Humpback whale puts on show off Hansville | Photo

Fisheries biologist Patty Michak of Hansville captured this image of a humpback whale breaching off Point No Point on April 22. “The whale put on a show,” Michak said. “He breached and breached and breached.”

Humpback sightings in the area are “pretty rare but not unheard of,” said Howard Garrett, director of Whidbey Island-based Orca Network.

Gray whales and orcas were also spotted near Hansville in April. Humpback populations have risen steadily in recent decades, since whaling decimated the species in early 20th century, Garrett said.

Tags: