Month: June 2012

06-26-2012: Blue Whales Show up in Big Numbers, a Fin Whale, Plenty of Humpbacks Including a Chronic Breacher

A Blue whale shows it's tail fluke before a dive. Three miles outside of Moss Landing. Photo: Sack, 06-26-2012

Today was one for the record books. I’ve never seen 10-15 blue whales hanging in out in one area. Just remarkable. We noticed the first unmistakable blue whale blast-like spout about three miles outside of the Moss Landing Harbor. Then they just started appearing all around us. Usually we’re lucky to see one or two blue whales. They are generally somewhat solitary. But today was quite different.

All this heavy Northwest wind activity and bright sunlight has created some massive krill swarms. Blue whale food you might say. And the word appears to out amongst the krill consuming baleen cetaceans. Monterey Bay is the hot-spot for a quick krill feast.

It was amazing to see so many blue whales within about a 1/2 mile area. Then many more suspected blue whale spouts over a two mile diameter from our position. We estimate that there were at least twenty or more blue whales within a three mile area from where we were and we also heard reports of more blue whales to the south. This is excellent news and quite a treat so be in the midst of such a large concentration of the largest animal to ever roam the earth. Very cool.

The chronic breacher. This animal would not stop launching. It did this at least 25 times within about an hour long period. Just remarkable. Photo: Sack, 06-26-2012.

Then there were the humpbacks. At least 8-10 in the same area feeding alongside the blues. The humpbacks were also breaching in the distance. So we picked on that seemed to be particularly active and headed in that direction. What a show. Holy mackerel. This one particular humpback that we decided we would hang with just wouldn’t stop breaching. This animal didn’t stop breaching for nearly an hour. It was like clockwork. The animal would give us semi-deep dive tail fluke and then within a minute or two would come launching out of the water. This just kept happening over and over again. We had to have seen at least twenty-five full breaches. Probably more. Just remarkable.

And then there was the fin whale. We didn’t get that great of looks, but we were able to see it’s lighter coloring on the side and it’s unmistakable raked dorsal fin. It looks kind of like a dolphin.

Mix in some beautiful, calm sunny conditions and you get a classic Sanctuary Cruises whale watching experience.

06-24-2012: Epic Conditions, Friendly Humbacks, Cow and Calf Humpbacks, Breaching Humpbacks and Risso’s Dolphins

Another whale of a day aboard the Sanctuary. Warm sunshine, flat seas, and little wind made for outstanding conditions.

And it’s a good thing. Because we had to cover some water and spend some time to find the whales today. We didn’t get on the whales until two hours into the trip. Sometimes that’s the way it goes. And when we did find a whale, the animal wasn’t what we would call the most cooperative whale. A bit elusive in fact.

After about 15-minutes we realized this wasn’t going to be a whale we wanted to watch. Fortunately, we had reports of other whales not far from our location. After we got on the scene and a couple of the other boats left, the humpbacks made their way over to the boat.

Next thing we knew, they were circling the boat and observing us from under the water. This is what we call friendly behavior. The clear water and bright sun made observing these gentle giants a delight.

The animals kept swimming under the boat and frolicking about within five feet of us. When they spouted our hair flew up. The spouts had a krill after-taste you might say, confirming our suspicion that these leviathans were feeding on the small shrimp like animals.

There were also about twenty five pacific white sided dolphins swimming right next to the boat trying to steal our attention from the friendly humpbacks.

After the whales left us with an encounter we will never forget we found a mother and calf humpback. The calf breached (jumped out of the water) numerous times while the mother slapped her powerful tail fluke on the ocean surface repeatedly. Then they dove together into the abyss showing both of their tails and that was the end of that. By this time, we were getting to the 4-hour mark. So it was time to start making our way back toward Moss and maybe find some orcas or dolphins on the way in.

Sure enough, after about 20-minutes of running we came across more than twenty Risso’s dolphins. Another remarkable day on the Monterey Bay. Now is the time to get out and check some awesome variety of species. We’re also seeing blue whales and fin whales pretty regularly.

Thanks to our awesome naturalist / soon-to-be marine biologist Giancarlo Thomae for contributing to this report.

