IT’S WHALE WATCHING SEASON IN PALOS VERDES!
Whale Watching from Land and from Sea
Written by Cindy Donnely | Photograph by Erik Jay
In Palos Verdes we are blessed with a perfect spot to see the Pacific Gray Whale Migration pass by. This month and through May, visitors have a chance to see whales pass by the Point Vicente Interpretive Center. Bring your own binoculars and a picnic (and a little patience) and you might be rewarded with a sudden heart shaped spout out in the water or you might spot a whale fluke as it dives. If you are really lucky you may observe a whale spy hop (that is when they stick their head up and take a look around), or breach. Sometimes the whales are so close they are in the kelp just off the coast. Every day from December 1st to May 15th the American Cetacean Society members conduct a census of the Pacific Gray Whale migration from dawn to dusk each day. During these months you may socially distance and observe the volunteers and check out the white board they use to update with the daily and season to date numbers. Unfortunately, due to the recent surge in Covid cases, the Point Vicente Interpretive Center and gift shop are closed the public for the remainder of January.
However, the surrounding park is open until dusk every day and is a wonderful place to enjoy the outdoors and whale watch. In addition to whales, you may spot a Peregrine falcon, an owl and/or migrating birds in the Native Plant Garden. If you want to get out on the ocean to whale watch, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium offers an opportunity to have a trained Cabrillo Whalewatch Naturalist on local whale watching boat tours. This program is a joint effort of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and American Cetacean Society/Los Angeles Chapter. Tours generally last two to three hours and depart daily at 10:00am from Long Beach, Redondo Beach and Marina Del Rey.
If you can’t get enough of the Gray Whale, there are a few local festivals celebrating this amazing migration journey. Although the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium has postponed the Whale Fiesta this year, we are hopeful that it will be rescheduled soon. The Los Serenos de Point Vicente and The City of Rancho Palos Verdes hosts the annual Whale of a Day at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center grounds.
Keep checking back for the latest updates on all of these great whale watching events on our Community Calendar.
