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!