Recent Sightings

Offshore haziness limited our visibility.

AT SAUNDERS REEF:

❇️ 1 humpback – taking long, deep dives

❇️ 5 northbound brown pelicans

AT POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE:

❇️ 8 harbor seals swimming and bottling around their haul out sites at high tide

❇️ 3 black oystercatchers

❇️ 4 black turnstones

❇️ 1 American kestrel

❇️ 1 brown pelican flying south and 8 flying north

Today was less foggy but cloudy and gray. There was very little distinction between ocean and sky.

AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA:

💠 1 humpback whale seen because of one full breach and big splash

💠 42 harbor seals

💠 3 American kestrels

💠 brown pelicans; 8 feeding, 34 flying north; 15 flying south

🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺

💠 1 humpback whale seen by Shari Goforth off Gualala Point Regional Park beach

Foggy conditions today left us with poor to zero visibility. We did not see any whales at either the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula or at Saunders Reef.

AT PAL:

⭐️ 17 harbor seals

⭐️ 1 great blue heron

⭐️ 36 brown pelicans; mostly flying north

AT SAUNDERS REEF:

⭐️ approximately 115 brown pelicans flying north and 52 flying south

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