Recent Whale News

Here is some recent Puget Sound whale news:
http://www.theolympian.com/2010/12/06/1464296/biologists-seek-to-tag-orcas.html
Researchers think injured whale seen in Totten Inlet near Olympia will die - Environment - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington
Interestingly Caleb and Jack have personally meet both Brad Hanson of NOAA and John Calambokidis of Cascadia Research featured in these articles at Whale Trail events over this past year.

Brad Hanson on the Whale Trail

On November 10th, Wednesday, Dad and I took his Corolla down to the Duwamish Longhouse in west Seattle for another one of the Whale Trail's presentations, this one on "Welcome the Orcas" . The last time we went to a Whale Trail convention, we managed to take a wrong turn on the intersection on the way (an easy thing to do on that particular intersection). But this time we came prepared, with our keen eyes and Dad's Droid Motorola with built-in G.P.S., and made the turn with no mishaps this time. On arrival we went to right to work, setting up the sound system, turning on the microphones, and connecting the computer to the projector, and making very sure to deactivate the screen saver (unlike last time). The speaker was Brad Hanson who's a member of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, and researches orcas by collecting samples of their scat, mucus, and regurgitation for analysis. His presentation was on the new findings about the resident orca's diet, complete with a power-point slide show. Brad also had placed a critter-cam on one orca in hopes that he would be able to observe its food choices and displayed it for us to see.Unfortunately the orca didn't actually go foraging, instead it went to the kelp beds and socialized with its pod.

The Whale Trail update

The Whale Trail team has been busy over the past month! Here are just a few of the accomplishments:

1. Four Whale Trail signs installed along Highway 112 on the Olympic Peninsula. See the picture below from Freshwater Bay in Clallam County.
2. Today the newest sign was dedicated at the Salt Creek Recreation Area just outside of Port Angeles, WA.
3. The website has been updated. Check it out at: www.thewhaletrail.org!

All of this is pretty amazing - this concept was a dream that a friend and co-worker (now former co-worker) Donna Sandstrom had for years. When she 'retired' and then asked me to be a part of the Board of Directors a year and half ago I was sold on the idea but dubious that things would be able to execute so quickly. This is a real testament to Donna's perseverance, on the job project management training at Adobe, and a deep passion for a cause she believes in. Congratulations Donna!

Whale Trail signage
Freshwater Bay, Clallam County, WA

John Calambokidis on the Whale Trail

On June 17, vaguely around 6PM, Dad and I drove down into Seattle, to the Duwamish Longhouse. The Longhouse is the first built in Seattle since the last one burnt down, and is now also a cultural center. One of Dad's former co-workers was doing a presentation for the Whale Trail with John Calambokidis (who conducted the necropsy on the whale beached on Arroyo), and had asked dad to help her with the technical part of it. When we got there Dad and I started with setting up the projector, checking the sound equipment, microphone, and setting up the power cords.After we finished,and all the people came, we took some seats so we could sit near the sound equipment while we watched the presentation. Everything ran smoothly, except once when the computer displaying the logo started to go into screen saver mode (so we had to move the mouse occasionally).
-Caleb

The WhaleTrail project

The recent news of a baby orca in J pod makes for an excellent opportunity to mention that there is also a baby non-profit organization focused on identifying locations to view orca’s from the shores of Puget Sound. It’s called the WhaleTrail and the brainchild of friend Donna Sandstrom. [Full disclosure: I’m a member of the WhaleTrail Board of Directors and helping to get things started] This is such a cool idea – there are so many places you can see whales all within a short distance of the Seattle metropolitan area. Look for more information about this exciting new project in the coming months - and in the meantime keep an eye out for that baby orca! 12/9/09: Here is a community blog article featuring Donna.
4/24/10: The City of Langley, WA declares that is it the official Whale Trail city on it's annual Welcome the Whales Day.