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Whale and Marine Life Encounters

Submitted by Rouvaishyana
Naturalist and Deckhand Aboard the Dos Osos

Entry: May 2013

May is a month of transition for whale migration and marine life in general. Strong onshore winds produce coastal upwelling, which begins to form coastal fog and phytoplankton blooms. Phytoplankton feeds zooplankton, which feeds small fishes, which in turn provide food for marine birds and marine mammals including whales and dolphins.

During May the last gray whales head north toward the Bering Sea and arctic waters from their wintering areas off Baja California. The ones still traveling tend to be mothers with calves, and juveniles, both of which travel close to shore, sometimes in water 40 to 50 ft. deep or only slightly deeper. This year, more than in past years, we have seen gray whales meandering back and forth just south of Point Estero before heading further northward. The natural question is: why do they do this? I don't have an answer, but suggest that it may be because mothers with young, and juveniles making the migration for the first time on their own, may hear the surf at the point and take a rest before proceeding. Further study and information is needed to answer this question.

May is also generally the month when humpback whales show up off the California (and Oregon) coasts to feed. This population of humpbacks spends the winters in waters off Costa Rica, coming to our area to feed, taking advantage of seasonal upwelling which fuels the great wildlife phenomena here. On Sunday, May 27, we watched a humpback whale feeding. It was seven miles offshore, in waters 420 feet deep, and would not have been visible from shore. We know the whale was feeding because we saw it surface with its mouth open, and another time saw it on its back, showing its' belly with the throat grooves extended. We had already checked the nearshore waters from Morro Bay nearly to Cayucos, and though our trips are usually 3 to 3-1/2 hours long, it took us nearly three hours to find this whale. We always want to spend some time with the whale. After staying with it for awhile, we headed back in, but were over an hour out to sea at that point. This trip lasted almost 4-1/2 hours.

On this trip, the captain and I both saw a blue whale spout, but the whale was apparently traveling to a destination, because it outran us and we were not able to spot it more than twice. Blue whales took up summer feeding residence off our coast in2010, but have been only sporadic visitors since then.

On Friday, May 25, we saw the following large groups of birds, mostly on the sea surface and between Morro Bay and Cayucos:

*A flock of cormorants, mostly Brandt's cormorants with a few Pelagic Cormorants and Western Gulls mixed in.
*A flock of Western gulls, with a few cormorants mixed in. Frequently Heermann's Gulls mingle with these groups, but we didn't see that species on that day.
*A raft of Western Grebes. These birds are fairly common inside Morro Bay in groups of three - six or more, but it isn't unusual to see rafts of many dozens to a few hundred on the ocean. We generally don't see the similar Clark's Grebe on the ocean.
*Many Brown Pelicans plunge-diving near the Cayucos pier.
*A mixed feeding frenzy near a kelp forest just northwest of Cayucos. Western Gulls were on the surface of the kelp and making short dive sorties into the surrounding water, while cormorants again mostly Brandt's but with some Pelagic Cormorants mingling, surrounded the kelp bed and dove repeatedly for fish that must have been balled up in that vicinity. A few California sea lions were fishing in that area as well.

We generally linger for several minutes where seabirds congregate, both because they are part of the wildlife experience at sea, and because sometimes marine mammals show up there as well. When we are lucky, dolphins, porpoises, and Humpback whales can turn up in or near these "feeding frenzies." On that particular day, we did not see whales, but for those that enjoy the birds just as much, it was a sight to be seen — several times.

As summer begins and more visitors come to Morro Bay, we will be more likely to offer afternoon whale watching trips as well as those in the morning. The Humpback whales will become more regular visitors through October and could come in closer to shore. As wild creatures that are closely and directly tied to the movement of swarms of fish. They have to follow their prey — which means that every day whale watching is an adventure and a search. We combine experience and observing skills with luck, attempting to predict patterns based on the previous few days, and radio communication with other boat operators and shore observers. We don't always get reliable information from boaters, because they are often fishing and paying only peripheral attention to other marine wildlife. Nonetheless, over the years, we have averaged about an 80-85% success rate at finding whales. Whale watching from shore can be a good experience, but on a boat, it's more of an encounter where one can experience a range of whale behaviors, and there is usually lots of other wildlife to see as well.

For further information, call Sub Sea Tours at 772-WIND (9463).

Submitted by Rouvaishyana
Naturalist and Deckhand Aboard Dos Osos

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For further information about whale-watching on this boat, call Sub Sea Tours at 772-WIND (9463).

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