As if to underline our assertions that the season is not yet over, Julie Albert of Marine Resources Council called Jim Thursday shortly before 11:00 AM with a Hotline report of whales near the Crescent Beach Ramp. Team 1, led by Judi Kaczor, was valiantly working around the fog and hurried to Crescent Beach Park when Jim called them. Jim and Joy arrived about 30 min. later. Within another 20 min. or so, the obscuring fog suddenly cleared and Joy spotted a mother and calf right whale shortly afterward, to the north about a mile. Team 1 went to Judi’s house, about a 1/2 mile north on the ocean, and reported that the whales were to the north, but visible. Jim and Joy briefly checked Frank Butler Park to the north of Judi’s house, looking for possible public access to view the whales, but they were too far south, so Jim and Joy joined the team at Judi’s.
Mother and calf drifted ever so slowly south and Jim was able to get good photos. This southward motion stopped before they reached our position and they drifted back north again. We broke for a late lunch, then reacquired them from the Mary Street ramp (north of Frank Butler Park), virtually in the same position we had left them earlier. We moved back to Crescent Beach Park, where Judi contacted us around 4:15 PM to confirm our observations of little movement along the coast. We secured the watch about 30 min. later.
Our colleagues with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission identified the whales as Catalog #2223, Calvin, with her third calf. Yes, Calvin was named before her gender was known. This is the first time that we have documented Calvin in our study area. We certainly enjoy seeing new faces and appreciate their timing to keep us fired up for our last days of survey.
