Field Notes
2011
Thanks to Michael H. Smith, we share selected highlights from the site of Gray Whales Count (click for searchable blog of daily reports to see complete reports). The 2011 counting season runs daily Feb. 7 to May 22 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather permitting. May 22: (All) 0 | Calves 0 — Gray Whales Count is over for 2011. What a year. Total northbound gray whales: 718, including 120 calves! May 21: (All) 0 | Calves 0. Today we saw no whales in 8 hours of relatively good conditions. So, we had the ability to see whales, if they were there, which is what we hope for. In all likelihood, more whales will pass by, maybe even some calves. Tomorrow at 1:00 we will wrap up our sample of the migration and gather aboard the Condor Express to celebrate an exceptional year. It's wonderful to be here. May 20: (All) 0 | Calves 0) Fog kept us from seeing anything for the first three hours and 45 minutes. From there, even in what became pretty-good visibility, we were shut out: no whales, no dolphins, no Harbor seal, and, of course, no Sea otters. It was strange, eerie. We know, however, that tonight is a predicted grunion run and maybe the dolphins and pinnipeds were amidst the massing behind the waves somewhere else. That we did not see Gray whales in a four-hour stretch is not surprising. We regret not being able to put in a whole day. That being said, we are actually lucky that we have not had more fog this spring, as fog could have erased some of our big Counts. May 19: (All) 2 | Calves 1) We did not have long to sit around and wonder if the calves were still coming. They are! At 9:14 we saw a blow, and by 9:16 we knew we were looking at calf number120! What was almost as good for us after yesterday's very-short day in the wind, today we got the whole day in. We know a cow/calf pair went by and that was it. No more during that eight hours. May 18: (All) 2 | Calves 1) Before the big, bad, wicked wolf of the west (and his girlfriend Gale) blew the the place apart, we tracked a Gray whale cow/calf pair around Counter Point. This was the 119th calf, the most we have ever Counted! What a thrill. May 17: (All) 0 | Calves 0) Today is the first day with any Counting that we did not see a Gray whale since March 6th (except for one day we were open for 22 minutes). Remarkable. We do not think the calves are finished, but maybe that is just hoping on our part. We do have some time to prove us right: we have four-and-a-half more days of Counting. May 16: (All) 2 | Calves 1) One of our data points is the arrangement of mooring buoys for Venoco's oil barge; and, we mark if Gray whales traveling northbound pass inside, outside, or through the buoys.
We
have been surprised more than once that whales have gone through
the buoys, while the barge was being filled
with oil. When the wind started to come up and the
day turned gray, a mother and calf pair
emerged from the gray colored water, east of us. We tracked
them across the Point and to the buoys, when we lost them
without figuring out how they managed the buoys. May 15: (All) 7 | Calves 3) Our first sighting of Gray whales was a pair of pairs, and just like a road trip. For a while the kids were together with the adults chatting away. Then after they passed Counter Point the calves fell into migration position with their respective moms. Our third cow/calf pair almost made it by us and the Count board, but we caught them west of Counter Point. We had been marking the datasheets and preparing the equipment for imminent rain that never came, thankfully. And, we are thankful one of us looked around at the right time. In the afternoon we added a single, mature Gray whale. We looked and we looked for a calf. Not there. It was windy. Even so, we got good looks as we were able to track the whale through several surfacings all the way across and through the buoys. May
14: (All) 8 | Calves 4) The afternoon was a blast: lots
of whales, lots of fun, some wind, some confusion, smiles all the
way home. Our first Gray-whale cow/calf pair showed up in the kelp
as we were tracking some leaping Bottlenose dolphins. The mother
and
her calf traveled the length of the Isla Vista kelp before popping
out next to Counter Point and in front of some appreciative surfers.
That put us so tantalizingly close to 700: one shy. May
13: (All) 6 | Calves 3) Late whales ... we think we are
very lucky to get late whales because we always go home with smiles. May
12: (All) 4 | Calves 2) Just west of Counter Point, about
three-quarters of a mile out, there was a big disturbance in the
water that a Counter thought might be a whale. But, no whale. Maybe
it was a very active natural oil seep. Oh, there's a Sea lion.
Nobody quite bought that a Sea lion could stir up the water that
way ... Ten minutes later, another big something, much closer to
the Point. A massive bubble blast. That has to be a whale. No,
maybe it was a seep blast. (A what?) Whatever it was we did not
see a whale. Ten minutes later, there it was! Hey, it is a whale.
Moments later the calf surfaced. After being so stealth, they were
all over the place for the next almost an hour. There were at least
four, major bubble blasts,
one a double with a big and a little blast. There was rolling
with the showing of calf flukes and lots of moving west and east.
They
would approach the buoys and then turn around, blast, and turn
around again. Then, they re-assumed stealth mode and disappeared.
In very calm seas we could not track them. We do not know where
they went. Later we saw a string of four hundred Common dolphins
and almost as many birds buzzing above. So much energy. Under the
water we
are certain there was also quite a bit of energy being expended
in try to get out of the path. May 11: (All) 6 | Calves 3) In the late afternoon, on the way back to Isla Vista, some kayakers found themselves intersecting the path of a northbound Gray whale (below, left) ... with her calf (number 105 (right).
This was our third cow/calf pair of a continuing extraordinary year. Our second pair loved the Isla Vista kelp. They came around Campus Point and immediately turned right, into the kelp. Most pair continue along the kelp. Maybe mom was doing some snacking on Mysid shrimp or maybe it was just nice meandering through the forest. Both pairs like our third pair stayed close to the surf and traveled inside the buoys. May
10: (All:
4 | Calves 2) There was no time to bask in the glow of
the Hundred-Calf Milestone. We got a little blow from behind
a
wave, very close
to Counter Point, as we were setting up. Mom was a bit more
showy. The pair, very slowly, moved along Sands, inside the
buoys, and further along Sands, in the waves toward Ellwood.
