Recent Sightings

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Common Whales & Dolphins and How to Identify Them
Saturday, September 20
Join Scott and Tree Mercer of the Mendonoma Whale & Sea Study for a discussion on several different whale and dolphin species that we commonly encounter along our coast. Get tips on how to identify them and when they are most likely to be seen.
10:30am
Location: Mendocino College Coastal Field Station on the PA-Stornetta Lands. Hike or take the free shuttle from PA City Hall 451 School St, PA
For more info: pointarenastornetta.org

Identifying Seals and Sea Lions
Saturday, September 20
Join local marine life naturalist Sara Bogard and learn how to differentiate seals and sea lions that are most common to our coast. Sara surveys marine mammals throughout the year and will share their behaviors plus areas along the coast where they can be often seen and heard.
11:30am
Location: Mendocino College Coastal Field Station on the PA-Stornetta Lands. Hike or take the free shuttle from PA City Hall 451 School St, PA
For more info: pointarenastornetta.org

Due to foggy conditions, we had poor visibility at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula.

🔆 NO WHALES SEEN

🔆 17 harbor seals; tide coming in

🔆 1 black turnstone

🔆 4 black oystercatchers

🔆 1 American kestrel

🔆 10 brown pelicans flying north

Unfortunately, the fog followed us to Saunders Reef.

🔆 NO WHALES SEEN

🔆 1 great blue heron

🔆 16 brown pelicans flying south; 10 flying north

Observations from the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula:

♦️ 5 humpbacks- one pair and three singles

♦️ 6 harbor seals swimming around their haul out sites at high tide

♦️ 1 great blue heron

♦️ 12 brown pelicans flying north

We thank Sue and Tom Ottoboni for reporting their sighting of whales to us last evening from their home in Irish Beach:

Sue wrote: “We saw at least 8 whales from our deck in Irish Beach this evening. It was quite a show. There were at least 8, sometimes in groups of 3-4, sometimes separate. Pretty far out, but lots of spouts and flukes. Must have been good fishing; lots of birds where the whales were. Assuming humpbacks.”

After several days of various, but persistent, levels of fogginess, we finally had decent visibility today at Gerstle Cove at Salt Point State Park.

Here we observed:

🔷 2 humpback whales: one about four miles offshore, breaching; the second was six miles offshore also breaching

🔷 at high tide with the haul out sites covered, the were only two harbor seals swimming near the rocks

🔷 2 great blue herons

🔷 1 red-tailed hawk

🔷 1 white-tailed kite

🔷 1 American kestrel

🔷 approximately 75 brown pelicans flying north; 35 flying south; many floating in the ocean for short periods of time

The ocean was calm today but there was offshore haziness that reduced our visibility.

At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, we observed:

✳️ 15 humpbacks – many were breaching multiple times, flipper slapping;
flukes and backs visible

✳️ 57 harbor seals

✳️ estimate of 55 brown pelicans