On a glorious, gorgeous, Friday at Counter Point, several came by to check on the action, while our sharp-eyed, sharp-billed Egret friend thought we might have something going on on our side of the fence.

It was non-stop all day. All the local dolphin species were leaping, diving, and speeding around the Point and with the whales. Even our pair of Harbor seals made their mark on our datasheet.

We notched 18 northbound Gray whale sightings totally 29 whales. There was one trio, and all the rest were singles and pairs. Experienced and new Counters managed the work with bright eyes and big smiles. The highlight was between three and three forty-five when we were searching for the aforementioned trio that we had initially sighted three miles east.

Straight out, amidst a brigade of Common dolphins, a Gray whale breached twice. We wondered where it had come from, and then realized it had arrived from the other direction, heading to Mexico. Then another breach, this time by one of four Humpbacks which came to find out what all the dolphins were herding together.

Through the excitement we found our trio of northbound Gray whales, along with two sightings of pairs of Gray whales going west. Tracking the three northbound groups was very fun. They blew a lot and maintained separation almost all the way past Platform Holly when the two pairs joined up and continued towards Point Conception.

It was very fun. Our biggest problems were keeping hydrated and applying sunscreen. Nice problems.

Gray whales northbound (all) 29 | Calves 0 — 2015 Count 226 | 000

Hours 8:05