Nice start. May 9: (All: 6 | Calves 3) At 9:30 we saw what became a parade of three northbound, Gray whale cow/calf pairs: numbers 98, 99, and 100 for this year's Count. What an absolute thrill. In the four years from 2007 through 2010, we had low to very low calf-counts. This is, apparently, a good year; and it is very fun tracking them past Counter Point.
May 8: (All: 02 | Calves 1)This pair was all we could manage on a very windy day in the Channel. We do not think we missed any, but we could have. Unfortunately the winds bring a lot of fast traffic to the nearshore of the Santa Barbara Channel, as these photos show:
May 7: (All: 10 | Calves 4) We opened a bit early because a whale was in the kelp just east of Counter Point. It was a little, Gray whale, and we were hoping to confirm that it was a calf. The bigger problem was that we were unable to find the bigger whale. When the sighting had moved west, way past the buoys, an observer caught a v-shaped blow that was likely the mother. But, we could not be sure, so we entered the "whales" as a single. At the end, we gladly clocked some overtime to confirm a certain cow/calf pair that we sighted twelve minutes before five. We put in some off-effort time as well to enjoy the pair, rolling in front of Counter Point, then blowing off into the sunset. In all, we added four calves to give us a real shot at breaking 100, over the next two weeks of the survey. May 6: (All: 14 | Calves 0) On this 89th day of Gray Whales Count 2011, with more than two weeks to go, we have counted more northbound, Gray whales than any other entire Count. May 5: (All: 00 | Calves 0) We had zero visibility today. May
4: (All: 24 | Calves 12)
In eight hours and one minute, 24 Gray whales passed by Counter
Point, establishing a new record for us: a dozen calves in a
day. Truly wonderful. May 3: (All 13 | Calves 6) Not even time to clean our glasses
before we saw a whale, that turned into two, a cow/calf pair
of Gray whales, surrounded
by bouncy bottlenose dolphins. We tracked the conglomeration
to the buoys and then they all disappeared. OK ... time to clean
our binoculars and get set up. May 2: (All: 12 | Calves 6) The day was half empty and half overflowing. Our first sighting of whales was at 1:10, and the last of six Gray-whale cow/calf. pairs arrived at Campus Point at 4:30. We tracked them inside the oil-barge buoys and shut down an hour and fifteen minutes later. They were not in rush hour. Something was going on today ... It was warm and beautiful with no wind. There was a touch of haze, and some bizarre mirages and distorted ships, oil platforms, and islands. None of that should have affected the whales. We saw about five breaches, two in the same spot by different whales. More than one of the giant leaps was by the adult. Unusual. May
1: (All:
10 | Calves 5) photo A
Gray-whale mother and calf surface inside the oil-barge buoys
and outside the break
at Sands. The Gaviota coastline leads west toward Point Conception. April 30: (All: 10 | Calves 4) Warm,
a bit hazy, and by mid-day, no wind. There was so little wind
the whales saw
no
need to blow. This made things more difficult for us to find
and track the whales, and it made us wonder what was influencing
the
behavior.
Were Killer whales around? Not that we saw. Was it rest time?
Maybe. Was it because there was no wind? Probably not, but it's
strange to think about. April 29: (All) 6 | Calves 3 ) The run of calves has truly excited us all. Our official sightings for the day were three cow/calf pairs traveling about two miles apart. These sightings and tracking filled our morning with wonderful looks at the intimacy of mother and calf. In raw count, we have now passed the total for all of 2007, the first of three consecutive low years. We have a ways to go, and certainly hope the run continues. But
the whales are passing even when we are not on duty to see. We
got phone calls from Counters in various locations
with sightings of Gray whales that didn't make it to
Counter Point before we closed at 5:00 and went home. The reality,
as we know it, is that calves can take their own sweet time
and often do. When Counter Larry Hess was riding his bike
home, this is what he saw: "Three went
by (1 calf), a group of four (1 calf) a 1/4 mile behind, and
2
more
100
yards
south
and slightly behind them, and now 3 more (1 calf) just went
by." April
28: (All:
6 | Calves 3) Very strong winds have made visual observation
and Counting very difficult.
It was not a great day for surveying, but it was wonderful day
for documenting three more calves. The Condor Express bucked
the wind and waves and found a cow/calf pair in Goleta Bay, which
we cannot see from where we stand,
regardless of the conditions. We got a call from Captain Dave
who told us he was "delivering the pair" and would be at Campus
Point in the next few minutes. True to his word, the big, white
boat appeared at Campus Point with a Gray whale calf and mother.
