RIGHT WHALE SEASON REVIEW

 Thank You

The 2023 right whale season in the southeastern U.S. is over, the whales are enroute or have arrived in the feeding grounds to the north. Our data and photos have been submitted to the central repository, the right whale catalog, at the New England Aquarium in Boston. Here, we are cleaning, packing, and storing our gear. Sara departed on Friday, March 31, for her home in Maine. Jim departed for his home on Cape Cod in Massachusetts later that week.

First and foremost, as we have done for previous years, a huge thank you to our capable and dedicated volunteers. Our mobile teams have logged 4,500 hrs of lookout time, while our condo teams have logged another 1,000 hrs. Then too, there are the educational and outreach efforts―brochures, phone cards, and information was  provided to curious citizens, beach goers, walkers, and visitors.

Next, happily, volunteers bring skills. You have taken photographs, flown drones, and made observations. Every contribution enhances our results and makes our volunteer network stronger.

A monstrously HUGE thank you to everyone.

Season Summary

In this, our 23rd season, we had a total of 14 sightings. We had one mother-calf pair, Archipelago, female #3370 with her third calf. We had eight sightings of this pair within five consecutive days, 8 through 12 January. The mother-calf activity, for us, was compressed to one pair and one week.

Beyond that, we had a number of singles. On 10 January, Team 1N sighted the  2022 calf of #3430. It was also seen on 11 January off Beverly Beach. On 31 January, a yearling, the 2022 calf of #2753, was sighted by Team 3 at their first stop, at 8:05 on a Tuesday morning. Finally, a boater reported a sighting off St. Augustine on the morning of 2 February. This individual has been identified as another yearling, the 2022 calf of #1245. As the day progressed, another single, provisionally identified as #4908, a 4 y.o. male, was seen off Marineland, and late in the day, off Flagler Beach.  

This season included a number of beachcast animals. On 26 January, Team 1N discovered an ocean sunfish, Mola mola, off Ponte Vedra. On 11 January, a dead beached female killer whale, Orcinus orca, came ashore at Jungle Hut Road. And, late in the season, on Friday, 24 March, a 16 ft long female Gervais’ beaked whale, Mesoplodon europaeus, beached at South Flagler Beach. Both the killer whale and the beaked whale were recovered by stranding specialists from Hubbs SeaWorld. 

The Big Picture

Based on records compiled by the Florida Fish and Wildlife team, there were a total of 49 right whales (+ 11 calves) in southeastern U.S. waters this season. While there were no large groups as we have seen in some previous years, there was diversity, as 14 males also made the trip to these waters. The 14 sightings by the Marineland Right Whale Project (see below) were a decrease from the previous year. Overall, the population stands at 340 individuals as of the end of 2021 (graph below).

Verified right whale sightings by the Marineland Right Whale Project during the 23 years of the program. Sightings in the last five years showed a promising increase followed by a disappointing decrease.

The cumulative sightings of right whales by all groups during the 2023 SEUS season.  The yellow symbols are mother-calf pairs. The plot includes resightings of the same pairs/individuals. 

Population estimates for the North Atlantic right whale as of the end of 2021. 

Donations

At our season-end party, as we always do, we put out a request for donations. Many responded, and we have $3,500 in hand. Checks continue to appear in our mailbox. But, we’re not quite there yet (we need to raise about $8,000 from the private donations part of our fundraising endeavor). Therefore, if you are willing and able, please write a check for $100 (larger or smaller is o.k. too), made out to Associated Scientists at Woods Hole (or simply ASWH) and mail to Jim Hain, ASWH, P.O. Box 721, Woods Hole, MA 02543. The cumulative effect of your donations help keep this program viable.

Videos

The most excellent video that Sara showed at the season-end meeting, “2023 Volunteer Teams,” is available at our YouTube channel, Marineland Right Whale Project.

As an alternative to searching: the direct link is: youtube.com/@marinelandrightwhaleprojec4079

Another video, done by Flagler College students is being finalized and will be posted shortly on our channel. 

