January 19 census in Laguna San Ignacio
As of 19 January, there are 23 cow/calf pairs and 29 single gray whales. That is a total of 75 whales!
January 14 seabird and whale report by Dave Povey
I took a group of non birding whale watchers offshore Saturday.
Black-vented Shearwaters: 300 plus. Most in smaller groups of 10 or less and scattered all the way from the outer edge of the kelp line to the innner edge of the “Nine Mile Bank.”
Bonaparte’s Gulls: 6 .
Common Murre: 1 just outside the kelp bed.
Xantus’ Murrlets: 2 pairs, both inside the “Nine Mile Bank.”
Cassin’s Auklets: 60+ were on the outside edge of the “Nine Mile Bank.” Some so full of krill they were unable to fly.
Rhinoceros Auklets: 50+, most closer to shore than the “Nine Mile Bank,” with one inside the kelp bed. Seen singly and small groups of up to 6.
Parasitic Jaeger,: 1 seen on the water, mid ship channel, inside Point Loma.
It was a very nice day for whale viewing, with 13-15 southbound gray whales, 3 very friendly fin whales, on the outer edge of the “Nine Mile Bank.” We also saw a small pod of risso’s dolphin (5-6), on the outer edge of the “Nine Mile Bank.” Common Dolphin where all over the area, with 10+ pods (or maybe just one large widely scattered pod) for a total of 150+ animals. Calif. sea lions (40+) rounded out our marine mammals.
Cool, partly to mostly cloudy, calm to light east breeze, great visiblity (we could see San Gorgonio Mtn to the north, and San Clemente Island to the west, from the “Nine Mile Bank.”). Sea surface temps were 56.8 to 58.9
Dave Povey, Dulzura, CA
6-8 gray whales in San Ignacio Lagoon
The early migration has reached at least one of the Baja birthing/mating lagoons. Our colleagues in Laguna San Ignacio report sighting between 6-8 whales today.
Good article about the surprising southbound gray whale numbers
Almost 200 gray whales have been counted by the LA-area volunteers since December 1. Surely a record will be set for these early “birds” on their way to Baja California.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/dec/29/early-whale-migration-spurs-excitement/
Record month for gray whales!
It’s turning out to be a record southbound migration already. Volunteers have counted 85 whales passing by the LA area since December 1.
December 14 and the grays are coming
This is the report from the ACS census team in LA:
As of 14-DEC 2011
Southbound Today —————- 7
Northbound Today —————- 0
Total Whales Today ————– 7
Southbound Calves Today ——— 0
Northbound Calves Today ——— 0
Season to Date (since 1 Dec 2011)
Southbound ——————— 19
Northbound ———————- 2
Total ————————– 21
Calves South ——————– 0
Calves North ——————– 0
Message from the observers: Great day for gray whales: three pairs plus a single whale! We saw flukes on three of the four sightings; one whale lifted its head up on each of its deep dives. Most of the sightings came within a half mile; one pair passed just above the kelp line. We saw several fin whales, two of which were lunge-feeding. We also spotted common dolphin, bottlenose dolphin and Pacific white-sided dolphin. The sun set into the haze with a tiny green flash.
Southbound census starts and a few grays are spotted already!
This is a great way to track the migrating gray whales throughout the season. It is a SHORE-based census in Los Angeles area.