The passengers got great looks at the whales, surrounded by Bottlenose dolphins. April 27: (10 whales, incl. 5 calves) We started slowly and ended a whirlwind, literally. It is small consolation that the wind was slightly less than yesterday. It was very windy; and, when combined with the afternoon glare, it was nearly impossible to see. S0, it was great work by Counters, tracking and documenting another cow/calf pair before the shutdown.Gray whales entered the area about 11:00, with two sightings of cow/calf pairs. The first pair was about twenty minutes ahead of the trailing whales. We tracked these whales until just after noon. A half-hour later, more whales: two cow/calf pair rounded Campus Point together. Most of the time, they were like one, very close. It was easy to track this group. They made quite a scene surfacing together. When we looked up, however, it was not just whale-splashing that was causing such a mess in the ocean. The wind was back. We held on while whitecaps covered the sea. Ironically, it was the yellow sail of a windsurfer that pointed us to our final cow/calf sighting of the day. April
26: (16 whales, including 7 calves) We knew it was coming;
and we were hoping they would come sooner, rather than later. Just
before
9:00
a former
Counter
called to say that at least one cow/calf pair, and maybe two, were
passing Butterfly
Beach, which
is more than four hours east of Counter Point as whales swim. They
arrived at Campus Point at 1:09. We saw the big, white boat, the
Condor Express, and we saw the blows at Campus Point. We told the
captain about our tip. They found them and delivered them almost
to our doorstep. They probably would have except it arrived a few
minutes later: the wind. As forecast, yesterday's gale was resuming
and making what was already a very choppy sea, an impossible sea,
almost impossible for us to see. We managed
to identify the whales, capture one calf, and know there were two
different, big whales; but, we were unable to find a second little
whale. Hey, we thought it was pretty terrific we managed what we
did ... it was blowing more than 35 knots. We learned something:
Many folks want to know why whales breach. And, we know that at
least one reason is to help Counters find
them when it is blowing 35 knots. Big help! It was a shortened but all-together fantastic day, adding seven more calves. It was almost non-stop whales from the opening. Often we experience whales in pulses with multiple groups passing at once or right after one another. Then, nothing. Today, the whales were spread out so that as one group passed, two beats later blows announced the arrival of a new sighting. And, they kept coming. Six of the groups had one calf. There was one group of two pairs, confirmed; and one "group" of a single, juvenile Gray whale. April 25: (7 whales, with 3 calves) Whales in the waves at Counter Point!!!! (See photo) It was a terrific group. When they came around Campus Point they were joined by about seven Bottlenose dolphins that swam around and through the whales. They were a little far away, but we do not think there was any aggression. There were no defensive or offensive behaviors displayed. The dolphins seemed to want to be apart of the action and there was plenty. There were two calves and two cows and a younger whale with two round, white spots on its right side (see photo). One of the calves had a big white patch on its right side (photo). Distinctive marks like these are great for photo-identification. If an image was taken in the lagoon, we can update the nascent history of this calf with documentation that it made it to Goleta on April 25. When these whales were passing us there was not much wind in the nearshore, but we could see the windline and whitecaps on the other side of Platform Holly. Before the blowout, we saw whale blows at Campus Point. The cow/calf pair started towards us but dolphins and the wind caught them before they could get close. Fortunately, we do have good equipment, and we were able to get the looks we needed to Count the whales. April
24: The morning was beautiful, and we were hoping
to document a continuing surge of calves in this year's migration.
We did not have to wait too long. A pair announced their
arrival at Campus Point and moved slowly towards Counter
Point with lots of surfacings. The calf was easy to spot
with a big white spot on its right side, just before the
knuckles. We tracked the whales inside the oil-barge buoys
and on towards Sands and Ellwood. April 23: (24 whales, including 11 calves) As we were starting to set up, we saw blows of our first, official whales, a cow/calf pair. Two single, juveniles followed a half-hour apart. Almost three hours later we saw blow ... blow-blow ... blow-blow-blow .. blow-blow at Campus Point. And, that was merely the fanfare trumpeting, the march to the starting gate. Eight whales broke from Campus Point like the front straightaway at Churchill downs. They weren't in pairs; they were all mixed up ... which whale was going to get to Counter Point first? Then we saw two calves stretch to the surface blowing past a diving cow (photo). It did make it harder to establish just what it was we were seeing: how many whales and how many calves. We did not really get a handle until the race was over and all the whales were over towards Sands and Ellwood. What a thrill!!! It is odd that we had just finished a discussion about describing Gray-whale migration speed as slow travel. This was not slow travel. It was truly an amazing sight. What a day. Our
tenth calf of the day surfaces rostrum first and on the left
side (the ocean side) of mom (photo). At 4:00 the wind came up quite strong but could not hold back the whales. One pair plowed into the chop, while the second pair of Gray whales snuck through the Isla Vista kelp before pulling into the spray ay Counter Point. This was the last pair of a most incredible day. We last saw the calf poking its head out to check out the surf or surfer at Sands. (photo) April 22: (2 whales including one calf) Happy Earth Day! Mixed weather, but no heavy wind and eight hours of Counting. There was only one Gray-whale sighting, a cow/calf pair. We saw the whales turn around, the calf switching sides, and mom blasting bubble, perhaps to get junior to turn right, inside the buoys and off towards Point Conception. April 21: We were expecting fog, low clouds, maybe some drizzle. Wind was not on our radar. Apparently, it was not on the weather people's radar either. There is a preview-peek of the ocean from Slough Road, approaching the gate into the Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve. Whitecaps?It is generally not a good sign to see whitecaps at 8:30 in the morning. Today was not an exception. We allow more latitude in our protocol when the calf migration is on because we do not see many whales out by the oil platform even in the best conditions. Cow/calf pairs travel mostly within a half-mile of the sand. In heavy winds we cannot see out to sea very far. And, again, there were no exceptions (as far as we could tell). Our two pairs swam along next to and, at times, in the kelp, not very far offshore, on the way to Counter Point.Pair number one rounded Campus Point with seven blowing, bouncing Bottlenose dolphins about a mile ahead of the whales. Before we saw the whales, there was a thought the dolphin conglomeration was a whale or two. No, but it made us look harder in that particular direction, and it was there we saw a wind-swept, whale blow. We did not see the calf at first: too much chop and spray. On the third surfacing, a little blow sprouted alongside the backdrop of mom's massive body. And, of course, it helps us a lot when the young whale lifts its head above the water, as this one did many times.And, like several this year, this pair passed the Point and turned around, heading east to a patch of kelp. We saw sand in the shallow water that was likely kicked up by mom. Both whales spyhopped, side by side. Stunning. April 20: Our cow/calf pairs were actually pairs today (as opposed to yesterday's groupings): one in the morning with a single an hour before and one in the afternoon with a single an hour later. We started with fog all around and sometimes no oil platform. We were even a bit surprised to find our first whale, but we managed to track the whale through a few surfacings before, well, we don't know because we could not see very well. A bit later the fog started to clear and there was our lovely morning cow/calf pair in the Isla Vista kelp. Like some pairs this year, after passing the Point, they turned around and headed back towards us, rolled a bit, momma gave a bubble blast (quite a blast), and in a few moments they were back on the trail west, inside the buoys.Well into the afternoon, with some wind and whitecaps all around, we spotted our second pair after they had passed Counter Point. We'll take it. We got several good looks as they were not in too much of a hurry to get on with it. An hour later we saw small blows in the east. We were hoping they were calf blows, but, instead, it was a lone juvenile, maybe a yearling making its way. (Photo) April
19: (13 whales, incl. 4 calves) A still image
cannot convey how frightening this incident was. (Photo) The Condor
Express was not moving, watching Gray whales linger
at Counter Point, right in front of us. What you see is a single
whale, arched at the surface in water that is not very deep.
