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Trip Report

05-15-2021: Humpback Whales, Blue Whales, Fin Whales, and Orcas!

Saturday, May 15, 2021

The past couple weeks have been superb with multiple whale species being spotted in the bay! We have been getting amazing encounters with so many whales it has been hard to keep track. The blue and fin whales have been further out on the edge of the bay feeding on krill, while around 60-100 humpbacks are roaming around all corners of the bay feeding on anchovies and krill. The orcas keep making appearances as well, even as we get towards the end of our spring orca season. We have also been having some nice encounters with dolphins including Risso’s, Pacific white-sided, and northern right whale dolphins! For you birders, we have also seen many black-footed albatross, sooty shearwaters, and even a couple tufted puffins.

On our photo workshop the other day we started the morning off with 4 fin whales and 3 blue whales who were fluking, giving the photographers amazing opportunities to capture rarely seen shots. After a few minutes of leaving that scene, we came across an incredibly active mother and calf humpback whale pair. The pair put on a show for over 3 hours and never stopped! We actually ran out of time and had to leave them behind as they continued the show. They breached around 350-400 times and also performed many other behaviors from tail-lobbing and pectoral-fin slapping.

The spring whale watching show is going strong and now is an incredible time to come out and witness all the wonderful marine life Monterey Bay has to offer!

NOTE: Our Facebook is still down, so please look for updates here or call us!

Source: Original archive post