Field Notes Doug Bell DATE: May 28, 1987 At Hsu Marine Lab for most of day - working on my gulls. Other birds at Trinidad Harbor: Oystercatchers (2), Kingfisher, Double-crested Cormorant, imm. Glaucous-winged Gull. Barn & Violet-Green Swallow. In the Pigeon Guillemot afternoon we went up to Agate State Reserve on North Bank of Mad River: saw solins, stellar's jays, olive-sided flycatcher, empidonax spp (famhus group), Black-headed Grosbeaks & nest. In the evening we walked Agate Beach (carged at Patrick's Point S. Park). Saw beautiful views of Grey Whales: long, slightly triangular backs, tiny dorsal fin, mottled appearance. High, straight sports. I saw them breach, in nearly in the surf, a couple times. Pointed head, long snout. Maren saw them breach 3 times. At various times we saw one to three whales, and possible a mother and calf. Breaching was carried out with the whale's head pushing out of the sea and then crashing back down into the water. At one breach I saw a whole poke only its snout - probably just up to the eyes, out of the water and then slowly sink back in. The whales breached when they were closest in to shore, that is, when the waves started cresting. This was actually quite close as there were only about 3 rows of cresting waves. Agate Beach appears to drop off into the deep quickly. At the center of this long beach was a large offshore rip-tide - looking area. In this were many sea lions and seals. Near the border of rip-tide and surf the whales were breaching.