Pacific Whale Watch Association

We had a fantastic day with the whales today. It all started with three California sea lions sleeping on a channel marker. Within 20 minutes from the dock we spotted our first two gray whales. It was #53 and #723. They were swimming around at the southeast side of Hat Island. We watched them for quite a while and then we spotted another whale swimming to the northeast so we cruised over for a look. It turned out to be two whales instead of one. It was #49, Patch, and #531. They gave us many good views. and both of them showed their tail flukes on different occasions.

We started today's trip by watching three immature bald eagles on Jetty island, and an osprey on it's nest. Soon afterward we spotted a California sea lion hauled out on the first channel marker. Another sea lion swam up just as we approached. He attempted to jump up to the top, got his front flippers up, but then he fall back into the water. Soon after watching them we spotted a couple of gray whales feeding in the shallows of the Snohomish River delta. it didn't take us long to find out there were actually 4 of them.

We've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Jetty Island ospreys, and this morning they finally showed up for the first time this season. They got right to business adding sticks to their nest. That was a good sign that we would have an incredible day on the water. We started out watching three California sea lions sound asleep on a channel marker. A few minutes later Captain Carl spotted our first gray whale. It was #1105 and he was feeding in very shallow water.

Our guests were in for a treat today. Before we even left the dock, we had spotted two bald eagles, several Canada geese, a harbor seal, and our friendly neighbor ducks. As we left the marina, we had impeccable timing, we witnessed a California sea lion jumping up onto the channel marker! It only took him two times. We also spotted a mature bald eagle perched atop a barge of sawdust that was anchored in the river delta. We made our way out to look for whales and in no time found one! We spent some quality time with our ol' buddy #49 Patch.

Another great photo of a Gray Whale by Naturalist Bart Rulon from our Everett Tour.

J-Pod has another new calf in their family! That makes a total of three new babies this year, 2 in J-Pod and 1 in L-Pod. There have also been multiple Gray Whale sightings this week in the Everett area and our first tour for 2009 departs from Everett at 11AM on Saturday, March 7th.