Tag Archives: Gray Whale Calf

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It's an exciting time of year when we see the first mother/calf pairs of Gray Whales. On Monday, several pairs were seen quite close in at Black Point Beach off The Sea Ranch. A friend called Craig Tooley and he got this great photo of a calf.

You can tell this a calf born earlier this year because of his or her stubby nose/mouth area and there are no barnacles yet! Of course the size compared to his/her mom is another clue.

Karen Wilkinson is the friend who called Craig and she got some incredible photos too. I hope to post some of hers soon.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.ruffimage.com

oh, today is such a lovely day. Warm - low 70's - and no wind.

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This calf wasn't seen off the Mendonoma Coast but quite a bit further south, off Point Vicente, which is near Los Angeles. Alisa Schulman-Janiger is a Gray Whale expert who keeps her eyes, and binoculars, trained on the ocean, just like our local whale experts, Scott and Tree Mercer, out on the Point Arena Lighthouse Peninsula. Alisa spotted this newborn calf, with its mother. Gregg Gentry, a Gray Whale Census Observer, was out in a boat when he got this photo of the calf, its body showing the fetal folds from being inside the mother. These lines, fetal folds, will fade over the next weeks.

Usually the mother whale tries to make it to the lagoons of Baja to give birth, but occasionally some will give birth on the migratory path. That's what happened here. She and her calf will continue to the lagoons.

Thanks to Alisa and Gregg for allowing me to share their photos with you here. Alisa regularly posts her sightings on Facebook at this link: https://www.facebook.com/alisa.schulmanjaniger

Another magnificent day on the Mendonoma Coast. It's sunny with no wind, temps in the 60s. And...and...Bottlenose Dolphins were seen today, a large pod of them. More on that later!

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Shari Goforth-Eby saw a Gray Whale mother and calf swim northward, passing by Gualala Point Beach recently. She photographed the calf.

Note the stubby head of the young whale. Also, the calf has no barnacles. Here's a photo of an adult Gray Whale, taken by Paul Brewer for comparison.

Scott Mercer tells me the lagoons off Baja have emptied of Gray Whales, so the mother/calf pairs are on the move northward. We've had so much wind, which whips up the ocean and makes it nearly impossible to see whale spouts, that it's been difficult to spot them. The breeze died down today, so we'll be watching the ocean!

Thanks to Shari and Paul for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/

No wind, and the temperature dropped twenty degrees from the very warm weather we had yesterday. Just a gentle, cooling breeze off the ocean!

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Gray Whales are one of the oldest species of mammals. They have been swimming in the Earth's oceans for nearly 30 million years, according to Science Daily. To contemplate their awesome twice-yearly migration is to fill you with wonder. Scott and Tree Mercer watch for whales and other marine sightings on the bluffs near the Point Arena Lighthouse. This past week they have counted 133 northbound Gray Whales.

Paul Brewer has a front row seat to view the ocean. Over the years he has photographed Gray Whales. Here is one spouting, where the whale is exhaling.

The Mercers have seen their first  mother/calf pair, which is very early this year. Another pair was seen by Diane Hichwa off of Bodega Bay. Calves seem to enjoy breaching, as Paul captured. The baby whale is beside his/her mother.

Calves have stubby heads as Paul's photo shows.

And here's a look at two Gray Whale tails, perhaps mother/calf.

And here's an x-rated sighting of a male's member, which is nicknamed the Pink Floyd.

Males on the northbound migration can have mating on their minds, but the females aren't interested. We have seen this action several times in the past week off the Mendonoma Coast.

I hope you will take comfort in these trying days that the Gray Whale migration continues as it has for millennia. I wish for all of us the best of health.

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his wonderful photos with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here  is his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/

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Paul Brewer recently photographed this Gray Whale calf spyhopping.

You can see the calf's mother on the left side of Paul's photo. Spyhopping is when a whale comes out of the water vertically, seemingly taking a look around. Maybe the calf was taking at look at the Brewers! These Grays are headed northward to their feeding grounds in the Arctic.

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/

We are having cool weather with a high fog today. Warmer weather is to return next week.