And finally,

Thanks again to everyone.  See you in January for our 24th season.  Stay healthy.

Jim and Sara.  (Photo: B. Gough)

END-OF-SEASON EVENT

 Mark Your Calendars !

The End-0f-Season Event will be held from 2:30 to 4:30 PM on Saturday, 18 March, in the auditorium at the University of Florida’s Whitney lab in Marineland. Signage will guide you to the auditorium. The first half will be a social hour, with a raffle, gear sales, and more. This will include a “light” pot-luck event. Please bring finger food or desserts. We will provide coffee, beverages, plates, and utensils. At 3:30 we will give a presentation with a look back at the 2023 season. 

The event will include images of our volunteer corps, a video by Flagler College students, and a Season Summary . . . analyses, philosophies, and questions. What are we learning and what secrets are the whales withholding?

In these times of a continuing covid pandemic, masks are welcome (use your judgment), but not required.

We have a network of many wonderful folks! See you Saturday!

BLUEBIRD DAYS

Gosh! In 20+ years of the program, I can’t remember this kind of weather. Calm seas (often sea state 2, except on Saturdays), light westerly winds, and warm sun.  The meteorologists report record warmth. Likewise, water temperatures are warm.

Synopsis

Our last mother-calf sighting was from Hammock Dunes, Old Salt Park, and then Surf Club on 12 January . . . catalog #3370, Archipelago, and calf. Since then, we have had reports of fleeting and elusive singles . . . on 31 January, 2 February, and 17 February. A sighting on 23 February went unverified.

Our one-and-only mother-calf pair for the season, Archipelago, made a strong showing early on. And then, went absent. The records compiled by the Florida team show that they were sighted periodically in northern Florida and southern Georgia. The most recent sighting was on 15 February, off St. Simons Island, Georgia.  

And, the one and only mother-calf pair, Pilgrim and calf, sighted by our partners to the south, the MRC, was seen by them on 18 and 19 January in Vero Beach, and most recently seen on 9 February, off Cape Hatteras, and heading north.

Indications are that this was an early and warm season, with a smallish number of right whales. (The number of right whales here in the southeastern U.S. is not so different from last year.)

But, don’t despair. We have experienced these kinds of seasons before. Remember that, “every day, every season, and every whale is different.” We’ll continue with a strong survey effort for the remaining two weeks, right through 12 March.  

Mid-Year Highlights

After a hiatus of two years due to the pandemic, we held a mid-year meeting on 11 February.  We passed out questionnaires, had a raffle, and had brisk sales of “whale gear.” Jim and Sara gave presentations. The pot-luck “snack buffet” had many treats, two of which were the carved “right whale watermelon” by Greg Tougas and the “right whale cookies” by Carole Adams.  Most excellent.

Examples of the wonderful treats at our mid-season event on 11 February.

Mark Your Calendars

Our last dedicated survey day of the 2023 season will be on Sunday, 12 March.

Student Visit

From Monday, 20 February through Friday, 24 February, we mentored a student from New York. Kyriaki (Kiki) Gavriil is a junior, enrolled in a science research program, at Byram Hills H.S. in Armonk, NY. While here, she also visited with the Florida Fish & Wildlife team.

During the week of 20 February, we worked with Kyriaki (Kiki) Gavriil, a student from Byram Hills H.S. in Armonk, NY.

Flagler Video

We’re working with Brooke and Macie from the Flagler College digital media and communications program, on a right whale video. Jeff and Sue, along with Glenn from Team 2 were interviewed. Sara was also interviewed. We will likely show this video at the upcoming year-end meeting.

The Numbers

Currently, the number of calves born this season stands at 12. One died off of North Carolina. The number of “alive” calves stands at 11. Early on in the season, we were hoping for a calf production in the 20s, with a continuing hint of a small rebound. It appears now that this will not be realized. We, along with other investigators, are studying water temperatures and other factors. 

Thank You

As we wind down for this season, thanks to everyone for your good efforts.

