We’re only a few days in, and this is already proving to be a week of firsts! In the past few days, we’ve seen our first adult humpback of the year, BCX1193 (Zig Zag), our first tufted puffin of the year, and had our first sightings of Bigg’s orcas T167A and T167B in Puget Sound!
On Sunday, both the Port Townsend and Edmonds half-day tours followed up on reports of a humpback whale around Eagle Point on San Juan Island, where we were thrilled to find BCX1193 (Zig Zag) — our first sighting of an adult humpback for the year! Typically, we begin to see humpbacks returning in May, so it’s always exciting when individuals show up a little ahead of schedule!
On Monday, we continued the trend of spotting returning favorites when guests aboard our Port Townsend Bird Migration Tour spotted our first returning tufted puffin of the season! After wintering at sea, this puffin was seen in the waters off Smith Island, a protected island in the San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge and a puffin hotspot!
Also on Monday, visitors aboard the Swiftsure from Edmonds set sail through Saratoga Passage, following reports of Bigg’s orcas. When we arrived, we were excited to find the T90s traveling with siblings T167A and T167B! While we sometimes see the T90s in Puget Sound, we hadn’t previously seen T167A or T167B in these waters. This dynamic duo tends to stick to more northern waters, preferring to spend time in and around British Columbia and southern Alaska. What a fantastic way to start the week!
Enjoy these photos:
