TWELVE DARING GRAYS

Every year, the Pacific Northwest’s Salish Sea becomes a pit stop on one of nature’s most majestic migrations.

Leaving Baja California each February, 20,000 gray whales embark on a monthslong journey to the Arctic, where they spend each summer feasting on shrimp and growing strong. The migration is arduous; the whales eat almost nothing along the way and lose one-third of their body weight. Among the travelers are 12 whales with a sense of adventure, willing to risk a detour with the promise of a valuable payoff. Sometimes called the Sounders, these whales break off from the group each year at the tip of Washington State and enter the great network of waterways called the Salish Sea. Their 170-mile detour leads them to shorelines so shallow that whales who don’t pay attention to the outgoing tide are at risk of being stranded. Here they scrape great heaps of ghost shrimp from the sea floor, leaving behind giant pits in the sand that are visible when the tide turns. The Sounders eat hundreds of pounds of shrimp during their short stay in the Salish Sea before continuing their journey to the Arctic, bellies full. Nickum’s quiet, flowing prose sets the scene with vivid, sensory detail. MacKay’s captivating ink and paper illustrations were layered and enhanced with wire, colored filters, and light and then photographed for a glowing and serene three-dimensional effect. The speckled whales seem ready to splash off the page in each dioramic scene.

A stunning and unforgettable journey.