Local whale watchers moved to Mendocino to escape the gloomy New England winters, they wound up contributing to a global species population count

POINT ARENA, 3/25/21 — When the weather is favorable, Teresa (Tree) and Scott Mercer drive out to the end of the windy Point Arena bluff, right near the lighthouse, where they position themselves above the rocky shore line in two camping chairs pointing south, out to sea. Snacks at the ready and binoculars in hand, they settle in for a four to seven hour stint of whale watching. 

The Mercers, who are both retired, are whale watching experts. They actually met on a whale watching boat. These days they spend over a thousand hours a year peering out into the wild, turquoise-blue Pacific ocean, braving the wind and the rain and watching whales travel north and south off of the rocky Mendocino Coast, recording whale numbers, movement, and anything out of the ordinary.