Tag Archives: Gray Whale

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Eric Zetterholm photographed this Gray Whale very close to the surf break at the sandbar by the Gualala River. Two beach walkers had an up-close-and-personal experience that day!

Here's a second look.

Whale expert, Scott Mercer, says this is a subadult Gray Whale. We have a small group of young Gray Whales that did not migrate, and we are know seeing them 12 months of the year.

Yesterday, Scott and Tree Mercer saw two Blue Whales, and I may have seen those Blues later in the afternoon. I saw a super tall spout quite a ways out, and the spout lingered. Sounds like a Blue Whale to me. Closer in there was a pod of at least four whales, perhaps Humpbacks. Lots of wonderful whale sightings lately.

Thanks to Eric for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

Breeze picked up today, making whale spouts almost impossible to see! Warmer weather ahead.

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Rick and Teresa Denniston have a beautiful home overlooking the Gualala River and the Pacific Ocean. They named it Seredipidity and it's available to rent. When they come up to stay for a while, intending to work on the house, the great wildlife sightings distract them! First, they saw several Gray Whales. Here's a photo showing the back of one of them.

Then they were distracted by this lovely Doe and a young Buck looking up at them.

Finally, they were charmed by the sight of a family of California Quail, including four of the chicks.

Hard to get work done, that is for sure!

Thanks to Teresa and Rick for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see Serendipity, here is the link: https://rentals.coastinghome.com/rns/vacation-rental/gualala/ca/serendipit

Our heat wave is over, thank goodness. The fog returned and burned off at the coast by noon. ahhh....

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Scott and Tree Mercer sit out on the bluffs most days looking for Gray Whales and other marine life. As of yesterday, they have seen 99 Gray Whales swimming fast to the birthing lagoons of Baja. These first whales are the pregnant females and they are intent on reaching the safety of the lagoons before giving birth.

Here is a photo Ken Bailey took a few years ago showing the spout - the exhalation of air - and the tail.

And next is a flipper of a Gray Whale, photo by Paul Brewer.

You can see this Gray Whale was in the surf break, photo taken by Frank Coster.

And here is the migration route the Gray Whales take. They travel thousands of miles, twice a year!

Today is the last sunny day for a while as three storms are lined up for the days ahead. But when there is a break, you can look for Gray Whales, as thousands more will be passing by in the days, weeks and months to come. I find it comforting to know they are just offshore, living their lives as their ancestors did.

Thanks to Ken, Paul and Frank for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To follow the Mercers whale counts, visit their Facebook page, Mendonoma Whale and Seal Study at this link: https://www.facebook.com/Mendonoma-Whale-and-Seal-Study-1421926098039236/

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The Gray Whale migration has passed, but we still see the occasional Gray. On a day when many of us were seeing whale spouts, Paul Brewer photographed a Gray Whale tail.

Subadult Gray Whales have been staying off our coast, rather than migrating to the Bering Sea. It's a fairly new phenomenon and we are excited about it.

You might also see Humpback Whales, and even a Blue Whale or two this time of year.

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/

It's a beautiful day here, cooler than it has been. No smoke from the inland fires, thank goodness, though we did some yesterday afternoon. The sun looked red as it set last night - an eerie sight.

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Paul Brewer has a front row seat to watch for marine life from his home in Gualala. He recently saw a lone Gray Whale and got this photo.

It looks like Paul has photographed a juvenile Gray Whale. It doesn't seem to have many barnacles and its head is rather stubby. We have a small group of juveniles staying along the coast of Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

Another time Paul capture these two tails of Gray Whales.

This photo makes us wonder if Paul photographed one of the first mother/calf pairs, but we don't know for sure. It's always exciting to see the mother/calf pairs arrive up here. And we should see the first ones pretty soon!

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photos with you here. Another photo of the first Gray Whale will appear in this week's Independent Coast Observer. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/