Category: Daily Observations

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…

Today’s weather was wild and unpredictable. We had rain, wind, hail, rumbles of thunder and lightning, and bright sunshine. At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula we observed: * 4 northbound gray whales – all singles * our first gray whale mother/calf pair‼️ * 58 harbor seals * 1 brown pelican * 5 killdeer * 1…

After a full day of rain and wind yesterday, today brought sunny skies, light wind, and excellent viewing conditions. We had the great pleasure of observering whales in the afternoon with two Marine Science Technology classes taught by Melissa Jenkins at Point Arena High School. The students very quickly became quite good at spotting the…

Today was a bit windier than yesterday with winds at 10 mph from the south and gusts of 15 mph. Visibility was good. At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, we observed: * 13 northbound gray whales – one loose group of three, 3 duos, and 4 singles TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE (as of…

At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, winds were NW at 6 mph with gusts of 9 mph. It was partly sunny and visibility was quite good. We observed: * 14 northbound gray whales -one group of three, two duos, and seven singles; One member of the group of three breached twice; as we watched this…

We observed at Gerstle Cove today. The morning clouds gave way to bright sunshine and excellent visibility. It was windy and blows were often batted down quickly. * 15 northbound gray whales – two groups of two and eleven singles TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE (since November 1, 2024) = 🔆 84 northbound 🔆…

Good visibilty for most of the day interrupted at times by fast moving thin waves of fog. Very little wind. Blows were easy to spot. At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula we observed: * 4 northbound gray whales – one pair and two singles * 42 harbor seals * 2 American kestrels * 1 red-tailed…

Today we observed at Gerstle Cove which is part of Salt Point State Park in northern Sonoma County. We had excellent visibility most of the day until late afternoon when the wind and whitecaps increased. We observed: * 21 northbound gray whales – twelve singles, three sets of two, and one group of three All…