3 North Bound 0 South Bound 6.5 hrs ***REW (1)

February 27, 2025 Thursday

Flat glassy ocean with full sun until late afternoon when clouds came in at the horizon. Light to no wind most of the day making it feel much warmer than 70 degrees.

Three Gray Whales were observed near sunset, one with interesting identification marks on dorsal lateral right side. The whales were traveling together very closely and only surfaced twice with no visible blows observed. Upon close inspection photos revealed there were three whales and faint blows can be seen that were not discernible in the field.

Bottlenose dolphins observed throughout the day in small pods heading north and south. At sunset, a nursery pod was very active. They were porpoising ~ 1/4 mile offshore. The day ended with them close to shore in the surf zone with visible blows seen. During sunset, the sky lit up beautiful shades of red and pink to purples and lavender.

Earlier in the afternoon an Army and Marine Helicopter traveled along the coast at very low altitude. The sand on the beach is ample this year with much less erosion than past winters. This allows the LA County Lifeguard trucks to patrol actively on the sand.

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**** REW ( Reliable Eye Witness ) counts are not included in the daily or weekly tally: they are counted and kept separately as a record of the whales observed at Point Dume. The REW counts are extremely helpful and provide important data to keep track of the seasonal and daily changes of the migration. The total gray whale population declined 46% during the UME (Unusual Mortality Event) from 2019-2023. Population Estimates for 2024 increased to 19,260 up 33% from the 2023 estimate of 14.526.