Recent Sightings

Today was quite windy and this created significant white caps on the ocean along with haze. Blows were difficult to detect.

AT SAUNDERS REEF:

♦️ 14 brown pelicans flying north and 8 flying south

AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA:

♦️ 13 black oystercatchers

♦️ 5 harbor seals swimming at high tide

♦️ 2 American kestrels

♦️ 22 brown pelicans flying north

We encountered thick fog at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula. We observed:

🌀 5 harbor seals swimming around their haul out at high tide

🌀 18 black oystercatchers

🌀 13 black turnstones

🌀 1 sharp-shinned hawk

Unfortunately, the fog followed us to Saunders Reef and no whales were seen at either site.

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