Whew! Last week was a busy one...

Sorry for the delay in posting these sightings, but the whales were keeping me hoppin' last week.
First of all, most of you probably caught wind that the Kodiak Killers made quite a few appearances last week. I received several reports throughout the week and saw them myself on Thursday. The group consisted of only three animals; the large bent male fin, the three year old calf and their mom. The second female and her calf were no where to be seen.








Also on Thursday, Kate and I flew an aerial survey of the north half of the island. We counted 71 gray whales. Some of these whales were clearly feeding as we saw big mud plumes from the air, but some were definitely cruising by on their way further north.
I have not received any reports of gray whales out in Chiniak or Marmot Bays, but maybe the king fishing has been too hot to pay attention!

Those sneaky Kodiak Killers

Everyone's favorite killer whale pod was back for a visit yesterday. I received several calls that they were passing through town and could be seen from the spit. Bently, the big male with the bent fin, was among them. Rumor has it that there may be a brand new calf with this group, but this has yet to be confirmed.

Happy Whale Watching!

First Sightings of 2010!

Hello everyone and welcome back!

It seems that the gray whale are arriving.

Chris Fiala reported 30 to 40 gray whales traveling past buoys 3 and 4 yesterday in groups of 3 to7.

Kate Wynne and I flew a survey of the island yesterday and saw a half dozen gray whales near Dangerous Cape. We did not catch sight of the large group that can often be seen feeding from Narrow Cape. It doesn't mean they aren't there, though! That group often moves on and offshore and if you don't hit it right in the airplane, it's easy to miss them all together.

The Kodiak Killers came through the channel last week, but I have not received any reports this week. I'm sure it's only a matter of time. With the weather looking a little bleak for the end of the week maybe we can plan on them cruising through on Friday.