Tacoma-area - 30-foot gray whale @ Les Davis

[BASSMAN]

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/01/0 ... ition.html

Did anyone get to see this Whale?
Is it still around?

[eliseaboo]

Sounds like the writer didn't bother to do any research at all. "It's hungry for squid"??? No, grey whales feed on things in the mud. They make it sound like the grey whale is stranded and in trouble - but it's normal (in fact, necessary) for grey whales to be that near to shore because they feed in the mud. Now, most of them should be migrating, yes, but the fact that it's close to shore is not what should be causing people to think "oh my gosh, it's clearly washing in with the tide and about to die!" It's just feeding. It might be lost since it's down into the lower Puget Sound area, but what was described is pretty typical grey whale behavior.

[oldsalt]

The picture was taken last spring from my back yard. In the years I have lived here, the grays normally show up in January and leave in the early summer. It is great fun to watch them scoop up a mouthful of sand and filter out the shrimp living there. As the tide goes out it exposes the divots they leave behind. The property description on my deed goes a couple hundred feet beyond the tide line. While the actual ownership of that land is disputed, I like to think that gray whales have been feeding on my property.
-Curt

[Octoloco]

Curt have you ever thrown on your gear and gone for a dive with them?

[Jaksonbrown]

Here is a great website to keep anyone interested in whales in PS up to date with their movments and sightings.

http://www.orcanetwork.org/sightings/map.html

If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, there is a sightings map.

[oldsalt]

Curt have you ever thrown on your gear and gone for a dive with them?

Even though I tried to intercept grays several times, I have never seen one while submerged. The only whales I have seen underwater are orcas (Haro Strait) and humpbacks (Molikini). That's why I keep diving and going to sea; there are still lots of things I have yet to see.
-Curt