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Health & Fitness

Gray Whales vacation off our coast

Donna Kalez, General Manager for Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching sharing information on Gray Whales and other marine mammals that visit the shores of Dana Point.

People always ask us if we are still seeing whales ? Well the answer is yes we are , the Whale Watching in Dana Point is year round !  Please pass that on not only is it year round it is amazing the Whale shows this year have been specatacular , our whales we see are broken up into seasons for the most part although Fin Whales and Humpbacks and even Orcas can visit anytime of year.

We are in the tail end ( no pun intended ) of the Gray Whale season here in Dana Pont it runs from December through early May. Almost 500 Gray Whales have traveled South and now most have returned North of the summer. 500 Gray Whales was our goal and Im happy to report that we are going to make it and perhaps pass it.  The season started a few weeks late so expect to still see Gray Whales through May, the best areas if you don't go on a boat Whale Watching, are the Headlands trail , and beaches like Salt Creek, Strands and Monarch, when the whales are traveling home they always hug our coast and play in our large kelp beds and on the shores of the rocky beaches. Much like the swallows return to San Juan we know the Gray Whales will return to Dana Point and come December we are all so thankful that they pick Dana Point every year to migrate past.

May also marks the start of the Blue Whales season although a few weeks ago we saw Blue Whales every day for 4 days in a row , that was a sample of the Blue Whale shows coming our way. Our slogan WHALES GO BIG in May really comes true. Blue Whales follow food sources so when our waters are invested with krill ( tiny shrimp like creatures ) you will find BIG BLUE.

Find out what's happening in Laguna Niguel-Dana Pointwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

its important to remember that we are very lucky to live here there was a day in April where we saw Gray Whales, Humpbacks, Blues and Fin Whales not to mention Common and Bottleonse dolphin all in the same day, that is one for the record books!

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