When we first arrived on the beach we noticed a large humpback logging at the surface of the water in the middle of the channel between Douglas and Admiralty Island.  A few seconds later we noticed a very small humpback swimming around near the whale that was logging.  It was obvious it was a mother and calf.  I have heard that whale #1538, aka Smudge or Flame has a calf with her this year.  Although I was never able to confirm if this was Flame, I cannot help but think it was.  We have seen Flame on several occasions.  I last took a photo of her in Fritz Cove on December 21, 2018.  It is very fascinating to think that she left Alaska sometime after that, swam all the way to Hawaii, had a calf, and is back in Alaska.  That seems like such short amount of time.  

A pod of orcas were observed in the Gastineau Channel.  T075 and her adult son T075A have been identified, along with T038A.  These are transient (mammal eaters) orcas.  They swam right by me as I stood underneath the Juneau-Douglas bridge.        

When I learned that a sperm whale carcass had washed up on shore near Juneau, I hoped that we would be able to go see it.  The carcass is closer to Haines, but thankfully we had a low wind day and were able to get there with our boat.  Sperm whales typically are not found in inside waters so this really is a rare occurrence.  Here is a good article about it.  https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/alaska-noaa-team-examines-dead-endangered-sperm-whale