Gray
Whale Migration Update: March 23, 2005
Today's Report Includes:
- Track the Whales: Latest Migration Data
- Field Notes from Alaska: Gray Whales and “Kodiak Killers” Arrive
- Field Notes from Channel Islands Observation Post
- Humpback or Gray? Michael H. Smith Asks Challenge Question #5
- Any Naps for Migrating Whales?
- Field Notes and Video Clip from Laguna Ojo de Liebra, BCS Mexico
- Migration Math: Answer to Challenge Question #3
- Race for Weight: Discussion of Challenge Question #4
Track the Whales: Latest Migration Data
Gray whale migration is in full swing! Take a look; make your own graphs using the data at the links below, or print and anayze our graphs. (For background, see lesson:Tracking Gray Whale Migration from California Observation Posts)
| Gray
Whale Migration Off the California Coast Whales passing per day Feb 1 - Mar 21, 2005 |
Channel Islands Data | |
 |
 |
 |
| Northbound
and Southbound Los Angeles |
Northbound Los Angeles |
Northbound Channel Islands |
| Data Courtesy of the American Cetacean Society of Los Angeles and Channel Islands | ||
- What changes have taken place since our last update? (Using the Data links above, look at data from March 9-March 23.)
- Describe the pattern of migration so far at each observation post. Describe (1) the migration of adults, and (2) the migration of calves. Then predict what you think will happen next. (NOTE: The ACS/LA census usually sees the peak for the non cow/calf northward migration the end of February up to mid-March at the LA post. They don’t expect mothers and calves until about six weeks after the peak of northbound non cow/calf whales.)
- Look carefully at calf migration past each site. Why do you think fewer calves have been seen from the LA observation post? What questions would you want answered to help you explain the difference? (Make a list of your questions, then decide how you could get them answered.)
- Counting whales is tricky. No one ever sees them all. What things do you think affect how many whales are seen each day at each observation post? This week’s Field Notes will help you answer.
Field Notes from Alaska: Gray Whales and “Kodiak Killers” Arrive
 |
Kodiak, AK. Photo Earthwatch. |
The gray whales have once again arrived in Kodiak and in Seward, Alaska! The first ones were reported March 15, but it’s still weeks until peak time for cow/calf pairs, which will arrive mid-May through about the first week in June. Along with the gray whales come the “Kodiak Killers,” reports Susan Payne from Kodiak, AK. Susan posts the week’s Whale Alerts on the Whale Fest site every Wednesday. Check it out at the link below! You’ll also find links to all the fabulous events of Whale Fest Kodiak, their annual migration celebration:
If you’re wondering about the “Kodiak Killers” that appear when the gray whales return, learn more here:
 |
On
days like this, only gray whales traveling very near-shore might be
sighted and tallied for the ACS-CI census. Photo M.H. Smith |
Field Notes from Channel Islands, CA
Wow! What a surge in whales! Michael H. Smith, Director at the ACS Channel Islands Census Post, shared the news and some photos. March 16 set their record, while bad weather sent them home early on a few other days. About those days, Michael reminds us: “Unlike baseball, we don't get a rain check. I am sure there were whales and they did not make our tally sheet.” How do high winds, waves and rain affect the whales? Michael says, “The whales do swim 24/7. I am sure the rough seas slow some. Rough seas may change breathing patterns to one blow and down [a dive], which is very difficult for us to see.” Here’s a sampling of what Michael reported from the Channel Islands post:
- March 21. (1 whale) “Wind and waves made it very difficult to see blows and almost impossible to identify an animal. Too bad because reliable sources at different vantage points in the area saw at least six whales, including a calf. And, I'll bet there were even more whales that passed Coal Oil Point today that we couldn’t see.”
- March 16. (21 whales and 5 calves) "At about 10:45 the Condor Express, a whale-watching vessel from Santa Barbara Harbor, appeared two miles east of our position, the direction from which northbound whales approach our census point. I called Captain Mat Curto to let him know a whale was right in front of him, three whales were in front of me at Coal Oil Point, and three more had passed the Point ten minutes earlier. He said there were seven more behind him! Before noon we had tallied 15 gray whales, including 5 calves, headed north. Our total of 21 on that day is our record to date. We even had one gray whale, at this late date, going south (must be off-season rates)."
- March 13. (17 whales and 1 calf) “I think I know a bit more what it feels like to be an air-traffic controller. Very fun.”
- March
08. (5
whales, 1 calf) “Visibility was limited
to about 2 miles all day. A cow/calf pair hung around for
an hour and forty
minutes in the vicinity of one of the many natural gas
seeps off Coal Oil Point. Perhaps they were enjoying the jacuzzi
effect?”
Photos and comments by Michael H. Smith. Photos are taken at the site of the ACS-CI Gray Whale Census. Location: Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve in Goleta, California.
