This past week has been such a blast out on the water. Not only have we had some of the best end of winter weather, with bright sunshine, little wind and calm seas, we’ve also had plenty of whales!
Each day, as we leave the dock, we are filled with wonder and excitement because we never know what or who we might find. A few days ago we welcomed pioneer Puget Sound gray whale #21 Shackleton, but the latest arrivals go to #44 Dubknuck and #531- one of our known females. Welcome back guys and gals!
We also say welcome to a newcomer who has been identified as PCFG CRC-185 (Cascadia ID) a member of the Pacific Coast Feeding Group, which are whales that don’t make their way to the usual summer feeding grounds of Alaska, but instead stay off the coast of WA and British Columbia for the summer. This is interesting because whale #185 is not one of our sounders and it has been many years, if not a few decades since a healthy individual outside the sounder group has come in and stayed.
Current gray whales in Puget Sound – #21 Shackelton (pictured above), #44 Dubknuck, #49 Patch, #53 Little Patch, #56, #383, #531 (latest arrival), #723 Lucyfer, and PCFG CRC- 185 (not a sounder) bringing the count to a total of 10 grays so far.
#44 Dubnuck’s heart-shaped blow
#53 Little Patch