There are many good stories. One is about right whale catalog #3546. We saw her as a calf in February 2005. We saw her as a juvenile in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Then, she was absent for three years. She next appeared as a first-time mother in 2014. We saw her on seven occasions in that year. On one occasion, volunteer Becki Smith was struck by the post-blowhole semi-circle of callosities, which looked to her like a halo. We subsequently submitted that name in nomination for the annual whale-naming event in the fall of 2014. The name got the winning votes, and became the official name for female #3546. Then, all was quiet for several years.
At 07:32 on Monday, 27 January 2020, the phone rang. Julie of the Marine Resources Council relayed a call. Whales at south 15th Street in Flagler Beach! We went down, made a one-call-now, and Sara flew the drone. The video capture revealed Halo with a calf! The sky was gray overcast, the winds were light, and the seas calm. We got good video and photos (image below). Halo is back!
But wait, there’s more. We had a second sighting yesterday. Mother #3560 and calf were sighted at Sunsplash Park in Daytona. The second team of Terry Clark and Ralph Bundy got photos and video. And for the rest of the story, the two sightings, #3546 and #3560 are cohorts, both born in the same year (2005). Now they are back with their calves.
Halo and calf photographed by Sara Ellis
from a drone at S 25th St. in Flagler Beach
on 27 January 2020. Taken under NOAA Research Permit #20626
