Category: Daily Observations

A huge thank you to Michel Reinhart for allowing us to share his amazing photos of these humpback whales he photograph from his home on the south end of the Sea Ranch on Monday evening, August 18th. Look closely and you will see that birds have joined the humpbacks in snatching a meal.  

Excellent visibility today with very  calm ocean and little to no wind. AT SAUNDERS REEF, we observed: 🔶 10 humpback whales- one whale breached once, another whale breached five times,  one whale was tail lobbing 🔶 6 sea lions swimming northwest towards the reef 🔶 53 brown pelicans AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA, we…

On this windy day, we observed at Saunders Reef and the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula. ✳️ no whales seen at Saunders Reef ✳️ 7 humpback whales ✳️ 65 harbor seals ✳️ 1 great blue heron ✳️ 1 black oystercatcher ✳️ 18 brown pelicans

WIND AT 19 mph from the north northwest with 33 mph gusts created poor visibility. Whitecaps covered the ocean. 🔷 NO WHALES SEEN AT COOK’S BEACH OR AT SAUNDERS REEF 🔷 At Cook’s Beach, we observed: 🔷 1 sea lion 🔷 37 brown pelicans, many feeding

CONDITIONS TODAY WERE EXCELLENT! Blue skies, very little wind, calm ocean! 💠💠 Humpback activity was observed all along our coast today from the south end of the Sea Ranch to Hearn Gulch and Saunders Reef. 💠💠 OBSERVATIONS FROM COOK’S BEACH WHICH IS NORTH OF DOWNTOWN GUALALA AND SOUTH OF ANCHOR BAY (ACROSS FROM ST. ORRS):…

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE SALAL TRAIL ON THE NORTH END OF THE SEA RANCH, LOOKING TOWARD GUALALA POINT ISLAND: The foggy conditions today created poor visibility. We were hoping to see the gray whales that have been seen at this location by Kate Bloch and Shari Goforth but we were not successful in finding them. 🟧…

Observations from the Point Arena Lighthiuse peninsula: 🟣 NO WHALES SEEN 🟣 44 harbor seals 🟣 1 Osprey 🟣 1 great blue heron 🟣 2 black oystercatchers 🟣 49 brown pelicans 🟩 NO WHALES SEEN AT SAUNDERS REEF

Observations today from the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula: 🔆 NO WHALES SEEN 🔆 76 harbor seals 🔆 1 great blue heron 🔆 1 black oystercatcher 🔆 4 brown pelicans flying north Observations from Saunders Reef: 🔆 NO WHALES SEEN 🔆 1 Osprey 🔆 23 brown pelicans flying north

🔺🔺 We are sad to report that on Friday evening, August 1st, a dead whale was seen floating off Sea Ranch south of Gualala Point Island. On Saturday, August 2nd, the whale became lodged in the rocks at Dune Drift Beach which is south of Walk On Beach at the Sea Ranch. 🔻🔻 The deceased…

✳️ ✳️ TWO GRAY WHALES SEEN TODAY AT GUALALA POINT ISLAND ON THE NORTH END OF SEA RANCH‼️ ✳️ ✳️ These two grays were brilliantly photographed by Kate Bloch. It is such a treat to see gray whales here at this time of the year and they were foraging for food for several hours at…

💠💠 BLUE WHALE SEEN SWIMMING NORTH ALONG OUR COAST TODAY!!💠💠 Diane Hichwa received notice of a large whale, described as bigger than a humpback, seen off the coast of Sea Ranch and heading north. Shari Goforth headed out and was able to photograph this magnificent blue whale from a location just north of north of…

A strong, persistent wind produced many whitecaps on the ocean. Observations from the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula: 🔆 4 humpbacks – two traveling north together and two singles 🔆 1 sea lion 🔆 97 harbor seals 🔆 1 great blue heron 🔆 2 brown pelicans NO WHALES SEEN AT SAUNDERS REEF