Recent Sightings

At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, we observed:

❇️ 1 northbound gray whale

❇️ 36 harbor seals

❇️ 1 sea lion swimming south

❇️ 10 brown pelicans flying north

❇️ 1 white-tailed kite

❇️ 1 red-tailed hawk

❇️ 1 black oystercatcher

AT SAUNDERS REEF, we observed

❇️ 1 northbound gray whale

❇️ 1 Canada goose sitting in the bluff top

🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆

GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE: (as of November 1, 2024) 🟰

🔷 318 northbound – includes 1 mother/calf seen on March 14

🔷 391 southbound

🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆

At Gerstle Cove this morning, we had dense fog for about an hour and 15 minutes. When the fog lifted, visibilty was good but we were challenged by plentiful whitecaps, spray, and northwest wind at 15 mph gusting to 24 mph.

We observed:;

🔻 2 northbound gray whales – both singles

🔻 20 harbor seals

🔻 1 sea lion swimming south

🔻 1 adult bald eagle

🔻 1 osprey

🔻 37 pelicans flying north

🔻 1 Northern harrier

🔻 3 black oystercatchers

🔻 1 Caspian tern

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE (since November 1, 2024) 🟰

❇️ 316 northbound – includes one mother/calf pair seen in March 14th

❇️ 391 southbound

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Ideal ocean and weather conditions today!! Excellent visibility all the way to the horizon.

At the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, we observed:

🔆 11 northbound gray whales – two sets of two and seven singles; one of the singles breached twice in quick succession!!

🔆 45 harbor seals

🔆 4 black oystercatchers

🔆 32 brown pelicans flying north

🔆 5 flocks of northbound cackling geese ranging from 60 to 500+ geese

🔆 1 gopher

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE (since November 1, 2024) 🟰

❇️ 314 northbound – includes 1 mother/calf pair seen on March 14th

❇️ 391 southbound

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

The day began with excellent visibility, sunny skies, and a light breeze. However, in the afternoon, our observation area at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula become completely encompassed in fog for approximately one hour. The fog did lift and our visibility returned.

At PAL:

🔸 3 northbound gray whales – all singles

🔸 50 harbor seals

🔸 4 flocks of north flying cackling geese

🔸 21 brown pelicans flying north

🔸 8 black oystercatchers

🔸 1 osprey

🔸 1 gopher

AT SAUNDERS REEF:

🔸 1 northbound gray whale

🔸 2 flocks of cackling geese flying north

🔸 1 osprey

🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻

TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE: (since November 1, 2024) 🟰

🔆🔆 303 northbound – includes 1 mother/calf pair seen on March 14th

🔆🔆 391 southbound

🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻

gray-whales-are-dying-off-the-pacific-coast-again-and-scientists-arent-sure-why

This important article was written by Susanne Rust, an award-winning investigative reporter specializing in environmental issues. She has been following and reporting about the status of the gray whale population for several years. We had the great privilege of meeting Susanne in 2020.