Author: tmercer

Today conditions were positively ideal for whale watching. We had excellent visibility all the way to the horizon. Calm ocean, no wind. AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA, WE OBSERVED: 🔷🔶 OUR FIRST TWO SOUTHBOUND GRAY WHALES OF THE SEASON‼️ 🔷🔶 – two singles about 2-3 miles offshore traveling steadily southbound 🔷 70 harbor seals…

Excellent visibity at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula. Sunny, light wind, 2-3 foot waves, some whitecaps. NO WHALES SEEN 💠 82 harbor seals 💠 4 black oystercatchers 💠 1 red-tailed hawk perched upon his or her favorite utility pole on Lighthouse Road 💠 1 male Northern harrier – the “gray ghost” 💠 20 brown pelicans…

Shortly after we arrived at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, FOG rolled in completely taking away all visibility. NO WHALES SEEN We observed: 🔅 85 harbor seals 🔅 1 great egret 🔅 1 great blue heron 🔅 1 American kestrel 🔅 23 brown pelicans flying north AT SAUNDERS REEF THE FOG REMAINED OFFSHORE AND WE…

Conditions today were ideal for whale watching. Calm ocean, no wind, sunny, excellent visibility. At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, we obseetved: ⚛️ 1 humpback- breached twice, after taking five to six blows, not seen for 15-20 minutes ⚛️ 98 harbor seals ⚛️ 2 red-tailed hawks ⚛️ 2 flocks of surf scoters flying south ⚛️…

We began the day at Gerstle Cove in Salt Point State Park. It was quite foggy and visibility ranged from zero to no more than 2 miles. Lots of whitecaps. ✴️ NO WHALES SEEN ✴️ 1 American kestrel ✴️ 3 brown pelicans flying north We then headed to the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula where conditions…

Ocean was calm, no wind, excellent visibility. AT SAUNDERS REEF: 💠 No whales seen 💠 5 brown pelicans flying south AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA: 💠 No whales seen 💠 59 harbor seals 💠 1 red-tailed hawk 💠 2 great blue herons 💠 14 meadowlarks

Offshore fog, cloudy. Visibility not greater than 2 miles. At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, we observed: *️⃣ NO WHALES SEEN *️⃣ 7 harbor seals swimming near their haul out at high tide *️⃣ 1 American kestrel *️⃣ 12 flocks of surf scoters flying south *️⃣ 1 great blue heron ✳️ NO WHALES SEEN AT…

The wind did cause some whitecaps in the ocean and the surf was still quite rough. Visibility, however, was excellent. ❇️ NO WHALES SEEN AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA OR AT SAUNDERS REEF ❇️ AT PAL: ❇️ 13 harbor seals – 8 hauled out and 5 in the water at high tide ❇️ 1…

Visibility was excellent today. Waves were 8 – 10 feet and rough surf. At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, we observed: ☑️ 4 humpbacks – 1 group of 3 and 1 single; traveling south ☑️ 55 harbor seals ☑️ 2 American kestrels ☑️ 1 belted kingfisher ☑️ 1 great blue heron ♦️ NO WHALES SEEN…

We had partly sunny skies and some small whitecaps. Excellent visibility. At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, we observed: 🔺 8 humpbacks – 1 group of 3 and 5 singles; all whales moving south 🔺 48 harbor seals 🔺 2 black oystercatchers 🔺 1 American kestrel 🔺 1 red-tailed hawk 🔺 1 great blue heron…

Today we had very good visibility and calm seas. There was some offshore haze. 🔷 NO WHALES SEEN AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA OR AT SAUNDERS REEF 🔷 AT PAL: 🟢 82 harbor seals 🟢 2 American kestrels 🟢 12 – 15 killdeer 🟢 1 red-tailed hawk 🟢 10 brown pelicans AT SAUNDERS REEF:…

Today we had 22 mph wind with 31 mph gusts from the northwest. The ocean was very rough. ✴️ NO WHALES SEEN AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA OR AT SAUNDERS REEF ✴️ At PAL: 🔆 56 harbor seals 🔆 11 long strands of surf scoters flying south rapidly; from 30 – 100 scoters in…