A Minke Monday! - Monday, August 25, 2008
"Rosario Strait lead us into the vast waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca! As we began our search for whales our guests encountered hundreds of Common Murres diving to incredible depths (up to 590 feet)! With the young murres in tow the rafts of birds created a patchwork of black & white at the surface of the water! Peering down into the water enormous Lion's Mane Jellies contracted in the water making their way slowly through its depths! Reaching Hein Bank the bird activity only increased with a frenzy of activity scattered around the bank as they fed on bait fish just under the surface! Watching the Glaucous-winged Gulls, Heerman's Gulls, and Rhinoceros Auklets paid off for a very hungry Minke Whale all of a sudden went crashing through the congregation of birds sending them flying!! After that grand display we found ourselves then playing the patience game as the whale became comfortable with us and we watched for patterns in its swimming! Being rather elusive we waited and watched as it continued to quickly break the surface! Then in one grand finale the Minke appeared just as it first did, breaking with speed through a bait ball sending the birds to the sky! The afternoon brought us back into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and lead us to Smith & Minor Islands! As we drew closer to Minor Island it became quite apparent that we weren't the only visitors to the island! Sitting high above the other shore birds sat 3 Brown Pelicans!! Hauled out near the waters edge were over 50 Harbor Seals! We looked on Minor Island taking in all the activity and even checked out a Bald Eagles nest that had been built on its sandy shore! We then ventured southward towards Smith Island where 3 Tufted Puffins were swimming!! There is a small breeding population of these little sea parrots that nest on Smith Island! After a great visit with these beautiful birds we ventured back north towards Lawson Reef where a Minke Whale appeared!! We watched diligently searching for the whale through the small swell that started to develop! It surfaced a couple more times then a tug and tow entered into the Lawson Reef area! After the tug departed the Minke was no where to be seen. We ventured into calm waters where we found a Great Blue Heron flying along Young Island. We as a company pride ourselves on showing our guests whales and since many of ours guests didn't see the very elusive Minke Whale all of our guests will get another opportunity to join us whale watching again for life until they see a whale! We guarantee whales (Gray, Humpbacks, Minkes and/or Orcas) and love sharing our passion for whales and the other wildlife in the area!" - Naturalist Kate Janes
posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 8:46 PM
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