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Michael H Smith's Gray Whale Count
30th March - Day 63
We started ten minutes early and left early: seven hours and four minutes early. When we got to the Point the wind line was just in front of Platform Holly: 2 miles away. The otters were buckling up in the kelp to our left. We Counted eleven in the bunch.
We had a single and a pair of northbound Gray Whales before we had to abandon our post. It is unfortunate at this time because we do know that there are still many whales coming through the nearshore in this peak-season run. Tomorrow is the last day of March and we are hoping for the lamb.
Totals today:
Northbound Gray Whales 3 Calves 0
Totals for season:
Gray Whales 384 Calves 0
31st Mar - Day 64
It was nice: March did go out almost lamb-like. There was some wind that did not become too much of a problem. It was cold, though. Apologies to you reading this where it is probably really cold. The otters were, indeed, buckled up this morning, seventeen of them in two groups pretty close together, with a Great Egret standing nearby in the kelp: all together, a remarkable image.
We did not see any whales until after 10:30. We tracked the pair for an hour. Fifteen minutes later we were hit with a rush, the biggest we have experienced: sixteen, northbound Gray Whales in groups of 3, 3, 2, 3, and 5 blew, breached, rolled, and fluked by at various distances from the Point. It was a fun challenge handled by a great observation team.
Seven more whales completed our Gray Whale sightings of the day, raising our Count above 400. We are still behind last year, but we are closing the gap.
Totals today:
Northbound Gray Whales 25 Calves 0
Totals for season:
Gray Whales 409 Calves 0
1st April - Day 65
No Fools are we... Today was a wonderful day to be at the edge of the Santa Barbara Channel. The light wind was cool; and it cleared the skies, creating almost excellent observation quality, almost all day.
It was so good that at times we could see blows and a couple of breaches at the horizon where the perpetrators were just too far away to identify. Ironically, it is usually poor observation quality that brings out the Unidentified Large Whales. We managed fifteen, northbound Gray Whales, including two that we were able to track, perhaps five miles out.
Totals today:
Northbound Gray Whales 15 Calves 0
Totals for season:
Gray Whales 424 Calves 0
My best,
Michael
Further Reading:
Next report: Gray whale calves spotted at last!
Last report: Gavin Thurston in the water filming Gray Whales
You can find the latest news on Michael's Gray Whale Count website
More info on Steven Swartz's work: National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA)