Whale Watching Reports from Island Adventures Whale Watching Tours in the San Juan Islands

Gray Whales 35 Tours in a row!!!

Naturalist Bart Rulon reports:It was another great day on the water! We were greeted by 2 California Sea Lions hanging out on the Green Markers around Jetty Island. NW of Jetty Island we found 2 Gray Whales (Patch #49 and #22 ) feeding and rolling around in shallow water which allowed us to see their pectoral fins and their beautiful flukes. We headed North to Camano Island where we saw an Eagle perched above it's nest. We headed back toward the whales and were lucky to find a group of 4 gray whales feeding together, this time they let us have a look at their faces. While we were watching the whales an Eagle flew low and close to the bow of the boat... Twice!!

Gray Whale #383 Flukes 11 times!!

Breaking Waves (GW #383)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Gray Whale #383

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"The day started out looking as if rain gear would be appropriate, but again we were reminded of the bizarre Washington weather!! Just before our guests began to arrive the skies cleared and the sun came and stayed the entire day!! We continued to be pleasantly surprised as we departed the marina seeing a close flyby from a juvenile Bald Eagle, an Osprey perched in its nest, and a lone California Sea Lion basking in the sun! As a slight wind reminded us that we were indeed on a boat our first whales of the day were spotted in the river delta!! We watched as Gray Whale #21 & #22 fed in the extremely shallow waters giving us views of their partial fluke skimming the surface as they fed!! While on scene with these two feeding Gray Whales Captain Michael spotted yet another whale farther north towards Camano Island. After some last looks at #21 & #22 we ventured north to spend some time with #383 who showed off his fluking maneuvers!! Yet another great day spent on the water with Surf Scoters, Western Grebes, Glaucous-winged Gulls, California Sea Lion, a Caspian Tern, Harbor Seals, Bald Eagles, Cormorants, Ospreys, Pigeon Guillemots, and 4 Gray Whales!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

33 Tours in a Row with Gray Whales!

100% success for whale sightings in 2008! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for a field report from Naturalist Jami Nagel! "We started our trip with 5 bald eagles on Jetty Island and our 2 California sealions on the green marker. It wasn't long before we encountered our first Gray Whale, #22 at the south end of Hat Island. Just east of Hat Island we saw blows and headed for 2 more Gray's, #49 Patch and #383. We stayed with them for awhile getting some great fluke shots!! We next headed to the south end of Camano Island were we saw the eagle nest with both eagles present. One of them flew over the boat giving us a great sense of just how big they are!! There were several Common Loons around us also. After leaving we headed back toward Hat Island were we encountered our 4th Gray whale, #44 (we nicknamed him Adam). As we appoarched he spyhopped giving us full view of his head! We also saw red-necked and western grebes, surf scoters, osprey and numerous harbor seals!"

Sunset Feeding Frenzy

Tight Quarters (3 Gray Whales)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Second Look (Harbor Seal)
Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Dinner Bell (Pigeon Guillemots)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"There's not a better way to spend an end of a beautiful day but out on the water with whales!! As we prepared our guests for boarding the Island Explorer 3 an Osprey landed on a nearby piling with dinner clutched between its talons (see Naturalist Jami Nagel's photo in the previous entry of the whale report)!! The wildlife adventure really begins at the dock which is teaming with a multitude of birds and Harbor Seals. As we departed the marina we were greeted not only by a pair of California Sea Lions but also a stream of incoming pleasure boats returning from their time on the water. Their smiles only eluded to what was in store for us!! Just east of Gedney Island is where we found 4 Gray Whales!! One would have thought we were boating on a lake rather than in the Puget Sound with the glass calm water!! The whales (#49, #22, #383 and an unidentified whale) swam together under a backdrop of the Cascade Mountain Range still capped with snow. After a great visit with the whales we departed heading towards Camano Island. On the way a few very shy Harbor Porpoise made their presence known to a handful of those on board, while Harbor Seals cruised the waters presumably looking for dinner. At Camano Island we found both Bald Eagles near the nest. One was actually perched just above the nest providing a scale upon which to size up the nest!! On average a Bald Eagle's nest is 8 feet across, 4 feet wide and weighs about 1 ton, but when you are a 3 foot bird with a wingspan over 6 feet you need the space!! Leaving the Eagles we returned to the four Gray Whales close to where we left them. The whales had changed behaviors and were now feeding in the shallow waters on Ghost Shrimp!! A chorus of Western Grebes croaked as the whales exposed partial flukes (tails) and pectoral fins!! Our evening was filled with an awe invoking feeding frenzy by 4 very hungry Gray Whales, a large raft of Surf Scoters enjoying the whales "leftovers", a pair of fishing Marbled Murrelets, and a flyby from a group of Pigeon Guillemots!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

