You have to be careful reading the news on a day like yesterday. For example, despite multiple Facebook posts, there was no unusual volcanic activity in the area of Devil’s Tower and there were no evacuations of the area around Bear Butte in South Dakota Yesterday. I wasn’t taken in by the Facebook posts first of all because of the source, secondly because of the date. There are plenty of people who are far more into April Fools pranks than I. I think of April Fools as a kind of amateur’s day and prefer to play pranks on other days.

There are many sources of the modern April Fool’s observances. One lies in the Christian tradition of Holy Humor Sunday. Usually observed during the season of Easter, Holy Humor is a celebration of the humor and creativity of the human spirit in response to what some have called the greatest prank of all time - the resurrection of Jesus. “You watched him die, but we have experienced him alive.” Depending on the location and local traditions Holy Humor observances range from telling jokes and stand up comedy during worship to making the priest or officiant the object of practical jokes such as dousing with water or a pie in the face. There are several stories of worship services being run in reverse, beginning with the benediction and ending with the call to worship. Choirs have processed and recessed facing the wrong direction and walking backwards. Pastors have saved up the kind of jokes that you can tell from the pulpit for use on the day.

There was, however, a story posted on the Bellingham Herald website yesterday that at first looked like it might be an April Fool’s joke. It turns out that it was not. I’ve checked multiple sources and seen enough pictures to believe that it was a simple reporting of actual events. On Thursday, March 31, there were at least 72 Bigg’s killer whales spotted in the Salish Sea, which experts say is a record number of sightings for a single day. Compare that number of sightings with a total of 790 sightings reported in 2021, which was a record-breaking year for sightings.

It means that amateur whale watchers and tourists have a better chance of spotting killer whales than ever before.

Almost nine years ago, in celebration of our 40th wedding anniversary, we took a whale watching cruise out of Anacortes around the San Juan Islands. We were fortunate to spot an active pod of killer whales and enjoyed the sight of their large dorsal fins and the splash of their flukes hitting the water as they dove. It was a marvelous and wonderful display of nature and we felt fortunate to have had the experience. At the time we did not imagine that we would one day move to the shores of the Salish Sea where we would have the opportunity of occasional sightings of killer whales from the shore. We’ve yet to see a pod of the creatures since our move, but we know that it is possible and we are trying to read up on the best ways and the best places to sight the great creatures.

Scientists use observations and photographs to identify individual whales. They give them names. Among the whales spotted on Thursday is an adult male whale over 40 years old whose dorsal fin is distinctly jagged. They call that creature “Chainsaw.” On Thursday, watchers spotted 10 distinct pods of whales in different locations across the region from as far south as Hood Canal and as far north as the Campbell River region of Vancouver Island. In the northern part of the San Juan Islands, where we took our cruise years ago, a pod of 18 whales was observed. I try to imagine what that might have been like. When we toured, we saw a pod of about 4 animals. Imagine watching such a beautiful display of nature and having an additional 14 show up!

The food of the whales, including seals and sea lions, have been increasing in recent years due to the efforts of a variety of organizations protecting marine mammals. Increased feeding possibilities and other factors have combined to yield record years for new infants in the pods. Last year was a bit of a baby boom for the Salish Sea killer whales with at least 11 new calves spotted and officially identified.

In recent years, observers have spotted other unusual sights among Orcas. Orca is the name preferred by many who point out that the animals are not really whales at all, but a species closer to dolphins and porpoises. Last April, King News in ‘Seattle published video of a rare white orca swimming in a pod of Bigg’s killer whales swimming off of Orcas Island. Another orca names “Tl’uk,” which translates to “moon” from the language of the Indigenous Coast Salish people. Tl’uk has a grayish-white color that makes him distinctive and easy to spot.

Since we have moved to the coast, there have been many newsworthy whale sightings, including the first documented sighting of a beluga whale in more than 80 years last summer and a record-breaking baby boom of humpback whales off the coast of western Washington in 2021. A total of 21 calves were photographed, compared to just 11 calves in 2020. It is too early to know the numbers for this year, but hopes are high that the trend will continue and more whales will be born as the population continues to increase.

It is no April Fool’s joke. These are good times for spotting orcas and whales in the waters near the coast of Washington, especially in the relative protected Salish Sea waters. Food supplies are abundant and the more adults seen means higher possibilities of spotting calves as well. Researchers know that population trends don’t follow straight lines and cannot continue upward forever, but it does appear that we are in a good time for increased sightings.

I’m eager to find a time to take another whale watching cruise - perhaps a guided kayak paddle near the places the pods frequent. And that, my friends, is no April Fool’s joke.