Northwest Dive Club

We are taking the virus threat seriously. Older people with "underlying conditions" are particularly at risk. That's us. We are both 76. My wife is undergoing cancer treatment and I am under care for a heart condition. Fortunately, we live on the Sound and it provides stimulation. In the time we have been in self isolation we have seen orca twice and gray whales on a daily basis. I believe the grays we see to be some of "the sounders", the small population which return to Puget Sound on a regular basis. Thee pictures I am posting are unremarkable, but they are shot from home while we are in isolation. There have been three animals. Two stick so close together that they are difficult to distinguish. The first picture shows what I mean. All baleen whales have double blowholes. This picture I shot earlier shows this. This means that sometimes you get a heart shaped spout. Like seeing organisms underwater, in order to see them, you have to bee looking. Many people are oblivious. Still alive, and enjoying it.
-Curt

awesome that you can see these!

Fantastic report. I'm glad you can see such amazing critters from your window!!!
stay safe!

Fantastic report. I'm glad you can see such amazing critters from your window!!!
stay safe!

Very nice! What are those birds out there? Are they feeding off the same stuff?

Stay safe!

The birds are a mix of diving ducks: surf scoters, mergansers, bufflehead, and goldeneyes. They often signal the location of the whales. My guess is that as the whales feed by scooping up the bottom they also stir up organisms the ducks feed upon. That's my story and I'm sticking to it, until somebody tells me I'm wrong.
-Curt

Not many people can say that they can watch whales while following the "Stay Home" rule
Stay safe and show us what else you see from your home ...

Ty ty ty, glad you're staying healthy

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Great shots. As a citizen-scientist monitoring station, I imagine with all the reduced water traffic the large aquatic mammal wildlife are wondering why things have gone so quiet, and you may see more sightings with reduced boat traffic. I wonder if they get tinnitus too? Your observation that the divers feed on the stirred up sediment is an idea. Also consider the smaller fish that are similarly feeding on the smaller organisms that are in the area of the whales feeding. Opportunism abounds in nature.

found this website:https://thewhaletrail.org/wt-species/gray-whale/
I honestly didn't know we had grey whales in Puget Sound. Thanks for the heads up!