Captain's Blog

ACS/LA GRAY WHALE CENSUS UPDATE (10 DEC:) Three more GRAY WHALE singles! The first traveled in stealth mode, coming very close to shore. The second was a big adult gray whale that fluked frequently. It would blow 8-10 times at the surface between dives (more than usual); it lifted its head high out of the water twice – almost like a lunge. As we were watching this whale pass about a mile offshore, we found our third gray whale very close to shore: what a treat!
Check out our daily counts: http://www.acs-la.org/daily.htm
TODAY: (10 Dec 2013), Pt. Vicente Interpretive Center
Southbound grays 3
Northbound grays 0
Total grays 3

GRAY WHALE CENSUS UPDATE: 7 Dec: Our first gray whale was a small one that fluked, coming within a mile of shore. A pair of grays came close to shore and joined with a pod of Pacific white-sided dolphin; the whales rolled and displayed their pectoral fins, while the dolphin jumped all around the whales! We also spotted common dolphin and some acrobatic bottlenose dolphin. We battled rain and finished the day with high winds, making it difficult to spot and track sightings. -Alisa
Please check out our daily counts & reports: http://www.acs-la.org/daily.htm
TODAY (7 Dec):
Southbound gray whales: 3
Northbound gray whales: 0
Total gray whales: 3

GRAY WHALE CENSUS UPDATE (6 Dec 2013: Five southbound GRAY WHALES: all traveling solo! Three passed about a mile offshore; one came very close. We found our last whale when it was a mile away; it swam directly toward us, milled near Whale Rock for a short time, and then moved on. Two grays swam quickly; one was slow-moving. Three whales fluked. Some BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN came inshore to Whale Rock, then turned and headed back offshore. We also spotted some RISSO’S DOLPHIN. -Alisa
TODAY (6 Dec):
Southbound gray whales: 5
Northbound gray whales: 0
Total gray whales: 5

GRAY WHALE CENSUS UPDATE: Dec 4: Four GRAYS, ORCA megapod! All of our gray whales came very close to shore; all fluked. First we spotted a pod of two gray whales: one adult and one juvenile. Our northbound gray was also a juvenile; occasionally we see northbound grays at this time of the year. A HUMPBACK WHALE breached seven times! MYSTERY MEGAPOD: at 2:30 pm we spotted lots of whale blows about five miles offshore; we watched them for nearly three hours: over 30 ORCAS! They traveled in subgroups spread out over a wide area and moved further off shore, so they were difficult to track. We also spotted COMMON DOLPHIN and RISSO’S DOLPHIN.
Southbound grays today: 3
Northbound grays today: 1
Total grays today: 4

Sperm Whale Update: At Pt. Vicente in the LA area, a sperm whale surfaced ~1 mile from us at the gray whale census station. At 4:40 pm, it was on the near shore drop-off of our local deep water canyon: 600-900 feet deep (100-150 fathoms), steeply falling off nearby to 2400 feet (400 fathoms). Sperm whales in our area frequently forage along the canyon drop-off. Our last sperm whale sighting during census season (December through mid-May) was on 10 December 2005. Since then, sperm whales have been sighted several times here (outside of our gray whale census season).
“MANGO”: A notable adult sperm whale affectionately dubbed “Mango” by Cascadia Research Collective is the most frequently encountered sperm whale in our waters. He was first photographed on 13 January 1996; more recent sightings include 8 August 2011, 31 July 2012, and early August 2013.
Welcome back, sperm whales: lots of squid here!

Alisa Schulman-Janiger

ACS/LA GRAY WHALE CENSUS UPDATE: We found our first gray whale for this season at 7:30 am! This was a very large adult that traveled quite close to shore, fluking on each deep dive: fantastic sight! We spotted several groups of common dolphin throughout the day; the largest group included over 1200 dolphin that spread out and milled, while the last group of several hundred were surface active – leaping high out of the water! A few small groups of bottlenose dolphin passed by just outside the kelp. We also spotted Risso’s dolphin. Our day ended with a gorgeous sunset and a nice green flash. -Alisa
Check out our daily counts & reports: http://www.acs-la.org/daily.htm
As of 1-Dec-2013
Southbound Today 1
Northbound Today 0
Total Whales Today 1

Gray whale researcher and Searcher friend, Steven Swartz, has a new book due out this month. We will have copies of “Lagoon Time” to sell. Steven has recorded his memories and new information from his years of gray whale study at the most special place on earth! LAGOON TIME

Searcher friend and whale expert, Alisa Schulman-Janiger, shares her photos in his article on the recent stranding of a Stejneger’s beaked whale.

http://www.petethomasoutdoors.com/2013/10/rare-elusive-beaked-whale-strands-at-venice-beach.html