Newport Beach

Birdsong meets Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales!

Dear Friends,

I saw orcas off the coast of Newport Beach, CA (USA) on January 7th! They were a rarely seen pod of Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales, including 1 large male and 1 calf. Thanks to the Gray Whale Census Team and Alisa Schulman-Janiger for first spotting them from land at Palos Verdes while counting gray whales. Thank you also to my employer, Capt. Dave’s Dolphin Safari, for bringing us to the whales. I’ve included my photos of these beautiful creatures, taken at sunset. The tall, distinctive dorsal fin in the top photo is that of the male orca.

These types of killer whales, identified by their darker saddle area behind the dorsal fin, are usually seen from south of San Diego to Central Amercia. Because they are rarely seen, we don’t know much about them yet. It was a very fortunate sighting, indeed.

Check out the drone footage of these orcas taken by Newport Coastal Adventure at: Newport Coastal Adventure/YouTube and read more about this killer whale visit at: OC Register On-line. You can also hear my song about another type of orca, called Southern Resident Killer Whales, in my previous blog post. Sightings such as these  and the opportunity to teach about cetaceans are two of the many reasons why I love my job as First Mate and Naturalist.

Glad to be singing on the sea,

Birdsong

Birdsong meets another blue whale! Watch it spout and dive in our new video!

Birdsong meets a Blue Whale – Watch this amazing video.

Dear Whale-Loving Friends,

I had another blue whale sighting while I was a Naturalist on the Nautilus with Newport Landing Whale Watching on June 3. I was in the company of more than fifty 9th graders from  Magnolia Science Academy. The students kept me on my toes with some great questions about whales and marine life. There were also families with young children on the boat. Many had never been on the ocean before. Most had never seen a whale. You can hear their squeals in this video. It was an exciting ride with many opportunities for education, discussion and awe! 
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Birdsong becomes a certified Whale Naturalist and sings “Migration” at her graduation!

Dear Friends,

I am proud to announce that I am now a certified Naturalist with the American Cetacean Society-Orange County, CA. Watch this video of Dr. Marcie and I singing “Migration” with my classmates at our Naturalist graduation in Costa Mesa, California, USA. Special thanks to Belinda Echoers for posting this video, to our wonderful instructor, Desi Green and to the ACS-OC for making this training possible!

“Migration” can be found on our CD “IF I WERE A FISH and Other Ocean Songs for Kids” and on our kids music video “MIGRATION-The Journey of the California Gray Whales”. I can be found on a whale watch boat from Dana Point or Newport Beach, California, USA. Perhaps I’ll meet you there and we’ll sing a whale song or two. 🙂

With lots of cetacean love,

Birdsong