News
from Observation Post #16
Kodiak Island, Alaska
(57.43N,
-153.34W)
News from the 2010 Season
We'll
hear news from observers that include Ms. Phillips' 4th
graders at Kodiak Elementary School.
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"Many
students venture down the road to watch for gray whales with
their families," says Ms. Phillips. "The best whale watching
sites are 40 miles from town, across a very winding, frost-heaved
road
near
Narrow
Cape. It's always an adventure."
The
fourth graders studied gray whales with Scientist Kate Wynne
at the Ocean Science Discovery Lab in the Fisheries Tech Center
(NOAA).
See photos in the March
31 report and the April
14 report.
May
12: Dr. Bree Witteveen flew a survey today to count
whales around the Kodiak area. a total of 13 gray whales were
spotted in
the
survey area. She reports: "It was pretty quiet
out there! I'm not entirely sure
why,
though
I
can tell
you
that
the portion
of the flight over traditional gray whale territory was pretty
windy, making sighting conditions less than perfect." Feeding
plumes were seen for four whales.
April
15: Dr. Brianna Witteveen of the University
of Alaska Fairbanks reports :"We few a survey flight April
15 and saw 70 whales. They were traveling solo or in pairs,
threes,
fours, a couple
groups of of fives and even
a group of six. We saw feeding plumes on just three of the 30
sightings."
April
14: "It's
been pretty quiet around here. We are flying tomorrow, April
15 (weather permitting), and I
should have news
for you then," reports Dr. Brianna Witteveen of the University
of Alaska Fairbanks.
March
24: The gray whales are
arriving at Kodiak, Alaska! Chris
Fiala reported 30 to 40 gray whales traveling past buoys
3 and 4
in groups of 3 to7. Researchers Kate Wynne and Bree Witteveen
flew a survey of the island that same day and saw a half
dozen gray whales near Dangerous Cape, saying "We did
not catch sight of the large group that can often be seen
feeding
from Narrow Cape. It doesn't mean they aren't there, though!
That group often moves on and offshore and if you don't hit
it right in the airplane, it's easy to miss them all together."
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