06-22-2012: Tail Lobbing, Spy-hopping, Peck Slapping, Full Breaching Humpbacks Put on a Show, Blue Whale Shows up Too

Humpback whale "tail-lobbs" off of Moss Landing in the Monterey Bay. Photo: Sack

The humpbacks were restless today. Let me tell you. We could see the commotion from almost a mile away. When we got on the scene it was quite the spectacle to behold. Pretty much the full range of behaviors we see humpback whales doing here in the Monterey Bay. From the occasional full-press “tail-lob” to the full launch breach, there were a couple of these massive animals getting lively.

They were also raising their huge pectoral fins and slapping against the surface of the water. Then there was the “spy-hopping.” This when they position themselves vertically and raise their massive heads out of the water to get a better look at us. We even saw a couple of “surface lunge feeds.”

Blue whale surfaces about 8 miles off of Moss Landing. Photo: Sack

Did I mention the blue whale? That was nice for a little variety. But we didn’t get as good of looks at the blue as the humpbacks. That’s often the case with blue whales. But it is awe-inspiring to be in the presence of the largest animal to ever roam the earth. These animals routinely get to be 80′ long. They can also move faster than 20 miles per hour.

06-19-2012: Orcas, Humpbacks, Bow Riding Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Northern Right Whale Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins and a Whole lot of Black-footed Albatross

Today was one of those diversity of species overload days. I’m telling you. We got word right out of the gate of some orcas not far from Moss Landing. So we set a course at full cruising speed and made our way to the scene. There were two orcas: A large male nicknamed “can opener” on account of the trailing edge of his dorsal fin resembles the half loop on the handle of a can opener for opening bottles. I guess he should be bottle opener.

They had just finished a kill and seemed like they were on the move. We stuck with them for about an hour. Then they gave us the slip. So we decided that we would head further out west in search of the mighty humpback and maybe even some dolphins.

After about 2-3 miles of running, I spotted what looked like what I call “dolphin water”. Large pods of dolphins moving through the water look like many splashes moving along in unison. From a distance of about 1/2 to 1-mile away it breaks the pattern of surrounding smooth water. They just kind of came over to us an started buzzing the boat and bow riding. That’s always fun.

But we still needed to get some humpbacks under our belt. So the search continued.

We kept coming up on more and more Pacific White-sided dolphins with some Northern Right-whale dolphins mixed in. We also saw a couple of groups of about 100 sea lions. And at that point were outside of The Bay. About 14 miles out. Those orcas we saw earlier would be loving this.

So we kept heading back home and across the mouth of the Soquel Canyon. That’s were we started seeing blows. Humpback blows. The mighty humpback was before us. It’s a good thing. Because we ended up getting distracted by the orcas and dolphins. But we went the extra two hours hang with humpbacks. We ended up pulling back into the slip around 4:00 PM. When conditions nice and everyone’s OK with it, we love to stay out. But usually our trips are between 4-5 hours.

06-04-2012: More Lunge Feeding Humpbacks, A Female Elephant Seal and another Blue Whale

Humpback whale gives us a close up look at it's baleen. Photo: Sack, 06-04-2012

Massive krill swarms continue to be the good news out on the Monterey Bay. It all starts with the krill. The krill bring many species of marine life to the Monterey Bay and are the main reason the Monterey Bay is so rich in marine wildlife diversity. We’ve been collecting quality specimens of surface krill for the last few days. Looking at these tiny shrimp-like creatures (about the size of your small finger nail) makes you wonder how some of the largest animals on earth eat some of the smallest animals on earth.

Humpback whale spy hops to check us out. Photo: Sack, 06-04-2012

“They taste just like the small shrimp you put on your salad”, Sanctuary Cruises Naturalist Giancarlo said about the krill he just netted for a UCSC krill researcher. He should know. Giancarlo takes delight in popping a live krill or two in his mouth for a mid-morning snack. Passengers are either amused or confused. But we have had passengers join him for a krill snack.

