Whale Watching Report

The Island Explorer 3 is heading toward J-Pod and Orca Whales! The Orca Whales were sighted yesterday as well so that's a great sign that they're settling into their normal May pattern! They passed right in front of Anacortes this morning!! Stay tuned for updates from on board Naturalist Bart Rulon!!

Creating "Footprints" (3 Pacific White-Sided Dolphins)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"Our wildlife adventure began with our first wildlife sighting just outside the marina! In the water a Pigeon Guillemot swam while high above perched on a conifer was a mature Bald Eagle! We entered into the calm waters of Rosario Strait turning south towards the southern end of Lopez Island. Nearing Castle Rock our guests enjoyed close looks at Bull Kelp and a very close encounter with 3 Black Oystercatchers as they flew just over the bow pulpit! Continuing north we came across some hauled out Harbor Seals on Swirl Rocks! During our search for whales we received a call that there were Pacific White-Sided Dolphins near San Juan Island! At first we thought there were 3 of these rare cetaceans visiting our waters, but there were 4!! Guests enjoyed this rare opportunity to visit with these dolphins as they slowly played in our wake and swam just under the surface of the water! Perfect conditions followed us throughout our journey as we spent time with Rhinoceros Auklets, Pacific Loons, Cormorants, Glaucous-winged Gulls, hundreds of Harbor Porpoises, a total of 5 Bald Eagles, and hauled-out California Sea Lions!! Unfortunately the whales did not make a guest appearance, thus making the Pacific White-Sided Dolphins the real showstoppers!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Our 2008 Everett Gray Whale Program was the best yet! We had Gray Whale sightings on 44 out of 44 tours and saw lots of activity! Our guests saw fluking, spyhops, and breaches! We also had Minke Whale, and a juvenile Humpback Whale sightings, Sea Lions, Dall's and Harbor Porpoises, Eagles, Seals, and numerous other wildlife sightings!! Tomorrow, May 10th, we will be searching for Orca Whales! We have had reports of Orca Whales in our area today and we can't wait to show our guests lots of Whale and wildlife sightings tomorrow as we tour through the San Juan Islands!!

Jetty Island was full of bald eagles and osprey as we slowly left the dock this morning. Caspian terns circled overhead as we headed over to check out a California sea lion hauled out on a green channel marker. Later we moved south and found our first gray whale just north of Mukilteo. He wasn't surfacing very often in between long dives so we headed northwest toward Camano Island to look for more whales. As we neared Camano we spotted three gray whales along the shores of Whidbey Island just south of Langley. It was #21, #22, and #383. They were all swimming very close together at a slow pace, and we watched them for a while before we peeled off to check out the eagle's nest on the south end of Camano Island. We saw three eagles there with one perched in the trees and two soaring above the island. Next we headed back to find our three gray whales again, and they were right where we left them! They were all still swimming and surfacing together and they slowly made their way toward Hat Island as the sun broke out of the clouds for good finally. When they reached Hat Island the whales started to feed near the shoreline and they raised their tail flukes several times. They gave us a great show. Later as we headed back toward the dock we found yet another gray whale. What a great way to end our two month stay in Everett, with a 100% whale sighting record. Other wildlife sighted today included western grebes, rhinoceros auklets, barrows goldeneyes, double-crested cormorants, brant, canada geese, and harbor seals. We moved the boat back up to Anacortes tonight after our trip. Stay tuned for more whale reports from Anacortes. Naturalist Bart Rulon

Balancing Act (great spot David!)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Third Wheel

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"It's a bird, it's a plane...no there really is a bird and a plane!! And there were Gray Whales on the horizon!! Departing the marina Glaucous-winged Gulls, Bald Eagles, Caspian Terns, and Cormorants were flying about while high over head 3 planes could be seen (two of which were commercial crafts and one a small island hopper)!! Our focus remained on the water as we ventured toward Gray Whales #383 & # 21!! Shortly after two more whales that were farther north started moving south towards us!! It sure seemed like whale soup as #49 & #22 came south and it looked like all four whales were going to join up. To our surprise these two pairs stayed separated but in close enough proximity that we could enjoy both groups!! After enjoying the company of #383 & #21 we said our goodbye's to identify and introduce #49, Patch, & #22 to our passengers! It was on this encounter that our guests enjoyed the "all-day" breath of the Gray Whale (their "morning breath" seems to last all day)!! All four whales treated us to an array of behaviors from deep dives producing a glimpse of their flukes to feeding behaviors! Before long our journey took us to Camano Head where a young passenger spotted something in the water!! A log!! But not just any log this log had a passenger of its own. A young Harbor Seal pup had found refuge from the cold waters on this "make-shift" island!! Then out of the waters yet another Gray Whale appeared!! Gray Whale #44 was our fifth whale of the day!! We then visited with a pair of Bald Eagles at home near their nest! It was another incredible day in the sound with fishing Great Blue herons in the shallow waters of Jetty Island, feeding Pigeon Guillemots, hauled-out California Sea Lions, soaring eagles, croaking Western Grebes, and fast flying Surf Scoters!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

"It was a day of soaking up the sun while in the company of wildlife! Leaving the marina we spotted a juvenile & mature Bald Eagle perched on Jetty Island. As we departed towards a hauled out California Sea Lion, a Harbor Seal seemed to follow the boat enjoying our slight wake! It wasn't long and our first 2 Gray Whales of the day were seen heading towards the river delta! The calm water conditions made it possible to follow the whales movements through their footprints (what I call fluke prints)!! If one looked closely just moments before #22 and his companion (whom I was unable to identify) broke the surface of the water bubbles could be seen!! In these calm and clear conditions you can actually see the whales starting to exhale just below the surface as they ascend towards fresh air!! As the two whales moved further into the shallow waters another whale appeared in the distance towards Gedney Island. We departed the two in order to spend some time with the 3rd whale, who turned out to be Patch, #49!! Effortlessly Patch moved with grace proving our guests with great looks and even fluking!! On our journey we visited a Bald Eagle's nest, listened to the croaking of large rafts of Western Grebes, saw Surf Scoters fly by, watched as Rhinoceros Auklets dove for their next meal, witnessed a Harbor Seal feeding at the surface and enjoyed the company of three Gray Whales all on a brilliant May day!" - Naturalist Kate Janes