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!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sightings Galore!!
My scouts came through! They traveled via boat from town to Ugak Bay yesterday (4/22) and reported the following during their journey:
3 humpbacks - Sacramento
2 grays - N. of Narrow Cape
4 grays - Narrow Cape
3 grays - S. of Narrow Cape
2 grays - Fossil Beach
3 grays - Mouth of Ugak Bay
1 humpback - Wild Creek Beach (near the head of Ugak Bay)
Now that's what I call a whale report!
3 humpbacks - Sacramento
2 grays - N. of Narrow Cape
4 grays - Narrow Cape
3 grays - S. of Narrow Cape
2 grays - Fossil Beach
3 grays - Mouth of Ugak Bay
1 humpback - Wild Creek Beach (near the head of Ugak Bay)
Now that's what I call a whale report!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Sightings!
I received a report of a handful of whales out near Williams Reef. While the boaters were not able to identify the species, Williams Reef is right in the middle of the gray whale migration highway. Tomorrow I sending a couple of scouts to Ugak Bay and am hopeful they will provide me with a good gray whale "head" count from their journey.
I received a call Sunday morning that those pesky killer whales were coming around the corner at Spruce Cape. I did not hear from anyone else the rest of the day, so I'm not sure if they actually made it all the way into the harbor or not. Did anyone hear otherwise? I also heard from a second source that the big male (a.k.a Bentley or Sasha) was among the group last week. That is great news!
It sounds like the weather will be great for the next couple of days, so I'm sure the Kodiak Killers won't be making an appearance anytime soon. Just kidding...maybe we'll get lucky and have a great whale watching day this week!
WhaleFest is in full swing. Take advantage of all of the great activities!
I received a call Sunday morning that those pesky killer whales were coming around the corner at Spruce Cape. I did not hear from anyone else the rest of the day, so I'm not sure if they actually made it all the way into the harbor or not. Did anyone hear otherwise? I also heard from a second source that the big male (a.k.a Bentley or Sasha) was among the group last week. That is great news!
It sounds like the weather will be great for the next couple of days, so I'm sure the Kodiak Killers won't be making an appearance anytime soon. Just kidding...maybe we'll get lucky and have a great whale watching day this week!
WhaleFest is in full swing. Take advantage of all of the great activities!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Latest whale sightings
Well, as some of you may have heard, we've had a couple of visits from the Kodiak Killers over the past few days.
I received several reports on both Monday and Wednesday that there were 5 or 6 cruising through the channel. I even had one report that "Bentley" was among them.
Unfortunately, circumstances prevented me from launching our skiff to take confirming photographs. Hopefully this is the start of several visits in the coming days or weeks.
For those of you who are keen on getting a good look at the Kodiak Killers during their next visit, you will be happy to know that I have finally figured out their pattern.
You can be sure to see the Kodiak Killers when:
1. Either Kate or myself are out of town (even better if we are both gone as was the case earlier this week)
2. Winds are greater than 20 knots
No gray whale sightings to report, although with this weather they would blend in with their habitat quite well.
Keep looking!
I received several reports on both Monday and Wednesday that there were 5 or 6 cruising through the channel. I even had one report that "Bentley" was among them.
Unfortunately, circumstances prevented me from launching our skiff to take confirming photographs. Hopefully this is the start of several visits in the coming days or weeks.
For those of you who are keen on getting a good look at the Kodiak Killers during their next visit, you will be happy to know that I have finally figured out their pattern.
You can be sure to see the Kodiak Killers when:
1. Either Kate or myself are out of town (even better if we are both gone as was the case earlier this week)
2. Winds are greater than 20 knots
No gray whale sightings to report, although with this weather they would blend in with their habitat quite well.
Keep looking!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Whale sightings for 4/12/2009
The NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson left port on April 10th for the Gulf of Alaska Line-Transect Survey. The survey started out on a good note with sightings of 5 gray whales about 3 miles off Long Island.
This marks the biggest group sighted so far. Does it mean we will soon see the big push? Let's hope!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Whale sightings for 4/8/2009
It was pretty quiet on the old whale sighting hotline yesterday. I did receive a report of two whales spotted on Tuesday off of Spruce Island. Species couldn't be confirmed, but the term "heart-shaped" blow was used in the description. Sounds like a couple of grays to me!
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