Gray Whales 3/10/25 Pt Reyes
There were rumors that more Gray Whales were being seen from Point Reyes over the last few days than the ones we were seeing in Pacifica, so I decided to make the trek up there yesterday. Sure enough, I saw roughly 23 Gray Whales. Surprisingly, I saw a mother/calf pair. Typically the mother/calf pairs are the last to start the migration, yet we’re very early in the migration right now. The other somewhat unusual thing about the day was the number of flukes. I often don’t see many Gray Whale flukes, but they were really throwing those tails up yesterday!
One of them also decided to do a little “sharking”, which is when they roll on their side and put a fin and/or fluke up and swim for a bit. You can see that in photo5, and it’s clear why the behavior is called sharking.
It was a beautiful day in Pt Reyes, and it was wonderful to see some of the folks from the Marine Mammal Center too. I just finished sending them a chunk of the photos I took to help with their ID efforts. That ought to keep them busy for a bit. :-)
After they closed the lighthouse stairs at 4pm, I did a little wandering around the park. I was hoping to catch a few badger shots, to needle Bill Keener a bit (he hasn’t seen one yet and really wants to). I didn’t see any badgers this time, but I did get a few photos that I think are going to come out well of some coyotes, an American Kestrel, a Peregrine Falcon and a few other critters, as well as a few scenic shots. I’ll be posting those as I get time to sort and process them.
