Whale Watching | Mammals
Thursday, October 29, 2009
When a Fin Whale Flukes | Kera 
Fin whales are the second largest animal in the world, only second to the blue whale. If you were to read up on the fin whale you would probably learn the longest recorded is about 89 feet, they look similar to blues, and that they rarely raise their tale out of the water while diving (fluking). Having read up on fin whales myself numerous times, when I saw a fin whale fluke I couldn’t believe my eyes! And even more amazing, I’ve seen fin whales fluke three times this year!
Whale Watching | Mammals
Thursday, October 15, 2009
How Many Whales Did We Spot this Summer? | Kera
Read on to find out!
I’ve calculated the number of whales we’ve seen from June 1, 2009 until last week from our logs! What an incredible amount of sightings and the numbers seem to be holding strong daily!
Animal Updates | Mammals | Whale Watching
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Orcas on the Way? | Kera
Anyone that’s ever chatted with me about whales has probably learned that my all-time favorite animal is the orca a.k.a. killer whale. Out of everything I want to study and be around, orcas are my number one! I’ve recently gotten a report that a pod of orcas are on the way and might be in Long Beach this week!
Animal Updates | Reptiles | Whale Watching
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Blue Whale Season Isn’t Over Yet! | Kera
Even though our summer has winded down, the blue whales and other wildlife haven’t seemed to notice. The blue whales won’t be here for too much longer, but they’re still showing strong. On my trip out a few days ago I saw six blue whales and bottlenose dolphins! What a trip!
Whale Watching | Mammals
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Something I’ve Only Ever Talked About…Until Now! | Kera
“Why are the blue whales here?” is a common question I get while working on the boat. The answer I most often reply with is “They’re here because they’re feeding on krill which is a small, shrimp-like animal.” Typically the krill they eat are pretty deep, around 500 feet or so, but I always mention how on rare occasions the krill are at the surface and the blue whales will lunge feed at the surface. I’ve never seen it done … until now!
Animal Updates | Mammals | Whale Watching
Thursday, August 20, 2009
How Do Whales Nurse? Let’s Find Out! | Kera
The past few weeks, we’ve been seeing a decent number of cow/calf pairs of blue whales. Just recently I got word that a calf was seen nursing! Now even though I haven’t witnessed this with blue whales myself, I did recently get to see beluga whales nursing!
Whale Watching | Mammals
Thursday, July 23, 2009
When Bottlenose and Risso’s Dolphins Mix! | Kera
Just the other day I was talking to Alicia, my whale watching partner, and we were discussing how I haven’t seen any Risso’s dolphins this summer. Risso’s dolphins are usually here all summer long, and it’s not uncommon to see them on a trip when we’re looking for blue whales. Well I guess the Risso’s dolphins heard me because that’s all I’ve seen the last couple of days. More than I’ve EVER seen, and even better, they were mingling with bottlenose dolphins!!!
Whale Watching | Mammals
Thursday, July 09, 2009
A Rare Sighting So Early in the Season | Kera
Although the blue whales aren’t here every day yet, I’ve already seen a pretty rare sighting for this season…a mother and baby blue whale, also called a cow/calf pair. Last September, which is the end of our typical blue whale watching season, I got a call from one of the captains from the boats we tour with and he told me he saw a cow/calf pair of blues. I was so excited! I’d been out so many times all summer and never heard of any reports for a cow/calf pair! How amazing! I got out on the boat and spent two days with them before they continued on their way. That had to be one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. And now here we are at the very beginning of the season, and I’m seeing a cow/calf pair already. How exciting!!
Whale Watching | Mammals
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Getting Questions Answered About Blue Whales from an Expert | Kera
It’s coming up on that time again…blue whales! For the last two summers, there have been more blue whales here than there ever have been in previous years. Normally the first whale is spotted sometime in June, and then by mid July, there are so many here that’s it almost a guaranteed sighting daily on the boats. Last year the first sighting was on June 11. In 2007 the first sighting was June 12. This year we had our first sightings in APRIL! I wonder if this is a foreshadowing for what the summer is going to look like…
Education | Whale Watching | Birds | Mammals
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Follow That Bird! | Kera
One of the most common questions I get while on the boats is “How do you find the whales and dolphins? Does that Captain use radar?” Unfortunately, no. I wish it were that easy! We rely on our eyes to do the searching. There are a couple of things we look for to get us in the right direction and as I like to say, “Follow the birds!”
