MEYER2J at aol.com wrote:
>
> Hi Tweets:
>
> If you're looking for an opportunity to possibly see Orca whales, join
> East Lake Washington Audubon on their field trip with Viking Cruises.

Tweeters, et al.

If you are looking for an opportunity to contribute to the demise of the
orca whale then by all means take a whale watching trip in the San Juans.

I'm sorry but, after witnessing the passage of a small group of orcas
last week around Guemes, I can't avoid the impression that these
creatures are being disturbed by the flotilla of observers that
accompanies them.

Every summer, all summer long, orcas are followed by throngs of
observers. The tour operators are in radio contact with each other and
once a group of whales is sighted the circus begins. Sure there is a
distance that is supposed to be kept between the observers and the
observed and I think most operators try to maintain this protocol but
the fact remains that these creatures are closely followed throughout
the summer. I can't help but feel that they are disturbed. I know that
it is not scientific fact. A correlational study would reveal that as
tours have increased orca numbers have decreased. That wouldn't offer a
very powerful argument for limiting the number of whale watching tours.
By the time some evidence of cause and effect could be tested the whales
may be gone.

You know, I may be full of it but after watching the watchers I just had
to say something. There are many threats to the fauna of the the greater
Puget Sound. Pollution is probably a greater threat than observer
harassment. We should try to be careful with our choices so that we
cause as little harm as possible.

Have a good trip.

Paul

ps. Two red-tailed hawks are fledging from their nest this week.

Paul Moorehead
Guemes, WA