Whale Watching Report

An early morning report of lots of Orca Whales, headed east into our area, has been confirmed. We depart today at noon to search for whales! 2 pm: Captain Carl reports the Island Explorer 3 is on-scene with a group of about 20 Transient Orca Whales! Stay tuned for updates from Naturalist Jami Nagel. "Today was also a double header for us. We headed south today in search of some 20 Transient orcas. We ended up just north of Admiralty Inlet. When we arrived on scene the whales were in a resting pattern. As we observed things began to change a the youngest of the group was ready to wake up. This youngster about 2 year old was tail-lobing, rolling into the other whales and even gave us a good look with a spyhop. The other whales joined in on the fun and were rolling over each other. A couple of them took to porpoising (speed swimming) out of the water. As we headed out toward Anacortes we were treated to our second whale a minke near Smith Island. The minke kept to a tight circle as he worked the bait fish that no doubt became his dinner. Our eagle friends on Minor Island were again staying close to their nest on the beach. The visibility was so good today not only could we see Mt. Baker but Mt. Rainer was visible too."-Naturalist Jami Nagel