April 16, 2023 Sunday

6 North Bound 3 Calves 0 South Bound 8.75 hrs

Cloudy overcast morning 59 degrees, flat calm ocean, 0-2 mph light wind. Hazy marine layer at horizon with no views of channel islands. Stand Up Paddle-boarders (SUP) were out enjoying the ocean conditions and much further out than typically observed here at Point Dume State Beach in Malibu California.

Mid-day the sun came out and so did the beach goers! Tower-1 is open with life guards on duty up in the parking lot again, keeping watch while several people went swimming in the 53 degree ocean water.

The cow/calf pairs migrated through quickly today making it difficult to assess and photograph of them. One pair, both the cow and calf, were underweight. The cow was thin with cervical neck dip, visible scapula and loss of volume along dorsal spine. The calf was mildly underweight with visible neck depressions but very rotund and keeping up with the mother who was in a hurry to get north to feeding grounds based on the rate of speed she was maintaining. This pair had coastal bottlenose dolphin escorts with 3-5 interacting and bow riding for a hundred yards. Nothing was slowing down this pair who kept going maintaining a steady pace.

The last pair of the day also went through quickly hugging the shore and spotted again after sunset passing along Zuma Tower 2. Sadly, no good photos were to be had or observations related to health were made due to low light conditions. We wish all the whales well today for a safe trip back to the arctic feeding grounds.