Minke Whales With Fish Breath!
Our first whale sighting today was two Minke Whales near south Lopez Island! Our guests could smell the "fishy" breath as these whales would exhale. Click here to see the position of the
Island Explorer 3 from space and stay tuned for updates from Naturalist Kate Janes as we continue our search for whales! "We celebrated the 4th of July out in the calm waters surrounding the San Juan Islands! Heading into the Strait of Juan de Fuca brought Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Heerman's Gulls, Rhinoceros Auklets, and Pigeon Guillemots! It was at McArthur Bank that we found an extremely friendly Minke Whale! We had some great looks as it chose a set path and a consistent speed. Then without warning it decided to do a little people watching of its own!! Our guests got great looks off our stern as we just drifted out of gear! We were even given the rare opportunity to smell its breath- making it really apparent to our guests where it got its nickname Stinky Minke!! The Minke lead us towards Smith & Minor Island where we found a Tufted Puffin who was ready for its photo shoot!! We also visited with 10 Bald Eagles, hauled out Harbor Seals & fishing Rhinoceros Auklets!! In the afternoon we ventured south around the south end of Lopez Island and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca! It was between Salmon Bank, heading west towards Hein Bank where we found 2 Minke Whales! They both surfaced a couple of times and then a large footprint formed where the two whales had been headed. Based on the size of the two whales we possibly could have witnessed Minke's mating (female Minke Whales are larger than the males)!! Apparently wanting their privacy we were unable to find the two again, so we continued our way west towards Hein Bank where we came upon 2 Minke Whales enjoying a smorgasbord of baitfish!! Watching the bird activity gave us clues to where the Minke's would next surface!! We spent an enjoyable early evening on glass calm waters watching feeding Minke Whales, Harbor Seals and the very comical Rhinoceros Auklets!" - Naturalist Kate Janes
posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 11:48 AM
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