Tag Archives: Point Arena Pier

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One of the juvenile Gray Whales returned to the waters off the Point Arena Pier on Saturday, Jan. 5th. A surfer was just coming in when he saw the whale. Deborah Heatherstone was there once again and photographed the event.

 
A small pod of young Gray Whales has spent the summer, autumn, and now winter off the Mendonoma Coast. They are called subadults. It is a new phenomenon for us that Grays didn't migrate. The vast majority do migrate north in March and April and then south in December and January. But these whales decided to stay put. They have more white on them, I am told, because they swim slower and stay in less turbulent water. It must have been thrilling for that surfer to be so close to this whale.

Once again I thank Deborah for allowing me to share her photos. Another of her photos is featured in today's Independent Coast Observer. You can see Sightings photos on the ICO's website at www.mendonoma.com. There's an on-line subscription available if you'd like to read my weekly Mendonoma Sightings column and keep up to date on the goings of our beautiful Coast.

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Really, the return of Al, the Laysan Albatross, to the waters off the Point Arena Pier was exciting enough. But the excitement levels rose when two juvenile Gray Whales swam in close to the pier on New Year's Day. Deborah Heatherstone was there to witness the event.

You can see a buoy in the second photo. This whale was very close in. Tomorrow I will share a photo of a surfer and one of these whales. And I will tell you more about this group of Gray Whales that didn't migrate. It's a fascinating new phenomenon.

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

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With the calm weather the Coast has been experiencing, Al, the Laysan Albatross, has been making personal appearances in the water off the Point Arena Pier. On Dec. 30th John Batchelder photographed this famous bird.

Look for Al to the north and west of the pier. Thanks to John for allowing me to share his beautiful photo of Al with you here.

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One of the shorebirds we see during the fall migration is the Red-necked Phalarope. Several were seen off of the Point Arena Pier. Craig Tooley photographed one off of Sonoma County recently.

It looks like it is talking back to Craig. This endearing bird spins in circles on top the water like a wind-up toy. This is how they feed. They create an upwelling that brings food particles up to them.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see more of Craig's coastal photography, here's the link: http://ruffimage.com/

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One thing I very much appreciate about Tom Eckles is his promise that his photos reflect exactly what he was seeing. No Photoshop and even no cropping. He saw this Brown Pelican silhouetted in the blue sky and captured this photograph.

Could the sky be bluer? Just beautiful. Thanks to Tom for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see more of Tom's photography, here's his web site: tomeckles.com

A young Brown Pelican was hanging around the pier at Point Arena this week. We were concerned because this is abnormal behavior. Well-meaning folks probably were feeding it. That is not good for the Pelican because it needs to learn to fish for itself and can only do so by practice, practice, practice. Luckily the juvenile bird flew off. We do love the elegant Brown Pelicans!