Absent whales don’t dash weekend watching

Jeff Benson

Binoculars and cameras were readied in anticipation, but the aquatic,

acrobatic stars of the day failed to show for their annual

appearance.

Crystal Cove volunteers, however, said the audacity of the gray

whales to just not show up along the Newport Coast was simply a

fluke.

“It helps when we have people who have spotted whales before, so

they’re better able to see them,” Crystal Cove Interpretive Assn.

Treasurer Kathy Renfro said. “We just didn’t spot them. They had been

seen as soon as last month, so we know that they’re out there. But

sometimes they’re a little tricky to spot because of the glare or the

color of the water.”

About 180 people visited Crystal Cove’s Pelican Point Sunday to

sneak a peek at one or more of the massive mammals, ranging from 12

to 50 feet long, expected to migrate along the California coastline

through March, Crystal Cove officials said.

The whales migrate to Baja California during the cold winter

months to mate or give birth, then return back home to Alaska to feed

over the summer, said Bob Flyte, president of the Crystal Cove

Interpretive Assn.

“This month is the two-way traffic month, we call it,” Flyte said.

“Juveniles are going down the coast, and the first of the mothers and

their children are going back up.”

No one saw a whale Sunday, but few walked away deterred. Several

people saw bottlenosed dolphins, pelicans and a seal, and many

enjoyed a brisk nature walk, breathtaking scenery and clear skies.

“I didn’t even know this was here,” Costa Mesa resident Cynthia

Best said as she looked down from the tent onto the water below.

“It’s so nice to have a place that’s so primitive but so close to

where we live. And it’s nice to have organizations that can provide

information to the kids and to older people.”

Crystal Cove employees and volunteers camped out at Pelican Point

for four hours Sunday, providing visitors with informational

brochures, binoculars and spotting scopes.

“I’d heard that the sightings off Newport Beach were double those

of last year,” Crystal Cove Interpretive Assn. President Bob Flyte

said. “We almost always see whales two out of the three Sundays we

come out every year. This year, we’re hoping to see them on all three

Sundays.”

It’s more likely to see a plume of water than to see a tail or

fin, Flyte said, so prospective whale watchers should keep their eyes

glued to the area just off the shoreline. Tail sightings usually mean

the whale is about to dive deep for 10 to 15 minutes, he said, so

patience is a virtue.

But sometimes, whales are almost impossible to miss.

A gray whale was sighted about 100 feet from the Pelican Point

shore last February, Renfro said.

“We saw him right by the rocks on the bottom of the cliff,” she

said. “It was awesome.”

* JEFF BENSON covers education and may be reached at (714)

966-4617 or by e-mail at [email protected].