Is it mid-March already? That means we have just about a month left to cruise the Pacific in search of gray whales with Birch Aquarium naturalists.
We’ve seen some amazing sights lately aboard Flagship Cruises & Events’ Marietta. Among sightings of dolphins, sea lions, and coastal birds, eager whale watchers have been extraordinarily good at spotting blows in the distance.
We find gray whales simply by looking to the horizon and scanning for signs of their presence. From a distance, the first sign is their blow. An adult gray whale’s heart-shaped blow can stretch as much as 15 feet high, which immediately alerts everyone on board that they are close by.
A gray whale’s iconic heart-shaped blow.
Juvenile whales are a different story, and we’ve been encountering them most often these past few weeks. Significantly smaller than their adult, 45-foot long counterparts, these immature whales measure only 20 feet or so depending on their age. Their blows are very small and hard to see. It takes a trained eye and good timing to spot these individuals. Good thing we have both on the boat!
One day this past week, the Marietta was headed out to sea when, just a mile offshore, Captain Hieu slowed the boat to a crawl. He was sure he saw something up ahead, and he was right! That day, our passengers saw one of the smallest northbound gray whales that our onboard experts had ever witnessed, about 15 feet long. This whale’s course was strong, steady, and unwavering; someone was ready to get back home to the Arctic! It’s very important to give these amazing travelers space, so after trailing for a while, we bid the whale goodbye. It was amazing to see such a strong and independent little gray whale.
A juvenile gray whale and its mother in the lagoons of Baja California.
It’s not too late to whale watch with Birch Aquarium and Flagship Cruises & Events. You never know what you’ll see, but it’s always a pleasure waiting for what the ocean shows us.
Whale watching coupon
Daily whale watching cruises with Birch Aquarium at Scripps continue through April 14. Cruises leave at 9:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. from Flagship Cruises & Events at 990 N. Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego. For more information and to download a $5-off whale watching coupon, visit the Birch Aquarium Whale Watching page.
Birch Aquarium Public Programs Coordinator Charina Layman.
Birch Aquarium’s Summer Learning Adventure Camps are one of a kind, and we’re not the only ones who think so! In February, the American Camp Association (ACA) recognized the aquarium’s public programs coordinator, Charina Layman, with its Rising Star Award.
Charina’s award acknowledges her commitment to creating and maintaining the highest quality of camps for our 700+ annual campers. She is responsible for ensuring the aquarium’s ACA-accredited camps meet more than 300 quality standards and provide a safe, healthy, and enriching experience for campers.
In addition, Charina serves as chair of the association’s San Diego Camp Staff Training Day. About 200 camp organizers from the region attend this gathering each June to develop skills needed for successful camps, including communication, learning styles, problem solving, teambuilding, and more.
Please join us in thanking Charina for all her hard work.
Birch Aquarium Summer Camps
Our Summer Learning Adventure Camps offer a fun and safe learning environment for campers ages 4-15 to connect with nature while developing an awareness of and respect for the ocean. Camps feature amazing ocean creatures, gooey dissections, the remarkable world of sharks, adventures in oceanography, and the chance to learn how to surf and snorkel.
Camps run from June 24-Aug. 23, 2013. Registration begins March 11.
Whale watcher Meredith Maddox caught this photo of a gray whale breaching on a recent cruise with Birch Aquarium at Scripps. Courtesy photo.
By Elizabeth Argyle, Birch Aquarium naturalist
Whale watching is a very tricky business because we’re at the mercy of what nature has to offer us. However, occasional high winds, rolling seas, and rainy storms do not damper the spirits of Birch Aquarium at Scripps naturalists aboard the Marietta every day in search of gray whales.
This has been an unusual season for whale watching, and guests have had their share of excitement. Guests aboard one cruise were delighted by the sighting of more than 15 gray whales in one group. For baleen whales like grays, this is called a herd. The well-known term “pod” actually refers to a group of toothed whales such as dolphins or porpoises.
Speaking of dolphins, a pod of more than 10,000 common dolphins was spotted on Valentine’s Day just off the coast of San Diego. It was a rare sighting of what scientists call a “mega pod.”
Of course, gray whales are still the major attraction as they continue their migration between their feeding grounds near Alaska to their breeding grounds in Baja California, Mexico. Just this week some very excited guests were delighted by the appearance of a juvenile gray whale just under the bow of our partner Flagship Cruises & Events’ 90-foot long whale watching vessel.
While some days may be slower than others onthe Marietta, it’s the exhilaration of never knowing what nature has to offer that keeps whale watchers on their toes. And this season has not been anything short of spectacular so far!
Whale watching coupon
Daily whale watching cruises with Birch Aquarium at Scripps continue through April 14. Cruises leave at 9:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. from Flagship Cruises & Events at 990 N. Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego. For more information and to download a $5-off whale watching coupon, visit the Birch Aquarium Whale Watching page.
