News
from Observation Post #5
San
Diego, California, United
States
Here's the
news from Staci Shaut, Naturalist at the Birch Aquarium, Scripps
Institution of Oceanography:
April
15: We are done with whale watching. It was a
great season! On our very last trip on March 31st we saw
our first
mom and
calf pair just about a mile offshore. The
gray whales were plentiful and we even had some unexpected visitors
show
up: humpback, fin, and minke whales! Overall, we saw over
550 whales this year! This included nearly 30 fin whales,
20 humpback
whales, and about 5 minke whales! What we did not count were
the thousands
of Pacific White sided dolphins. Risso dolphins, and Common
dolphins that cruised past our boat throughout the season.
As the whales
migrated south we had a few opportunities to see gray whale
moms with their newborn calves. On the last tour of the season,
March
31st, we saw our first mother and calf pair heading North!
What good timing!
But the whales did a lot more than just
swim past
us this season. We saw breaching, spy hopping, mating, rolling,
and logging (sleeping). We saw gray whales interacting with
pods of dolphins and juvenile gray whales hang out in the
kelp beds.
We had a few gray whales come up to our boat to check us
out. We even had a juvenile gray whale spend about 3
weeks in the
San Diego bay before it returned back to its northbound migration
route. It was a very busy season and we are so lucky to have
the gray whales come within miles of our coastline.
One
of my naturalists came back from Baja on March 29th and said
that there
were still lots of moms and calves in both San Ignacio lagoon
and Ojo de Liebre (Scammons lagoon). I predict that they
are making their way North about now. We wish
all the gray whales good luck on the northbound migration.
We cannot wait to see them again in December!
Feb.
15-21: It appears that the gray whales have officially
begun their migration North. This week marked the most consistent
sightings of northbound gray whales. While the typical behavior
continued, other behaviors observed included one gray whale
breaching, a group of gray whales rolling over each other,
and a humpback whale slapping its pectoral fins and breaching!
The majority of whales observed this week were headed North.
February
8, 2009: First
northbound whale of the season! It appears that the gray whales are making their
transition from the southbound migration to the northbound migration.
While we are still seeing the tail end of the southbound migration,
February 8th marked the first northbound whale that we have spotted
this season. In the next few weeks we should begin to see more
northbound whales as they make their long journey back to the
Arctic.
February
7, 2009: Still waiting for the northbound migration,
but between Feb. 1-7 we saw 40 whales — ALL HEADED
SOUTH. They
included
two gray
whale
mom/calf
pairs!
Two gray whales put on a show by breaching for over
an hour! Other behaviors we saw included rolling, chin slapping,
and one whale opening its mouth to give guests a good view
of its baleen!
January
28, 2009: Staci Shaut sent exciting news: "One
of the naturalists saw the first northbound whale!" BUT
WAIT, there's more: "However, we think
that it
may
have
been a juvenile
or immature adult. During migration season, juveniles and
adults not ready to mate will follow the breeding adults
south. Sometimes
they make it all the way to the lagoons, but sometimes they
will turn around and head north again, or just hang around
a certain
area. The whale spotted today appeared to be larger
than a juvenile and was moving very quickly! I do not believe
that this is the leading edge of the northbound migration,
as we are still consistently seeing gray whales head south.
We
will definitely let you know when we are sure that we are seeing
the grays head
north."
|
Photo Peter Scheu |
|
San
Diego, California
(33.44N,
-118.24W)
|
|
Catie is on board the whale watching boat to teach
about whales.
Photo Staci Shaut |
|
This gray whale is interacting with Pacific White-sided
dolphins!
Photo Caitlin Scully |
|