65 Tours In A Row With Whales!
Our guests are on scene onboard the Island Explorer 3 watching Humpback Whales! That means we've sighted whales on the last 65 tours in a row! Stay tuned for updates on today's tour from Naturalist Kate Janes.
Watchful Pair
Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes
Playful Porpoise
Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes
Side-by-Side
Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes
Sounding a Deep DivePhoto by Naturalist Kate Janes
"It is nearly November, yet today resembled a day from the middle of the summer! Under a blue sky and traveling on water that looked like a mirror we enjoyed this fortunately fantastic gift!! Just outside of the marina we were pleasantly surprised to find a Common Loon in its winter plumage, a Double-crested Cormorant perched high on a piling, and a mature Bald Eagle high atop a conifer just around the point looking down upon us!! We continued through Guemes Channel towards Rosario Strait when we found Pigeon Guillemots flying close to the water line and Harbor Porpoise quickly rolling through its water! Our journey brought us into the Strait of Juan de Fuca where we found 2 mature Bald Eagles (a mated pair!!) perched on top of the Lawson Reef marker!! Our guests were able to see the size difference between a male and female Bald Eagle! The females are actually 25% larger than the males!! After a visit with these large raptors we ventured further into the strait where we found Common Murres and Dall's Porpoise!! From a distance the porpoise where displaying feeding behaviors, as the slowly rolled through the water, then after presumably sensing our presence they quickly began rooster tailing towards us in a very excited manner!! For a while a couple of the porpoise began bow riding to the excitement of all on board! After a quick ride the group was seen playing in our wake! It appeared as if they were surfing! We circled back to see if they were interested in another play session, but instead were able to see up close their feeding behaviors!! We continued on our quest for whales! Then at Hein Bank, "there they blow"!! Two very large Humpback Whales were feeding on the very shallow bank! This was the first trip of the year that we've found Humpback on this bank!! Proving that the wildlife never fails to surprise us! When we first approached on scene with the two giants we waited patiently and at a distance to determine direction and behavior! To our delight they quickly got use to us and gave us some great close looks!! Swimming in close proximity to one another the two feed moving in tight circles on the bank! With their slow rising out from the watery depths, allowed us great looks at their tubercles! There was even one respiration cycle that were we able to hear their exhalations! After an amazing visit we had to start our trip back towards home port. We stopped one last time before docking at our favorite passage! We snuck in the narrow waters between Lopez Island & Castle Rock! It was the perfect day to end our time in Anacortes for the 2008 season! Next Saturday, November 1st at 11 AM will be our first trip of our Winter Orca Program out of Everett!" - Naturalist Kate Janes
posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 2:10 PM
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