Recent Sightings

Observations from the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula:

 * 2 humpbacks, 1 full breached once!

* 31 harbor seals

* 2 Great blue herons

* 1 black oystercatcher

* 2 American kestrels

* 2 deer, one buck, one doe, grazing in the meadow

No whales seen at Saunders Reef

Large waves, 10-12 feet, lots of spray over the ocean, windy, whitecaps, strong sun glare

AT PAL:

* No whales seen

 * 27 harbor seals

* 1 meadowlark

 *1 American Kestrel

 * 1 red-tailed hawk

No whales seen at either observation site, Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula and Saunders Reef.

At PAL:

 * 9 harbor seals

 * 2 American kestrels

 * 1 red-tailed hawk *

The number of gray whale calves migrating with their mothers along the California Coast this year was one of the lowest on record. The population is still regaining ground after an Unusual Mortality Event that resulted in a sharp decline in overall population numbers.

While the eastern North Pacific gray whale population that migrates annually along the West Coast has rebounded in overall abundance, the production of calves has remained low. A team from NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center found that this year’s count was close to the record low reported in 2022 (see graph) with an estimated number of 221 (95%CI = 161 – 295) mother-calf pairs.

At Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula:

 * no whales seen

 * 80 harbor seals

 * 1 red-tailed hawk

 * 1 American kestrel

At Saunders Reef:

 * 6 humpbacks, one breached twice