| Please
Report Your Sightings! |
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“We
have a migration,” proclaimed Michael Smith after a big day
of northbound sightings. Visit the lagoons in this week’s slideshows
and video clip. Touching a baby whale, the teen in this image tells
how it feels. What does it mean if a whale-watcher calls 'BLOW,
300
degrees
at 45 mil'? Decode when you learn some whale watcher's lingo.
This
Week's Report Includes:
- Whale Watching: News from Observation Posts
- Slideshows: Visit the Nursery Lagoons!
- Tracking the Migration: Using Daily Data
- Go Figure: How Far Offshore?
- Links: Gray Whale Resources to Explore
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Find out from kids: What
does a baby gray whale's skin feel like? |
|
With 13 northbound whales on Feb. 27, Michael Smith (Post #7) proclaimed: "We have a migration." That was a big day for ACS/Los Angeles (#6), too. "We are nearing the end of our migration turnaround; most gray whales are heading north, but we are still getting southbound whales," reports Alisa Schulman-Janiger. In the nursery lagoons, mothers and babies now rule. Alex, Addie, and Chelsea are some lucky kids who tell us what they saw in two of the lagoons. How does Addie describe the feel of a baby whale's skin? We have fascinating field reports from Lagoons #1, #2 and #3! Meanwhile, ACS/LA's Alisa Schulman-Janiger notes: "This season the southbounders kept coming and the northbounders started late; however, with reports of many grays in Baja, I expect our counts to pick up soon, giving us a final count higher than last season's." That would be news to celebrate. When will see the season's first northbound cow/calf pair be spotted? It should be soon. Stay with us! |
Who
is Kissing a Baby Whale?
The weather took its toll on several days. "If we cannot see, we cannot count," Michael Smith sums up.
Still, both California point-count sites had their biggest days so far. "The last day of February was further indication that the migration flow has begun. We saw eight northbound gray whales and that made twenty-one for the past two days, a nice pace for this time."
Explore
This Week's Questions
This week,
notice a pattern and write a prediction.
- What pattern do the data from both California posts show about gray whale traffic so far?
- What changes do you predict you'll see when your next data comes in two weeks? Why?
Tracking the Migration Using Daily Data
View, record, graph, and analyze the latest data from California Posts #6 and #7.
- Post #6, Feb. 22: Our first gray whale was large, northbound, close enough to hear its blows.
- Post #7, Mar. 1: A trio of gray whales appeared due south, a long way out.
Whale watchers know the first sign of the gray whale will probably be its spout or “blow”—a bushy tower of spray. A blow may be visible for miles on calm days. But how can whale watchers tell how close or far that whale is? How do they call out the sighting so others can see it too? Mike shows you how.
Whale Watcher's Lingo: How Far Offshore?
Answer this after your lesson with Mike:
- If you hear a fellow whale-watcher call "BLOW, 300 degrees at 45 mil," how far offshore is that whale?
Write responses and further questions in your Gray Whale Journal.
Photo Mike Hawe
See the blow? When a gray whale surfaces, it exhales. In a split second the whale empties lungs the size of a VW. The warm air blasts out with such force that the spouts can be 15 feet high and might be heard a half mile away.
- Slideshows & Photo Studies: Journey North for Kids
- Exploring the Migration Route: Treasure Hunt Activity
- Teacher Orientation: About Journey North's Gray Whale Migration Study
- Resources for Using Daily Data: Tracking Gray Whale Migration from California Observation Posts
- Personal Reflection: Your Gray Whale Journal
What do you see?
Photo The Orca Network
The Next Gray Whale Migration Update Will Be Posted on March 16, 2011.
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