Whale we encountered a Bald Eagle flying low to the water. As he approached we notice he had lunch in his talons. What we first thought was a crow turned out to be a Surf Scoter on closer examination!! We had seen several rafts of Surf Scoters in the area, he must have plucked one up as he cruised by. The first Gray we encountered was just north of Everett along the mainland feeding. We headed up Saratoga Passage were we found #49, Patch. He gave us some great fluke shots. Along the way we had several rafts of Western Grebes, cormorants, pigeon guillemots, red-necked grebes and harbor seals."

posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 4:55 PM   0 Comments

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