| Please
Report Your Sightings! |
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The
migration is in full swing, with the leaders passing British Columbia.
Spotters in California reported their first cow/calf pairs this week.
In the nursery lagoons,
serious spring
training
occupies the cow/calf
pairs preparing for their journey north. Except for puzzling numbers at one post,
it's
shaping up to be a whale of a migration.
This
Week's Report Includes:
- Whale Watching: News from Observation Posts
- Babies and Moms: Serious Spring Training
- Mystery Solved: Who is That Whale?
- Tracking the Migration: Using Daily Data
- Journal: Whales and Tsunamis
- Links: Gray Whale Resources to Explore
Photo: Renee
Bonner
The babies are coming! This is what spotters at ACS/LA saw on March
6.
What's
in this baby whale's mouth?
Think, then link...
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We
thank all the citizen scientists who report sightings. Be sure
to click the dots on the MapServer for the details on the
latest sightings!
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Here they come! The first mom/baby pairs have been reported! The first sighting was March 6 by the volunteer counters at the ACS/Los Angeles census: "The calf rode on its mom's back, and opened its mouth enough that we saw its baleen, reports Director Alisa Schulman-Janiger. The lucky spotters at San Diego (Post #5) saw a pair on March 11 and again March 12. Staci reports: "One of our trips to Baja just returned and the numbers in San Ignacio Lagoon are down to 800. So there are about 700 whales beginning their journey north from that lagoon." Indeed, the migration continues to build. On March 11, Michael Smith's Counters (Post #7) had a big day with ten sightings. Making their way up the CA coast, the first migrants have reached OR, WA and BC! Biologist Wayne Perryman starts his annual cow/calf just before our next report. See Post #8 for his prediction! But here's the puzzler: ACS/LA's Alisa Schulman-Janiger (#6) notes: "Although our migration phases have reversed — with most whales now going northbound — we have yet to see anything close to a northbound migration peak. We are well below last season's northbound count, which was lower than our 10-year northbound average. This season continues to be a very late northbound gray whale migration. Reports continue to come in: many gray whales in Mexico's Baja California, well above the counts of this time last season. Hopefully our northbound counts will pick up soon!"
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With the first cow/calf sighting off California's coast this week, we wonder how the other cow/calf pairs are doing. From the lagoon at San Ignacio, guide Caroline says the lagoon is now like a big nursery-elementary-middle school. What are the whale kids up to? See for yourself with Caroline's field report:
Photo Adrienne DeLiso, Baja Ecotours
Each
year along the whale trail, people wait to see certain whales they
know. A sighting on
March 3 was whale #53, one of the ten or so Saratoga Grays who
feed in the Saratoga Passage during spring. Cascadia Research
confirmed the sighting from a photo, which was
"great news and good timing for
the initial confirmed return; #53 had been seen at 13 different
years going back to 1991."
How could people be sure? The identity of many whales can be confirmed through the photo catalog at Cascadia Research.
How do markings like this help identify gray whales? Find out here:
Who
is That Whale?
From the data, at which of our two point-count sites have more northbound whales been seen? Connect your answer with a big concern talked about by Alisa Schulman-Janiger in her report summarizing the past two weeks.
Explore
This Week's Question
Make
a prediction.
- Do you think the migration has peaked yet? What do the data show?
Tracking the Migration Using Daily Data
View, record, graph, and analyze the latest data from California Posts #6 and #7.
On March 11, Michael Smith (Post #7) wrote: "The devastating, tragic earthquake in Japan generated a tsunami that approached our coast just after 8:00 AM. Fortunately for us at Counter Point, it was negligible. Santa Barbara Harbor, further east, was in disarray with considerable damage and churning tides well into the afternoon." That day, 10 whales were counted by volunteers at Post #7.
Meanwhile, a 4th grader wrote to ask, "With the tsunami, are the whales okay?" Yes, but there's more to the question than you might think. We asked Dr. David Rugh for his thoughts if you'd like to ponder too:
- Scientists at Work: Gray Whale Photo ID Lesson/Quiz
- Reading Strategies: Reading With Experts: Navigating Difficult Passages
- Two Scientists Comment: Why Head South?
- Exploring the Migration Route: Treasure Hunt Activity
- Resources for Using Daily Data: Tracking Gray Whale Migration from California Observation Posts
The Next Gray Whale Migration Update Will Be Posted on March 30, 2011.
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