Feeding Humpback Whales and Breaching Calves off Moss Landing

Calm, glassy water and mild early autumn conditions greeted Ocean Spirit out of Moss Landing this morning. We quickly encountered active feeding groups of humpback whales, with approximately fifteen individuals scattered across the area, highlighted by several young calves repeatedly breaching.

At this time of year, calves born during the winter breeding season are growing rapidly and refining their motor skills while their mothers focus heavily on replenishing energy reserves. Around the feeding humpbacks, a pod of roughly fifty long-beaked common dolphins and sixty-five California sea lions worked the schooling bait from below, compressing prey toward the surface.

The multi-species activity drew a substantial foraging flock overhead, including roughly 150 Sooty shearwaters, 50 Brown pelicans, 50 Brandt’s cormorants, and 40 Common murres. Inshore near the harbor entrance, we also recorded four sea otters rafting in the calm conditions.

These glassy early-fall mornings consistently provide clean, unobscured observations of how dynamic and tightly linked the Monterey Bay food web remains through the peak of the feeding season.