migration of humpback whales on pacific coast?

Question

whales off coast of mexico.do they come from north or south?

Answer 1

They are going to be heading north soon. The migration begins about the end of December or the beginning of January and lasts till about mid-March. Contact a local sports fishing company; most will offer whale watching tours (usually 1/2 day for about $25 per person).

Here's something to start with:
http://local.yahoo.com/results?p=whale+watching&csz=San+Diego%2C+CA

Answer 2

The whales you are thinking of off the coast of San Diego are California Gray Whales, not humpbacks. They use to be endangered but that got changed by a scientist named Ray Gilmore PhD who was the big researcher on them; he worked at the San Diego Natural History Museum in his retirement years (now deceased). He was able to sucessfully petition the Mexican government to get the whales' spawning grounds in Mexico, a place called Scammon's Lagoon, protected so that they could reproduce without interference. After that, the population successfully made a comeback.

The San Diego Natural History Museum, in the past, use to pair up with a sportsfishing company each year to provide naturalists on board for whale watching trips. I believe they are still doing that, so that would be the best way to do a whale watching trip for a few hours. Some people like going to Cabrillo National Monument and bring binoculars and watch for the whales there from the patio in back of the gift shop. They usually have a ranger out there to help people spot them.

If you have money, the naturalist trips to Scammon's Lagoon in Mexico provide some prime whale watching. I am not sure if the Museum is still sponsoring those trips too.

The direction the whales travel at this time of year is south to Scammons Lagoon. Around Feb. and March they'll be headed back north up from Scammons, passing San Diego again.

If you can get your hands on an old copy, look for a pamphlet by Dr. Gilmore called Whale Primer; it'll tell you everything to know on the subject. By the way, the California Grays don't have teeth, they have baleen instead, which they use to filter plankton out of the sea for their food. Baleen looks sort of like brooms.

As you can see, I am very interested in these fantastic creatures. Be sure to watch 'em in action; great fun!

Answer 3

The gray whales start their northward migration Baja California to Alaska in mid January. Several of the sport fishing and tour boat companies take people out to see them. Check the Yahoo Yellow Pages for a listing of them, or if you have a San Diego Yellow Page Directory you can look them up there.

BTW It is not recommended to just take your boat out to see them as they are easily spooked.