Tag Archives: breaching

I shared with you Craig Tooley's photo from the mother/calf pairs that were seen off of Black Point Beach, The Sea Ranch. Here are two of Karen Wilkinson's photos of one of the calves. The first shows the calf beginning to breach. And the second photo shows the baleen and stubby head of the calf.

Karen took lots of photos and some videos. They are posted on her website at https://www.mpkw.com/TSR-Walks?fbclid=IwAR1PvEUBbii-4XLonK0ak74iF1vT3HovmkN5wcdtdjESdFx1qKikrdgIN2k

Thanks to Karen for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

We've have fog over the ocean, clouds overhead interspersed with sunshine. Even a few drops of rain splashed down. A little bit of everything today! Tonight's sunset could be beautiful.

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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John Batchelder saw a pod of between eight and ten Humpback Whales yesterday from his home on The Sea Ranch. He photographed this adult Humpback breaching.

We think it's a female because right behind her was this calf, also breaching.

Humpback Whale Juvenile

After John took these photos more rain moved in. Today, however, is sunny, giving us a chance to dry out a bit!

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

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John Batchelder was watching Sea Lions rafting and feeding recently when three Humpback Whales showed up. One breached as John was ready with his camera.

Whale breach near Shell Beach

And here's where the whale hit the water. Notice the birds nearby - these are extremely rare Black-vented Shearwaters.

Whale breach near Shell Beach

Here's a photo where John shows the three Humpbacks.

Counting the Humpbacks by John BatchelderJohn's photos were sent to Cascadia Research to help further their knowledge of these beautiful cetaceans.

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

 

Paul Brewer trained his camera on several mother-calf pairs. He saw a calf breach multiple times.

A Gray Whale breaches by Paul Brewer Breaching Gray Whales by Paul Brewer

Paul has observed that the calves seem much more likely to breach when the ocean is roiled up by wind. Interesting!

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