Pacifica Tribune/7/3/12, Letters to the Editor.  "Mussel Rock"  by Helen Nicely  

Gray Whale sighting pictures added.  

Blowhole?  Its my nose

Breaching?  Who is king 

"Editor.  Dear Mussel Rock star supporters. Thank you for your stellar work beautifying Mussel Rock carpark, entry roads and shoreline. We amassed a total of 13 bags of loose trash, five bags of dumped books, toys, clothes, four bags of recyclables, four crab-cage buoys, assorted fishing ropes, one road safety station, two tires, and four pounds of magnetic metal pieces including nails, screws etc. Also, something new: Sara Shaw removed a small mountain of ice plant in the first effort at Habitat Restoration at the carpark site.

We were thanked for your hard work yesterday by some huge beneficiaries, visible from the Mussel Rock carpark and shoreline. There are a number of whales and dolphins that came in and have stayed since early on Sunday morning. They are here. The reason that they have come here is to feed on a large drifting bank of krill, supposedly brought up from the deep rift at the Farallone Islands by the last storm. 

Born in Mexico,  immigrate  north

The krill has drifted close to the shoreline; the view of these whales feeding and diving is absolutely spectacular. The whales are so close to shore that you can tell these are gray whales with heavy barnacle encrustment. There was a mother and baby, also. The spouting and surface basking whales are swimming around in the same spot, the whole time, which is adjacent to Mussel Rock carpark and the Secret Waterfall. Unfortunately, we also had a isit from some sharks that made a killing. We know this because a woman spotted me cleaning up yesterday and told me that she had seen a red oily slick, measuring about 10 by 8 feet, from her drive southbound on Highway

Thank you for making a whale of a difference!"

Related - Learner Organization, West coast Gray whale migration.  Baja Jones Adventures, "Gray Whale facts and figures." Whales on line, Why do whales breach?   Pandas Thumb, "Whale evolution:  The blowhole." 

Posted by Kathy Meeh