THE ACTION PICKS UP AGAIN

 A Lull, Then a Sighting

On 12 January, we had our last sighting of Right whale #3370, Archipelago, and calf off the Hammock, and later in the day, off the Surf Club. This was followed by a lull of more than two weeks. Then, at 8:05 on Tuesday morning, 31 January, Surveyor Judy Bowman had a sighting at her first stop (the upper deck of the Oceanside restaurant in South Flagler Beach). A single individual, just at the fog line, moving south rapidly. Surveyors Peggy Jones, Elaine Kelley, John & Linda Wilson, Michelle Ross, Tracy Tougas, Pat Cotton, and others responded. Some were rewarded with an active whale just off Gamble Rogers State Park. The whale’s speedy southward movement soon resumed. By getting ahead of the whale, Sara captured a few drone images off High Bridge Rd. (within North Peninsula State Park) before the whale disappeared from sight. The individual was identified as a yearling, the 2022 calf of female #2753 (Arpeggio). The yearling’s gender is unknown, but it has a white belly and chin. 

This yearling, the 2022 calf of #3370, Arpeggio, was spotted traveling south from Flagler Beach on 31 January. Image: Sara Ellis, research permit 26562.

The drone automatically records flight data.  This map shows the path flown by the drone from the High Bridge Road overlook to capture video and photos used to identify the whale sighted on 31 January.

The Facebook page of the “Mid-Atlantic Baleen Whale Monitoring Project,” describes that this individual was sighted next to the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on 18 January. The page contains a number of interesting photos of the yearling moving through busy shipping channels.

Not Only Whale Sightings

Our previous post described the killer whale that came ashore on 11 January. Shortly thereafter, a deceased ocean sunfish (Mola mola) was discovered by Survey Team 1 North on Thursday 26 January. It was at their lookout point in Ponte Vedra Beach just north of the Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve facility. Ocean sunfish are the largest bony fish in the world, reaching up to 10 feet in length; this particular individual wasn’t that big, but was still pretty impressive at 5 feet long. The team reported the sighting to the Fish Kill Hotline of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who sent out a biologist to take tissue samples. The team stayed with the carcass until then and admired the oddly beautiful creature.

A deceased ocean sunfish (Mola mola) was discovered by Team 1 N on Ponte Vedra Beach on 26 January 2023.  Pictured, left to right, Tammy Taft, Matt Heck, and Adrienne Cilliers.  Image: Shea Lox

Community Talks 

On Saturday, 4 February, Sara will give a talk at Gamble Rogers State Park. This is mostly for new people. The program is free with paid park entry and a reservation is  required. Phone (386) 517-2086.

Whales, Weather, Waiting, Watching

Our years of experience have taught us that the whales and the weather are unpredictable. At this time, the 2023 calf count stands at 11. We would like more.  Maybe numbering in the 20s. Although mother-calf pairs are currently absent from our survey area, there are reports to the north of us, off Georgia. Will there be reports of additional calves? Will we see mother-calf pairs in our area, perhaps new ones? All will be revealed. But not on any predictable schedule.  

As always, here’s to “light winds and heavy whales.”

WE ARE OFF TO A BUSY START

Two Weeks In

In Week One of our 2023 season, January 4 through 10, our volunteer sighting network partners to the south, the Marine Resources Council (MRC), had five sightings, all of female #4340, Pilgrim, and her first calf. The first sighting for the Marineland Right Whale Project came on 8 January, female #3370, Archipelago, with her third known calf, off Crescent Beach, heading south. This pair was sighted two more days in a row by the MRWP in Flagler Beach and then Daytona Beach. A single yearling, the 2022 calf of female #3430, was sighted off Ponte Vedra on 10 January.

Week Two began on 11 January. The single yearling was sighted again off Beverly Beach on the 11th. Singles were also sighted off the Nautilus Condo late in the day on the 17th and on the 18th off New Smyrna Beach and further south off Port Canaveral. 

Occasionally we see juvenile right whales, such as this yearling, which was photographed by drone off Beverly Beach on January 11, 2023. Image: Sara Ellis, research permit 26562.

