Tag Archives: Gray Whales

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A group of subadult Gray Whales that didn't migrate to the Bering Sea has been seen off of the Mendonoma coast regularly this summer. Paul Brewer photographed a few off his home in Gualala.

You see a tail, a flipper, and the head and back with the remnants of the blow.

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/

We are having autumn-like weather, with lots of clouds scurrying across the sky. It's quite lovely.

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It's always fun to see whale spouts on the ocean. John Crowell saw three spouts from the bluffs at The Sea Ranch, most likely Gray Whales.

The first mother/calf pairs of Gray Whales are slowly passing by our coast, swimming about three miles per hour. Many, many more to come in the weeks ahead, as there are a lot of calves still in the lagoons of Baja California.

Thanks to John for allowing me to share his photo with you here. We are having a warm, breezy day here on the Mendonoma coast today. Blue skies abound!

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Another x-rated sighting for you. First I showed you mating Bald Eagles. Today, thanks to Paul Brewer, I can show you amorous male Gray Whales. According to whale expert, Scott Mercer, this isn't the time of year for female Gray Whales to mate. They prefer mating earlier in the year in the warm lagoons off Baja. But sometimes the males have other ideas. Here are some photos of a recent encounter just off Gualala - tails, bodies rolling, and a head next another whale are seen in these first three photos.

And here's proof of the male's intent. His male sexual organ has been dubbed the "Pink Floyd."

Unfortunately for the males, the females just want to get away and continue on their northward migration.

Speaking of the migration, this past weekend and Monday many Gray Whales were seen. Conditions were perfect for spotting their blows. It seems like we hit peak migration, which is normal for this time of year. The mother/calf pairs won't be seen off the Mendonoma coast for a couple of weeks yet.

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/

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Even while the southward migration of Gray Whales continues, the first northward-bound Grays have been seen. These are the newly pregnant females, and they are heading fast to their feeding grounds in the Bering Sea. They will be eating for two! Scott and Tree Mercer, of Mendonoma Whale and Seal Study, saw their first northbound Gray on Tuesday around noon.

Here is a fun photo taken by Ken Bailey a while ago of what I believe are two Gray Whales, one spouting and the other diving, showing the tail.

Ken also photographed the barnacle-encrusted head of a Gray Whale.

Here is the migration map of the Gray Whales, a journey of about 5,000 miles, one way.

Pretty amazing!

Thanks to Ken for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see more of Ken's photography, including his wonderful underwater photography, here is the link: http://www.seadreams.org/

To follow the Mercers' daily posts of their sightings, here is the link to their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Mendonoma-Whale-and-Seal-Study-1421926098039236/

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Paul Brewer trained his camera on several mother-calf pairs. He saw a calf breach multiple times.

A Gray Whale breaches by Paul Brewer Breaching Gray Whales by Paul Brewer

Paul has observed that the calves seem much more likely to breach when the ocean is roiled up by wind. Interesting!

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/