4 Grays!!!

"Today was definitely a spring day! We weren't off the dock more than 15 mins. before we saw our first blow! Our passengers first glimpse at a gray whale was Patch, #49. He was feeding just SE of Hat Island in a shallow area. While watching Patch we notice 2 more whales toward the river delta feeding in the shallows. One of these whales was #22. They feed in such shallow water that as they went down to feed one of their pectoral flippers and half their flukes were above the surface. We headed out to Camano head and check on the mated pair of bald eagles watching over their nest. We had several harbor seals and a California sea lion checking us out as we watched the eagles. We headed back toward Everett where we encountered Patch with a fourth whale and than also the other 2 feeding again in the shallow. We also encountered a raft of about 300 western grebes, numerous rafts of surf scoters, cormorants, rhinoceros auklets and pigeon guillemots."-Naturalist Jami Nagel

Gray Whale Spyhops 7 Times!!!

Gray Whale Boat Watching (GW #383)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Showing off His Best Side (GW #383)

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"Our guests started their day dockside watching Norman, our friendly Harbor Seal, showing off his catch of the day!! We had no idea what the day had in store for us!! We departed from the dock slowing down for some great looks at a nesting Osprey, perched Bald Eagles on Jetty Island, hauled-out California Sea Lions, and flyby's from Pigeon Guillemots! Moments out of the marina we had our first two Gray Whales!! Patch, #49, and his comrade #21 gave our guests some great views as we enjoyed these giants in the warmth of the sunshine on glass calm water!! Shortly after we spotted another whale just south of Gedney Island. Gray Whale #383, hands down stole the show!! Feeding on a shallow watery shelf on the south end of the island we decided to again try out the soft sounds of Jack Johnson as part of our continued musical experiment!! And did it work!! He spyhopped 7 times, bringing his face out of the water in order to check out what was going on at the surface!!! The remainder of the trip was spent on a surreal Gray Whale high as we found 2 more whales, enjoyed more fluking, listened to the sound of their exhalation, visited with a raft of 30+ Surf Scoters & 500+ Western Grebes!!! We also saw before returning to the dock Red-necked Grebes, Rhinoceros Auklets, Brandt's Cormorants, and Harbor Seals!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Jack Johnson's Biggest Fans!!

Two Gray Whales Drawn to the Music

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"Today's blue skies brought all member's of our welcoming committee out!! Both Norman, the Harbor Seal, and our Mallard friends made an appearance dockside prior to our departure!! Just south of Gedney Island Captain Carl found what appeared to be a lone porpoise! This individual gave us some looks before disappearing towards two Gray Whales!! Patch, #49, was enjoying the company of # 383 as they fed off the south end of Gedney Island. We watched as they zigged and zagged along the shelf feeding on ghost shrimp! It wasn't long before they began moving northward towards two more whales!!! At one point #22 appeared out of the watery depths just a few feet away from 4 Surf Scoters!! The birds continued on their way not seeming to notice or rather mind the arrival of the graceful giant!! Later in our journey after visiting with Bald Eagles, Western Grebes, California Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, and Rhinoceros Auklets we caught up with the 4 Gray Whales right where we left them! Knowing that some species of whales become rather inquisitive when music is played, we decided to perform our own musical experiment! Just as Jack Johnson's voice came through the speakers the two whales began swimming towards us!! With our engines already off we just sat back and enjoyed the company of apparently Jack Johnson's biggest fans!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Blue Water Reflected Blue Skies!

