On a Boat
Catelynn wins the best girlfriend award once again for booking us a whale watching tour as my B-day present this year. Already we'd had a good whale year (orcas sightings in May and July), but this sealed the deal. And puffins? Gotta love puffins!
Oh to be a Sea Lion on a rock.
Humpbacks giving us a lil fluke action.
Orcas cruising.
Puffins puffining.
According to the naturalist on board, the four Orcas we encountered are siblings, and we're lucky they're here today. Their mother was one of six orcas herded into a pen (with explosives) in 1976 to be orcanapped by SeaWorld. Thankfully, public outcry and state intervention managed to secure their release before they were stolen away by those villains.
In other Salish Sea news, Tufted Puffin numbers are down 90% in WA, Horned Puffins are still making surprise appearances, and Rhinoceros Auklets (also a puffin species) seem to be doing fine. Also, I would like to say my thanks to Humpbacks, who've decided to return to these waters in big numbers in the past couple decades after we nearly eradicated them in the commercial whaling era. That's all!
