Author: tmercer

The fog was gone and we had excellent visibility today at the Point  Arena Lighthouse peninsula. We received reports of gray whale sightings from Kate Bloch where she observed several whales traveling north past Gualala Point Island at the north end of the Sea Ranch. In addition, Fred McElroy had sightings of northbound gray whales…

We encountered a second day of unrelenting fog at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula so today’s observations were entirely done at Saunders Reef. There was fog here as well but it retreated and allowed us decent visibility. ♦️ 4 northbound gray whales – one deuce and two singles ♦️ 1 red-tailed hawk 🔶 SHARI GOFORTH…

The day began with a calm ocean and good visibility but unfortunately, a persistent fog rolled in and we could no longer see the ocean at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula.  We relocated south to  Saunders Reef  where the fog remained about 3-4 miles offshore but there were many whitecaps. ❇️ AT PAL: ☘️ NO…

The wind was light and there were just a few whitecaps on the ocean today.  There was haziness way out on the horizon but visibility was excellent. 💠 AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA: 🔷 16 northbound gray whales – three groups of two and ten singles 🔷 77 harbor seals 🔷 1 American kestrel…

There was a light wind and some whitecaps at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula on this sunny, clear day with very good visibility. 🔆 17 northbound gray whales – ten pairs and seven singles; 8 of these whales were less than one quarter mile offshore and the others were between one and two miles out…

Observations today were at Gerstle Cove in Salt Point State Park. The day began with excellent visibility with a light wind and some whitecaps at about 3 miles offshore.  Unfortunately, the winds picked up consistently and considerably as the day progressed and the whitecaps became larger and more numerous. ♦️ 7 northbound gray whales –…

Windy with considerable whitecaps today but visibility was quite good. 🟣 AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA: 🟩 11 northbound gray whales – three groups of two and five singles 🟩 77 harbor seals 🟩 approximately 35 brown pelicans flying north and 5 flying south 🟩 1 American kestrel 🟣 NO WHALES SEEN AT SAUNDERS…

With significantly less wind and fewer whitecaps compared to the previous two days, blows were detectable as were heads, back, and flukes. ✅ AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA : 🔷 26 northbound gray whales – 15 singles, four groups of two’s and one loose group of three 🔷 67 harbor seals 🔷 2 black…

High winds at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula created numerous whitecaps. Blows were batted down very quickly and whales were difficulty to follow in the rough sea. 💠 3 northbound gray whales – one deuce and one single 💠 17 harbor seals – outgoing tide 💠 3 brown pelicans flying south and 14 flying north…

Today was sunny and warm with a light wind. There were whitecaps starting at about 2 miles offshore and beyond that, there was haziness. ✳️ AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA: 🔆 11 northbound gray whales – one deuce and nine singles 🔆 59 harbor seals 🔆 35 brown pelicans flying north ✳️ AT GUALALA…

After two days of very strong winds and a rough ocean that offered poor visibility, we were able to successfully observe today at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula as well as at Saunders Reef.  It was still quite windy and there were numerous whitecaps on the ocean as well as haziness. Spotting blows that disappeared…

On this very windy day at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, the ocean was just covered with whitecaps of all sizes.  Visibility was greatly reduced by spray and haze.  The wind was blowing at 23 miles per hour with gusts of 31 miles per hour from the north north west. 💠 4 northbound gray whales…