Nature photographer captures dramatic encounter with grey whale on Humboldt County seaside

An avid newbie nature photographer who was visiting the North Coast final month witnessed an uncommon whale sighting and captured it in gorgeous photographs that have been shared with The Press Democrat.

Michael Salvaggio of Fremont and his spouse, Francine, arrived at Trinidad State Beach north of McKinleyville early within the morning of May 21 with plans to {photograph} some rocks, he stated in a cellphone name.

“When we got to the beach, somebody said something about, ‘the whale is still in the surf,’” he stated.

Assuming the particular person meant {that a} lifeless whale had washed ashore, Salvaggio joined a crowd of about 100 folks, together with a number of college students from an area faculty on a subject journey, gathered round small grey whale about 25 ft lengthy that was stranded within the surf.

“Even when we got up to it, I wasn’t sure it was alive until it spouted and its tail kicked,” he stated. “And there was no doubt, it was still alive.”

People within the crowd advised Salvaggio they believed the whale, a juvenile, was escaping an orca assault when it swam into shallow water and have become caught by the low tide.