#T124A4

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December 31, 2021: Transients- Oak Bay Flats

T124A7 and T124A

T124A4

T124A7, T124A, and T075C

T124A

T075C3, T075C, and T124A

T075B

T068C3 and T124A4

T068C

Photo Credit to the Center for Whale Research  Encounter #96 - Dec 31, 2021

[islandadventureswhales]

Everett

So seldom do we get double headers out of Everett, but we’ve truly been lucking out this past week. This morning was another phenomenal day out on the water. Our wildlife encounters began with a juvenile bald eagle sighting at Jetty Island and California Sealions outside of Naval Station Everett. Next up was time with a couple of pods of Bigg’s Killer Whales just south of the Mukilteo ferry terminal. We spent the majority of the time with a group of four whales that seemed to be a mix of the T86As and T124As (T124A3, T124A4, & T86A3 confrimed). We cruised with them as they traveled south down the coastline. They were keeping up a pretty steady rhythm of several breaths at the surface before a longer extended dive. On one of these extended downtimes they shocked us all by surfacing right off our port side. It seems this group was just as curious about us as we were of them. This became clear when we watched in awe as they swam right beneath our bow, heads turned to look up at us as they passed beneath. Unreal. What was even more of a treat was getting to visit with a very new addition to the group traveling with T124A3. The whales were continuing south, so we eventually made our turn to the north, pointing back towards Everett where we hoped to find some Gray Whales. We were in luck, Earhart #22 was cruising up the eastern coastline of Hat Island, showing fluke with each deeper dive. It was quite windy on the water as this point, meaning we got several strong whiffs of whale breath. Strong being an understatement… On our return trip to port, we also happened by Little Patch #53, who was lined up nicely with Mount Baker in the background. A lovely way to end a whale-filled morning.

Nat Sam, Capt Scott, Brittany  

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April 17, 2021: Transients- Kelp Reef

WARNING: Images of Porpoise Predation (no blood, but Porpoise Punting) Below! If this bothers you, do not look

T124D1

T124D

T124A6

T124A6, T124A4, T124A4A

T124A4A

T124A4 and T124A4A

T124A4

T124A4 and T124A

T123A3A

T124A

Photo Credit to the Center for Whale Research Encounter #21 - April 17, 2021

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New baby in the T124A family!!!

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March 18, 2019: Transients- Georgia Strait

T124A6, T124A, T101

T090 and T124A

T124A3A and T124A4

T101B

Photo Credit to the Center for Whale Research Encounter #18 - Mar 18, 2019

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January 23, 2020: Transients- Trial Island

T090B and T090D

T124A3 and T124A3A

T124A and T124A6

T124A and T090C

T124A4

T124C

T124A3A

T090 and T090B

T124A3

T124A

T102

T101B

T101A

T101

T090D

T090C

T090B

T090

Photo Credit: The Center for Whale Research Encounter #1 - Jan 23, 2020

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Transients: T124A’s, T86A1, and T65′s

T65A, T65A6, adn T65A5

T124A3 and T124A3A

T65A2

T65A’s

T65A5 and T65A4

T124A, T86A1, and T124A6

T65A3

Photo Credit to the Center for Whale Research Encounter #38 - June 20, 2019

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T124A’s,  T124A2′s, T124C and T86A1

T124A3A (breaching)

 T124C and T124A4

T124A3A and T124A6

T124A1

T124C and T124A1

T124C

Photo Credit to the Center for Whale Research Encounter #48 - July 16, 2019

[islandadventureswhales]

Transient Orcas

Anacortes Highlights:  Transient Killer Whales T124A, T124A3, T124A4, and T124A6 Humpback BCX0324 - Big Mama Steller Sea Lions on Ewing Island Today was a bit breezy, but fortunately quite pleasant compared to the storm that blew through yesterday!  We headed north up Bellingham Channel where we found several harbor porpoise and spotted a couple of bald eagles on Cypress Island.  We slowed near Peapod Rocks where we found another bald eagle and several harbor seals hauled out.  Continuing on, Captain Shane slipped into Rolfe Cove on Matia Island and found more harbor seals, several Canada geese, and even a pair of harlequin ducks!  A stop at Ewing Island yielded a large group of Steller sea lions that proved quite photogenic.  We pressed on north into Canada and were rewarded for our long journey with a special encounter with orcas! It was a group of Bigg's killer whales including T124A, T124A3, T124A4 and new little one T124A6!  They were traveling southbound, zigging and zagging every which way. At one time they even headed directly to us -it was great!  We spent some quality time with them before turning for home, but not before one of our sharp-eyed passengers spotted another whale!  This time it was a well-known humpback whale, "Big Mama"!  We had a couple of great looks at her, able to cross two different whale species off the list.  Heading home we spotted more harbor seals and harbor porpoise.  The winds died down and the sky got brighter and brighter throughout the day - we even saw the sun!

Close-Up of "Big Mama"

Steller Sea Lions

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Gray Whale Close-Up

Everett 10 AM Highlights: Four Feeding Gray Whales (53, 56, 49, and 383) Mature Bald Eagles Harbor Seal California Sea Lions Our morning tour started off with partly cloudy skies and calm seas.   We had a brief encounter with harbor seal on east side of Hat Island before spotting two mature bald eagles in the trees on the east side of Camano.  Our first whales of the day were a pair of gray whales swimming together on the west side of Camano.  We identified this duo as gray whales 53 and 56.  We had some fantastic close encounters with these whales before continuing on to find another pair further north, 49, "Patch", and 383!  We saw lots of feeding behavior as they feasted on ghost shrimp in the shallows. On our return, we capped things off with some California sea lions sleeping on the Navy pontoons.  Everett 2 PM Highlights: Gray Whales 356, 53, and 383 Osprey Nest Bald Eagle California Sea Lions By the afternoon, it was mostly cloudy, but the seas remained calm.  A mature bald eagle greeted us on Jetty Island, and we found two osprey in a nest on a nearby piling!  We discovered our first gray whale (356) on the west side of Hat Island in Possession Sound. As we headed north to Saratoga Passage, we found two more grays feeding close to shore on west side of Camano Island.  These were 53 and 383, two of the whales from our morning tour.  We got some great looks at their tail flukes as they fed on their sides near shore.  After an afternoon of gray whale action, our California sea lion friends posed for photos on the Navy pontoons.  Everett Sunset Highlights: Three Gray Whales Osprey with Dinner Steller Sea Lion Gorgeous Sunset Our trip started with a bang as we watched and osprey dive-bombing for fish near Jetty Island! We watched as he flew away with a fish in his talons after a successful catch.  We said hello to our California sea lions on the Navy pontoons and spotted a second type of sea lion, a larger Steller sea lion, swimming in the water on the east side of Hat Island. We went toward Saratoga passage and found three gray whales all very close to each other practicing their synchronized swimming and diving. We got a couple of looks at their tails and a close encounter as the whales swam right under the boat!  There was no topping that, but the gorgeous orange sunset as we were heading home came close!

Osprey Nest

Gray Whale Feeding

Sunset Near Everett