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Health & Fitness

One Purdy Whale Tale

One Purdy Whale Tale

I almost couldn’t believe the message from my friend.  “did you see the whale by the Purdy bridge?”  She asked.  “WHAT? I answered.  Get me more info please!”  A little internet searching pulled up an aerial photo of a  gray whale, stuck in the Burley Lagoon.  Moments later, friends on Facebook began to tag me in the news articles. 

I had to get over there!  I told my boss about the whale.  The first thing she said was “lets go!”  I grabbed my keys and raced to the door.  I double checked my camera.  It would be just my luck to make it all the way over to the Spit and end up with a dead battery or something equally devastating.  Sure enough, I had left my memory card in my computer.  I dashed back down stairs, got the card and was on my way.  

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You know how everything seems to go so much slower when you are in a hurry?  Well that was especially true for me this morning as I hurried to the scene of the whale.  When I got the Purdy off ramp, I could see the helicopter in the sky;  no doubt the same one that provided me the image that sparked my exuberant excursion.   I parked as fast as I could, thanking God for the empty spot as I ran, camera in hand to the edge of the bulk head.  What I saw was actually pretty uneventful.  A few handfuls of people had gathered around the shore, seemingly staring at nothing.   Just then, the large animal took a breath, expelling two plumes of vapor into the air.  Suddenly, I had goosebumps.  With much excitement, I ran down the bank, past the no trespassing sign (I imagined explaining myself to a police officer “but sir, there was a WHALE!”)  to where most of the people had gathered.  Not 20 feet off the bank was the whale.  I could see his pale shape, obscured slightly by the waves and ripples as the incoming tide flooded past.   Not a full grown whale like I was expecting, but a juvenile.  He seemed to be almost playing in the current.  He would surface to breath, then drift in the tidal influx a bit, surface a little behind the first location.  Each breath was about a minute and a half apart. 

For a good half hour, I watched him, pacing the beach, always trying to get a better view.  “lets make a quick video.” Lindsey said. 

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The news crew from KOMO overheard us, and asked if they could interview me.  I gave them what information I knew.  Afterward, I realized I needed to study up on whales!

The whale was reportedly the same one who had been spotted around Olympia.   Though it was very hard to tell from our vantage point, it was apparent after looking closer at the aerial photos that this was one skinny whale.  He had a large patch of whale lice (do yourself a favor and DON’T google that) and you could see a depression behind his skull. 

He stayed a little longer in the lagoon and then made slow progress under the bridge and further out into Puget Sound.  I don’t know what will become of him, but I'm hoping he makes it back to the ocean and up to the colder water to feed.  

- Rachel Easton, Program Coordinator for Harbor WildWatch

Check out more photos of the whale on our facebook page.  www.facebook.com/harborwildwatch

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