CHP shares crew's first whale sighting of 2018

A California Highway Patrol air crew was treated to a pretty spectacular scene over the weekend as it flew over the waters off Marin County.

The CHP Golden Gate Division says its H-30 air operations team was on patrol and overhead off Muir Beach when the crew saw a large whale in the water, swimming slowly and heading north.

The CHP said it was the crew's first whale sighting of 2018 and called it a refreshing and peaceful sight.

"As you are starting a new week, enjoy this peaceful view that they are sharing with you," it said on the CHP - Golden Gate Division Air Operations' Facebook page.

This is the time of year Bay Area residents may be able to do some good whale watching.

The Marin Convention and Visitors Bureau says some 15,000 California gray whales travel along the Pacific Coast from December to May.

In December and January, pregnant whales travel south from the Arctic feeding grounds to the warm shallow breeding waters off Baja, California. 
 
"From February through May the northward migration is lead by pregnant females while the mothers and babies trail behind, closer to the coast to avoid predators," according to the visitors bureau. 

For more information on how you can catch a glimpse of the large water creatures, visit the National Park Service's website here.