The humpback whales continue to be a sure thing out here on the Monterey Bay. Despite some patchy fog early on and a persistent drizzle sometimes turning into light rain, we came upon a feeding humpback three miles outside of the harbor. We spent about an hour watching this animal gorge on surface krill. They are wasting no time feasting. You would too if you had just spent three months far off the coast between Southern Mexico and Central America. That’s where most of the population we see in The Bay goes to breed and give birth. And they don’t eat that much when they are down there. They rely more on their blubber layer that they build up gorging on krill, anchovies, sardines and small herring off of the Pacific Coast from early April until December.

The chronic lunge feeding we've been seeing over the last month or so has been just remarkable. Abundant surface krill sets the stage. Photo: Sack, 06-04-2012

What a nice show. Not only were the animals lunge feeding about every few minutes, but they also gave a nice spy hop or two every once in a while. So far this season is shaping up to be a remarkable year for marine wildlife on the Monterey Bay.

A lone female elephant seal hanging out there in the middle of The Bay. Photo: Sack, 06-04-2012

We also came across a lone female elephant seal that was just hanging out there in the middle of The Bay.

After spending about an hour with a handful of more lunge feeding humpbacks, that was about all everyone could handle. The persistent drizzle would not let up and it was also a bit on the cold side. So we decided to make our way back toward the harbor.

As we were about two miles outside the harbor, I noticed an unusual blow about a half mile to our southeast. It looked like a blue whale blow to me. You can tell because it’s more like a blast than a blow. And the spout usually goes higher. So we made a slight diversion to the southwest to investigate. Sure enough, the mighty blue whale. These animals can get up to 90 feet long. They’re the largest animal on earth. And it was only about two miles outside of the Moss Landing Harbor! We had some really nice looks of it’s rostrum, small dorsal fin and long back before the gentle giant showed us it’s tail fluke, popped up again with a mighty blow and made a course for the southwest. Nice way to end the trip.

06-03-2012: Humpback Lunge Feeding Frenzy Continues, Risso’s Dolphins, Black-footed Albatross and Nice Conditions

Humpback whale lunge feeds on surface krill off of Moss Landing on the Monterey Bay. Photo: Sack 06-03-2012

The lunge feeding frenzy continues with many humpbacks about 5-miles outside of Moss Landing Harbor. It’s nice to be with whales within 30-minutes of leaving the harbor. There were at least 15-20 whales in about a mile or two area. We could see distant blows, the occasional distant breach or splash.

A humpback whale does a sideways lunge feed as it takes down a massive load of krill off of Moss Landing on the Monterey Bay. Photo Sack, 06-03-2012

And then there was the lunge feeding and abundant krill swarms. We were even able to collect some sample specimens for a krill researcher at UCSC’s Long Marine Lab.

Double Lunge feed. Two humpbacks lunge feed together on the abundant krill swarms that are appearing all over The Monterey Bay over the last week. Photo: Sack, 06-04-2012

We also came across a nice pod of Risso’s dolphins and heard reports of more humpbacks and blue whales in other parts of The Bay. Hopefully the nice weather will continue into the week. Still have plenty of room on all our trips this week.

06-01-2012: Breaching Humpbacks, Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins, and the Blue Whales Show up

Humpback whale breaches just off of our starboard bow. Photo: Sack, 06-01-2012

Major turning point over the last couple of days. Summer whales are here. We’ve had several sighting of fin whales earlier in the week and then we had some nice Blue Whale sighting over the last couple of days. Then there’s the Humpbacks. They’ve been very active lately. Breaching, lunge feeding, pectoral fin slapping, tail lobbing, tail fluking and friendly behavior.

The dolphins round sightings nicely. We love when the Pacific White-sided dolphins come around. They can be very acrobatic. They are also very fast and tend to buzz the boat and swim back and forth in front of the bow. Today we had them riding alongside the boat “porpoising” while leveraging the energy of our wake. When a white-sided “porpoises” it’s generally moving very fast. Sometimes they come completely out of the water when they launch off our wake as they speed along.

We also saw Risso’s Dolphins today. It looked like both the Risso’s and the Pacific White-sided dolphins were feeding together in the area.

We’re definitely into the summer whale season. We still have a very light load for Sunday and things are looking good.