(Left) ACS-CI volunteers stand at their position with a scope and binoculars approximately forty feet above the beach and Santa Barbara Channel. The debris is from recent storms.
(Middle) This is Platform Holly, an oil platform two miles offshore of the ACS-CI Gray Whale Census site at Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve. Platform Holly pumps oil amidst one of the largest natural oil seeps in the world. Gray whales pass on either side of the platform as they navigate the near-shore waters through the Santa Barbara Channel on both their southbound and northound migrations. Oil holding tanks (white) are visible to the left. Coal Oil Point, in the picture, is between the holding tanks and Platform Holly. Campus Point (University of California, Santa Barbara) juts out into the Channel to the right of the oil platform. The Santa Ynez Mountains form the backdrop.
(Right) This is a view of Platform Holly at about 3 PM from the ACS-CI Gray Whale Census site. We have lost whales in this area. Any idea why?
 |
Michael H. Smith, Director of ACS-CI census, on the bluff above Santa Barbara Channel. Photo Eileen Avery |
On day Michael said, “Through the fog, we watched the Condor Express (whale-watching boat) with our telescope, but we could not make out what they were looking at. (It was about seven miles away). The captain called and said he had 2 adult humpbacks amidst a huge pod of Common dolphins! While gray whales are on their migration through the Santa Barbara Channel to feeding waters off Alaska, humpbacks start arriving at their feeding waters: the Santa Barbara Channel and points north. Humpbacks don't usually come as close to shore as gray whales. But both species can be seen between 2 and 4 miles off shore, within our observation range. This brings me to my question for you:”
Challenge Question #5:
“ At 2 to 4 miles in the distance, what is an observer looking for to be certain he or she is tracking a gray whale and not a humpback whale?”
(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions
below.)
Any Naps for Migrating Whales?
Migrating gray whales travel 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So far, scientists have found no real difference in the whales' swimming patterns during nighttime hours. The whales must get tired! Do you wonder how they might rest along the way? Read more about this curious question here, and try your own test tonight when you go to bed:
Field Notes and Video Clip from Laguna Ojo de Liebra, BCS Mexico
At Laguna Ojo de Liebra, whale-watching tour leader Keith Jones thinks the migration started early this spring. Why? How many whales are left? Keith says, “It seems the migration north began early this year. Normally there isn't a noticeable change in number of whales in the lagoons until around March 15th. But as early as March 5, I began to notice a rapid decrease in number of whales. The Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve counted over 400 whales still present about one week ago (March 15-16). That is still quite a few for this time of year. But 2005 is the second year in a row of a record high whale counts in the lagoons. The peak census was 1948 whales present.”
Jump in Keith’s panga (low motorboat) for spectacular whale watching with this mother and baby in the lagoon:
 |
|
|
Mom
and Baby |
Keith Jones
Baja Jones Adventures, Laguna Ojo de Liebre, Baja California Sur,
Mexico
Migration Math: Answer to Challenge Question #3
The ACS-LA census began on December 1. Since then, 614 southbound whales have been counted. Twenty-six were babies. We asked, “What percentage of southbound migrants were newborn calves?”
The percentage
of this season's southbound migrant newborn calves is 4.23%. We divided
the 26 newborn calves by
the total of southbound
whales
(614) then multiplied it by 100 to get the percent.
Congratulations to all these Iselin Middle School 7th
graders for correctly answering the migration math
challenge: Joanne,
Jewel,
Nastacia, Abby
S., Alexandra, Abbey O., Emily, Manny, Juan, Stanley,
Daren, Parth, Rameez, Russell, and Daniel.
Race for Weight: Discussion of Challenge Question #4
"About how much will a calf weigh by the time it is two months old and begins the long migration north? Why is this weight gain important?"
A
big HOORAY for all these students who correctly
figured the weight:
• Austen M. and Jorge T. from Standley Middle School (San
Diego), grade 7
• Danielle, Bassett, Michael, Rose and Parth, Rameez,
Daniel, and Russell from Iselin Middle School (Iselin,
NJ), grade
7
They all agreed: A newborn calf weighs about 2000
pounds at birth. If the calf gains 60 to 70 pounds
daily over
60 days
(two months
of age),
that's 3600 to 4200 pounds ADDED to the birth
weight of 2000 pounds—for
a total weight of 5600 up to 6200 pounds. But
why is this weight gain so very important? Remember, the babies are
born without much fat.
Much of a calf’s
weight gain is a thick layer of insulating fat.
This thick fat layer supplies
warmth
and also
energy for the baby whale as it swims north into
colder waters. During the journey north, the
calf will continue
to nurse and grow.
How to Respond to Today's Challenge Questions:
IMPORTANT: Answer only ONE question in each e-mail message.
1. Address
an email message to: jn-challenge-gwhale@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge
Question #5.
3. In the body of EACH message, give your answer to ONE of the questions
above.
The Next Gray Whale Migration Update Will Be Posted on April 6, 2005.
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