Today’s session will begin at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time and end at 2:40 p.m.
11:00 a.m. Welcome, Orientation, Introductions. Our Group Leader will greet everyone and review the program theme, the up-to-date daily schedule and any changes, Zoom meeting protocols, roles and responsibilities, and answer any questions you may have. We will then say hello to our fellow Road Scholars. We’ll also have an overview of the four migrations we will be studying: marine mammals including elephant seals and grey whales, birds, and monarchs with maps and details. 11:40 a.m. Virtual field trip. We’ll begin with elephant seals as local experts lead our exploration. We’ll see phoca flats, a lighthouse, harbor seals and sea lions, a whale watching area, and the area where elephant seals landed in 1990. We expect to see close ups of bulls, females, and pups (babies). We’ll observe behaviors and sounds of bulls fighting and females with their pups. We will have a Q&A session after the virtual field trip. Our Group Leader will then interview docents with the Friends of the Elephant Seal Visitor Center that house a variety of educational exhibits.
1:00 p.m. Break. 1:20 p.m. Lecture. In an illustrated presentation, we’ll learn about Grey Whales and hear from naturalists and a whale watching captain. We’ll also view whale watching footage from the central California coast and Baja Bay. 2:20 p.m. Q&A. Wrap-up and notes for tomorrow. 2:40 p.m. Today’s session will end.