Recent Sightings

After the torrential rains of yesterday, fog moved in today reducing visibility along our coast.

AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA:

🟣 NO WHALES  SEEN

🟣 87 harbor seals

🟣 1 American kestrel

We relocated to Saunders Reef where the fog had retreated closer to the horizon:

🔵 5 northbound gray whales – a loose group of three and two singles, backs and flukes were visible

🔵 1 red-tailed hawk

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♦️ TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE  🟰

🔵   24 northbound          🔴   382 southbound

 

 

After a very rainy, windy weekend that did not allow for observations, we did get out to Lighthouse Road on the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula to look for whales. It remained quite windy at 13 miles per hour with gusts of 26 miles per hour from the south southeast. The sky was cloudy and the ocean was covered with whitecaps.

✳️ 3 gray whales – singles; unable to determine direction of travel

✳️ 69 harbor seals

✳️ 1 great blue heron

✳️ 2 black oystercatchers

🔷 On Saturday morning, February 21,  Shari Goforth spotted 1 northbound gray whale passing by Gualala Point

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🔆🔆TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE  ➡️

🔵  19 northbound       🔴  382 southbound

We had a very welcomed break from the rain today. Under partly sunny and partly cloudy skies, the ocean was calm but as the wind increased throughout the day, so did the whitecaps.

AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE ARENA PENINSULA, WE OBSERVED:

💠 3 northbound gray whales

💠 3 southbound gray whales

💠 56 harbor seals

💠 1 brown pelican circling the area

💠 4 black oystercatchers

💠 3 American kestrels

💠 1 bobcat

AT SAUNDERS REEF, WE OBSERVED:

💠 1 northbound gray whale

AT HEARN GULCH, Fred and Janet McElroy observed and photographed two northbound gray whales traveling together

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TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE. =

🔵 18  northbound      🔴  382 southbound

 

Photo of two gray whale blows at Hearn Gulch taken by Janet McElroy

 

Once again, we had variable weather conditions ranging from cloudy, to sunny, and  with intermittent rain showers throughout much of the day.  Waves were 10-12 feet and the surf was rough.

Shari Goforth reported seeing 3 northbound gray whales. They were approximately 2-3 miles offshore and consisted of a deuce and a single about 500 yards behind the pair.

At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, we observed:

🔶 2 northbound gray whales – a pair sometimes traveling very close to one another and other times seen further separated

🔶🔷 TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE 🟰

🔵  12 northbound          🔴   379 southbound

🔶  63 harbor seals

🔶 1 great blue heron

🔶 1 Northern harrier

🔶 2 American kestrels

🔶 1 red-tailed hawk

🔶 1 hooded merganser

 

After a very stormy day yesterday, today was mostly cloudy with some breaks of sunshine. Wind speed increased throughout the day and reached 18 miles per hour with gust of 30 miles per hour from the northwest.  We were also delayed by a rain shower that blew in off the ocean.

AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA, WE OBSERVED:

🔅 2 northbound gray whales – both singles

✅ TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE  🟰

🔵  7 northbound             🔴  379 southbound

🔅 65 harbor seals