What you do not see is the three other whales, including a
calf, bunched in the same area. Four whales! What you do not
see is the speed of the approaching commercial, urchin dive-boat
that, to the astonishment of the captains of the Condor
Express, chose to cut inside the whale-watching
boat, so close to shore, right on top of and over four whales.The
whales were not struck,
and moments later the boats were gone: the urchin diver not
looking back, and the Condor Express, slowly, carefully
pulling away and heading south. The whales, alone, hesitated,
then
moved west, inside the oil-barge buoys, on the cow/calf pair
trail. Instead of pausing off Sands or Ellwood, the whales
seemed to want to be done with this volatile area. Good choice,
but not quite fast enough ... A jet-ski appeared east of Counter
Point and, before we could believe it, was speeding over the
path of the four whales.Jean-Michel Cousteau called them obstacles
for the gray-whale migration. We see the hardship. April 18: (6 whales, incl.2 calves) The first and only dolphins of the day were a pair of Bottlenose that arrived at 4:40. Fortunately, the whale pairs, along with some singles, were more punctual.Our first pair didn't get up too early. We saw the whales before 10:00, inside of Campus Point. There was some fog restricting visibility in the morning that cleared as the day went on. We had wonderful looks at the pair as they slowly worked their way west, past us, inside the oil-barge buoys, and lingered a bit before moving towards Naples. Passengers on the Condor Express, which maintained a respectful distance, got to see what this migration is all about. Cheers!Turning our attention back to the Point, a Harbor seal swam through the waves at high tide. Our one o'clock whale was two singles, maybe two miles apart, that sped by us. The first traveled through the buoys where a few days earlier the giant oil barge was being filled with oil.At 2:30 our second and final Gray whale cow/calf pair made its way past Campus Point and headed toward us through a corner of the Isla Vista kelp. The calf switched sides twice. A bit past Counter Point, mom got the calf's attention with a bubble blast and they turned inside the oil-barge buoys. Without too much ado, they were off again towards Point Conception and points north. April
17: At 8:30 the morning supervisor, Erin, was riding
her bike to Counter Point when she saw the two whales also
headed
for the Point. Counters scrambled to get binos and datasheet
to start counting before actual setup. There they were, right
in front heading west slowly. Beautiful. It was Erin's first
great look at a calf even though she trained as an intern-supervisor
last year. She watch a couple more breaths as the whales continued
west. Then ... they stopped, turned around east and headed back
towards Erin on Counter Point. A spyhop, nudge, and bubble blast
ensued. Mom rolled and the calf dove in what looked like it might
be nursing. Greatness! We watched the pair make their way west,
inside the buoys, past Ellwood, and on towards Point Conception. April
16: (6
adults, 1 with 3 calves) Good as it gets! Today was the beginning
of a two-day Earth Day festival, where it all began, in Santa
Barbara. Gray whales Count was
enthusiastically represented by a corps of Counters, organized
by Carol Rae, Allie Cope, and Britney Craighead. In addition
to Pictures and stories and even some facts about gray whales
and the migration, the Counters at the festival announced
the arrival of new sightings at Counter Point. The pair in the boat had been completely unaware of the pair of whales until the almost collision. Hey, those are whales!! Let's follow them.The chase was on across the Point to the buoys, when the canny whale ducked under the fishing boat and surfaced quietly along Sands Beach. The Condor Express arrived about then and warned the boaters about their careless behavior. They chose to move on to smaller fish.Mom then parked her calf in the surf at Sands for an hour while she went off, maybe to the kelp at Ellwood for a snack. All the while baby was bobbing off the beach where the protected Snowy plovers are setting up nests. Quite a contrast of species.We were charmed by the third pair, our seventh calf. At first we hardly saw them. The whales were escorted around Campus Point by two, whale-watching boats. One boat stopped at Campus Point and the other kept its distance, while the whales traveled though the Isla Vista kelp towards Counter Point. Before the whales got to our survey point the second boat left the mother and calf to us on land. They passed the Point and then about a quarter-mile on, they stopped, turned around and the calf charged back to Counter Point. Up popped the calf with a wink to the assembled Counters and
bystanders. The whales then turned back around in the proper-migration fashion, heading towards the afternoon sun and along the waves past Counter Point.As they departed, they gave us a last salute in front of the surfers at Sands. Pretty cool, dude. April 15: (4 adults, 1 calf) About 10:30 we saw blows at Campus
Point. We knew right away there were two, and the blows were
big, not like a cow/cal pair. However, the whales moved towards
us very like a cow/calf pair with little blows from time to time,
meandering, and a bubble blast. We searched but could not find
the little whale or maybe even two. Perhaps some photos ... Couldn't
be sure but it looked like there was a calf between the bigger
whales ...No. A second pair arrived about 1:20. This didn't look
like a pair at first. Then it did; and, definitely a cow/calf
pair.
We got lots of good looks before an observer spotted a lot of
common dolphins, around two thousand of them, about a mile beyond
the whales. The dolphins had their heads in the water and seemed
locked into foraging mode. The whales turned right, then turned
around east for a time. We do not know for certain, but it looked
like the gray whales were very concerned about the high-frequency
blasts. Earlier, the calf had been on the outside (a reason we
did not see it at first). Momma corralled her baby and kept it
on her right side, the shore side as they moved west. April 14: (8 whales, with 1 calf) Hard eight: the four pairs
of northbound, gray whales were difficult, but one was certainly
delightful,
our
third cow/calf
pair.
