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| Massive fluke! |
Fluke UP.....Whale DOWN! What an afternoon as we traveled in the company of this Humpback whale. Our trip took us into Canadian waters today. We spotted the other whale company boats first, but soon enough the blow alerted us to a lone Humpback moving north at the top of Haro Strait.
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| Blow hole(s) to the right, dorsal fin to the left.....and the rest beneath the surface |
Remember you are only seeing a part of this whale. The blow holes are on the very top of the head, and feet in back of the mouth. The small fin is at the beginning of the long tail stock. Could it be only 1/2 of this massive whale is visible? Or less?
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| Dive! |
Somehow 45 minutes passes like seconds. I am always amazed at how "whale time" just disappears on the clock. This whale takes deep dives lasting five to 8 minutes, surfaces for three or four breaths, and disappears beneath the surface.
Humpbacks are not frequent visitors to the Salish Sea, so every opportunity for observation time is special. The Humpback is a migratory whale and in this part of the world it means they use the cold Alaskan waters for summer feeding grounds and travel to Hawaii for winter breeding and calving season. A few just seem to make a little stop off by swimming in the Strait of Juan de Fuca for a visit, before completing the long journey, in the Spring to Alaska, and in the Fall to Hawaii. There is also a stock of Humpbacks that move toward Mexico for the winter and to Alaska for the summer.
Although we don't know "who" this visiting whale is or which stock it belongs to, we enjoy the company of a species not often seen in these waters!
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| Fluke-Fall...Water Fall! |
These Harbor seals are the only seals hauled out on the rocky shores today. When the tide is high, most of the seals disappear into the water. Luck is with us!
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| Watching us....while we watch you.... |
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| Nose to next buddy's flipper.... |
No Orca whales in the neighborhood today....but a Humpback on holiday...what a treat!
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