Recent Sightings

Our day at the Point Arena Lighthouse began with a completely cloudy sky and a great deal of haziness. Eventually, the sun did shine through and our ability to see blows  improved greatly. Some haziness remained but visibility was good.

AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA:

🔺 7 southbound gray whales – one deuce and five singles; some were as close as 1/2 mile offshore and others were between 3 and 4 miles offshore

🔺 74 harbor seals

🔺 1 Ferruginous hawk

🔺 1 great blue heron

🔺 2 American kestrels

🔺 5 brown pelicans flying south

🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆

🔷 TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE ▶️   172 southbound 🔷

The ocean was calmer today compared to yesterday but there was still a significant amount of spray creating a haziness. There was absolutely no wind and blows did stay suspended in the air making them easy to spot.

AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA:

♒️ 16 southbound gray whales – one group of three, two groups of two, and nine singles; one of the singles breached once

♒️ 93 harbor seals

♒️ 2 American kestrels

♒️ 2 black oystercatchers

♒️ 1 red-tailed hawk

♒️ 22 pelicans flying south

🔹🔸🔹🔸🔹🔸🔹🔸🔹🔸🔹🔸🔹🔸🔹🔸🔹🔸🔹

♒️ TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE 🟰 165 southbound

There were huge waves, between 10-12 feet, crashing into shore creating much spray and rough surf. The constant spray did reduce our visibility somewhat but overall, blows were visible.

AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA:

🔶 7 southbound gray whales – all singles ranging from 3/4 miles to 3 1/2 miles offshore; most of the whales fluked

🔶 80 harbor seals

🔶 1 great blue heron

🔶 2 American kestrels

🔶 17 brown pelicans flying south and 5 circling the Lighthouse

💠🔷💠🔷💠🔷💠🔷💠🔷💠🔷💠🔷💠🔷💠🔷💠🔷💠🔷

TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE ▶️ 149 southbound

Despite the windy conditions, there was excellent distinction between the ocean and the sky giving us good visibility to spot blows. The wind did cause lots of whitecaps and blows were batted down quickly.

AT THE POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE PENINSULA:

❇️ 16 southbound gray whales – four pairs of two and eight singles; several of these whales were traveling between 100-300 yards apart

❇️ 91 harbor seals

❇️ 2 great blue herons

❇️ 1 Ferruginous hawk

❇️ 1 Northern harrier

❇️ 26 brown pelicans – mostly flying north, some circling the lighthouse

🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻

TOTAL GRAY WHALES SEEN TO DATE ➡️ 142 southbound