Tag Archives: Killer Whales

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A week ago Thursday, eagle eyes at the Point Arena Lighthouse spotted a pod of Orcas. Sara Bogard and Scott & Tree Mercer were notified. Luckily they were out on the bluffs already, and Sara had her long lens camera. Sara wrote, “Scott, Tree, and I were blessed with this amazing sighting of eight Orcas a half-mile out on January 23, 2:30 to 4 pm. There were two males, and a mother and calf with the pod. This was the most amazing sighting after finishing up my Harbor Seal survey of 111 total count. Also, a North American River Otter was foraging. I’m so grateful for this sighting.”

The Mercers were excited too. Scott wrote, “The excitement this week arrived on Thursday afternoon with the surprise arrival of eight Killer Whales arriving from the northwest. OrcaNetwork in Washington, Orca experts Alisa Janiger and Nancy Black, and Jodi Smith of Naked Whale Research were notified immediately and were sent photos. Janiger and Black quickly identified the Orcas as meat-eating transient Orcas. We see Orcas on average, once a year, and rarely close, so this relatively close sighting was very exciting. Sara Bogard’s excellent photos made identification possible.”

This second photo is of one of the males. Note the very tall dorsal fin. The Orca experts were able to identify several of the females, CA26 and CA180. Nancy Black wrote, “CA26 is one of our oldest females. She lost her son many years ago so she now often travels with the other older females. [They are called] ‘the golden girls.’”

You can read about these golden girls at this link: https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/orcas-golden-girls-grab-spotlight-monterey

Thanks to Sara for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

A spring-like day, full of sun and warmth, today.

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Last week Ron LeValley was called by a friend to come look at a pod of Orcas. There was a bell buoy with two CA Sea Lions on it, which is what attracted the Orcas. Orcas LOVE to eat Sea Lions. The first photo shows the small pod, with a juvenile on the lower left. In the second and third photos an Orca approaches the buoy where a doomed Sea Lion waits. The last photo shows the Orca has nabbed its meal.

Pod of Orcas by Ron LeValley

Orca spots a Sea Lion on bell buoy by Ron LeValley Orca getting closer by Ron LeValley Orca nabs a Sea Lion by Ron LeValley

It is said nature is cruel. I submit nature is always busy.  And everything has to eat.

I thank Ron for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Ron's nature photography, here is his website: http://levalleyphoto.com/home/

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Last week Alan Reinke photographed Black Point Beach, seemingly missing its beautiful beach. The king tides, super high tides, had washed over it.

Black Point missing its beach at high tide by Alan Reinke

The next day told a different story.

Black Point Beach the day after the big high tide by Alan Reinke

We continue to have sunny, calm weather. Gray Whales have been spotted often. I saw two pods this morning, heading south. A pod of eight Killer Whales was seen today, heading north. When the ocean is calm, she reveals many wonderful sightings. We apparently have another week before our rains begin again.

Thanks to Alan for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

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Peter Cracknell spotted three or four Orcas, Killer Whales, quite close in on Saturday afternoon. Earlier that day he had photographed a large group of California Sea Lions rafting. Orcas do prey on Sea Lions. Here is a photo of one of the Orcas, heading north.

Orca by Peter Cracknell

Here is a close-up photo Tom Eckles took from a pelagic trip of a male and female Orca. The male has the taller dorsal fin.

Orcas by Tom Eckles

I am also happy to report that the first Gray Whales have been spotted, headed south.

Thanks to Peter and Tom for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see much more of Tom's photography, here is his website: www.tomeckles.com

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On Monday a pod of perhaps twenty Killer Whales was spotted off Point Arena. Emails and telephone calls ensued as we tried to photograph the pod. They were several miles out, however, and moving FAST. Dean Schuler got this photograph from The Sea Ranch.

 It was fun following them down the coast. Unfortunately for Dean, a fishing boat saw this pod and headed towards them. The pod then dove and disappeared from view.

Though this photo was not taken off the Mendonoma Coast, I thought you'd enjoy seeing this close up that Tom Eckles took from a 12 person inflatable boat in the San Juan Islands. It looks like a male with the very tall dorsal fin and a female with the smaller, curved dorsal fin.

Thanks to Dean and Tom for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see more of Tom's photography, here's his website: tomeckles.com