Two weeks ago, biologist and calf expert Wayne Perryman saw only one cow/calf pair, but some days he saw over 120 adults and juveniles! Then things slowed. “Last week we saw 226 adults and juveniles but no cow/calf pairs in about 40 (rainy!) hours of effort. It looks like the adult/juvenile phase is winding down and I expect that this will be a slower week.” With all the whales still in the lagoon, there's still plenty of excitement ahead!

Do you wonder how many calves were born this winter? Wayne is the government's leading expert on gray whale birth rates. That's why he's camped out at Pt. Piedras Blancas for several weeks each spring. He keeps track of calf production for the eastern Pacific population of gray whales. This population was removed from the List of Endangered Species in 1994. One of the agreements that came with that decision was to monitor reproduction in gray whales over a 5-year period. But Wayne's study still continues because we have seen much wider fluctuations in the number of calves than expected. These graphs show the numbers of calves Wayne has counted since 1994. Look at the shape of the graphs and see what you notice first:

With only 3 sightings in 8 hours on March 27, Michael H. Smith said, “This must be the calm before the storm and the lull before the parade of mothers with their new calves.” And despite a total rainout on another day, observers still had many exciting moments!

“Sometimes we are lucky,” said Michael. March 28 is an example. It was a day when steady rain, wind, and low clouds made anything hard to see. “We were about to leave at 9 AM when we saw a big blow/little blow right in front of us, about 200 meters away. A moment later, we saw an almost- breach. Soon after, there were two more less-than-artful breaches. We got another look at mom and the calf, and then we left for the (rainy) day.”

People often call Michael's cell phone to report a whale headed his way. On March 30 a cow/calf pair was reported mid-day by the whale-watching sailboat Sunset Kidd. Alas, Michael said, “We hoped to see the pair maybe two hours later, but we never did.” Still, they've counted 366 whales to date!

Photo Michael H. Smith

On some days, high winds made whale sighting very difficult indeed. Many whales passed early in the morning, between 6:30 and 10:30. Observers once saw two whales and a dolphin rolling and playing together! Another day, a cow/calf pair stayed around for over two hours, less than one-fourth mile away. “We saw all sorts of interesting behavior from the calf; it came up with its mouth open as if it had been nursing. The calf even spyhopped.”

Gray whales swim closer to shore on their way north than when they come south. Moms with calves, in particular, hug the coast to avoid orcas and take advantage of calmer waters. How do they navigate? How do they find their way? See what ACS/LA volunteer Mike says about navigation during this long journey. What ideas of your own do these explanations spark?

• Navigating the Way

Photo of Mom and Baby: Mike Hawe