Recent Sightings

After a very foggy day yesterday, today brought decent visibility. The surf was quite rough.

At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, we observed:

🔆 2 harbor seals swimming in the high surf surrounding their haul out site

🔆 1 American kestrel

🔆 1 red-tailed hawk

🔆 4 black oystercatchers

🔆 16 brown pelicans flying north

🔆 NO WHALES SEEN

🟢 The carcass of the juvenile male humpback whale that stranded last Thursday, October 16th on the southern end of Manchester Beach is now floating in the P’da Hau Garcia River, not far from the mouth of the river.

AT SAUNDERS REEF, we observed:

🔆 3 humpbacks – all singles

🔆 7 brown pelicans flying north

The ocean was quite loud and rough with 6 to 8 feet waves breaking far out from shore. This created a great deal of ocean spray and haze. It was possible to spot blows but tracking the whales was challenging as they often disappeared behind the waves.

At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, we observed:

🔷 5 humpback whales – 3 singles and 1 deuce

🔷 at high tide, harbor seals could not haul out but we did see 6 swimming around the rocks

🔷 2 black oystercatchers

🔷 1 Northern harrier

NO WHALES SEEN AT SAUNDERS REEF

At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, we observed:

🟣 3 humpbacks – 1 deuce and 1 single

🟣 350- 400 hundred brown pelicans resting on the bluffs

At Saunders Reef, we observed:

🟣 5 humpbacks – 3 swimming south and 2 swimming north

We will be presenting “Where and How are the Gray Whales: An Update On The Current Status of the Eastern Pacific Gray Whale Population”

The talk begins at 4:00 pm at the Point Arena Lighthouse.

Please join us!

Along the Salal Trail at the Sea Ranch:

🔆 3 humpbacks – a duo and 1 single

At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula:

🔆 7 humpbacks – one group of 2 and 5 singles, one whale breached three times

🔆 87 harbor seals

🔆 23 brown pelicans flying north

AT SAUNDERS REEF:

🔆 2 humpbacks – a duo

🔆 35 brown pelicans flying north

🔶 SHARI GOFORTH reported seeing 6 humpbacks at Gualala Point North

🔶 KATE BLOCH alerted us to several whales seen out on the horizon north of Gualala Point Island in the morning and later in the afternoon, south of Gualala Point Island