We had a persistent 15 mph wind with gusts of 25 mph. Although the day was sunny and visibility was good, there were many whitecaps on the ocean. Most blows stayed quite low on the surface of the water. In the afternoon, a front came through brining some light rain.
At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula we observed:
* 10 northbound gray whales
GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE (as of November 1, 2024) =
🔆 37 northbound
🔆 391 southbound
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* 4 harbor porpoise swimming north – please see below for some information from NOAA FISHERIES
* 32 harbor seals
* 4 black oystercatchers
* 2 red-tailed hawks
* 1 American kestrel
* 2 flocks of northbound cackling geese
✳️ Quick Facts about harbor porpoises ✳️ from NOAA FISHERIES
WEIGHT
135 to 170 pounds
LENGTH
5 to 5.5 feet
LIFESPAN
About 24 years
THREATS
Entanglement, Ocean noise
REGION
Alaska, New England/Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, West Coast
✳️ Appearance ✳️ From NOAA FISHERIES
Harbor porpoises have a small, robust body with a short, blunt beak and a medium-sized triangular dorsal fin. Their back is dark gray fading to lighter intermediate shades of gray on their sides. Their belly and throat are white, with a dark gray chin patch.
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