Gray whale Sunday

Coral Wilson

Weighing up to 40 tons and reaching 50 feet in length, they could

pass right by without even being noticed.

But a dedicated group of Crystal Cove State Park docents wouldn’t

want anyone to miss an opportunity. Starting yesterday, on the third

Sunday of every month through March, the docents are setting up a

lookout tent and information booth to let visitors know that the gray

whales are out there.

“They are out there,” volunteers Kathy Renfro and Bob Flyte

insist.

They are sure of that because this is the middle of the gray whale

migration season. Around October, the gray whales move south from the

cold arctic waters of the Bering and Chuchki Seas to the warm lagoons

of Baja California and can be spotted as late as June.

At the beginning of the day, yesterday, Renfro was feeling

particularly confident. The early morning fog had moved inland, and

the day promised sunshine, great visibility and a high tide.

“This is a prime day. Everything has been set up for them,” Renfro

says.

Even so, “You need to have patience and you need to know what you

are looking for,” she says. “ Otherwise, even under the best

conditions, the whales can easily be missed.

Gray whales are distinguished by their heart-shaped blow. They

might also leave “footprints,” which are glassy spots of water made

by a whale just under the surface. Of course, yesterday’s viewers

were hoping for a tail, a head (called “spy-hopping”) or “breaching,”

in which the whale bursts from the water and lands with a large

splash.

As an extra incentive, a T-shirt is awarded for the first verified

sighting. But as the day went on, the T-shirt lay unclaimed. Visitors

went down to the tide pools, the beach or the walking trails below,

calling up periodically, “Have you seen any?”

“Not yet. Any moment,” docent Susan Wilson answered.

To pass the time, 10-year old Christopher Young has put together

an interpretive program. This year, he has added a new twist -- to

educate his guests about pollution.

Moving felt marine life figures on his felt ocean display, Young

said, “See, there are all these animals here, and it looks really

pretty, but what happens? Pollution.”

Young puts a piece of plastic into the picture and removes the

marine life one by one. “One terrible thing can turn into this. An

empty ocean, pretty much.”

Young has been volunteering since he was 3 and is never bored.

“If you don’t see a whale, you’ll probably seen something,” he

said.

By the end of the morning, viewers had spotted sea lions, lobster

boats and pelicans, but still no whales. But newcomer to the area

Victor Levitt was not the least bit disappointed.

“There is nothing like Southern California. This is a feast for

the eyes,” he said.

* CORAL WILSON is the news assistant. She may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at [email protected].