March 18th, 2025 Tuesday

Blue skies 55 degrees with light wind that picked up as the day went on.

4 North Bound 0 South Bound 9 hrs

Four Gray Whales in 3 sightings came in close to shore at Point Dume State Beach today, including two solos and one pair. The first sighting was a solo whale that came in and stopped near shore for a few minutes, changed directions a couple times, spy hopped in the surf zone and lifted its head before abruptly heading offshore into the sun line and out to the horizon. The water was much clearer today. There were shades of deep blues at the horizon. Lighter aqua blues and greens appeared in the surf zone.

The second Gray Whale sighting was a pair that also came in close to shore and changed directions a few times. One of the pair was thin and underweight with visible lack of blubber in the post cranial neck area. The pair stayed close together and left together out into the sun-line and towards the horizon.

The last Gray Whale sighting came in close to shore but didn’t linger long joining the others on the path out towards the sun-line and the horizon too fast for any photos or body assessments

SEA LION UPDATE

One Sea Lion remains in Pirates Cove-reported yesterday. Still breathing, occasionally lifting head slowly and quickly putting it down , too weak to actually move whole body along rocks it is resting on.

Another Sea Lion in Sea Lion Cove Colony laying on rocks with fishing line around neck. This animal has been eluding rescue for quite some time and California Wildlife Center’s Marine Mammal Rescue team (CWC-MMR) keeps checking as other wildlife enthusiasts continue to report sightings. Hopefully one day this Sea Lion can be rescued, unentangled and able to receive proper treatment.

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