August 2, 2019 – Despite pointing into some lumpy seas on Salmon Bank, we found a minke whale foraging amongst many diving birds. It is a minke whale who we’ve seen many times over the last month. We jokingly call him/her “Sharkey” because the scrape marks on his/her right side look like gills. We saw lots of wildlife on our sail including great blue herons, black oystercatchers, cormorants (Pelagic, Double-crested and Brandts), bald eagles, gulls with chicks, a red tailed hawk, harbor seals, steller sea lions and even a raccoon!
Route Map 8-2-19
Raccoon
Great Blue Heron walking along the coast of Lopez Island
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Harbor seals on Shark Reef
Harbor seals
Harbor seal with pup
Bald eagle
Black oystercatchers calling
Fried egg jellyfish
Steller sea lions fast asleep on Whale Rocks
Branded steller sea lion #882R on Whale Rocks
Cattle Pt Lighthouse
Minke whale feeding on Salmon Bank
Minke whale surfacing right by our boat
Minke whale surfacing right by our boat
Minke whale surfacing right by our boat
Minke whale feeding on Salmon Bank
Our passenger taking the helm
Black oystercatcher with older chick
Red tailed hawk
Castle Rock
Cormorants on Bird Rocks
Sailing alongside Blakely
Sunset sail
Sun setting as we head for home