Whale Watching Report

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Gray Whales in the Snow!


Our guests had some great whale viewing today on calm seas with a mix sunshine and snow! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details on today's tour from Naturalist Jami Nagel. "Watching whales in the snow in April! Again we started out with our pinniped buddies (2 California sealions) on the channel marker leaving the marina. They lazily watched as we set out in search of whales. As we came around the north end of Hat Island, "there she blows" not one but three blows! Two of the three gray whales were #22 and #56. They headed south along the east side of Hat Island. We had some amazing looks along with some great looks at their flukes. We even had the pleasure of smelling their stinky breath! (Captain Michael was nice enough to position us down wind of them) The three whales joined up with a fourth whale, #49 Patch. The whales split, 2 heading into the shallows of the river delta and the other 2, including Patch, into deeper water. We first watched the 2 that were feeding in the shallows. They were in water that was about 10 ft deep, Gray whales are an average of 45 ft long. As they turned to their side to scoop up a mouthful of mud their pectoral flipper and one tip of the fluke would stick out of the water. These two whales feed side by side! We left them and went for our last looks at Patch and the whale that moved on with him. We had some wonderful looks at them, including a double fluke!! (Some cultures believe that whale tails are good luck) We got double the good luck today! We also saw several bald eagles, surf scoters, rhinocerus aucklets and western grebes! Heading into the marina we witnessed two osprey capture a small bird mid-flight, very impressive!

posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 3:44 PM   0 Comments

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

One Fast Moving Gray Whale!

Gray Whale #383
Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes
"Today we found two Gray Whales in two different locations; reinforcing the notion that everyday and every trip is different! We found #383 first off the north end of Gedney Island and followed him north just off Camano Head!! After a great introduction to Gray Whales we continued north up Saratoga Passage where we found #44 cruising mid-channel at quite a good speed! His consistent respiration rates and route allowed our guests some great photo opportunities! Every fifth breath produced a deep dive where he showed off his fluke cascading water as he gracefully re-enter the water! Our time unfortunately had to come to an end and as we ventured back towards the dock we visited with a pair of Bald Eagles, a raft of 300+ sleeping Western Grebes, Harbor Seals, Brandt's Cormorants, Rhinoceros Auklets, a rare sighting of Brandt's Geese, Bonaparte's Gulls, and ended our trip with a couple of hauled-out California Sea Lions!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 6:44 PM   0 Comments

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Gray Whales in Sight Just Off Camano Head!

Gray Whale #49, "Patch"

Gray Whale #383
Gray Whale #22
Above Photos by Naturalist Kate Janes

The Island Explorer 3 has sighted Gray Whales just 25 minutes after leaving our dock! That's 24 tours in a row - what a great start for our 2008 season!! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for updates from Naturalist Kate Janes! "Ideal conditions made it possible to see the exhalations of the whales from quite a distance!! On most days the crew is the first to spot the whales, however today it was a passenger!! She found not one but THREE whales moving south from Camano Island towards Gedney Island!! The mirror calm water coupled with an overcast day created picture perfect conditions for photography!! We visited with #49, #383, & #22, with some great looks, as they moved into the river delta where it soon became far too shallow for our boat. Gray Whales are identified by barnacles & scars near their dorsal ridge & the white markings on the underside of their flukes; these differences in individuals is depicted in the above photos. We witnessed all three whales in less than 10 feet of water feeding as rafts of birds congregated at the surface enjoying the up swelling of food from the river bottom! Our guests also enjoyed the company of California Sea Lions both in and out of the water, inquisitive Harbor Seals, nesting Bald Eagles, large rafts of Surf Scoters, Rhinoceros Auklets, Pigeon Guillemots, Double-crested Cormorants, Brandt's Cormorants, a Caspian Tern and large rafts of Western Grebes. Simply just another fantastic day on the water with unpredictable wildlife!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 11:43 AM   0 Comments

Monday, April 14, 2008

2 Gray Whales in 10 ft of Water!!

"Right off the dock our guests gazed upon a mature Bald Eagle perched upon a piling in the shallow waters of Jetty Island! It didn't stop there! Just 20 minutes later we were on scene with 2 Gray Whales in the shallow water of the river delta!! Our old friend Patch (who has been coming into the sound for the past 16 years), #49, was with #383! Their respiration's could be heard by all from across the water! Our guests were also showered with much luck as both whales fluked multiple times!! We later visited with 4 more Bald Eagles, one of which was on its nest! A few bird enthusiasts on board added some new species to their life list; including: Western Grebes, Rhinoceros Auklets, Surf Scoters, Pigeon Guillemots, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants, Bonaparte's Gulls and Brandt's Cormorant. A California Sea Lion decided to check us out with a swim-by and as we returned to the dock and we witnessed an unusual 3 California Sea Lions on green channel marker #3!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 8:25 PM   0 Comments

Sunday, April 13, 2008. Gray Whales and Kissing Sea lions




" Our first stop today was to check out the California Sea lions hauled out on the buoys near the Navy Base. As usual they were lazily snoozing on the floats. We found #44 north of the Southern tip of Camano Island feeding near shore. We also had another Gray up the beach from us feeding. We stayed with #44 as it he made his way south into deeper water. We had some amazing identifiable fluke shots! We also saw several large rafts of Western grebes, red-necked grebes, pigeon guillemots, rhinoceros auklets without their horn on the bill (should start to see the horn in a month or so) and bald eagle. As we were returning to the dock we took one more look at the California sea lions on the buoys. Our passengers got to see two sea lions kissing!" -Naturalist Jami Nagel

posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 12:12 PM   0 Comments

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