"For decades, whale watching has been a seasonal ritual along the Sonoma Coast, drawing locals to wind-swept bluffs, binoculars in hand. Now the pastime has earned national notice: Travel + Leisure has declared Sonoma County the best place in the country to see whales. In a story published Feb. 3, the magazine said there is "no better place" in the United States for whale watching than the stretch of coastline"
"Each year, gray whales cover a roughly 12,000-mile round trip between winter breeding lagoons in Baja California and summer feeding grounds in the Arctic's Bering Sea. The migration carries them past California twice, offering coastal viewers two opportunities to spot the spouts and flukes of the giants as they pass. "Whale watching in Sonoma County is a rewarding experience across multiple seasons," captain Mike Harbarth of Sonoma Coast Adventures, a Bodega Bay-based tour company, told the magazine."
Sonoma County's coastline from Bodega Bay to Gualala is recognized as a top U.S. whale-watching destination. Gray whales migrate roughly 12,000 miles annually between Baja California breeding lagoons and Arctic feeding grounds, passing California twice and creating two viewing seasons. Late summer and early fall bring southbound whales near shore, while January through May often brings northbound mothers and newborn calves close to land and visible from bluffs. Bodega Head provides panoramic, land-based views, and a Whale Watch public education program operates weekends from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., January through May, with volunteers scanning the horizon and answering questions.
Read at The Mercury News
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]