[CINC] SFGate: Best of times for whale watchers off Monterey

[Carolyn McCleskey]

And it's not just in the Santa Barbara Channel anymore !
Carolyn


Subject: SFGate: Best of times for whale watchers off Monterey

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Sunday, July 11, 2010 (SF Chronicle)
Best of times for whale watchers off Monterey
Tom Stienstra


   The big guys are back. Blue whales, the largest air-breathing animals to
inhabit the Earth, have suddenly arrived in Monterey Bay in huge numbers.
   On an epic trip this past week, whale watchers on the Point Sur Clipper
encountered 28 blues and 40 humpbacks. Along with more common grays and
the minke, rare for this area, more than 200 whales were in the vicinity
of the boat.
   "This was all on one trip, surrounded by whales, gazillions of them,"
said
Jeannie Ridell, at the Monterey Bay Whale Watch Center.
   Nancy Black, a marine biologist who was aboard for the trip, said the
whales have probably been attracted to the area by hordes of krill, the
shrimp-like crustacean that is the linchpin of the marine food chain.
Skipper Richard Ternullo reported that his electronic fish finder showed
200-foot-wide krill balls under the boat that extended for miles along the
edge of the Monterey Submarine Canyon, about 7 miles from the harbor.
   "What's really incredible is how all these whales showed up overnight,"
Black noted in an e-mail. "We do know that blue whales have long-range
communication. Their low-range frequency calls can travel hundreds of
miles through the oceans. So it seems likely that the whales communicated
to others about the food source here."
   Blue whales can grow to more than 100 feet long, more than double the
length of a school bus, and approach 200 tons. They are an endangered
species with a lifespan of 80 to 90 years. While humpbacks are spectacular
with their jumps, pirouettes and tail salutes, Big Blue is simply awesome.
   Out of Monterey, Black said the group started seeing whales as soon as
the
boat left the harbor. Three minke whales were spotted in the flat, calm
shallows just off the Monterey Aquarium. Shortly after, Ternullo sighted
the first two blues and then, within 30 minutes, six more, and it was
game-on. Suddenly, in a half-mile radius, 16 humpbacks and 10 blues
appeared.
   Though the group aboard the boat saw 200 whales, Black said there were
actually more outside the immediate vicinity. "There were so many blows
(spouts) in the distance that we never got to, as well as reports from
other boats covering over 20 miles along the coast."
   This could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
   Info: Monterey Bay Whale Watch Center, (831) 375-4658, gowhales.com.
Wildlife sightings
   Big Blue, a personal note: One of the milestone wildlife sightings of my
life happened just off Half Moon Bay, peering down from my airplane to see
two adult blues and a juvenile swimming on the surface in formation. The
full lengths of their bodies were clearly visible, with occasional spouts
and white water from their tails surging through the water. Big Blue can
change how you feel about what is possible on the planet.
   Five goldens fledge: At Los Vaqueros Watershed, resources specialist Mary
Shea, who tracks golden eagle nests, reported five golden eagles that
hatched and survived this spring have flown off (fledged) to start their
adult lives. Their wingspans now reach nearly 6 feet. The young goldens
can be identified by large white splotches on the bottoms of their wings.
Best hike for a sighting is the Eagle Ridge Trail (really), where they
hunt abundant ground squirrels.
   Shed treasures: A lot of snakes, especially gopher snakes and
rattlesnakes, are now shedding their skins at parks in Bay Area foothills.
This is when you can often find a complete skin intact. For rattlers, that
includes the bead-like shell capsules at the tail section that once
encased their rattles (I came across one at Sunol Regional Wilderness).
   The rest of the story: Many reports arrived via e-mail last week about
the
mountain lion that was hit and killed by a vehicle along Interstate 280 in
San Mateo County. The wayward lion probably emerged from the adjacent
23,000-acre Crystal Springs Watershed.
   Duck numbers good: North America's duck population is stable at 41
million, similar to last year and 21 percent above the long-term average,
according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which completed its
annual aerial waterfowl census last week.
   $2,500 reward: Defenders of Wildlife announced a $2,500 reward for
information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person who shot
and killed a sea otter, a threatened species, near the Morro Strand
Campground near Morro Bay in late June. Tips should go to Mona Iannelli,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (310) 328-1516, Ext. 229.
   Lion in backyard: The California Department of Fish and Game reported
last
week that game wardens shot and killed a mountain lion they determined was
a public danger when it was found in a tree in the backyard of a suburban
neighborhood in San Luis Obispo.
   Crazy yarn of the week: J.R. Absher, who mines the Internet for this
stuff, reports: As the story goes, two roommates in Anchorage were arguing
over who owned a vehicle when one of them grabbed a set of mounted deer
antlers off the wall and stabbed the other in the back and ankle. The
victim wasn't seriously hurt, but the perp was charged with domestic
felony assault.

E-mail Tom Stienstra at tstienstra at sfchronicle.com.
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Copyright 2010 SF Chronicle


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