"We were all-stars today!! Our adventure started as we pulled off the dock. Our guests were treated to an Osprey flying back to its nest on top of a piling just off Jetty Island. Moments later clinging to the concrete pilings Sea Stars were exposed due to the low tide! Then just before heading into open water two California Sea Lions saw us out of the marina as we passed by channel marker #3; showing us that channel markers can be comfortable too!! Our first 3 Gray Whales were found off the eastern side of Gedney Island. The first, believed to be Patch #49, passed by us heading back towards Everett as we made our way to visit with #22 & #383. These two showed us an array of behavior from resting to feeding! We had some great views of fluking on the mirror calm water. The stillness allowed the sound of their exhalations to carry clearly across the water. After spending time getting acquainted with Gray Whales we headed towards our favorite Eagle nest on Camano Island, but we found a fourth whale!!! This individual wanted to remain anonymous while showing off the Gray Whales ability to stay under the water for 10 or even 12 minutes!! We made it to the nest and happily found an Eagle incubating its eggs!! Before long it was time to make our way back to the dock and low and behold #49 was south of Gedney Island; reaffirming our suspicions of our earlier sighting! It wan an amazing day with 4 Gray Whales, California Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, Bonaparte's Gulls, Rhinoceros Auklets, Bald Eagles, Sea Stars, Osprey, Western Grebes, Pigeon Guillemots, Cormorants, and Surf Scoters!!"

- Naturalist Kate Janes

Above (Left) photo: Bonaparte's Gulls just west of Gedney Island. These were two of a raft of 70+ gulls!! Above (Right) photo: A Gray Whale's Lingering Mist. Photos by Naturalist Kate Janes

27 Tours in a Row with Whales!!

"Gray Whales in sight!" reports Naturalist Jami Nagel from the Island Explorer 3! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for updates from today's tour! "Our passengers started out today with an amazing look at 3 bald eagles harrassing an osprey for his fish. The fish was the only winner in this battle! Next we took a cruise by our lazy California sea lions on the marker. As we headed out towards Hat Island we saw blows off the south end of Hat Island. Three gray whales were slowly moving toward the river delta. Patch, #49 and #22 were 2 of the whales. We stayed with them for sometime than headed toward Camano Head to check out an eagles nest that was faithfully being watched over by a mated pair. We also discovered a new eagles nest today on the west side of Hat Island! As we headed back toward Everett we came across the grays again. They were actively feeding with quite the following of surf and white-winged scoters!"

Gray Whales in the Snow!

Our guests had some great whale viewing today on calm seas with a mix sunshine and snow! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details on today's tour from Naturalist Jami Nagel. "Watching whales in the snow in April! Again we started out with our pinniped buddies (2 California sealions) on the channel marker leaving the marina. They lazily watched as we set out in search of whales. As we came around the north end of Hat Island, "there she blows" not one but three blows! Two of the three gray whales were #22 and #56. They headed south along the east side of Hat Island. We had some amazing looks along with some great looks at their flukes. We even had the pleasure of smelling their stinky breath! (Captain Michael was nice enough to position us down wind of them) The three whales joined up with a fourth whale, #49 Patch. The whales split, 2 heading into the shallows of the river delta and the other 2, including Patch, into deeper water. We first watched the 2 that were feeding in the shallows. They were in water that was about 10 ft deep, Gray whales are an average of 45 ft long. As they turned to their side to scoop up a mouthful of mud their pectoral flipper and one tip of the fluke would stick out of the water. These two whales feed side by side! We left them and went for our last looks at Patch and the whale that moved on with him. We had some wonderful looks at them, including a double fluke!! (Some cultures believe that whale tails are good luck) We got double the good luck today! We also saw several bald eagles, surf scoters, rhinocerus aucklets and western grebes! Heading into the marina we witnessed two osprey capture a small bird mid-flight, very impressive!

One Fast Moving Gray Whale!

Gray Whale #383

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"Today we found two Gray Whales in two different locations; reinforcing the notion that everyday and every trip is different! We found #383 first off the north end of Gedney Island and followed him north just off Camano Head!! After a great introduction to Gray Whales we continued north up Saratoga Passage where we found #44 cruising mid-channel at quite a good speed! His consistent respiration rates and route allowed our guests some great photo opportunities! Every fifth breath produced a deep dive where he showed off his fluke cascading water as he gracefully re-enter the water! Our time unfortunately had to come to an end and as we ventured back towards the dock we visited with a pair of Bald Eagles, a raft of 300+ sleeping Western Grebes, Harbor Seals, Brandt's Cormorants, Rhinoceros Auklets, a rare sighting of Brandt's Geese, Bonaparte's Gulls, and ended our trip with a couple of hauled-out California Sea Lions!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Gray Whales in Sight Just Off Camano Head!

