Photo by Sarah Schmidt
Camano Island Stewards offer a public education program every 4th Wednesday of the month at the Camano Library. Topics range from Doug Kelly, King County Hydrogeologist to Salmon Fisheries to Marine Mammal Rehabilitation. June is Orca Awareness Month and you can find out about informative events across Puget Sound: http://us.whales.org/orca-awareness-month. But in our islands, we celebrate all whales always. Whales are symbolic of the beauty and majesty of our Salish Sea. In May, we were privileged with multiple sightings off Whidbey and Camano of our returning gray whales. This year that pod grew by one and nine whales frolicked off our coasts. Camano member Carol Gillespie writes of being inspired by a 4th Wednesday program on grey whales to join a whale watching adventure in Mexico with Orca Network. What might inspire you at a 4th Wednesday or monthly meeting?
Thanks to a 4th Wednesday program on grey whales, I participated in an Orca Network sponsored event in San Ignacio Lagoon on the Pacific side of Baja, Mexico. 26 of us from all over the USA and England scrambled into 3 outboard motor boats twice daily for close and up front encounters with mama and baby grey whales who had not yet migrated north.
Photo by Sarah Schmidt
It was mind blowing to find out that while we were idling in the middle of the lagoon, whales would sidle up to the boat, even gently pushing the boat, so we could sing to them and pet them. This wasn’t an accidental happening. During the six two hour outings it happened over and over. I know the humans felt the bonding, and I hope the whales felt that too.
On the 4th day we were up early, ate breakfast, packed belongings, tidied the cabins, then headed out to the bus and plane rides back to San Diego. Each of us has many tales to tell. It was a once in a lifetime experience—much better than looking at whales through binoculars. Come find me at a meeting and ask me about the Camp, the marvelous food, and the albatross couple raising young chicks. . .