Venturing in

A report came over the marine radio this morning — a whale was at the entrance to Bodega Harbor, between the two jetties.  There was dense fog, so I wasn't sure the whale would be visible from shore, but I decided to give it a try.

I parked near Campbell Cove and watched.  The fog was very dense, so not much of the water was visible.  I was about to give up when I heard a very loud blow — a sign that the whale was fairly close by.  

I kept watching, and a small Gray Whale eventually swam by, heading further into the harbor.  I took pictures, and watched it disappear into the fog north of channel marker #7 (towards the Coast Guard Station).  The whale wasn't visible or audible for a little while, but then it reappeared, swimming back towards the inlet.

The spout (the back and tail are also visible below the surface):

 

The head: 

 

The back:

 

Another view of the rake-like markings on the back.  What do you think — are they from scraping the bottom?  From a shark?  From an Orca?

 

And one last view of the whale swimming away:

 

I'm not sure why the whale ventured into Bodega Harbor, but it was a special opportunity to see and hear a whale close to shore.

P.S.  David got a few nice pictures of the other side of the whale as it swam towards the ocean — click here to see one.