At Birch Aquarium at Scripps, we are constantly working to broaden our reach, to share the wonders of the ocean with as many visitors as possible. Our staff strives to connect the public—especially underserved and diverse audiences—with cutting-edge ocean and earth science.
This week, our head aquarists Fernando Nosratpour and Leslee Matsushige were honored for their commitment to outreach as recipients of a 2013 UC San Diego Diversity Award, which recognizes a select group of individuals and university departments each year (Birch Aquarium is part of UC San Diego). Fernando and Leslee were honored for their significant diversity outreach efforts at Birch Aquarium.
UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla (left) presents a 2013 Diversity Award to senior aquarists Leslee Matsushige & Fernando Nosratpour.
For more than two decades, Leslee and Fernando have supervised the aquarium’s participation in the Harvey Mudd College Upward Bound Program, which provides one-on-one training and internship opportunities to potential first-generation college students nationwide.
Each summer, two high school interns from low-income neighborhoods in the East San Gabriel Valley spend six weeks at Birch Aquarium under our aquarists’ supervision. They learn about biology, how to care for the fish, and other skills associated with aquatic husbandry. Each intern completes a study project on an animal species or marine habitat and delivers a formal PowerPoint presentation to aquarium staff.
Quietly and diligently, our husbandry staff works closely with these students, providing them with high-quality training and experience so they leave with greatly enhanced skills in marine biology and animal care as well as presentation practice.
And their efforts truly makes a difference. More than 90 percent of student participants in program nationwide enroll in college.
Another diversity initiative Leslee and Fernando have championed is the Ensenada Undergraduate Program. For the past 12 years, our head aquarists have led the aquarium’s husbandry team in this collaboration with the Universidad Autonomia de Baja California in Ensenada. Through this program, two classes of 30 undergraduates studying marine biology or aquaculture visit the aquarium 2-3 times each year for lectures and behind-the-scenes tours.
These experiences greatly benefit the students, providing them with the opportunity to view a variety of marine organisms and learn about their care, as well as gain valuable exposure about potential career paths.
Fernando and Leslee exemplify UC San Diego’s and the aquarium’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. We are incredibly proud of their efforts.
Birch Aquarium’s Leslee Matsushige (middle right) and Fernando Nosratpour celebrate their UC San Diego Diversity Award recognition with Birch Aquarium Executive Director Nigella Hillgarth (far left) and Scripps Institution of Oceanography Acting Director Cathy Constable.
Migrating gray whales pass San Diego’s coastline. Photo by Elizabeth Argyle.
By Bekah Logan, Birch Aquarium naturalist
It’s February and whale watching in San Diego is still in full swing. We’re nearly halfway through the season, and so far, passengers aboard the Flagship Cruises and Events’ vessel Marietta have seen more than 300 gray whales!
In late December, when our gray whale watching season begins, we see southbound gray whales making their way down to Mexico. That all changed last week when we had our first glimpses of northbound gray whales.
After spending time in the calm lagoons of Baja California, the grays begin to head back north, typically around February, so they are right on schedule.
Gray whales migrate along our coast every year to breed and give birth in any of the three lagoons in Baja California. The lagoon waters are warm, salty, and predator free — perfect for gray whales, especially their calves. Juvenile whales are extremely vulnerable, especially as newborns. Mothers spend time nursing and the calves grow stronger; single adults mate and juveniles frolic.
A gray whale calf and its mother swim close together in a Baja California lagoon. Photo by Caitlin Scully.
The first northbound migrators are usually the young juveniles, and that has primarily been the case on the Marietta. These immature whales make the trip to Baja for practice; they will definitely need to know the way when it comes time for them to reproduce. Anxious to return to familiar feeding grounds, the youngsters lead and are soon followed by adult males and newly pregnant females and eventually the mothers and calves.
It’s definitely an exciting trip in the Pacific Ocean. If you haven’t seen these amazing cetaceans, now is the time! Marine life abounds and you can’t beat the fabulous, sunny skies of San Diego!
Whale watching coupon
Daily whale watching cruises continue through April 14. Cruises leave at 9:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. from Flagship Cruises & Events at 990 N. Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego. For more information and to download a $5-off whale watching coupon, visit the Birch Aquarium Whale Watching page.
by Charina Layman, Birch Aquarium public programs coordinator
During the last four weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of working with two extraordinary individuals: Claire Northrop and Andrew Salvador. On a path to fulfill their high school internship requirement, these High Tech High students joined the Education Department at Birch Aquarium at Scripps.
As part of their internship, both students had to complete a project that would be of interest to them and also beneficial to Birch Aquarium. Claire helped write a lesson plan and develop teaching tools for our new program, Think Tank. Andrew’s wrote blog posts about happenings around the aquarium and created a template for future interns to follow.