April
13: (3 whales) A huge wind was forecast for the Santa
Barbara Channel, and a huge wind arrived late enough to allow
us some April
12: (3 whales) When a whale popped up in the kelp right
in front of Counter Point just before 9, it looked like it was
going to be one of those days. When the gray whale disappeared
after a second blow and roll, we got to thinking it might be one
of those days. After eight hours, we can say it was a difficult
day. We did find a pair of gray whales at two o'clock, and we were
able to track
these juveniles, but barely. By this time, the wind was coming
up. And, the wind kept coming up. We do not think we were missing
whales, but it was difficult to see. We did have a few sightings
of what may have been the same harbor seal, and after 11, a group
of nine bottlenose dolphins slowly
strolled by from right to left. That was it. April 11: (9 whales) A 1:00 rush brought three groups of gray whales: a pair, one and a half miles out, with a trio following a mile-and-a-half behind, and a solitary traveler, scooting through on the inside, right in front of us. We had no whales all morning, and then there were six. Confusing (momentarily) and exciting. Thousands of common dolphins formed a parade of their own after the whales passed, with bottlenose dolphins mostly before.At 3:30 another pair of gray whales crossed close to the Point and inside the oil-barge buoys. Whale number nine was the blowingest single we have documented: six blows before a fluke at one surfacing. We suspect multiple whales whenever there are more than three blows, but there was no proof of more than one here. Adios, señor. April
10: (2 whales) The captain of the Condor
Express tipped us off about the first whale,
a juvenile, very near shore. Later, the captain
reported another likely-juvenile off the harbor, with an ETA
at Counter Point about 1. April 9: (4 whales) a wall of wind crashed into us and closed us down after noon. Fortunately, two pairs of gray whales (no calves) made our Count before we were so rudely run off the Point. April 8: (3 whales including 1 calf) For Southern California in April, it was cold but beautiful. We could see all four islands on a day when the wind climbed to 20 knots and windboarders were loading up. We seriously thought our day was about done at 1. Then the wind dropped dramatically and our observation quality zoomed from Poor to Good. At 3:01, we thought there was a blow in the east. On the next surfacing, we knew it was a cow/calf pair. They were terrific: slow traveling, with frequent blows from the calf, who stayed very close to momma. Everybody got great looks as the whales turned inside the oil-barge buoys and skimmed the surf at Ellwood. Calf number two this season! A half hour after the pair had passed Counter Point, we sighted a single, juvenile gray whale and tracked it across our area before closing. April 7: (0 whales) Wind ... no whales, no real ability to Count. April 6: (12 whales) We are entering the cow/calf phase of the migration. True, we have only seen one calf and that was last week. Even so, we expect calves to be on the move. We also expect to see juveniles, mostly traveling alone, but some hitching a ride with a bigger, more experienced whale. And, we know we will continue to see groups of adults, some continuing the mating game. At 10:06 observers on the first group of whales shouted BREACH. Astonishingly, a whale from the group breached three times in relatively shallow water. Even more astonishing, the observer tracking the second group nodded as she was watching a whale from her group breach. It took a moment to realize that the whales were breaching simultaneously. Another moment later we sighted a third group, halfway between the first and second group. There were seven whales total, divided amongst what we usually consider three separate groups; but are they? We would love to know (and never will) if the breaches were a coincidence or well timed. April 5: (5 whales) Many Counters were wondering where the whales are. Just
a few days ago there were lots. Well, today there were not a lot of whales,
nor dolphins. For a time, we did not even have an oil platform. It returned,
however, when the fog went away and we were able to resume our Counting. A
good thing, too, because we found two more single, gray whales to up the total
to five.
April 3: (6 whales) We Counted our 400th northbound gray whale just before closing this evening. The pair passed close to Counter Point with a couple of nice flukes and some brief rolling in front of the oil platform. Our only other whale sighting was a group of four gray whales that, like so many before them, swam way outside Platform Holly. April 2: (1 whale) We had fog drizzle. In six hours and 11 minutes, we managed four hours and 11 minutes of time on-effort. We officially saw one northbound gray whale. In the two hours we were off-effort, when we could see less than a mile offshore, we saw three northbound gray whales. The problem is we could not see enough of our survey area for a fair survey. April 1: (5 whales) Our first sighting of gray whales was a group of four with a single ahead of a rambunctious trio. All four lit up the horizon with dozens of blows, rolling, and two spyhops. The group passed Holly, like so many this year, way on the outside. A juvenile, single, took a couple of spins around the Point area about a mile out. It was a little confusing, but two stand-up paddlers and a pair in a kayak must have enjoyed their bit of magic on this first of April. March 31: (15 whales) On the last day of March, we passed the mid-point in our survey, and it has been a wonderful first half. All our sightings managed to make their way on the inside of the oil platform, so they are moving a bit closer to shore. Just a bit, though. As we were watching a group of five whales that included a pair a couple hundred meters ahead and a mating trio in the back seat, we where taking bets on which side they would go. They rolled with many blows, a couple of breaches, and a fluke, just inside. All our dolphins were in the early morning. A huge group of commons seemed to intimidate a single gray whale that disappeared for twenty-five minutes, then popped up just west of the dolphins. As big as a whale is, a thousand foraging dolphins present a formidable challenge. March 30: (9 whales) There were no calves today amongst the nine whales. A juvenile came very close to the Point on its way west. We tracked it one more time before it disappeared, perhaps intimidated by the boat that traveled right over the whale from head on. Unfortunately, not everyone knows to look out for whales. Three groups totaling five whales traveled way outside the oil platform. A mating group of three split the distance between Holly and the shore. We got much better looks. Bottlenose dolphins actively passed back and forth, and at least a thousand common dolphins did the same, with a bit more splash and a lot more bodies. March 29: (7 including FIRST calf!) As we are approaching the mid-point of Gray Whales Count 2011, we have entered a new phase. The fog moved in and out; but with tim outs for fog, in just over three hours of watching we did see whales. With the group of five we saw at 4:40 we entered the next phase: the cow/calf migration. The pair swam very close together, switching sides as they passed relatively close to Counter Point. It was such a relief. Earlier we had been fearing that with the adult whales traveling three miles and more offshore: would the cow/calves be so far outside we could not recognize them? Thankfully, not this pair. Bon Voyage. March
