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.”
