Welcome the Whales!

Gray whale pectoral fin photo was taken in Langley, just north of the harbor. (c) John Herman and Minette Layne

Saratoga Grays

Langley in April: Welcome the Whales Day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Highlights of the day will include the community potluck at noon in the old firehouse, parade at 1:30 p.m., whale bell dedication after the parade, water welcome following the bell dedication and all-day whale workshops in the United Methodist Church.

A small group of resident Gray whales typically arrives to our region in early March and stays through the end of May or early June, feeding on ghost shrimp along the sand and mud shores of Saratoga Passage and South Whidbey. This annual spring visit of Gray whales provides an excellent opportunity to view whales from the shorelines of Island county or from the Mukilteo/Clinton ferries, much to the delight of residents and visitors alike.

Whale Trail Brochure - 1.3MB Whale Trail 2009 brochure

Whale Trail Website

The whales often feed close to shore by turning on their sides and sucking up huge mouthfuls of sand filled with ghost shrimp, then straining it out through their baleen plates, swallowing the invertebrates and pushing mud and water back out, leaving plumes of mud trailing through the water. Their pectoral fins and fluke tips can often be seen above the surface of the water while they are feeding, and from a bluff top, you can get a great view of the entire whale as it feeds in the shallow intertidal area. Gray whale spouts can also often be seen while they are traveling or feeding in deeper waters, and their flukes are exposed whenever they take a deep dive.

Watch the arrival of the Gray Whales from the shores of Langley on Whidbey Island!

Cascadia Research of Olympia has been studying this population of Puget Sound Gray whales for decades, and has photo identified a group of approximately ten whales that visit this area each spring. The whales are identified by the markings on the underside of their flukes, as well as by the patterns of barnacles, scars, and markings on their backs. One whale, Patch, or #49, was first identified by Cascadia in our local waters in 1991 and is a favorite of many local whale watchers, as he is easily identifiable by the large white patch on his right side, back toward his flukes. Click for information on Cascadia's photo ID studies of the Gray whales, as well as their Field Identification Guide which has excellent photos to help you identify the Gray whales you are watching in Puget Sound. According to John Calambokidis of Cascadia Research, there are five to six "regulars" that show up each year to feed during these three months each spring, along with a variable number of animals that are not regulars. In greater Puget Sound, we see approximately 12 to 50 grays per year, and along the Pacific Coast is a population of 250 Gray Whales known as the Pacific Northwest feeding aggregation (or seasonal residents). These whales can be found along the coast of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Enjoy shoreline whale-watching and charters to observe Gray whales forage for food off of Whidbey & Camano Islands from March to May as they continue on their migration journey. Gray whale spyhop, off Priest Pt. (c) Beth Ann Daye

To learn more about Gray whales, visit Orca Network's Gray Whale website page and the Cascadia Research website

And attend our annual Welcome the Whales Day event and parade in Langley in April to learn about these springtime visitors, and have a fun time celebrating their return more info.

Gray Whale Watching In Saratoga Passage

Gray Whale Watching In Saratoga Passage Join WSU Island County Beach Watchers on a Whale-Watching Cruise leaving from Coupeville Wharf, Saturday, April 10th, 11 am-3 pm. This is the only gray whale watch trip from Coupeville in 2010. To reserve space, call 360-331-1030 or email (wsu.bw.island@gmail.com) as soon as possible.

$75 per person includes a four-hour cruise, lunch, beverages and on-board naturalists This is a fundraiser for WSU Island County Beach Watchers.
http://www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/island/

Mystic Sea Charters - Whale Watch Cruises ...
The 100' Mystic Sea offers cruises though the San Juan Islands including whale watching, weddings, corporate events, parties and more.
Gray Whale
Check-In Location
Historic Wharf
26 NW Front Street
Coupeville, WA 98239

Phone: 1.800.308.9387
or 360.588.8000

Email

Website

Planning a vacation to see the whales?

As you can imagine, "scheduling" whales can be difficult, but we can give you some general guidelines about when to see what kinds of whales off Whidbey Island!

The most reliable sightings are gray whales from the end of Feb. through the end of May or into early June, & the best place to see them from is Langley, or from most beaches off S. Whidbey, & sometimes further north in Saratoga Passage. We have already had several gray whale sightings this year, a bit earlier than usual!

For orcas, we typically say Oct. - Dec., but we just had a pod of orcas off W. Whidbey the past two days! They are much harder to predict, as they travel back & forth between lower Puget Sound, Whidbey Island, the San Juans, BC Canadian Islands, & the outer coast (even down to California!).

Orca Network offers a free Whale Sighting Network where we send out emails with locations of whales in the area, & we also post them on our Website sightings page. You can find the sightings (& a link to join the whale sighting network) on our website at www.orcanetwork.org - hope this helps!
susan berta, Orca Network

Orca Network - Connecting whales and people in the Pacific Northwest
Orca Network is dedicated to raising awareness about the whales of the Pacific Northwest, and the importance of providing them healthy and safe habitats.

Projects include the Whale Sighting Network and Education Programs, the Free Lolita Campaign, and the Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

Orca Network's Whale Sighting Network tracks the travels of Gray whales, orcas and other cetaceans in Washington and British Columbia waters. If you see a whale, please report it to Orca Network at 1-866-ORCANET or info@orcanetwork.org. If you would like to be on Orca Network's Whale Sighting Network to receive emails about the whereabouts of the whales of our regions, contact Susan Berta or sign up on our website below.

Susan Berta & Howard Garrett
Orca Network
Email
orcanetwork website
1-866-ORCANET

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Whidbey and Camano Islands are only 25 miles north of Seattle, and 2 hours south of Vancouver. See Directions and Maps to learn more about how to get here.