High School intern Claire Northrop works with young visitors to Birch Aquarium at Scripps.High School intern Claire Northrop works with young visitors to Birch Aquarium at Scripps.
When Claire and Andrew were not working on their projects, they helped aquarium instructors in classes for visiting school children. They spent hours explaining ocean concepts and animal adaptations to hundreds of young students. They both said they felt a sense of accomplishment and a greater respect for their teachers.
Claire and Andrew truly became part of the Education Team during their month at Birch Aquarium. The instructors grew to rely on their eager spirits and boundless energy in and out of the classroom.
High School intern Andrew Salvador delivers his final intern presentation.
On their last day, Claire and Andrew delivered presentations about their intern experience. Aquarium staff joined High Tech High teachers and staff to hear their summaries. I felt full of pride and awe as they articulated the benefits this internship brought to them. Andrew spoke of the joy he felt when students were able to repeat concepts he taught them. Claire’s ease and grace as she explained the science behind the famous physics experiment, The Cartesian Diver, dropped all of our jaws.
Throughout their internship, Claire and Andrew reminded us of the significant impact we can have on high school interns and how, in turn, they impact our visitors and staff. We wish them oceans of luck on their bright futures ahead!
Birch Aquarium at Scripps is the largest provider of K-12 ocean science education in San Diego County, educating more than 40,000 local school children every year. All programs are aligned with state and national science standards. Learn more about Birch Aquarium’s School Programs.
The Aquarium receives no direct state or city support and relies on earned income and gifts to operate our exhibit and education programs. Join our efforts to educate the next generation about the ocean.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Andrew Salvador is a High Tech High Media Arts student currently participating in a month-long internship at Birch Aquarium at Scripps. In addition to assisting with education programs, Andrew is blogging about the many classes, exhibits, and other daily happenings around the aquarium.
By Andrew Salvador, High Tech High student intern
Junior high school students from Taiwan peer into Birch Aquarium’s two-story kelp forest from above and speak with co-curator Fernando Nosratpour (center). They visited the aquarium as part of the international Coral Reef Ambassadors program.
Ever wonder what happens behind the scenes at Birch Aquarium at Scripps? Last week, some special visitors got to see firsthand what our aquarists do every day.
We had the privilege of welcoming students and educators from Heng-chun and Che-cheng junior high schools in southern Taiwan. They toured parts of our aquarium not visible to the general public as part of an international effort to engage local and Taiwanese students in the conservation of coral reefs (learn more about the program below).
A highlight of their behind-the-scenes tour was a peek into our kelp forest tank. At first sight, this may seem like just a big bucket of water with seaweed, but upon a closer look visitors are surprised to see many fish among the kelp. Several questions came to mind as the students looked into the vast tank, and Birch Aquarium co-curator Fernando Nosratpour was happy to answer them.
“Wow, look at that fish,” exclaimed a student named Marian, as our black sea bass swam by.
“That fish weighs about 250 pounds, and it’s still a baby,” Fernando responded. Her face froze with shock.
Fernando also showed the students Birch Aquarium’s seahorse breeding facility. They learned about some of the aquarists’ daily routines and were very intrigued by the tiny seahorses. “Wows” were heard from every corner of the room as Fernando explained that the male seahorse gives birth.
After their behind-the-scenes tour, the visitors from Taiwan studied our coral reef exhibit. Fernando gave them information on what it takes to keep a healthy coral reef tank. They couldn’t hold back the urge to take a picture as many colorful corals shined and reflected off a luminous glimmer.
Our visitors enjoyed all of the tour, but their favorite seemed to be the coral reef exhibit. That’s because they’ve been studying coral-reef ecosystems for the last several months. Birch Aquarium at Scripps and its sister aquarium, the National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium in Taiwan, are partnering on a Museums Connect grant called Coral Reef Ambassadors. Students in the collaboration have set up a mini coral reef in their respective classrooms and are working with professional aquarists to learn more about these crucial ecosystems.
The Taiwanese students will visit Birch Aquarium through early February.
Junior high school students from Taiwan explore the Seahorse Breeding Lab at Birch Aquarium at Scripps. The students visited as part of the international Coral Reef Ambassadors program.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Andrew Salvador is a High Tech High Media Arts student currently participating in a month-long internship at Birch Aquarium at Scripps. The program is designed to foster personal growth and help students acquire workplace skills in a real-world environment. In addition to assisting with education programs, Andrew is blogging about the many classes, exhibits, and other daily happenings here at Birch Aquarium. Andrew fell in love with marine life after a snorkeling experience off the coast of Mexico. He has always loved the ocean and considers the internship a perfect fit.
