WHALES: Humpback sighting off West Seattle (evening update)

9:28 AM: Thanks to Carl Furfaro for the report – a humpback whale breaching off Lincoln Park, just south of Colman Pool, less than an hour ago. Let us know if you see it!

7:43 PM: Just got two notes (thanks to Gary and Andrew!) that it’s been seen in the Alki Point/Constellation Park vicinity, southbound.

16 Replies to "WHALES: Humpback sighting off West Seattle (evening update)"

  • Kersti Elisabeth Muul July 4, 2022 (9:52 am)

    If you want to know about whales and wildlife sightings in real time you can join my text notifications service through WhatsAppFollow this link to join my WhatsApp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KSanjuel1nYBLZlrc0azcM

    • T July 4, 2022 (8:40 pm)

      Thank you thank you 🙏🏾. I have never seen a whale (except orca at the zoo/aquarium) and I grew up on boats on Luger sound. Will follow

  • Carl Furfaro July 4, 2022 (10:20 am)

    Was talking to two people who were fishing, talking about the juvenile eagles in the nest, when suddenly this huge, dark shape came out of the water, amazingly close to us. Made a big, noisy splash going back down and I saw the fluke. Then seconds later just back and dorsal came out and went back under and that was all for now.

  • lowmanbeachdrive July 4, 2022 (10:57 am)

    any more sightings?

    • Carl Furfaro July 4, 2022 (12:24 pm)

      I was getting ready to go home and get some work done but after that excitement I stayed more than an hour longer in hopes of a second sighting; no such luck. In that time I spoke with a number of people who’d seen the whale, including a woman who’d noticed the dorsal a bit before the whale breached, north of her vantage. Wish I’d had a little such advance notice because maybe I’d have gotten a photo or two…

      • Kersti Elisabeth Muul July 4, 2022 (5:31 pm)

        Once a humpback flukes, it’s usually going down for an extended period of time. By the time it comes up again it may not be anywhere near where it previously was. 

  • Canyontree Photography July 5, 2022 (10:32 am)

    We saw it yesterday from the Seattle to Bremerton Ferry, around 3:30 PM coming out of the first turn in the strait. Got some photos with my 300mm lens, but it was really far away. Will try to crop and post them later, but don’t expect much! It was right in the path of the ferry, but it went back down well before we reached it.

  • Carol July 5, 2022 (10:57 am)

    7/4 about 6pm sighted humpback off West Point Lighthouse (Magnolia) just a few yards from our sailboat. Came up 2x then was gone  I captured a brief video of 2nd surfacing

  • Donna, The Whale Trail July 5, 2022 (1:43 pm)

    Hey everyone please remember to report your sightings to Whale Report. That’s the best way to let ships (ferries, container ships, tankers, high-speed ferries) know they are in the area. Download for free from the App Store or Google Play. Your sightings matter! 

  • Canyontree Photography July 5, 2022 (1:57 pm)

    Here are the photos. Feel free to laugh at me if it’s not a whale! But please let me know if it is! :)
    https://canyontreephotography.smugmug.com/Whale-or-Whale-Tall-Tale

    • Kersti Elisabeth Muul July 5, 2022 (4:03 pm)

      I believe that is wake.

    • Carl Furfaro July 5, 2022 (9:34 pm)

      That really looks like the wake from a vessel. I can laugh at your possibly having been fooled by a boat wake because I’m laughing at myself for the same thing. Lots of times I’ve been temporarily convinced I was seeing something more exciting before realizing it was a wake or some floating tree debris. If you find yourself feeling silly or stupid, console yourself please with knowing I’m every bit as silly and stupid and probably more so!

      • Canyontree Photography July 6, 2022 (4:10 pm)

        Oh well!  Thank you both for being kind. Wake or log, it certainly seemed very active and interesting when I was trying to take pictures of it. But it’s true, when I got it onto my laptop screen, it suddenly didn’t look quite as alive as it did on my camera’s review screen.  Note to self, either always pack a laptop to double check, or at least don’t post a possible whale sighting until I get back home to  make sure I was seeing what I thought I was seeing.Next time, real whale. Next time! 

    • Jennifer July 7, 2022 (1:52 am)

      Looks like a shallow whale to me, although you’re quite far away. In a couple of your pics you can see the blow hole on the left side. It’s quite distinctive. The whale seems to just be hanging out just below the surface so there isn’t much to see on a humpback when they’re doing that. 

  • Kersti Elisabeth Muul July 5, 2022 (4:10 pm)

    Reporting here helps alert vessels (they aren’t whale watch vessels) like ferries, etc. The other whale alert system is being used now by sightings networks and information is shared with whale watching boats.Also share as soon as possible, as there is a delay In the information getting to the vessels. Humpbacks are not very aware of their surroundings (boats) and there are a lot of them around right now. Remember we had one struck in Elliott bay a couple years ago by a ferry 
    Report here:
    https://prod-vancouverwras-app.spatialvision.com.au/#/login

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