Whale watching at Westport on the Washington coast and at Whidbey Island in Puget Sound can be a real pleasure. Whales blow, porpoises stick their noses out of the water and even jump out of the water from time to time.
At times, whales swim right up to charter boats. Every spring, 23,000 gray whales leave their Baja California wintering grounds and swim north to the arctic waters of the Bering Strait. The whales, which can be up to 47 feet long and weigh 70,000 pounds, swim close to Westport and Whidbey Island on their northern migration.
Gray whales, like most other baleen whales, migrate to warmer waters during the winter months. The grey whale performs one of the world’s longest migrations. The eastern Pacific stock of gray whales travels along the coast of the US and Mexico. During this annual migration, a gray whale can travel as far as 6,000 miles each way.
The grey whale is mottled grey with numerous white, yellow or orange patches of barnacles and parasites around the blowhole, on top of the head, and on the fore part of the back. The grey whale is is the only bottom feeding whale; it scoops and filters amphipod crustaceans from the mud; this explains why they are so comfortable in the shallow coastal waters.
In Puget Sound, a small group of gray whales arrives off Whidbey Island in March and feeds on ghost shrimp in near shore mudflats. Though people often see gray whales from viewpoints on the shore, Whidbey Island whale watchers as such can see feeding whales from Langley Waterfront Park, however charter boats can get them up-close.A ‘Welcome the Whales Day’ festival is scheduled for April 14 at Langley on Whidbey Island.
Best time to see whales: The gray whale migration past Westport has just gotten started, but the best whale watching happens from mid-April through May. That’s when gray whales go inside Grays Harbor, which makes them easier to spot than if the boat has to cross the bar and go out into the open ocean.
Look for: Whales blowing, whale tails or whales diving or swimming near your boat. If you are lucky you might get a glimpse of the calves You also might see whales diving to feed on shrimp and other goodies in the bottom mud. Feeding gray whales leave clouds of mud in the water.
Equipment: Rubber boots, warm clothes, raingear, thermos of coffee or hot chocolate, snacks, motion-sickness medicine - if needed - cameras and video cameras. It can get cold and wet on the ocean!
If you’re planning a trip on a whale watching boat, now is the time to make a reservation.
Source: The Olympian
