Today's Report Includes:
- Whale Watching: News from Observation Posts ≥≥
- Field Report: Students Visit the Whales! ≥≥
- Journal: Why is Counting Whales So Tricky? ≥≥
- Gray Whales: Finding Their Way ≥≥
- Tracking the Migration: Using Weekly Data ≥≥
-
Links: This Week's Gray Whale Resources ≥≥
Photo Steve Zabel
This baby gray whale was seen alone in an unusual location.
Why? >>
 |
Last
time we reported the
migration in full swing, but wait till you see this week's
numbers! No additional cow/calf pairs appeared in the past two
weeks, but exciting pulses continue past our California point-count
sites
(#6
and #7 on the clickable globe), with a record-breaking 41 whales
in one day at Gray Whales Count. At
Post #8, Wayne Perryman reports: We had 85 adults and 1 juvenile
recorded on March 24, Day 1 of the 2008 Cow/Calf Census. No calves,
but this is early for that phase of the migration. He summed up:
Pretty normal here in paradise. Read the news! >> |
Olivia and Vanessa are two happy girls! With their parents and grandparents they visited the whales in the lagoons. Their mom said, "Our first day was gorgeous with no wind, sunny skies, and glassy water. On Feb. 5 the census was about 550 whales and we probably saw 100 whales that day. They were everywhere — spyhopping, breaching, spouting. We saw about a dozen cow and calf pairs.
"On the second day the sea was choppy, but within a few minutes our boat and another were visited by two juvenile males. We were all able to pet them, be sprayed by them, and watch them toy with us! One stayed longer, rubbing on the pangas. Once he floated on his back between the boats, waving his fins like he was performing at Sea World." Fun!
Now enjoy
Vanessa and Olivia's story! >>
At Observation Post #11, Mr. Grover said whales have been farther from shore because of rough sea conditions. Comments like this remind us that counting every whale is probably impossible. No one ever sees them all! Imagine and think as you tackle this week's journal question:
- What things do you think affect how many whales are seen each day at each observation post? List as many variables as you can think of.
Write your ideas in your Gray Whale Journal. >>
Photo
Caroline Armon
Baby whales
are busy with spring training before they make their first journey north.
Caroline tells what they do: >>
Gray whales make the longest migration of any mammal. Each year, we thrill at the news of their return. How do they find their way on a journey longer than 5,000 miles? It may not be so easy:
• At
the top of this report is a photo page about a baby whale swimming
alone in a California marina. >>
• Last year another young whale spent a few weeks on a detour in Santa
Barbara
Harbor.>>
No one knows for sure how whales navigate, but our slideshow tells what scientists think so far. As you travel through the slide show, what will surprise you the most? >>
Think about the order in which gray whales migrate (see animation below). Then let's check the daily whale counts at our two California counting stations to see if there's a story in the data:
- Which whales are Californians seeing?
- Do the latest numbers show any pulses (surges in numbers), or any lulls (slow-down in numbers) at California's Coal Oil Point? >> At Los Angeles? >>
- Read the observations: How does weather affect the counts at Coal Oil Point? >> At Los Angeles? >>
- Compare northbound migration progress past Los Angeles with past years. >>
- Graphing gray whale data through the whole season? Add the latest data. >>
- Ask the Expert: Opens April 4, 2008! >>
- Media Link: World on the Move: British Broadcasting Company (BBC) Tracks Gray Whales >> (Hear interviews With Michael H. Smith of Gray Whales Count, our Observation Post in California's Channel Islands!)
- Slide Show: What's a Whale Doing in Santa Barbara Harbor? >>
- Highlights: More About Spring Training in the Lagoon >>
- Gray
Whales for Kids: Gray Whale Antics >>
Order Whales
Travel in the Northbound Migration
The Next Gray Whale Migration Update Will Be Posted on April 9, 2008.
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