We have been busy readying our vessel and ourselves, and the day has arrived. Passengers from New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, UK, and Germany will be boarding the boat today and departing tonight for our first tour of 2014. Dr Rafe Payne and Rob Nawojchik will be the naturalists on this journey, and Dr Steven Swartz will join along until he arrives at his research station in Laguna San Ignacio. Wishing them fair seas and loads of whales!
an official census was done on 20 jan and the total is 84: 22 calves and 62 adults.
Gray Whale Census Update, Pt. Vicente: THIRTY-SEVEN GRAY WHALES, including a huge pod of twelve! Multiple sightings joined, milled, and separated, causing lots of confusion as we tried to accurately count and track them. One whale SPYHOPPED right next to Whale Rock. As another gray whale milled, a nearby small boat caused it to disappear for a while. Some slow-moving whales took an hour to pass us. A huge pod of at least 12 grays swam about five miles offshore; we watched them for an hour and twenty minutes before we could positively identify them as gray whales, since we needed to use spotting scopes i order to see their backs and flukes. Many FIN WHALES moved through our field of view, adding to our confusion; one was about a mile offshore, but most were further away in the Redondo Canyon. We also spotted COMMON DOLPHIN, BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN, and PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN.
Note the coloration of the calf and its surfacing position next to mom!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB7-F1YCVzU&feature=youtu.be
(Thanks to Naturalist Melissa and San Diego Whale Watch for sharing the footage)
10 jan census from laguna san ignacio:7 calves and 23 adults (30 total). local ecotourist business (kuyima) believes it’s closer to 50 whales total as of today!
ACS/LA Gray Whale Census Update (Pt. Vicente): Twelve more GRAY WHALES! One whale rolled, displaying the sides of its flukes. Another whale milled for ten minutes and did a bubble blast. BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN (3-5) accompanied another whale. Gray whales in eight of nine sightings fluked. Two PROBABLE FIN WHALES emitted very tall blows, but we lost them before we could confirm their ID. We also spotted COMMON DOLPHIN and BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN. Our sunset ended with a nice series of green flashes; one turned blue at the end. -Alisa
Please check out our RECORD counts: http://www.acs-la.org/
A pair of conjoined gray whale twins was found dead in Guerrero Negro, one of the gray whale calving lagoons on the Pacific coast of Baja California. This is a very rare event to photograph. This link has some footage and some details. The calves did not survive, but may have been full-term. http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/nature/post/conjoined-gray-whale-calves-discovered-in-baja-california-lagoon-find-could-be-a-first/
Gray Whale Census Update – Pt. Vicente: Fifteen Grays! One GRAY WHALE whale in a pair of whales BREACHED five times! Although they were about three miles offshore, we could clearly see the whale as it came out of the water; after breaching, it did a lunge. One gray whale swam VERY slowly; after watching it for an hour, a second gray whale came in from offshore and joined up with the first whale. They milled, and one whale did a bubble blast. Then they logged, and one whale lifted its head high twice in a partial spyhop. We spotted two sightings at about the same time. One gray whale stayed out by the buoy and milled for an hour and a half; a big splash likely resulted from an unseen breach. The other whale moved slowly through our viewing area, fluking frequently. Two sightings came close enough to release audible blows. Gray whales in all twelve sightings fluked. LOTS of FIN WHALES: at least six in the Redondo Canyon area, and one or two toward Santa Catalina Island. We also spotted a MINKE WHALE one time. POSSIBLE ORCAS: we tracked four or five “mystery whales” in the distant haze, that looked very much like orcas – but they were too far away (and too distorted in the haze) to verify. We also spotted COMMON DOLPHIN and BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN. -Alisa
Please check out our record counts: http://www.acs-la.org/
