Silt and her calf

On September 19, I was thrilled to see Silt (#1812) and her calf but did not expect them to be practically on shore. I and several other people were at Swallowtail Light doing some work on the keepers buildings. We were almost finished when we heard a noise. Looking down, there was Silt and her calf almost touching the rocks. The shore drops off steeply there so they could get in very close. They rolled around, enjoying each other's company before moving offshore, travelling along the ferry route to the north. We had no idea where they had come from, seeming to appear out of the blue but no doubt had been travelling close along the shore.

Here is a picture of where the whales were first seen (X) and where they went:

I went and got a friend and her daughter who were visiting and we watched from another vantage the whales slowly swim along, holding our breathes to see where the whales would surface when the ferry passed nearby - fortunately not in the ferry's path.

I realize Silt isn't one of our adoptive whales but every right whale is special and this certainly warmed our hearts.