Gray Whale Cruise - Sound Water Stewards

Date: Sunday March 15th

‍Vessel departure/return time: 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm PST

‍Location: Langley Marina228 Wharf Street Langley, Washington, 98260Ticket price: $120

View majestic gray whales in the wild as they migrate from the winter breeding grounds in the Lagoons of Baja California, Mexico to the summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea. Locally, there is a small group of gray whale outliers nick-named "Sounders."  This group of roughly a dozen gray whales like to take a detour from their migration to start feeding on the rich bounty of ghost shrimp in Puget Sound. The Snohomish and Stillaguamish estuaries and beaches around Possession Sound and Saratoga Passage are part of their core foraging areas. In recent years these Sounders have used this spring time resource more extensively, some arriving early and leaving much later in the season, with some now even spending their winters here. Two stayed with us this winter and four have recently been spotted along the Camano/Whidbey coastlines. They will be joined by others all known individually to scientists, naturalists, and whale enthusiasts in our area.

As for the other animals you might see on this trip, different species of birds, as well as harbor seals, harbor porpoises, and sea lions are always a possibility! There is a chance you might see orcas as well since Bigg's killer whales in particular have become more frequent in the area, to feed on the bounty of marine mammals Puget Sound has to offer.

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