Gray Whale #49, "Patch"

Gray Whale #383

Gray Whale #22

Above Photos by Naturalist Kate Janes

The Island Explorer 3 has sighted Gray Whales just 25 minutes after leaving our dock! That's 24 tours in a row - what a great start for our 2008 season!! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for updates from Naturalist Kate Janes! "Ideal conditions made it possible to see the exhalations of the whales from quite a distance!! On most days the crew is the first to spot the whales, however today it was a passenger!! She found not one but THREE whales moving south from Camano Island towards Gedney Island!! The mirror calm water coupled with an overcast day created picture perfect conditions for photography!! We visited with #49, #383, & #22, with some great looks, as they moved into the river delta where it soon became far too shallow for our boat. Gray Whales are identified by barnacles & scars near their dorsal ridge & the white markings on the underside of their flukes; these differences in individuals is depicted in the above photos. We witnessed all three whales in less than 10 feet of water feeding as rafts of birds congregated at the surface enjoying the up swelling of food from the river bottom! Our guests also enjoyed the company of California Sea Lions both in and out of the water, inquisitive Harbor Seals, nesting Bald Eagles, large rafts of Surf Scoters, Rhinoceros Auklets, Pigeon Guillemots, Double-crested Cormorants, Brandt's Cormorants, a Caspian Tern and large rafts of Western Grebes. Simply just another fantastic day on the water with unpredictable wildlife!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

2 Gray Whales in 10 ft of Water!!

"Right off the dock our guests gazed upon a mature Bald Eagle perched upon a piling in the shallow waters of Jetty Island! It didn't stop there! Just 20 minutes later we were on scene with 2 Gray Whales in the shallow water of the river delta!! Our old friend Patch (who has been coming into the sound for the past 16 years), #49, was with #383! Their respiration's could be heard by all from across the water! Our guests were also showered with much luck as both whales fluked multiple times!! We later visited with 4 more Bald Eagles, one of which was on its nest! A few bird enthusiasts on board added some new species to their life list; including: Western Grebes, Rhinoceros Auklets, Surf Scoters, Pigeon Guillemots, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants, Bonaparte's Gulls and Brandt's Cormorant. A California Sea Lion decided to check us out with a swim-by and as we returned to the dock and we witnessed an unusual 3 California Sea Lions on green channel marker #3!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Sunday, April 13, 2008. Gray Whales and Kissing Sea lions

" Our first stop today was to check out the California Sea lions hauled out on the buoys near the Navy Base. As usual they were lazily snoozing on the floats. We found #44 north of the Southern tip of Camano Island feeding near shore. We also had another Gray up the beach from us feeding. We stayed with #44 as it he made his way south into deeper water. We had some amazing identifiable fluke shots! We also saw several large rafts of Western grebes, red-necked grebes, pigeon guillemots, rhinoceros auklets without their horn on the bill (should start to see the horn in a month or so) and bald eagle. As we were returning to the dock we took one more look at the California sea lions on the buoys. Our passengers got to see two sea lions kissing!" -Naturalist Jami Nagel

We Didn't Have To Go Far Today

We didn't have to go far today. Within 15 minutes of leaving the dock today we found a gray whale just south of Jetty Island. What a nice surprise. We spent about 30 minutes with this whale then headed toward Camano Island looking for more whales and wildlife. Along the way we saw lots of western grebes, some harbor seals, rhinoceros auklets, red-necked grebes, common loons, and eventually we saw the bald eagle incubating eggs on the south end of Camano Island. From there we headed toward Clinton, on Whidbey Island looking for more whales. We found two more gray whales just north of Mukilteo swimming northward. They were #22 and #383. Both whales were traveling close together and showed their tail flukes on several dives. The picture I included is of #22. Captain Carl set us up nicely for some photography opportunities with Mount Baker and the Cascades in the background behind the whales. On the way in to the dock we stopped to watch several California sea lions hauled out of the water. Other species seen include brant, surf scoters, common mergansers, red-necked loons, and double-crested cormorants. Naturalist Bart Rulon

4 Gray Whales today

The water was very calm and the sun was out for today's trip. We found our first two gray whales in the ferry crossing lanes at the south end of Whidbey Island. It was #383 and #356, and they were both taking deep dives and showing their tail flukes to us. They eventually swam toward the shore of Possession Point. As we watched them an adult bald eagle flew right over our bow for a great view. Soon after we spotted two new gray whales off in the distance, and found out that it was #22, and #49, Patch. We shut down the engines, and both whales came in close for some great viewing. We had lots of time spent with the whales today! Other species we saw today included brant, California sea lions, harbor seals, red-necked grebes, western grebes, and double-crested cormorants. An ideal day on the water. Naturalist, Bart Rulon

Island Explorer 3 Reports 4 Gray Whales Sighted!

We've now sighted Gray Whales on 20 tours in a row! Our 2008 season is off to great start with our sighting record at 100%! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for more details from today's tour from Naturalist Bart Rulon!!

5 Gray Whale Spy-hops!

What a great day we had today! Without a doubt the highlight of our trip today was seeing 5 spyhops from gray whales as they fed very close to the northern shore of Hat Island. The two whales were #21, and #22. They were swimming together for about 30 minutes and when they swam over close to the shore of Hat Island we got to see them spy hoping several times in between feeding dives. We also saw another gray whale, patch #49, at the beginning and end of our trip today. Other great wildlife sightings included close up looks at hundreds of western grebes, a few California sea lions, and the bald eagle incubating eggs in her nest at the south end of Camano Island. With the sunshine on top of it all, it was a day that was hard to beat!

Naturalist Bart Rulon

A Heart Shaped Blow

"Today aboard the Island Explorer 3 our guests got a chance to visit with 3 Gray Whales!! The first whale we found were just inside Port Susan! This whale wanted to remain anonymous as he repeatedly made shallow dives making it difficult to photo identify. Mark, one of our senior crew, announced that he had spotted two blows just south of Camano Head!! We quickly turned south, with a stop off to our favorite Eagle's nest. On our way to more whales we encountered a raft of 200+ Western Grebes, 30+ Surf Scoters and as we came on scene with the 2 Gray Whales we became surrounded by 75 + Bonaparte's Gulls!! Our guests were able to capture some great photos of #22 & #56! We also saw on today's adventure: Bald Eagles, Pigeon Guillemots, Double-crested Cormorants, Harbor Seals, and California Sea Lions!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Gray Whales in Port Susan!

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"Today the wildlife pulled out all the stops!! Once off the dock we first swung by green channel marker #3 to visit with a hauled-out California Sea Lion! Swimming about the marker was a Harbor Seal!! We proceeded to search for Gray Whales as we headed toward the Port Clinton ferry terminal. Here Captain Michael & Captain Shane spotted the blows of a Gray Whale an estimated 6 miles away!! We quickly turned and started north towards Port Susan! There we found Patch, #49, & #531 feeding in the shallows. We had some AMAZING looks as both showed off their flukes and their heart-shaped blows! After a great visit with the Gray Whales we ventured over to Camano Island! The timing couldn't have been more perfect. Just as we arrived within sight of a Bald Eagles nest the mature Bald Eagle took flight in order to chase off a juvenile Bald Eagle that was coming a little too close!! At one point they were talon-to-talon mid-flight!! We also had 300+ Western Grebes, Pigeon Gullimots, cruising California Sea Lions, Surf Scoters, hauled-out Harbor Seals, Double-Crested Cormorants, Pelagic Cormorants, and our first Rhinoceros Auklets of the season!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

100% Gray Whale Sighting Success for 2008!

Gray Whales in sight from The Island Explorer 3! That makes our 2008 sighting record 17 out of 17! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details from today's tour from Naturalist Jami Nagel! "We totally dodged the liquid sunshine today! We started out with our 2 sun-soaked California Sealions on the marker on the way out of the marina. As we headed toward our first Gray Whale we encountered a Bald Eagle flying low to the water. As he approached we notice he had lunch in his talons. What we first thought was a crow turned out to be a Surf Scoter on closer examination!! We had seen several rafts of Surf Scoters in the area, he must have plucked one up as he cruised by. The first Gray we encountered was just north of Everett along the mainland feeding. We headed up Saratoga Passage were we found #49, Patch. He gave us some great fluke shots. Along the way we had several rafts of Western Grebes, cormorants, pigeon guillemots, red-necked grebes and harbor seals."

Gray Whale on the Delta!

"It was a gray day all around! Gray skies with ample cloud cover saved the eyes of our passengers as we began the search for Gray Whales! It wasn't long off the dock and our first (#22) of 3 whales was found moving along the shallow shelf of the Snohomish Delta! After introducing our passengers to a Gray Whale we headed north towards Camano Head where a Bald Eagle was on its nest!! Just around the corner up Saratoga Passage a Gray Whale named Patch, #49, and #531 were spotted! These two gave our guests glimpses of their heads & backs scattered with barnacles! We also got a chance to visit with a raft of over 300 Western Grebes, a raft of 30+ Surf Scoters, Cormorants, a 2 mature & 1 juvenile Bald Eagle, Harbor Seals, Mallards, and California Sea Lions!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

California Sea Lion feeding on Salmon!

