[CINC] Gray Whale off Sitka, Alaska

[Paul Petrich]

Ahoy CINC Volunteers and CINMS biologist-from points north,
 Where should our squared  away northerly migrating Grays be by now?  Two days ago, in Redoubt Bay off Sitka, Alaska, I spotted a Gray Whale feeding within 30 yards of one of the multitude of islets there, within the kelp forest The whale-otter watching boat crew , busy searching earlier for Humpbacks feeding farther out, phoo-phooed my sighting at first, claiming I must have seen a blowhole in the otters' domain. But, sure enough, it proved to be a Gray. The depth got to no more than 30 meters where he or she was diving. Drastic climate changes have been recorded along these SE Alaska coastal passages in recent decades. Could this guy or gal decided that this feeding area will suit his or her fancy, given the changed conditions and challenges?   Paul
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.rain.org/pipermail/channel_islands_naturalist_corps/attachments/20110722/b3dc2273/attachment.html>