28: (13) The morning was warm, with some haze that opened up and
presented us with good observation quality. We found a pair rolling out
near the oil platform but, somehow, we could not track them much beyond
Holly. March 27: (18) Between 11 and 12:45 we had four groups of northbound gray whales totaling nine whales. We enjoyed very good observation quality. It was warm with almost no wind. The Condor Express called us while they were watching a trio of gray whales way east of us at 1:00. We calculated that the whales should arrive at Counter Point about 3:00. But, they did not arrive. At 2:00 the wind started to increase. As we were getting impatient, it was becoming harder to see. We began thinking we had missed the three gray whales. Actually, it had been that kind of day. For whatever reason, whales were disappearing. We tracked a morning pair that we first sighted more than three miles east of us. They were blowing regularly every seven minutes. The last time we saw them, they were right in front of us, heading west through flat-calm seas. We could not miss their surfacings. We could not, but we did miss them. Same thing happened with a group of five. They were there; then they weren't. How could five whales, blowing like crazy, disappear in those conditions? Maybe that early April Fool's Day magic was occurring again. At 4:00, on their last trip of the day, the Condor Express re-sighted the same whales. Turns out the threesome was traveling really slowly. There was a bit more mating going on than traveling. When we saw the whales, they were still three miles east of us, heading into a 20-knot wind. The Condor Express, which had lost the trio (thinking they had disappeared) moved southwest and came upon a different group we identified as four gray whales. Just in time. We closed with kiteboarders skipping across heavy chop in 25-knot winds, whales all over the place, and dolphins in the center ring. What a happy surprise! March 26: (19) The water around Counter Point was flat-calm all day. The skies above were stuffed with clouds, some misting and around eleven some were spreading low to the water, obscuring the horizon and any whales traveling along the outside. We could not track a group of two whales, and we worried that our day was done. If one cannot see, one cannot count. In a short time, however, the cloud drifted higher and dissipated. We never did find those two gray whales again. No matter: they made the Count. And, the groups kept on comin'. With no fog, we were able to track most of the groups all the way across our vantage. The parade finally stopped after three. March 25: (8) With our first sighting, we blew past 300 for the Count; with our final sighting, just after noon, we were blown off the Point. We had to shut down for the day.
Six of our gray whales for the day were added in our last hour. A trio was leading a trio on a trail, that like our first sighting of the day, led the whales just outside Platform Holly. Had they been any further offshore, it is likely we would not have been able to make an identification, or, perhaps, not even seen them. That's why we had to shut down. March 24: (14) We had sprinkles on and off all day and mostly poor observation quality. Even so, we sighted 14 northbound, gray whales and only one of those Unidentified Large Whales that seem to come out in bad weather. We tracked seven groups (one was a single). Four traveled inside Platform Holly with three going outside the platform; but, not so far outside, so far offshore as they have been traveling in recent days. March 23: (0) Wind and rain at Counter Point today: no Counting. March 22: (30) We added 30 northbound, gray whales to our Count. All except one passed outside (way outside) of Platform Holly, two miles offshore. In past years the vast majority of gray whales have swum inside the Platform (between Holly and the Point). Not 2011. This is a different year, a La Niña year with more rain than usual. We had 12 sightings of whales: four singles, all the rest groups, many demonstrating mating activity. One pair stopped 2.5 miles out. Several visitors to Counter Point got a "close-up" look through the spotting scope of rolling, splashing, tail antics, and some spyhopping. March 21: After a day of rain and wind and no Counting, we set a new record for our survey: 42 whales! Makes you wonder how many whales stormed by yesterday. We'll never know. Today we were spring-loaded!
March 20: (zero whales) The last day of winter was stormy in the Santa Barbara Channel. . .Weather only an ocean critter could love. There was no Counting today. There is supposed to be some morning rain, then clearing for the first day of spring. It would be a nice time to see a calf. March
19: (10
whales) Any Counting time today was a gift, and we will take the ten whales
that came
with it!The ten were in three groups, if you can call a single a
group. The other groups were four and five. All three were not quite so far
offshore as most of our gray whales have been. It is a nice change. We are
looking forward to our first calf. It will come, along with a lot of whales
in the coming weeks.
Of course, we would rather have put in a full day. Unfortunately, the combination of 25 knot wind and a lot of sun-lit haze made it impossible to see much of anything, even as big as a whale. Speaking of big ... what we did see before the big wind was a big group of whales, at least seven. The group of gray whales was well offshore, 2.5 to 3 miles. Fortunately, out new spotting scope did its job! There was no missing where they were, though. We have never seen so many blows in one place. What made it possible to establish an "at least" group size was that there were so many simultaneous blows, and there was a slight separation between a leading pair and the trailing five. And, there were two large groups of about 1,000 common dolphins that again came quite close to Counter Point. It was thrilling to see the parade-line of dolphins blast through the very rough ocean in front of us. Our other five gray whales were in groups of three and two. We did see the whales several times before the wind closed out the day.
