Monday, August 27, 2012

Whale watching at Avila Beach, CA…

Morro Rock

near Morro RockWe were watching the news the other night and heard about Avila Beach where the Humpback Whales had ventured in very close to the shore to feed on the abundant bait fishes in the bay. I had seen many Humpback Whales before on my 2005 trip to the Antarctic Peninsula and wanted Sharon to experience some of the excitement I had when seeing whales up close.

From Paso Robles we took the 46 to the coast and headed south on highway 1 towards Morro Bay. near Morro CAThe drive up the coast was foggy but when we got to Morro Bay and Morro Rock was beautiful as it was being enveloped in the drifting fog.  As we approached Avila Beach there seemed to be an opening in the sky and the sun shone brightly on the azure Pacific waters.

Traffic also noticeably picked up and there were lots of people who must have heard the same whale sighting news report we had heard. After a bit of searching we finally found a parking spot. Once parked we could see a large crowd of people at the end of the road on a dock. Also there were 100’s if not 1000’s of Brown Pelicans diving nearby in the waters offshore feeding on the abundant anchovies and sardines found in these chilly waters.

near Morro CAWhere we saw the largest concentration of Pelicans was where the Humpback Whales would frequently break the surface while gorging themselves on the bait fish. In fact the best way to predict where the whales would surface next was to simply watch the pelicans closely. Suddenly the pelicans would become more frenzied and start attacking the water for bait fish. This happens because the whales from below are chasing schools of anchovies and sardines to the surface as they gorge themselves on the small delectable fishes. As the Harbor Seals small bait fish near the surface the pelicans take notice and lift off the waters in mass diving head first in the water hoping to fill their pouches with food. It is quite a spectacle watching this occur over and over again.

These whales were putting on quite a show for the throngs of people waiting with cameras ready. As the whales would make their next appearance you could hear the clicks of the cameras and '”ooooohhhhs and ahhhhhs'” from the crowd. There wasn’t only whales and pelicans gorging on these small helpless fishes as we saw many Harbor Seals and pods of Dolphins in the bay as well. Of course there were the ever present sea gulls around as they would try and steal a snack from the pelicans as they would catch their meal.

Humpback Whales

Grey Whale Breaching (3)Today we head further south as we start to go around Los Angeles where we are hoping to stay at Lake Elsinore for a couple of days.

Then it is on to Vista, California between LA and San Diego where we will stay as a guest of a friend of mine at an Elk’s lodge while we investigate if we want to join this fine organization. We plan to stay at least 10 days at the Elks before heading a bit further south to the San Diego area where we will look for a place to stay a month.

14 comments:

  1. Now that would have been something to see! Don't know if I'd want to be out there in a kayak though.

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  2. Sure was nice that you found the whales and were able enjoy the show.

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  3. Our favs place to stay in San Diego for a month is Santee Lakes...county park with lakes, green and space with good monthly rates. It's about 20 miles from downtown. We lived there for several months before fulltiming and go back every year. You can lookup pics and review on my blog.

    If you want to be closer to the ocean check out Chula Vista or Mission Bay RV Resort. Don't know if they offer monthly rates in Sept (they do in winter), but you can ask. The parks are not nearly as nice as Santee, but you will be closer to town.

    Nina

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    1. thanks will check it out as we have no current plans...

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  4. Pulling over when you see a large parking lot with cars and people brought back a memory I had on the coast in California many years ago....only when we got out to look, we were looking at a beach of nude people!!!

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    1. whales? nude people? sometimes hard to tell the difference :)

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  5. What a great experience. We've seen plenty of whales, but it never grows old. Our best experience was in the Shelikoff Strait returning to Kodiak after our bear watching trip. We had orcas, fins, and humpbacks, with the latter feeding like they were at Avila Beach ... what a special experience.

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  6. How wonderful! Seeing those beautiful creatures is on my bucket list.

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  7. What a great experience! Seeing the natural world just doing what it does is one of my great delights. I was just realizing that I have followed you guys across country and am always taking notes. I've used your stops on SW Florida coast and now you are on the opposite coast. What a wonderful life!

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    1. we haven't stayed at many places we haven't liked... there is always something to do wherever we park our rig...

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  8. What an amazing experience. I enjoyed every minute of last week that I was able to watch the frenzied pelicans and catch glimpses of the humpbacks.

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  9. Looks like you caught a wonderful show of nature. What a great way to spend a day. So glad you are finding some Southern California delights.

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  10. What a great day! Whales are such majestic creatures.

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