Tag Archives: Gray Whales

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We have received a lot of blessed rain here on the Mendonoma Coast. Every drop is welcome. On Tuesday a wild and windy storm hit the Coast.

It is fun to watch showers over the ocean. Several of these showers reached us as they headed east.

Thunderstorms sweeping over the coast.

The next day, yesterday, the swells were big, creating big waves. Rick and I went to the Point Arena Lighthouse to watch for Gray Whales with friends and I photographed some of the beautiful wave action. You will have to imagine the sound of the crashing waves. And, yes, we did see some Grays!

 Swell after swell rolled in. It can be mesmerizing to watch the Pacific Ocean!


Today we await a smaller storm. The weekend is to be clear and warm. I'm wondering if abalone divers will be able to go on their first hunt for red treasure this year!

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Gray Whales have been seen most days this past week. It looks like the southward migration has already begun. On Thursday Rick and I took a hike at Gualala Point Regional Park and were rewarded with the sighting of a pod of perhaps six whales. They were just west of Gualala Point Island, the rocky island you can see in the left side of this photo. There are two spouts on the right side.

And then we found our first Boletus edulis, a King Bolete, yesterday.

One of the most delicious edible mushrooms on the Mendonoma Coast, they are always a treat to find.

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You have to look closely at Adrian's photo. The Gray Whale's back looks like a small rock out in the Pacific Ocean.

As you can see from Adrian's photograph, the grasses are lush now, with plenty of feed for our wildlife.

And here's a closer look at two Gray Whales seen off of The Sea Ranch several weeks ago and photographed by John Batchelder.

Thanks to Adrian and John for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

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It seems like everyone with a camera on the Mendonoma Coast tries to photograph the perfect wave. Since there are so many correct answers for this test, we'll just call this photo by Ron LeValley one of many perfect waves.

Ron took this photo off the Little River Headlands in Mendocino County. That is also a great spot for spotting Gray Whales. Thanks to Ron for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

To see much more of Ron's beautiful photographs, here's the link to his website: http://www.levalleyphoto.com/home/

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Gray Whales, mostly mothers with their calves, have been spotted every day this week. On Thursday Rick and I saw spouts from Highway One.

This is what you look for - two spouts seen on the calm ocean.

 As we drove into Gualala we saw more spouts just off the mouth of the Gualala River. Here is a big spout (behind the rock) of the mother and a little spout of the calf.

 Below the calf has spouted again and you can see the back of the mother Gray Whale

 And here is the tail of the calf.

Clouds may obscure our view for a while as several storms are headed towards the Mendonoma Coast. But we know the whales continue on their long journey, the longest migration of any creature on Earth.