March 16: (7 whales) We spotted a single gray whale as we opened for the day. It was a large whale that surfaced regularly and showed impressive flukes a few times. Almost two hours later the sea was not in good shape and a fog bank was moving west past Campus Point and approaching Counter Point. We managed to find a trio of gray whales, also pretty close, while they were swimming west ahead of the fog. After the whales passed, we called brief Time Out because we could not see. After only twenty minutes the fog was dissipating and we were on-effort again. In spite of the haze and choppy, whitecap-salted sea, we were lucky to identify a later trio of gray whales that boosted our total for the year to 167. March 15: (15 whales) We did not see any whales for the first hour and a half. In the next hour and a half, we Counted 13 northbound gray whales in groups of 3, 5, and 4, plus a single probably trying to catch the action. The last whale was charging into a pretty strong wind that had made tracking the conglomeration difficult. Pretty wild! For a time, after they passed, we enjoyed a bubble of calm. It was as is all those whales had churned up our ocean. In any case a pair of gray whales seemed to pop that bubble and they and we were faced with a building wind and a very messy surface. Even so, it was well after they passed Counter Point that we saw the simultaneous blows that confirmed they were two — to make it 15 whales on March 15. Nice. A big ocean swell, with a 25+ knot wind, and a very choppy sea ended our survey early. March 14: (14 whales) Wind cut short our day. But before we were blown off the Point, we bagged an even dozen northbound, gray whales. All except the last whales of the day passed outside or near the oil platform, and it made identification and tracking difficult. March 13: (14 whales) What a splendid wrap to week five: all those gray whales, many, many common dolphins, a pair of harbor seals, a frisky group of bottlenose dolphins, our first humpback whales, and our first sea otter of the season. We do not know if it was the one we last year called "Welcome Back Otter," but welcome back to the kelp in Isla Vista! Our first gray whale was a single that passed close to Counter Point. Then, there was a group of four a couple miles offshore where we have been seeing most of our gray whales. There was some haze and changing light that added a degree of difficulty. Teamwork made it possible. The afternoon was warm with no wind and pretty much solid gray whales with some harbor seal sightings and our lovely otter sighting to round out a very fine day. Thank you, Counters. Quite a team. March 12: (14 whales) Hundreds of common dolphins and diving birds greeted us this morning, but it was not too long before the gray whales came on the scene. What we have noticed this year is that most of the whales seem to be traveling further offshore, perhaps a half-mile to a mile. We remark also that series of groups are traveling what appears to be a trail. Follow the leader. Today, for the first time, we had a mixture of groups far and close. They still came in waves with individuals and groups arriving at Counter Point about the same time. It kept us very busy. March
11: (10 whales) The devastating, tragic earthquake in Japan
generated a tsunami that approached our coast just after 8:00 AM. We
are located east
and south of Point Conception where we were subject to an advisory, a notch
below the warning for the California coast above Point Conception. 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. The crowd that gathered at Counter Point did manage to
see a pair of gray whales that we added to our Count as we started our survey
earlier than usual. It was a difficult day at the start, though. There was
a lot of haze and quite a bit of chop in the ocean whipped up by the
wind and maybe a touch of tsunami. March 10: (13 whales) We were holding our breath because NOAA issued a Small Craft Warning for the afternoon. Fortunately the wind held its breath also until we left the Point at regular, closing time with 14 northbound gray whales for the day. Through the last three hours, we Counted a trio, a foursome, and a shy, single that traveled just outside the oil barge, moored in the buoys, continuing its fill-up that began yesterday. March 9: (5 whales) With very little wind, we had lots of crazy mirages, several bottlenose dolphins (early and late) along with many, many common dolphins (early, close and late, distant). We saw a harbor seal many times. We had zero Beaufort sea state, so anything that broke the surface "stuck out." We tracked two, single, gray whales northbound and an animated trio for more than an hour for each group. See photo above. March
8: (17 whales) Far
different from yesterday! We had a little wind (not such a good thing)
to start, but we also started with a whale blow
and that is far different and
a very good thing. The blows continued all day, fortunately not the wind. Our
only problem was heat waves mixed with some haze that produced some weird
shapes and indefinite horizons. In spite of that, we managed to find and identify
17 gray whales going northbound. Sorta upped the average after some
no-whale days. There was only one single and that whale passed us about a mile
and a quarter offshore. All the rest were groups, ranging from the fivesome
that got us going
to the pair that followed not far behind. Between 11:30 and 2:00 we
Counted seven more gray whales: two trios and the aforementioned single.
