I spent a lot of time sitting here watching for the whale today
Last year I saw my first whale ever, not sure what kind it was.. I was so excited I dropped the camera and think I scared it back across the water. I kept hearing something.. and it was a sound that was not normal at the beach in the few months I had been visiting there regularly. I find I "see" more with my ears than with my eyes while I am on the beach. My eyes tend to be filled up with the sea glass and the rocks and what not. My ears have learned to listen to the water and the wind and the birds and critters, and now the whales. I kept hearing this sound and looking up and seeing nothing.. finally I stopped... and just sat on a big log and watched the water.. I knew something was out there. He came up and spouted ( that was what I had been hearing ) and then back under the water. I was just in shock.. I had no idea that it might be a whale. He was so close to shore.... I was so excited.. I stood on the log.. got the camera all ready... and stood perfectly still.. watching and listening.. up he came... so very close to shore I was so amazed that I just stook watching and forgot to click the button for a picture. So I stood awhile longer... and then when he came back up he was almost to Whidbey (island that is 4 miles or so across the water from where I am ) and not a good picture... I stood there forever.. another lady came by and I told her what I had seen.. she said it happened all the time and was not a big deal.. again my jaw dropped in shock.. how could it ever not be a big deal.. if you saw it everyday it would still be an Awesome site. To each their own I guess!
I have lived here for 6 years now... only starting spending time on the beach a year ago... I had no clue that whales visited here.. and regularly.. like yearly. Since I saw that whale I did some reading and I am so looking forward to seeing some whales this year and am going to do my best to keep my calm and get some pictures :)
Just heard that the first one of the year has been spotted. A bit south of me... but I am still watching the water just in case he/she it comes this way. I follow The Orca Network on twitter and on facebook so I can watch where they are.
You can find all types of information on The Orca Network, not just about the orcas but about the Grays too :) Click here to learn about the Grays
Here is an article published today on the South Whidbey Record about the first whale of the year being spotted and about the "Welcome the Whales" celebration
What an amazing experience to hear it before seeing it. Under the surface, which looks so uneventful in its back and forth rhythm, lies a magnificent world only glimpsed at. I would be thrilled to be so close to a whale. The woman who thinks it's no big deal must be heavily burdened with something not to value the awesomeness of nature's creatures.
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