Archipelago and her calf turned northward and were sighted by the MRWP off Ormond Beach on the 11th and off the Hammock on the 12th. To the south, Julie and Joel of the MRC continued to monitor Whale #4340 Pilgrim, most recently sighted off Sebastian Inlet on the 18th.

To date, there are 10 calves this season. We hope for more. A number in the 20’s would be good. Some days, we have sightings. Other days, we do not.  Each day, we wake up and say (with conviction), “Today’s the day.” !

The weather for the start of the season has been remarkable. With the exception of two cold and windy days, where we cancelled the dedicated surveys, we’ve had many days with light winds and calm seas. I can’t remember such a frequency of good conditions in Januarys past.

Beach Surprise

In addition to seeing right whales, over the years of our program we’ve had many beach surprises. Animals that have come ashore or washed up include ocean sunfish, pygmy sperm whale, fin whale, and on 14 February 2018 the upper jaw of a humpback came ashore at the Flagler Beach Pier.

Most recently, on 11 January, the carcass of a female killer whale Orcinus orca, came ashore at Jungle Hut Road. This is only the third time a killer whale has been found stranded in the southeastern U.S. and the first time in nearly 70 years—so a rare event indeed. Members of the local marine mammal stranding network worked all day to remove the carcass from the beach and transport it to a facility for examination. It is too soon to know the exact cause of death, but early indications are that she was an old female with no injuries, but with signs of illness. 

We see more than right whales.  Here, a beached killer whale, Orcinus orca, off Jungle Hut Road, on January 11, 2023.  Image: Martha Garito.

We’ve had an eventful start this season.  What will the next few weeks bring?  As always, let’s all raise a glass to . . . 

“Light winds and heavy whales”

RIGHT WHALE SEASON HAS BEGUN !

Our first mother-calf for 2023

Late in the day on Saturday, January 7th, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Team reported a sighting just north of the St. Augustine Inlet, traveling south. It was Right Whale #3370, Archipelago. This is a whale known to us, we sighted her in several previous seasons. We were optimistic. We alerted the teams.

Early the next day, our FWC colleagues called to report a public sighting in Sector One (St. Augustine and Crescent Beach). We alerted Team One. They called back shortly thereafter - whales north of the Crescent Beach Park walkover. Sara flew the drone. Kim Jacomo took photos from shore with our new Nikon Coolpix P1000 24-3000mm camera. We used our One-Call-Now (robo-call) system, and many folks came out to have a look. This is calf #3 for Archipelago. When last sighted today, the pair was just north of the Matanzas Inlet. Here's hoping for additional sightings this season.

#3370, Archipelago, from Crescent Beach Park, 8 January 2023.  

Image: Sara Ellis

#3370, Archipelago, from shore, 8 January 2023.  

Image: Kim Jacomo

Team One, whale sighting, 8 January 2023.  Image: Sara Ellis

The 23rd Season

The 23rd season of the Marineland Right Whale Project had its kick-off meeting in the afternoon of Tuesday, January 3rd. It was held in the customary location - the auditorium at the University of Florida's Whitney Laboratory in Marineland. We had a good turnout, with 130 both returnees and new volunteers. The dedicated surveys began the following day, on Wednesday the 4th.

Pilgrim, Right Whale #4340

She got by us! On December 30th, staff from the Marine Resources Council (partners in the Volunteer Sighting Network) responded to a call and documented the 9th mother-calf pair for the season. They photographed the pair to the south, near the Apollo Beach ramp, Canaveral National Seashore, in fading light around sunset. Interestingly, the pair (or perhaps in some cases, the female alone prior to birth) went past North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Northeast Florida without being reported. It happens! It reminds us of the nature of our work and the elusive nature of at least some whales. BTW, this is Pilgrim's first calf, she is a first-time mother!

Resources

Along with this blog, other great resources to learn more about right whales and how to spot and report sightings are the Team Handbook, the 2022 annual report (both at aswh.org), and Right Whale News (at narwc.org).