Recent Sightings

Still very windy here on the Mendonoma coast.  This is the fourth consecutive day of unrelenting  wind covering the ocean with huge whitecaps. We observed today at Gerstle Cove in Salt Point State Park under sunny skies. Visibility decreased throughout the day as the wind, whitecaps, and ocean spray grew stronger.  Wind was blowing at 17 mph with gusts of  25 mph from the northwest.

💠 1 humpback – traveling north  about 300 yards offshore but eventually he or she did veer further offshore in a northwest direction

💠 19 harbor seals

💠 1 osprey

💠 11 Caspian terns flying north

💠 27 brown pelicans flying north

💠 2 black oystercatchers

 

There was morning  fog at Gerstle Cove which eventually did lift giving way to mixed sun and clouds. The ocean was choppy today and the wind was sustained at 19 mph. There were whitecaps.   Overall visibility was very good.

🔆 2 humpbacks whales – singles but in the same general area, we observed them taking long dives, surfacing to take 1 or 2 blows, and then they were gone

🔆 23 harbor seals

🔆 8 sea lions hauled out on a large rock – two were pups

🔆 1 osprey

🔆 37 brown pelicans – mostly flying north

❇️ Shari Goforth observed three splashes by a gray whale, most likely a juvenile, off Gualala Point Regional Park beach (behind the Surf Market). This whale was about 100 yards offshore. The splashes were caused by this gray whale chin slamming in shallow water.

❇️  TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE ✔️

  344 northbound – includes 7 mother/calf pairs

  382 southbound

 19 foragers

Today was a sunny day but there was offshore haze that limited our visibility .

♦️ AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA:

🔹 NO WHALES SEEN

🔹 53 harbor seals

🔹 2 black oystercatchers

🔹 12 brown pelicans

♦️TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE  

  344 northbound – includes 7 mother/calf pairs

  382 southbound

 18 foragers

Mostly cloudy today with rough seas, 8-10 foot waves. Very little distinction between the ocean and the sky.

🔷 At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula:

✳️ NO WHALES SEEN

✳️ 50 harbor seals – incoming tide

✳️ 1 sea lion swimming south

✳️ 32 brown pelicans

🔷 At Saunders Reef:

✳️ NO WHALES SEEN

🔷 TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE  🟰

  344 northbound – includes 7 mother/calf pairs

  382 southbound

 18 foragers

 

With mixed sun and clouds, we had winds from the northwest blowing at 21 mph with gusts of 32 mph.  The rough surf, large swells, and whitecaps caused spray to obscure our visibility somewhat.

✳️ AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA:

🔷 NO WHALES SEEN

🔷 76 harbor seals

🔷 1 red-tailed hawk

🔷 14 brown pelicans

✳️ TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE  ↩️

  344 northbound – includes 7 mother/calf pairs

  382 southbound

 18 foragers