As of 20 MAY 2013

Southbound Today ---------------- 0
Northbound Today ---------------- 0
Total Whales Today -------------- 0
Southbound Calves Today --------- 0
Northbound Calves Today --------- 0


Season to Date (since 1 Dec 2012)

Southbound -------------------- 771
Northbound ------------------- 1152
Total ------------------------ 1923
Calves South ------------------- 21
Calves North ------------------ 138

Message from the observers: Although we did not see any gray whales today, we did see other cetacean species. About three three miles offshore (in heavy haze), we spotted a splash, a dark back, and a few short blows; we thought that this was probably a gray whale or humpback whale. A short time later, we saw a fluke in this area; through our spotting scopes we saw a long back, a very small dorsal fin, and a huge fluke that confirmed this as a BLUE WHALE! However, this whale did not look like the "mystery whale" that we had first seen. We continued scanning and spotted another, smaller fluke in this area; on its next surfacing, this whale BREACHED THREE TIMES, revealing that it was a HUMPBACK WHALE! Then it rolled on its side and did "PEC SLAPS" (smacking its very long pectoral flipper on the water); it did at least a dozen pec slaps, and then it did a LOBTAIL (fluke slap)! These two whales were so close together that we could watch them at the same time through our binoculars! We also spotted COMMON DOLPHIN and BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN. As a special treat, one of three red-tailed hawk chicks fledged - flying out of its nearby nest in the cliff below us for the first time! TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF OUR 2012-2013 ACS/LA GRAY WHALE CENSUS AND BEHAVIOR PROJECT, OUR 30TH FULL-SEASON CENSUS! We'll be back on the rear patio of the Pt. Vicente Interpretive Center on December 1, 2013: hope to see you there!