Author: tmercer

Lighthouse Lecture Series – Doug Forsell Event 12/20/2025 The Lighthouse Lecture Series welcomes Doug Forsell, presenting “Birds and Mammals of the Eastern Aleutian Islands and Why Tufted Puffins are the coolest Seabird” on Saturday, December 20, at 4 p.m. Doug Forsell spent the summers of 1980 and 1981 working as part of a team of…

Today we had a cloudy day with offshore fog that threatened to roll in closer to shore but did stay a good distance out. The sea was choppy and rough. AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA, WE OBSERVED: 🟣 2 southbound gray whales swimming together approximately 1/2 mile off shore – backs visible, flukes also…

Observations today at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula where it was clear, sunny, a bit windy, and excellent visibility. 🔆🔻 NO WHALES SEEN 🔆🔻 🔆 105 harbor seals 🔆 2 American kestrels 🔆 1 great blue heron 🔆 1 Northern harrier 🔷🔷 SOUTHBOUND GRAY WHALES TO DATE = 2

Although the skies were cloudy and gray, the ocean was flat calm and visibility was quite good. AT POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA: ❇️♦️ NO WHALES SEEN ❇️♦️ ❇️ 88 harbor seals hauled out at low tide ❇️ 1 bobcat ❇️ 2 kestrels ❇️ 2 red-tailed hawks ❇️ 8-10 killdeer ❇️ 4 brown pelicans flying south

The ocean was flat calm today, no wind, a bit cloudy but visibility was excellent. Observations today from the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula: ❇️ 🔺NO WHALES SEEN ❇️ 🔺 ✳️ 56 harbor seals ✳️ 2 American kestrels ✳️ 1 red-tailed hawk ✳️ 12 brown pelicans flying south

Observations today from Gerstle Cove in Salt Point State Park. Despite clear and sunny conditions on our drive south to Gerstle Cove, when we arrived we were greeted by widespread fog and had very limited visibility for the entire morning. The fog finally did lift around noon time leaving us with good visibility. 🔷♦️ NO…

Foggy conditions persisted in many locations along the coast but fortunately, it was clear at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula for several hours. Visibility was excellent. AT PAL, WE OBSERVED: 🔶 2 humpback whales – appeared to be searching for food for approximately one hour 🔷 35 harbor seals 🔶 48 brown pelicans circulating g…

We had a clear day with excellent visibility. It was quite windy and there were many whitecaps. At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, we observed: 💠 NO WHALES SEEN 💠 💠 5 harbor seals hauled out and 6 more swimming around the rocks at high tide 💠 42 brown pelicans flying north and 6 flying…

Today’s challenge was once again FOG. We had good visibility to begin the day but a heavy fog did roll in later in the day reducing our visibility to zero. Observations from the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula : ♦️ NO WHALES SEEN ♦️ ♦️ 3 harbor seals hauled out resting on the rocks and 4…

Excellent visibility to start the day but then fog rolled in at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula. 🔶 NO WHALES SEEN 🔶 🔶 7 harbor seals swimming around the haul out at high tide 🔶 1 Northern harrier 🔶 8 – 10 meadowlarks 🔶 1 American kestrel When the fog rolled in at PAL, we…

We were challenged today by intermittent fog rolling in reducing visibility to zero at both the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula as well as at Saunders Reef. At times, we had decent visibility but it didn’t last very long. AT PAL: 🟢 NO WHALES SEEN 🟢 🔵 9 harbor seals – high tide and high surf…

Observations today were at Gerstle Cove in Salt Point State Park. Conditions were ideal for spotting whales with a calm ocean, no wind, and visibility clear to the horizon. 💠♦️NO WHALES SEEN 💠♦️ 💠 No harbor seals seen due to high tide 💠 8 sea lions swimming south 💠 1 great egret 💠 1 Northern…