About
Observation Post #6 The observation post of the American Cetacean Society/Los Angeles (ACS/LA) Gray Whale Census is on Palos Verde Peninsula in southern California, about 8 miles north of the Los Angeles Harbor. Each spring, trained volunteers count migrating whales passing on their way back from warm Mexico to the cold Arctic. Most of the world's gray whales migrate past California, but census observers see only a small portion of them. That's because whales travel farther offshore here. Also, bad weather can prevent observers from spotting the whales. The main pulse of northbound whales, mostly adults, usually occurs the second and third week of March. A second pulse of mother/baby pairs comes about 6 weeks later.
Photo: Keith "Baja" Jones The counts help find out whether whales' seasonal usage of this nearshore migratory path change over time. What story will the numbers tell about gray whales this year? You can track the whales passing this Observation Post with Journey North this spring, thanks to American Cetacean Society Census in Los Angeles. >> See any whales? This is the American Cetacean Society LA census site. The cliffside post is on the patio of the Point Vicente Interpretive Center, 125 feet above kelp beds and rocky shoreline, with a seafloor that drops off abruptly nearshore.
Photo: Mike Hawe
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