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

" We started our trip with good old channel marker #3 and what some people would consider "lazy" California Sea Lions hauled-out on it, but just half an hour later our guests were treated to a Sea Lion feasting on a Salmon at the surface! We watched as he flung the fish violently causing pieces to fly off into the water surrounding him!! Definitely a National Geographic moment right before our eyes! We made our way to Camano Head were we saw not only a mature Bald Eagle but also its nest high in the treetops! Turning southward we ventured back towards Port Clinton where we spotted 3 Gray Whales (#21, #22, & #531) mid-channel!! Cameras were clicking as we watched these gentle giants gracefully move through the water. To my delight the sound of the whales exhalation was heard throughout the boat- my personal favorite sound on the planet! Captain Michael even positioned the boat in such a way that our guests were able to smell the whales breath!! We also saw Western Grebes, Pigeon Guillemots, Double-crested Cormorants, Red-necked Grebes, Glaucous-winged Gulls, and Harbor Seals!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes

Great day for Grays

The conditions were perfect today for whale watching! We had glassy calm water and hazy sunshine all day. Before leaving the dock passengers saw a bald eagle perched on a piling on Jetty Island. As we headed toward Whidbey Island we found several California sea lions and harbor seals. Over the course of the day we saw many sea lions that seemed to be happy just floating lazily on the water's surface. We found our first Gray Whale, #356 just south of Camano Island. 356 was taking long dives, but we were able to get many good looks. Later we found a bald eagle and nest on Camano Head. On our way leaving the nest we spotted #356 again, and another gray whale nearby. later as we headed toward Hat island we spotted two more gray whales. We only had time for about 15 minutes with these two whales but they gave us some great photo opportunities as they surfaced close together several times. Mark (senior deckhand)was our hero today, as he spotted all 4 of our whales. Other sightings for the day include hundreds of western grebes, double crested cormorants, rhinoceros auklets, pigeon guillemots, common loons, brant, surf scoters, and one lonely common murre.

Fools for a Day!- April 1st Tour

Photos courtesy of passenger Carlton Ward on April 1, 2008

(top: Gray Whale #22; below: lounging Harbor Seal)

On board the Island Explorer 3 Naturalist Kate Janes reports: "Blue skies welcomed the IE3 into the waters of Port Gardner as we sought out wildlife on the first day of April! We found ourselves in Saratoga Passage heading towards Coupeville after hearing word that yesterday there were Transient Orcas in the area. Just before Coupeville we encountered Dall's Porpoise making slow dives as they searched for food, however moments later they were racing through the water spraying good size rooster tails!! After searching the area that the Transients had been seen the previous day we headed back to the southern tip of Whidbey Island were we found 2 Gray Whales!! Bringing our current Gray Whale total up to 7 individuals # 21 and #22 join previously seen #49, #356, #531, #44, and #56! We also saw: Harbor Seals, Pigeon Guillemots, Western Grebes, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Cormorants, and California Sea Lions!"

Whale Watching Report

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Gray Whales 35 Tours in a row!!!

Monday, April 28, 2008

Gray Whale #383 Flukes 11 times!!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

33 Tours in a Row with Gray Whales!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Sunset Feeding Frenzy

4 Grays!!!

Friday, April 25, 2008

Gray Whale Spyhops 7 Times!!!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Jack Johnson's Biggest Fans!!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Blue Water Reflected Blue Skies!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

27 Tours in a Row with Whales!!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Gray Whales in the Snow!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

One Fast Moving Gray Whale!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Gray Whales in Sight Just Off Camano Head!

Monday, April 14, 2008

2 Gray Whales in 10 ft of Water!!

Sunday, April 13, 2008. Gray Whales and Kissing Sea lions

Saturday, April 12, 2008

We Didn't Have To Go Far Today

Friday, April 11, 2008

4 Gray Whales today

Island Explorer 3 Reports 4 Gray Whales Sighted!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

5 Gray Whale Spy-hops!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

A Heart Shaped Blow

Monday, April 7, 2008

Gray Whales in Port Susan!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

100% Gray Whale Sighting Success for 2008!

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Gray Whale on the Delta!

Friday, April 4, 2008

California Sea Lion feeding on Salmon!

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Great day for Grays

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Fools for a Day!- April 1st Tour

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