The
weather has been quite trying this season. Fog, wind, and rain have together
and separately, made surveys miserable and impossible. Yet, those who have
persisted have been rewarded. Today was one of those days when the odds of
finding a whale seemed like a shot in the dark. This time it was higher than
forecast winds whipping up white caps to fool the eye. Julie Ogg Zitka, with
Team 3 at their next-to-last survey point at the Golden Lion Restaurant around
11:30 AM, beat the odds and caught Catalog #2503, Boomerang, and her calf on
their way south again.
The
timing couldn’t be better. It’s the perfect way to begin the second half of our
season and to welcome back the Traveling Trevallies, volunteers with the Georgia
Aquarium, for their fifth season of helping us for a week with surveys.
From
the Golden Lion, the action, and many of our volunteers, moved out to the end
of Flagler Pier as the pair lingered there, changing direction
several times, before swimming steadily south. The wind and sea state abated as
the afternoon wore on, improving conditions for everyone who stopped by to take
a look. By 3:30 PM, mother and calf were passing Gamble Rogers
State Park and we lost
them shortly thereafter. Tomorrow’s weather looks to be near perfect. Let’s see
if we can spot these whales again!
