2007 Whale Sightings: Grays

WEEKEND OF March 3-4, 2007

Trip Report:

A fantastic weekend for all trips: beautiful weather, calm seas, and incredible wildlife sightings.

Saturday and Sundays Half Moon Bay trips had a total of 19 gray whale sightings. Highlights included several gray whales coming close to the boat and several others breaching nearby. We also had sightings of eight sea otters near the harbor entrance, and about 20 harbor porpoise too. Sightings included 4 California sea lions and 4 harbor seals. Bird sightings included loons, grebes, fulmars, pelicans, cormorants, scoters, oystercatchers, gulls, and murres.

Bodega Bay's trips sighted 11 gray whales including a mother/calf pair. We also came upon a group of Risso's dolphins as well, plus up to 60 California sea lions, 2 steller sea lions, and more than 30 harbor seals. Bird sightings included loons, grebes, cormorants, scoters, mergansers, oystercatchers, jaegers, gulls, murres and auklets.

San Francisco's trip had up to 20 gray whale sightings, including a mother/calf pair within 200 feet of the boat. We also saw California sea lions and harbor seals, and bird sightings included loons, grebes, cormorants, scoters, oystercatchers, jaegers, gulls, murres and auklets.

WEEKEND OF January 28, 2007

Trip Report:

Sunday's trip highlights: Half Moon Bay Sightings: Izzy Iszczepaniak

Upon leaving the harbor we encountered a harbor seal bobbing in the water between the first two buoys. We also sighted a single sea otter floating on its back chomping on some food in the same area. A sighting of a California sea lion rounded out the sightings in the first hour.

Half way into the trip, we found a group of gray whales. There were two whales in front of the boat which we followed for about 15 minutes. They were fairly small subadults. The blows of the whales were indistinct....barely visible at all. They appeared to be exhaling underwater and then taking a breathe at the surface, after which they would drop down and disappear. We lost them in a very short time. While we were watching the two grays in front of us, two other grays were behind us exhibiting the same behavior.

We left the elusive grays and continued south. At 14:35 we saw two harbor porpoises (in 180 feet of water) swim past the boat going north. Fifteen minutes later we saw two humpback whales about a mile and a half away from the boat. On our way towrds the whales a group of about 10 California sea lions swam rapidly towards the boat in an eschalon position (side-by-side). As suddenly as they appeared they disappeared just as quickly. But for about 30 seconds they were a hit.

We finally got to the humpback whales. They appeared to be working an area about a mile in diameter. They made no real effort to elude the boat offering us some good views. One whale continually flukes as it dove, while the other never even showed it tailstock. We stayed with the humpbacks until 15:15 and then had to head back. As the Salty Lady turned around to head back to port, the whale that was fluking appeared in front of the boat..surfaced within 50 feet of the boat! The skipper had to stop the boat immediately. After we were sure the whale was no longer in front of us, the boat started up again and we began the journey back. We did come across a flock of about 4-500 birds (western gulls, brown pelicans, Brandt's cormorant, common murres and a few surf scoters) lounging at the surface of the water, occasionally making dives. In this flock we saw another two harbor porpoises.