A Promising Start
In this 25th season of surveys, our team of volunteers is more than 270 strong! Welcome aboard to new volunteers, including the community team at Cinnamon Beach in the Hammock area of Palm Coast.
On the afternoon of 3 January, 170 people gathered at University of Florida’s Whitney Lab in Marineland for our Season Opener. Before the meeting began, Kelly Fischbach of Marineland Dolphin Adventure reported two whales to the hotline. The aerial survey team of Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) diverted their plane to Marineland and identified the whales as #3940, Koala, and #4190, Curlew.
These adult females have been sighted together in southeast US waters since late November. Both are considered potential mothers, since they are old enough—16 and 14 years old, respectively—to be mothers. Neither has ever been seen with a calf, and it is unknown if either is pregnant. Some volunteers got a chance to see the whales before the meeting, while others searched on their way home.
Two days later, 5 Jan, another call came in to the hotline: two whales, off Beverly Beach, heading south. Photos taken by our new volunteer drone pilot Jeff Greene were verified by FWC to be Koala and Curlew again. Our 2025 Robocall system was not yet functional, so Sara called Team Leaders, who in turn contacted their teams. Crowds gathered along A1A as the whales slowly cruised past Flagler Beach on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
That very same Sunday, there were public reports of a mother-calf pair further north, off South Ponte Vedra Beach. Team Leaders of Sector 1 North, Kim Jacomo & Shea Lox, responded to verify the sighting, as did FWC’s aerial team. The mother was #2430, Minus One. She is at least 31 years old and this is her fourth known calf. This pair was first sighted off Amelia Island, FL on 9 Dec, then several times offshore in the Ponte Vedra Beach area. This was the first time they were sighted so close to shore.
The head of Minus One’s calf is dwarfed by its mother’s huge pectoral fin. Image: Kim Jacomo.
Many volunteers—old and new—got to see their very first right whale on January 3rd or 5th. Over these two days, more of our volunteers saw whales than over the entire 2024 season!
For surveyors who did not get to see whales either day, there is still good reason for hope!
Traveling Ambassadors
Koala and Curlew have made quite an impression along Florida’s east coast, as they continued steaming south past Cape Canaveral. Between 10 and 13 January, our colleagues Julie Albert and Joel Cohen of Blue World Research Institute (BWRI) documented the pair’s presence as far south as Boynton Beach!
The travels of this dynamic duo have caught the attention of the media, who are helping spread the word about right whales and the issues they face. Articles have been published recently in the Observer (of Palm Coast and Ormond Beach) and Treasure Coast Newspapers.
Where will Koala and Curlew show up next? Will they continue into the Gulf of Mexico? Will either—or both—have a calf this season? Only time will tell.
Wintry Weather
The weather has been variable over the first two weeks of surveys. After several calm and warm days, things turned windy and wintry. Some days, surveyors bundled up and carried on. On others, cold weather advisories and freeze warnings prompted full cancellations. If anyone out there has a connection with the weather gods, please put in a good word for us!
Members of Sector 1 South’s Sunday Funday Team modeling necessities on chilly survey days: warm clothes and donuts! Image: Liz Hanahan.
Mark your calendars
On Thursday, 30 Jan, 1:00-2:30pm, Terran McGinnis of Marineland Dolphin Adventure will give a right whale presentation at the Education Center of the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve, 505 Guana River Rd, Ponte Vedra Beach. If you have a chance to attend—or visit GTM another day—check out the center’s huge models of a mother-calf pair of right whales.
Other keys dates ahead:
- Saturday 8 Feb, 1:30-4:00pm: Mid-season meeting with potluck.
- Saturday 8 Mar: Formal surveys end.
- Saturday 15 Mar: Closing meeting, with potluck and “world famous” raffle. (Donations of raffle items are welcome. Please contact Sara to discuss.)
In the meantime, here’s hoping for light winds and heavy whales!
