Whales visiting the shores of Burien from Alaska? Yes!
Hongming Zhing, an active participant in the Orca Community Network Facebook Group, took this amazing photo of a visiting Orca checking out Three Tree Point on April 1.
No fooling! The whale rising straight up from the water is one of three visitors mentioned in this KUOW story, and this striking behavior, referred to as “spyhopping” is a rare opportunity to see whales when they want to take a look around, navigate near shore, or just satisfy their curiosity.
These whales are not resident to Puget Sound and have previously been sighted in Alaska.
Hongming, a former Burien resident, wrote when granting permission to use this photo:
“The photo was taken from land at the Three Tree Point dive site, on the north side. Orcas are not unusual, but these three are literally a once-in-a-lifetime sighting because they are a trio of unknown orcas. About 99.5% of orcas that show up are familiar ones with already designated IDs and names, but not these three until their first visit in March. Now they are designated as T419, T420, and T421, also known as the ‘T419s.’
“Their origin is a mystery. They have bite marks from cookie-cutter sharks, which are parasitic small sharks, like a mosquito bite for them. None of our local pods have these scars, because they indicate the whales traveled either into low-latitude waters or far offshore. They were seen once in Anchorage, Alaska.”
Are they still in town…?
There may be many other opportunities to see them. The Facebook page linked above has several posts each day. On the page, there are additional recent photos and videos taken in the waters off the Highline area. These include the whales hunting porpoises, swimming, and diving near Redondo and Seahurst park areas.
Others have posted sightings from the King County Water Taxi in Elliott Bay, Lincoln Park, and Commencement Bay in Tacoma.
Keep the Whales Safe
If you go out on a boat to observe them, please stay at least 200 yards away. Be parallel to the direction the whales are moving, and do not park in their path unless you are at least 400 yards away. Also, reduce speed to 7 knots or less at the first sign of any whale. The whales can spread out, so be watchful of our visitors.
