PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER
It’s spring in San Diego! The dolphins are racing, the whales are heading south and the harbor seals are giving birth! We watched with wonder for several hours this week – critters relaxing, playing, moving. The dolphins are fast and agile. The seals seem cumbersome out of water but they, too, have bodies of amazing grace in the water. The whales always intrigue.
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| Dolphin at the bow! Wow! |
We’ve
been dolphin watching with friends from Montana, enjoying the whale watching
enterprises out of both San Diego Bay and Mission Bay. We can recommend both H
& M Landing and the Quivera Basin whale and dolphin watch boating
operations. Excellent naturalists give commentary on board and adventurers have
the opportunity to watch the grey whales enroute to Baja to give birth –
through March. Dolphins aplenty are a
bonus! These intelligent, playful creatures follow the boat and dip and
splash along. If you’ve never taken a three-hour whale and dolphin excursion,
now’s the time. (We hope to have Bruce Keller’s short but sweet dolphin video
up next week.)
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| Papa seal at the watch. |
And if
you want to “seal the deal,” San Diego is the place. It is now possible for the
world to watch the mothers and pups frolicking and enjoying the good life. What
a treat.
Thanks
to a progressive move by city hall, a new “seal cam” is up and running at the
Children’s Pool beach in La Jolla. Installed above the lifeguard station, it will
photograph the seals in action. The mayor’s
idea is to share this natural wonder with the rest of the world, sending out
online video of the frolicking and birthing seals, creating interest in
wildlife and giving researchers immediate information and photos.
The
seal activity is being filmed with a high-tech $40,000 camera which will be on
duty round-the-clock. The gift comes
from the Western Alliance for Nature and the pool and its inhabitants will be
on camera with state-of-the-art equipment.
The camera is equipped with windshield wipers for stormy weather
seal-viewing. Its infrared capabilities
will even capture mother seals birthing their pups at night.
Besides
charming viewers – probably millions worldwide -- the footage will aid
researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in their
study of harbor seal reproduction.
In the
five years I’ve been a regular visitor to San Diego, Children’s Pool has been
controversial. Donated by the Scripps
family, the pool beach was built in 1931 as a place for children to swim safely
in a calm inlet. Through the years, the children have been outnumbered, and in
the past 12 years, the beach has become a refuge – not just an occasional destination
-- for harbor seals, since it is safe and protected from crashing waves. The popularity of the area by seals has spawned
a clash between naturalists/activists and people who believe the pool should be
returned to the kids. Others, taking a
middle ground, lobby for a way for humans and the engaging mammals to share the
space.
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| Nature lovers enjoy dolphins, seals and migrating grey whales.--Bruce Keller photos |
Last year the city
split that territory, leaving part of the sand to beach-goers while ceding the
tidal zone to seals. Still, the camera
has critics, some of whom claim it raises privacy issues. Most people we know are excited at the
opportunity to see more of these fascinating creatures with whom we share the
planet and our ocean.
See more at
EarthCam.com or http://m.utsandiego.com/news/
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