The second survey was made from 

 February 25 through 27, 1953, in a 

 Cessna 170. The entire west coast of 

 Baja California from Cabo San Lucas 

 to San Diego, was covered and also 

 the Gulf side from Santa Rosalia about 

 midway to the Cape. 



Survey of 1954 



The first air survey covered the 

 dates February 1 through 7, 1954, and 

 was made in a Piper Supercub with 

 floats. However, the survey was in- 

 complete because it was cut short at 

 Laguna San Ignacio on the way north 

 from La Paz. 



A second air survey was carried out 

 from February 15 through 18 by Hubbs 

 and Ewing, who covered the same 

 course as the earlier flight and com- 

 pleted the survey back to San Diego. 

 About 1,200 adults and immatures and 

 200 calves were seen in this second 

 survey. 



Survey of 1955 



The survey of 1955 was incomplete. 

 The Grumman Widgeon developed 

 motor trouble on March 4 and the 

 survey was stopped just beyond San 

 Ignacio on the west coast of Baja 

 California. On February 26, a survey 

 was made of the "Northern" area 

 from San Diego to Ensenada. The 

 survey covered the Gulf at Yivaros 

 and Refornna, and the Cape, Magdalena, 

 San Juanico, and San Ignacio areas 

 from February 27 through March 3. 



On February 4, 1955, Dr. Gifford C. 

 Ewing, Dr. Fred Phleger, and Mr. 

 Robert Lankford flew over Laguna 

 Scammon and counted 121 adult .or im- 

 mature gray whales and 69 calves. 



Survey of 1956 



The survey of 1956 was conducted 

 from February 14 through 17. The 

 Grumman Widgeon, a twin-engine am- 

 phibian, was used again. Vision from 

 the Widgeon was not as good as from 



the Cessna 170, the Cessna 180, or 

 the Piper Supercub with floats. Opera- 

 tion of the plane required nearly all 

 of the pilot's time and he was, thus, 

 unable to participate in the census. 

 A second watcher on the port side 

 was added, although he was forced to 

 look through a small window which 

 limited his field of view. 



During the 1955 flight, the plane had 

 been maneuvered so that most or all 

 of the whales could be viewed from 

 the starboard side, where the writer 

 sat. During the 1956 flight, attempts 

 to place both port and starboard ob- 

 servers in an advantageous position 

 resulted in fewer whales being seen 

 by the two observers than by one in 

 1955. To eliminate the blind spot under 

 the plane, a zigzag technique was tried 

 which involved weaving back and forth 

 in S-shaped curves over the channels 

 of the lagoons. This made the covmt 

 slow and interrupted as every other 

 turn placed the observer on the high 

 side of the plane where he was unable 

 to see the water. The zigzag technique 

 was thoroughly tested in Laguna Scam- 

 mon and perhaps 30 percent of the 

 whales, which otherwise would have 

 been visible, were missed. Zigzagging 

 was therefore abandoned. 



Three areas were not covered during 

 the 1956 survey (1) the entire Vizcaino 

 area; (2) the 130 miles of coast from 

 Boca Las Animas to Boca Almejas 

 outside the Magdalena area; and 

 (3) about 50 miles of the coast on the 

 Cape, west of the La Paz area. 



Results of this air survey, based on 

 a table prepared by the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service, were published by 

 Berdegue (1956). 



Survey of 1957 



The 1957 air survey of the winter 

 grounds of Baja California and the 

 Gulf of California was made by the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service in coopera- 

 tion with Scripps Institution of Ocea- 

 nography and the Richfield Oil Com- 

 pany from February 27 through March 

 3, 1957. The Grumman Widgeon was 



28 