All the whales were big, and most were far from shore,
flirting with those mirages. March 7: (0 whales) No counting today. GALE WARNING. March 6: (0 whales) We saw no whales on this short day. We were shut out by weather. March 5: (5 whales) From opening until 2:30 our observation quality was very good, and there almost nothing to observe. No cetaceans. After the past few days, that is hard to imagine. At 3:00, whales blows close in brought cheers from Counters. Whales, yes. Gray whales. But, gray whales going south. It was a pair of mature whales making an uncommon choice to go south through the nearshore of the Santa Barbara Channel. It seemed to us the route was of no matter. They were engaged in slow rolling and entwined as they slowly moved east toward Campus Point. At 4:00 we rated the visibility at two miles, but at with an assist from the late afternoon sun, backlighting the blows, we found a group of whales maybe four miles out. With the new Zeiss spotting scope that has been lent to us by a very caring and generous friend, we were able to make the ID: northbound, gray whales. These whales were a long way from us, and we were ecstatic to add two to the Count. An intrepid Counter continued the tracking for a half-hour and was rewarded with a series of blows from the outside group of five whales! March 4: (2 whales) At 9:30 we spotted a pair of gray whales two miles out. With no dolphins in their path, they unhurriedly made their way west, just outside the oil platform. There were no more whales in our day. March 3: (2 whales) More than 2,000 common dolphins spread out as far as we could see in every direction. Incredibly, even more joined the breakfast romp. One group came flying in from the west. When they found the fish, it was all business: no more leaps, head down, echo-locator at full power. They came within a quarter-mile of the Point; close enough to ID at least that group as Long-beaked common dolphins; and close enough to see fish flying ahead of those long beaks as the dolphins surged across our Point. It went on for two and a half hours. Our attention was interrupted by a single, large, gray whale who was maintaining a low profile while swimming against the dolphin stream. It had to be intimidating, perhaps like approaching a hornet swarm. We tracked the whale through the oil-barge buoys, and hoped there would be a bit less drama on the next leg of the whale's journey north. Later a small, juvenile gray whale popped up in front of us. The whale almost hit the shallow end of the Point, then seemed to push off to deeper water on its way south. March 2: (2 whaes) It took most of the day to get in just over three hours of survey with about as many Time Outs as the last two minutes of a football game. We stopped almost as soon as we started when umbrellas were not enough and fog ate the oil platform right in front of us. AFter the third time out, we saw blows in the east. It was beautiful. There was nothing out there except two gray whales gently making their way west. The blows were tall, steady, and heart-shaped. The larger whale fluked gracefully before each terminal dive. The companion arched, but no fluke. Perhaps it was the darkness, the clouds, the gray water. Whatever, we felt like it was just us and them, and then they were gone, on their way toward Point Conception. Not too long after that, we were gone too. More rain. March 1: (8 whales) About 11:00 the sky started to clear and the east wind settled down. At 11:30 we saw our first whale. We soon realized it was a pair, and we tracked the slow moving, rolling pair for almost an hour and a half, just about the time a single arrived amidst a small group of bottlenose dolphins. The gray whale appeared to surface from directly under two dolphins! A trio of gray whales appeared due south, a long way out. The sea surface was like glass and the sun was behind the whales so we were able to easily track the group of quite-large whales heading west until a new pair of gray whales grabbed our attention in the east. They were a bit confusing with long downtimes and then multiple surfacings, sometimes with visible blows, sometimes no blows. We entered them as two, but there could have been a third in that mix. It was an exciting and challenging three hours around mid-day, then not much except a cold afternoon wind. Feb. 28: (8 whales) 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. Our whales came in pairs with two pairs at mid-day (one at noon and one at one). Both pairs were only about a mile off our Point. One of the latter whales had large scar on its back just before the knuckles. It could have been from an encounter with a boat. Just after 2:00 we saw two pairs traveling together, way outside, more than three miles offshore. All four surfaced and blew in unison. Feb. 27: (13 whales)Today was a great, gray-whale day. We started with five rambunctious whales that blew a lot and changed order for the entire hour and a half of tracking. What a great way to start the morning. We found a trio of gray whales at 11:30 and tracked them for an hour. Then, more dolphins. . .then another trio of gray whales. Just before five, we saw the blows of the final pair, more than two miles from Counter Point: two northbound gray whales that brought our total for the day to 13. All our whales today were northbound gray whales. None were singles, and all were pretty far out, with only one group going just inside the oil platform on its way west. A great day. We have a migration ... Feb. 25: (0 whales) Rain Rain RAIN Rainnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. Feb. 21: (2 whales) We had a presidential day on Counter Point: full of hope, with a bit of wind at the end of the day. Right away we saw a blow from a young gray whale heading south. The whales was sandwiched by foraging dolphins: a few bottlenose on the inside and outside, a massive group of common dolphins, at least 2,000 animals, spread out in an area 2 miles by 1.5 miles. Later we saw the blows of the northbound pair about three miles out and a blow and fluke from a southbound gray whale about two miles out. Yes, the migration is still in transition. An awesome day, indeed, fit for a holiday! Feb. 18: (0 whales) We were not able to give it a try. A very strong wind circling from the east was producing very heavy chop with numerous "horses," as the English say. It is the Brits who are known for understatement, but our term "whitecaps" is too static. We get questions about the whales when we have rough seas like this. Yes, the surface is rough, but twenty to thirty feet under the water it is calm and that is where the whales are most of the time. They do have to come to the surface to breath, but they seem to manage just fine. We, on the other hand, do not manage counting very well. Rain makes it pretty hard to see and the wind blows the whale blow away from the animal so we cannot see enough whale to identify it. In very rough seas, if we are counting, we total up a lot of Unidentified Large Whales. Feb. 15: (0 whales) Even in the less-than-ideal conditions, we do not believe any gray whales snuck by. It is early. Next week we should have more sightings. Feb. 14: (2 whales) While the gray whale migration is beginning to slowly kick in, dolphins are grabbing center stage with gusto and flourish! After this exciting opening act, two pretty-big gray whales surfaced a half-mile off the Point and gracefully fluked as they swam west, northbound towards Point Conception. In a flash we had doubled our Count to four. Happy Valentine's Day! Feb. 12: (1 whale) A single, northbound gray-whale snorkeled and almost made it past us without being detected. Almost. That was quite a feat in the Beaufort zero, glossy surface. We could see sea lions at two miles until about three when a soft breeze brought scattered whitecaps. Feb. 11: (1 whale) In perfect weather on Day Five, we saw our first northbound gray whale — the first of many fine whales to come. Feb. 10: Three, southbound gray whales. Our first cruised softly through the glassy water: three nice blows and a fluke and down. We saw three breathing cycles before we turned our attention to a rampaging line of common dolphins, maybe 500 or more. They churned up the water from left to right across our vantage before returning right to left in the afternoon. Feb. 8: On day two of the Count, volunteers saw five gray whales, all pretty good-sized heading south to Mexico — and an appearance by our dolphin queen, "Quasimoda," with an entourage of six fellow bottlenose dolphin. In our seven surveys, we have seen her every year, and it has been our treat. (The image is by Scott Leon in 2005 from the Condor Express: Quasimoda with her calf)
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Apr. 14
March 28: A small juvenile was our final whale of the day.
March 9: Perhaps it is good that all today's whales arrived pretty far offshore because the gigantic oil barge, filling up with oil, filled up the buoys west of us.
Feb.
8, 2011: Old dolphin friend Quasimoda & her calf
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