Boca de Soledad, Baja California
The desert whale. That is what locals have traditionally called the California gray whale. Born here in warm water lagoons surrounded by sand dunes and cactus, grays travel north past California redwoods, the temperate rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, and Alaska’s glaciers on their way to their summer feeding range in the Bering Sea, about five thousand miles away. They turn around at the end of the arctic summer and head back to their native waters, bordered by desert. This epic annual journey is among the longest of all mammalian migrations.
Our fleet of Zodiacs was on the water from shortly after sunrise to just before sunset as we made repeated outings to observe these massive and fascinating creatures. Dolphins and many seabirds also drew our attention, but the whales were the stars. Cow-calf pairs swimming in swells at the mouth of the bay, individuals repeatedly showing their flukes and breaching kept us riveted. Spyhopping, a signature behavior of grays was a highlight.
We don’t know why whales spyhop. The obvious answer is to look at the world around them, but a on a significant percentage of spyhops their eyes do not clear the water. It is nice to have a few mysteries in our lives.
The desert whale. That is what locals have traditionally called the California gray whale. Born here in warm water lagoons surrounded by sand dunes and cactus, grays travel north past California redwoods, the temperate rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, and Alaska’s glaciers on their way to their summer feeding range in the Bering Sea, about five thousand miles away. They turn around at the end of the arctic summer and head back to their native waters, bordered by desert. This epic annual journey is among the longest of all mammalian migrations.
Our fleet of Zodiacs was on the water from shortly after sunrise to just before sunset as we made repeated outings to observe these massive and fascinating creatures. Dolphins and many seabirds also drew our attention, but the whales were the stars. Cow-calf pairs swimming in swells at the mouth of the bay, individuals repeatedly showing their flukes and breaching kept us riveted. Spyhopping, a signature behavior of grays was a highlight.
We don’t know why whales spyhop. The obvious answer is to look at the world around them, but a on a significant percentage of spyhops their eyes do not clear the water. It is nice to have a few mysteries in our lives.
