I think all this rain we had and being coupe up inside made it very difficult to stay inside this week.....
So today I had a choice of either working at home or going out to Point Dume to see what I can see... Well, it was windy here in Ventura, so I was a little leery of heading out to Point Dume, but did anyway.. I am glad I did as it wasn't windy there. It was a gorgeous day on the coast. :)
I have only driven by there, but never been out of the car to walk on the trails to the point. That was my mission for today and in hopes of seeing some whales.
As I was heading out to the point around 10:40a.m., I thought I saw a splash in the water just east (south) of me, but I thought, no its nothing probably just one of those Pelicans diving... Well, I kept an eye on the area and sure enough, a blow. Small blow, but definitely a blow and a gray back with particles. A Gray Whale on its Northern Migration; 6,000 mile journey back up to Alaska. It was a juvenile gray traveling alone. It came straight towards land and then finally realized it needed to make a turn north (west). It came up a few times, very briefly and not showing much of himself/herself as it made its way over towards the point of Point Dume. I saw it come up one last time just out from the point before I lost track of it. It was definitely heading west (north) towards Oxnard, but was inconsistent with its breathing cycle, so was easy to loose track of.
The photo is not the best as that was the most it showed of itself when surfacing.
It was pretty quiet after that. There were some Pelicans, Sea Lions, Squirrels in the area being themselves. About 11:40a.m. as I was checking out the other trails, I saw a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins heading towards the point from the west (north) making their way down Zuma Beach. They are hard to count, but after watching them for 30-40 minutes, I counted about 8-10 with no small calves. They were foraging, a couple of jumps, traveling back and forth and in circles.
After them, the sun was getting really bright, and I needed to head back home anyway, so I decided to start the journey back to the car. As I was walking back, I happened to notice a Giraffe being led by a lady on the beach. They were walking towards the parking lot from the water across the sand. Earlier in between the whale and dolphin sightings, a young man told me that there was a Giraffe walking on the beach. I asked him if he was serious and he said yes, but still, I was a little unsure. Nevertheless, he was right... There was definitely a Giraffe on the beach. I only wished I would have seen it a few minutes earlier when it was closer to the water, but at least I captured it on the sand still. :)
Hope you all had a wonderful Thursday.
(click on image to see full size)
So today I had a choice of either working at home or going out to Point Dume to see what I can see... Well, it was windy here in Ventura, so I was a little leery of heading out to Point Dume, but did anyway.. I am glad I did as it wasn't windy there. It was a gorgeous day on the coast. :)
I have only driven by there, but never been out of the car to walk on the trails to the point. That was my mission for today and in hopes of seeing some whales.
As I was heading out to the point around 10:40a.m., I thought I saw a splash in the water just east (south) of me, but I thought, no its nothing probably just one of those Pelicans diving... Well, I kept an eye on the area and sure enough, a blow. Small blow, but definitely a blow and a gray back with particles. A Gray Whale on its Northern Migration; 6,000 mile journey back up to Alaska. It was a juvenile gray traveling alone. It came straight towards land and then finally realized it needed to make a turn north (west). It came up a few times, very briefly and not showing much of himself/herself as it made its way over towards the point of Point Dume. I saw it come up one last time just out from the point before I lost track of it. It was definitely heading west (north) towards Oxnard, but was inconsistent with its breathing cycle, so was easy to loose track of.
The photo is not the best as that was the most it showed of itself when surfacing.
It was pretty quiet after that. There were some Pelicans, Sea Lions, Squirrels in the area being themselves. About 11:40a.m. as I was checking out the other trails, I saw a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins heading towards the point from the west (north) making their way down Zuma Beach. They are hard to count, but after watching them for 30-40 minutes, I counted about 8-10 with no small calves. They were foraging, a couple of jumps, traveling back and forth and in circles.
After them, the sun was getting really bright, and I needed to head back home anyway, so I decided to start the journey back to the car. As I was walking back, I happened to notice a Giraffe being led by a lady on the beach. They were walking towards the parking lot from the water across the sand. Earlier in between the whale and dolphin sightings, a young man told me that there was a Giraffe walking on the beach. I asked him if he was serious and he said yes, but still, I was a little unsure. Nevertheless, he was right... There was definitely a Giraffe on the beach. I only wished I would have seen it a few minutes earlier when it was closer to the water, but at least I captured it on the sand still. :)
Hope you all had a wonderful Thursday.
(click on image to see full size)
