Written by Alison
on Aug 15, 2023

Whale Report: August 2, 2023 AM – T46s in Friday Harbor

Whale Report: August 2, 2023 AM – T46s in Friday Harbor

August 2, 2023 AM – Well it is not every day that you encounter whales just a few minutes from the dock, but today was the day. We encountered the T46’s just north of Friday Harbor. The matriarch of this family group has not been seen for several months. She is estimated to be 57 years old. She may be traveling elsewhere or has passed either way she has left a great legacy. She was one of the last whales captured in the 70’s. By the time of her capture there was enough public opposition to Orcas in captivity that she was released. This one whale currently has 17 living offspring! Today we had T122, a 41 year old female who is believed to be closely related to T46 and has always travelled with her and her sons, T46D, 23 year old “Strider”; T46E, 20 year old “Thor” and the youngest son who is now 11. The whales where traveling along the UW preserve close to shore. They were slightly spread out and surfaced regularly with no long dives! As they approached Friday Harbor they started to head past the UW labs facility, then made a decision to head back out to the channel. Captain JB made a calculated guess that they would change course and waited just off Brown Island. Sure enough they came right to where we were waiting. After this amazing encounter we still had lots of time left to check out other parts of the Salish Sea. We found Bald Eagles, Harbor Seals and Pigeon Guillemots at the Cactus Islands, then headed to Skip Jack where we found more seals, then onto beautiful Patos Island. Here Captain JB lined us up for the perfect Mt. Baker / Lighthouse shot! We still had some time so we decided to check out one more of our favorite places. We were off to Canada to check out Monarch Head on Saturna Island. What a beautiful day!

Photographer and Naturalist: Alison Engle – Instagram: @Alisonengleart – Website: www.alisonengle.com

Western Prince Wildlife Adventures – Instagram: @Westernprincewildlife – Facebook: Western Prince Whale Watching

Written by Alison
on Aug 15, 2023

Whale Report: August 2, 2023 AM – T46s in Friday Harbor

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