Friday, November 29, 2015 Great Lunging Whales!

Yesterday morning our first trip was seeing lunge-feeding humpback whales before we even left the harbor mouth. An enormous flock of birds (brown pelicans, Heerman’s gulls, cormorants, and murres, among others) dove into the water as the whales lunged vertically out of the water, mouths open wide. I’m sure the view from the beach was good, but the view from our deck was incredible. Here’s a shot of three whales, in different stages of their lunge. Check out those baleen plates, and the big pink inside of the whales’ upper jaws- the last thing those anchovies will ever see.

Both yesterday and today we were treated to some amazing tail flukes, whales parading by our boat. Sometimes the light was just right (I think it could be because the sun is relatively low this time of the year) for some nice rain-blows, as Captain Mike likes to call them. The condensing air from the whales’ breaths forms pretty little rainbows over the surface of the bay!

On both days, we also had the chance to spend some time with hundreds, if not over a thousand long-beaked common dolphins. Tricky to photograph, because they’re so fast, I managed to get one shot of a juvenile and its mother surfacing right alongside the Sanctuary. Any day with dolphins is a great day!

Despite the winter chill in the wind, it’s been a sunny and wonderful weekend so far out of Moss Landing. Monterey Bay has delivered spectacular views, sunshine, and lots and lots of marine life. Come out and visit us and the whales!

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *