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The whale off the fishing pier on Friday was not an Orca. It had no characteristic, tall, black dorsal fin and it was quite long. It was most likely a grey whale. Please see comparison chart at one of many websites. https://www.soundviewcamp.com/nature-blog/2020/5/1/whales-vs-dolphins
That’s a humpback. A mother and calf were reported here yesterday.
Great spot Adrienne. Maybe there are some decent size Blackmouth (planted Chinook salmon) hanging around the pier for him/her to eat.
Humpbacks can’t eat fish bigger than herring; she couldn’t have been there for the salmon.
Looks like a Humpback, to me. Nice shot!
That looks like it might be the humpback whale that spent several hours cavorting in the area yesterday afternoon. WSF reported on Orca Network that the humpback had a calf with it.
Good to know. I’ve edited to the more generic “whale”.
It didn’t look quite right for an Orca to me either but species can be hard to identify for sure unless they breach completely. With the other recent sightings it’s pretty sure a humpback and probably feeding on plankton and small marine organisms rather than fish. Sure doesn’t take anything away from Adrieene’s great picture, however. Orcas are actually a very large porpoise rather than a whale, but everyone calls them whales.
It looks more like a pilot whale which often is mistaken for an orca and would be a rarer but possible find in Puget Sound. As a kid decades ago I saw some off Edmonds ferry dock.
https://www.acsonline.org/pilot-whale
It looks like a pilot whale. We saw one off Richmond Beach while trolling for Salmon 2 years ago. The Humpbacks I have seen like to pound their tails on the surface making a big splash.
The only clue we have is the dorsal fin. Go to “google image”, and look at Humpback, Pilot and Orca whales. To me, clearly, a Humpback.
Once again; this photo, with the ferry, whale and fishing poles is a real keeper!