Author: tmercer

On this mostly cloudy, overcast day, we observed the following from the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula: * 13 northbound gray whales – a loose group of four, a loose group of 3, two groups of two, and two singles * 1 foraging gray whale * 30 harbor seals * 1 great blue heron * 1…

Despite intermittent rain showers and cloudy skies, visibility at Gerstle Cove in Salt Point State Park was quite good. Waves were about 10-12 feet. * 15 northbound gray whales – two groups of two and eleven singles * 42 brown pelicans flying north * 1 flock of cackling geese, approximately 300 birds * 2 pelagic…

Extremely rough seas, waves of 15-18 feet, poor visibility, high surf, and much spray. Wind 16 mph from south southwest with 29 mph gusts NO WHALES SEEN AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA OR A SAUNDERS REEF 🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷 TOTAL WHALES SEEN TO DATE (since November 1, 2024) = 🔆🔆 229 northbound – includes 1 mother/calf…

A marine layer persisted throughout the day reducing visibility to less than two miles. The ocean was calm. At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, we observed: * 6 northbound grays – one group of two and four singles * 32 harbor seals * 3 meadowlarks * about 30 brown pelicans flying north; 1 flying south…

Observations from the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula: * 18 northbound gray whales – one group of three, three groups of two, nine singles, many backs and flukes were visible; one whale breached 7-8 times * 1 gray whale foraging * 62 harbor seals * 1 river otter * 2 black oystercatchers * 2 Canada geese…

Observations today were made from the Noyo Center for Marine Science Crow’s Nest in Fort Bragg as part of their annual Whale Festival. It was a sunny day with good visibility. We had the pleasure of meeting lots of people who were truly interested in learning about whales and other marine life. Professor Brianna Zuber…

Observations today were from the Gualala Point Regional Park. Although clouds and a bit of fog reduced visibility in the morning, conditions improved throughout the day allowing us to have a very successful Whale and Seabird Watch program. Our wonderful Sonoma County Park Ranger, Jeannette, counted 75 participants. We thank Roberta Chan, park visitor center…

On Saturday, March 22, we will be joined by Shari Goforth and Doug Forsell, migratory bird specialist, for a whale and seabird watch at the Gualala Point Regional Park from 10:00-2:00. Follow the trail from the Visitor Center down to the whale watch point area that overlooks Gualala Island. On Sunday, March 23rd, we will…

Observations today from Gerstle Cove in Salt Point State Park. * 13 northbound gray whales – one duo and eleven singles * 2 northbound grays at Robinson Reef seen by Shari Goforth 🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊 TOTAL GRAY WHALWS SEEN TO DATE (since November 1, 2024) = ✳️🐋✳️ 177 northbound – includes 1 mother/calf ✳️🐋✳️ 391 southbound 🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊…

On this first day of Spring, the vernal equinox, we had cloudy conditions in the morning with a patch of sunshine in the early afternoon, but then clouds returned later in day. The Point Arena Lighthouse welcomed students in grades kindergarten to 8th grade and their teachers, principal, and many parents from the Horicon School…

We had a cloudy day with winds from the south southeast that increased to 16 mph with gusts up to 25 mph. Similar to yesterday, blows disappeared quickly and stayed along the surface of the ocean. Whales were hard to track. At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, we observed: * 9 northbound gray whales –…

After three days of stormy weather that brought rain, wind, fog, and hail, today was sunny with an 11 mph NW wind with gusts of 15 mph. It was challenging to spot whale blows as they disappeared very quickly as they rolled on the surface of the ocean. At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula we…