Bayview, Washington - 01-07-12

I was out for a duck hunt on Padilla Bay, we set up on a small island on the SW end of Padilla Bay and were waiting for LST which was at 7:25 AM.

At around 6:45-7:00 AM, we noticed a large orange/red orb above the tree line of Samish Island.

At first I thought the orb was an airplane light but it never moved. My next thought was a helicopter, but again the orb did not move.

Aircraft are very audible over the water, but no sounds were heard. I grabbed my binoculars for a closer look but was unable to determine the light source.

It appeared to be significantly larger than an aircraft light. The orb hovered for at least 5-8 minutes, and was there a few minutes before I paid detailed attention to it.

The orb/object began to slowly descend. As the orb began to descend, we noticed a boat move north through the Swinomish Channel and then turn directly across Padilla Bay towards the orb.

The boat was blacked out and extremely quiet. What made us notice the boat was its bow crashing through the water.

There was no noticeable engine noise coming from the boat. The orb descended below the tree line and was no longer visible.

The tree line I describe is Samish Island between Padilla Bay and Samish Bay. I estimate the tree line to be 5 miles from our location where we viewed the orb.