We have been very fortunate to have Bigg’s killer whales in the same areas where we search for gray whales on many of our gray whale trips this year. The passengers on our Friday trip from Edmonds had an especially memorable experience getting to meet the newest member of the T46B pod. The new calf, T46B3A is the first offspring of T46B3, Sedna. We saw the new mom/calf pair surfacing side by side during our entire visit with this prolific family of 8 as they swam southward in Saratoga Passage, and they seemed to be in a pretty playful mood.
It is always hard to peel away from amazing whales but we wanted to leave enough time to look for gray whales. In short order we managed to find two gray whales near Hidden Beach just south of the orcas. CRC-22, Earhart, and CRC-2362, Thidwick, were also in a social mood with each other, and one of them did two spyhops while we were watching. What an amazing day! – Photographer/ Naturalist Bart Rulon
