We found a Southbound Gray whale and Short-beaked Common dolphins 9-miles from shore today!
We started our day with a quick scan of the bait receivers! There were 2 juvenile California sea lions lounging on the yellow buoy! We followed the coastline about 1.5 miles from shore in search of southbound Gray whales. It was pretty quiet in the marine mammal department, so once we got to La Jolla, we began our journey to the SW. We started seeing some intermittent splashes with a couple of birds circling the area. We set out to investigate and sure enough we caught up with some scattered dolphins. We noticed more popping up to the SW and found about ~150 in total. There were a lot of babies traveling next to their moms. We also enjoyed watching the rambunctious ones that breached and porpoised around us! We were about to do one more turn around them and then turn in, when a spout appeared before our eyes! We continued out another mile and caught up with a southbound Gray whale! It surfaced for 1-3 breaths and down for about 5-min dives. It was a large adult Gray with lots of barnacles and lice around its head. On our last look, it began to head east, and we waved goodbye! We were super happy to see both baleen and toothed whales in one spot! On our way in at the Mission Bay jetties, we spotted a couple of outgoing Inshore Bottlenose dolphin!
We hope to see you on the next one!
Naturalist,Vanessa
