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WHALE WATCHING
Besides some of the best year round weather, California offers a rich environment of interesting creatures and monumental land masses. Adventure to the beach and you can find Sea Slugs, Turtles and Cranes. Take a day trip further out on the ocean and new marine life appears, such as Harbor Seals and the Whales. The most common whale of the region is the Blue Whale. They travel in pairs during their migration in July - October timeframe.
  
  
Gray whales are the most coastal of the baleen whales (whales lacking teeth) and are often found within a few miles of shore as they migrate f rom Alaska to Baja. Gray whales have baleen (a hairy substance) instead of teeth. To feed, they fill their vast mouths with mud from the sea bottom and filter it through their baleen to capture amphipods and other small animals. This is the only type of whale to feed in this manner. The average adult Gray whale reaches 50 feet and weighs up to 35 tons. They have robust bodies that are mottled gray, marked with orange patches that are caused by parasitic whale lice. Their heads often have areas encrusted by barnacles. To spot this animal, look for a tall and bushy blow near shore as they feed in shallow water. These whales lack a dorsal fin and show their tails when diving. Gray whales will quite often swim alongside boats to “people watch,” and are also known to breach. Gray whales are found in two areas: off the coat of Korea and off of the west coast of the North America |
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