Fin in the fog

  

A couple of weeks ago, Eric looked up from the surf zone to see this animal swimming by.

I was surprised how close to shore it was.  Here's a photo with the fin in the distance and the surf zone (next to the beach) in the foreground:

 

 

It surfaced a few more times, so we had some better views, but I didn't have my camera ready and it was a bit foggy and distant, so here's my best shot for the record.  Did you guess its identity?

 

 

 

A Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) near Drakes Beach on 17 August 2024.

 

I don't spend a lot of time at Drakes Beach, so I'm not sure how often porpoises are seen near the surf zone in that area.  Is it common?  If you have observations to share, please do!

 

P.S.  This sighting reminded me of an older post showing porpoises in Drakes Bay, but in this case they were photographed looking down from above the Chimney Rock Lifeboat Station — see "Breathe" on 26 November 2014.

 

Breathe

Nice views of Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in Drakes Bay today, 26 November 2014: 

 

 

This was my favorite image: 

 

It might not seem like much at first, but you don't see Harbor Porpoise spouts that often, so I was happy to get a picture of one.  And it also felt appropriate to capture a picture of a "breath" today.

On the day and night before Thanksgiving, it felt appropriate to pause, breathe, and say thank you.

I'm very grateful for your support during the past year...for sharing a passion for natural history...for accompanying me on this journey to explore local landscapes and seascapes and all of the organisms and patterns that surround us.

Maintaining this blog this year was harder than ever, but meant more to me than I can express, so I thank you for your interest and patience.  I so appreciate all of your comments and inquiries and observations.  I hope you can see me smiling and nodding with understanding when I read them, and that you know they inspire me to continue.  I'm so glad you're out there, reading and learning with me.  Thank you.

P.S.  Now it's your turn to breathe.