A group of Juvenile Pot-bellied Seahorses, born September 2012 at Birch Aquarium at Scripps.
By Andrew Salvador, High Tech High student intern
The striking features of juvenile pot-bellied seahorses leave you in awe. You’ll see these rocky-colored seahorses (Latin name: Hippocampus abdominalis) huddled together and curved around coral reefs. At Birch Aquarium at Scripps, our last group of juveniles were born on Sept. 12, 2012. As you can tell by their name, pot-bellied seahorses have large stomachs and small dorsal fins to maneuver among marine plants and algae. Pot-bellied seahorses can grow more than a foot long, which makes these fish one of the largest seahorse species.
Many don’t realize that male seahorses are actually the ones that become pregnant. Males carry the baby seahorses between three and six weeks. When the males finally give birth, hundreds of young seahorses swim out from their bellies.
The moment those babies are born, they are on their own. Not many survive because seahorses are not the fastest-swimming animals; camouflage is their best line of defense. In fact, some seahorses can grow bumps to resemble components of their surroundings. Other seahorse relatives, such as weedy sea dragons, are closely mimic kelp and other seaweeds.
Our Collection
Birch Aquarium houses more than a dozen seahorse species and their relatives, including weedy and leafy seadragons, Pacific seahorses, and various others.
In recent years, humans have been overfishing these animals, resulting in the depletion of seahorse populations all across the world. Birch Aquarium began an extensive breeding program for these creatures back in 1994. Through this program, we take care of the seahorses from the time they are born at the aquarium until they get big enough to ship to various aquariums worldwide, reducing the need to collect from the wild.
When the animals are first born, they are transferred to special tanks called kreisels. In these tanks, we serve the seahorses about 3,000 newly hatched brine shrimp a day to accommodate for their small mouths.
Seahorses are personally one of my favorite marine animals. They are really fascinating, and you should definitely come see There’s Something About Seahorses, our wonderful exhibit featuring more than a dozen species.
It’s nearing the end of January and San Diego is back in its rhythm after a long holiday break. While locals may have returned to their respective jobs and schools, something exciting is happening in the waters not too far from the city center. Gray whales are making their annual migration south just off the coast of San Diego. And Birch Aquarium at Scripps is teaming up with Flagship Cruises & Events to get in on the action with daily cruises.
Hundreds of whales are making their migration south to one of three lagoons in Baja California, Mexico. These 45 feet long, medium-sized, baleen whales are migrating on their annual journey to their breeding and birthing grounds in the safe, warm waters off the coast of Mexico. Whale watchers have been delighted by numerous sightings of these magnificent animals as they surface just yards away from whale watching vessels.
Gray Whale Sounding Diagram
During their approximate 5,000-mile southward journey, gray whales demonstrate a unique behavior of 3-5 surface dives followed by a single deeper dive known as a sounding dive. Following each subsequent shallow dive, the whale surfaces and exhales. This week, our guests were delighted by the sounds made by a pair of gray whales as they exhaled through their blowholes. And then there was a gasp of delight as the pair fluked their tails signaling the deeper sounding dive that was to follow.
Slick Surfaces
While the pair took their deep dive, a Birch Aquarium at Scripps naturalist took the opportunity to tell the guests about the very visible trail that was left on the surface, just above the diving whales.
This trail, known as a whale’s footprint, marks the spots where the whales had breached the surface for their breaths. The slick waters of the footprint were once thought to have been created by a whale’s oil seeping out of its body and floating on the surface. Scientists have since discovered that a whale’s footprint is merely a consequence of the whale’s forward motion propelled by its tail flukes.
A visible train in the water, known as a gray whale’s footprint, marks the spots where the whales had breached the surface for their breaths.
This slick puddle is important to whale research. On a calm day, a line of footprints can be seen on the ocean’s surface indicating the direction of the migrating whales. The captain aboard the Flagship whale watching vessel Marietta uses this trail to navigate his vessel alongside the whales (at a distance respectable to the whales, of course).
After a few more delightful encounters with the pair, the whale watchers aboard the Marietta bid the whales “adios,” as the whales had just crossed the border into Mexican waters. A tribute to their nature, the two whales returned the “goodbye” with a “wave” of their tail flukes as they made one more sounding dive.
All that was left to see was the whale’s trail, pointing southward, in the direction of their journey’s end.
Whale watching coupon
Daily whale watching cruises leave at 9:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. from Flagship Cruises & Events at 990 N. Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego. For more information and to download a $5-off whale watching coupon, visit the Birch Aquarium Whale Watching page.
Just off the coast of San Diego, a delighted group of passengers on one of our recent whale watching tours were lucky enough to spot this group of six gray whales. The passengers spent almost an hour coasting (at a safe distance) alongside these southbound whales aboard a Flagship Cruises & Events vessel.
