Report information
Michael H Smith's Gray Whale Count
Apr 02 - Day# 066
BIG DAY. Not the least of it was that we got in eight hours when thunderstorms were forecast.
The most of it was -- ta-dah -- our first calf! It came with fanfare and great anticipation. UCSB researcher phoned us from his boat. As he was leaving the lagoon at UCSB, there was a cow/calf pair in Goleta Bay. The calf breached five times. He smiled and called us to keep a lookout.
We figured a mature whale would appear in about a half-hour to forty-five minutes, depending on where in the bay it was. We know calves have a different pace. Even so, we were hoping to see the whales between nine-thirty and ten.
Nada.
About ten-thirty we saw a blow off Campus Point. This was it...
No. A shy single made it's way past us and received only mild appreciation.
Where was this calf?
At eleven-twenty we saw a big blow at Campus Point and immediately the scope focused on the pair as the little one puffed its blow. There it was.
No breaches for us. We guess all the shenanigans were played out in Goleta Bay. Instead we saw the two whales bonded with the calf on the outside. Occasionally, the young whale bobbed for breath out of sync, but mostly it kept migration time with mom.
Good show. And our day wasn't over.
We saw another cow/calf pair... Humpbacks about two miles out that tried to distract our Gray Whale tracking. We held our course and saw nine northbound Gray Whales throughout the day, plus a trio of bottlenose dolphins. We left the Point with smiles as the sprinkles began.
Totals today:
Northbound Gray Whales 9 Calves 1
Totals for season:
Gray Whales 433 Calves 1
My best,
Michael
Further Reading:
Next report: Final Gray Whales Count
Last report: Gray Whales leave California
Read Michael's latest entry every day at the Gray Whale Count website.
See the pictures and hear the audio from all the other Gray Whale reports.