Recent Sightings

A beautiful day at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula provided us with excellent visibility.  The wind was moderate and a few whitecaps began to develop on the ocean.

💠 5 humpbacks whales; one group of two and three singles

💠 76 harbor seals

💠 39 brown pelicans

We encountered windy conditions today at Gerstle Cove but it was clear all the way to the horizon giving us excellent visibility.

❇️ 18-21 humpbacks whales – mostly feeding solo; some small groups of twos and threes would form but eventually break apart as the whales set out on their own to locate food; flukes and backs were often visible

✳️ 13 harbor seals

✳️ 2 osprey; one carrying a fish

✳️ 10 – 12 brown pelicans floating in the water;  43 flying south and 14 flying north

✳️ 1 American kestrel hovering

There was offshore fog at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula and it was moderately windy with some whitecaps upon the ocean.

🟪 NO WHALES SEEN

🟧 105 harbor seals

🟪 33 brown pelicans

🟧 2 black oystercatchers

🟪 1 great blue heron

🟧 1 American kestrel

We returned to Gerstle  Cove today and we were NOT disappointed.  Many humpbacks stretched out before us to the north and to the south at varying distances from the shore.
The ocean was calm and the sky was a bit cloudy but visibility was quite good.

🔷 15 or more humpbacks -several whales were breaching, tail thrashing, fluking,

we observed three groups of two and two groups of three feeding

🔷 10 harbor seals

🔷 1 osprey with fish

🔷 11 brown pelicans resting on a rock; 35 flying  north and 27 flying south

We were elated to be able to return to Gerstle Cove today in Salt Point State Park about two weeks after full containment of the Woodside Fire. The Gerstle Cove area was spared any damage from the fire which burned to the south of this location.

The day began with considerable cloudiness and a large fog bank offshore.  Fortunately, as the day progressed the weather conditions improved steadily with sunshine and a blue sky over a calm ocean. There was no wind. Visibility was very good.

🔆 12-15 humpbacks – we observed these whales for five hours often feeding in groups of three’s and two’s ; flukes and backs were visible and several whales breached; one was swimming g very quickly to the north

🔆 8 harbor seals

🔆 3 osprey – one carrying a fish

🔆 12 black oystercatchers

🔆 1 tern ; unable to identify the species

🔆 9-12 brown pelicans resting on a rock;  47 brown pelicans flying north and 22 flying south