Month: September 2012

09-27-2012 Orcas hunting porpoise and Humpbacks breaching at Moss

Orca with Harbor Porpoise in mouth alongside Sanctuary (Photo D. DeJong)

Orca captures Harbor Porpoise outside Moss Landing D.De Jong 9/27/12Oh my, what a day on the bay. Such thrilling sightings and all within one mile of our Moss Landing Harbor mouth! The day started with finding humpbacks immediately upon going out of the harbor. Within minutes these whales were breaching repeatedly. WOW! After another half hour of watching the whales surface, breath and dive, I opened my mouth to say that “repeated breaching is a tough act to follow” when they decided to pop up right in front of our boat, giving excellent views of their backs and tails. They also trumpeted repeatedly right after I described their vocalizations. Sometimes I think they listen to me, understand and respond humorously!

We had to make a sudden departure from our very nice humpbacks when we got the call “orcas at the MLA buoy”. We got real nice views of a group of three female orcas cruising for a meal and were feeling quite good about the day, when they just seemed to disappear. After about ten minutes, they were spotted even closer into shore and were joined by four more females and calves. This now tight-knit pod of orcas was cruising in tighter circles and it seemed an attack seemed imminent. I was correct! Suddenly surging and splashing occurred and the hunt was on.

I was a bit choked up to see a young harbor porpoise trying its best to get away. I knew it was futile. But I did not anticipate that the largest orca would do a breach and land on the poor little porpoise just a few feet from our boat. Nor that the whole gang of orcas would rush in within five feet of our stern and chomp down the pitiful porpoise in such close proximity. It was an unbelievable rush to behold with a mixture of dread (for the porpoise) and awe (for the awesome power of these whales). The orcas put on a show of nature that none of us will ever forget. This photo by Desiree De Jong shows one of the whales with the porpoise in its mouth and the little guys flukes and dorsal fin showing. I know this is nature and I am a huge killer whale fan, but I must admit I have a very soft spot in my heart for the diminutive harbor porpoise.

We have lots of room on the boat tomorrow. If you want likely orca action, get on the boat!

09-25-2012 Our Faithful Humpback is still at Moss Plus Dolphins and Mola!

Sunday was a really nice day out on the bay. We had three cruises back to back and all were a joy. It helps to have a nice humpback whale in your immediate backyard, of course. Everyone aboard got good looks for quite a long time of this reliable whale as it cruised in a big circle in search of fish to eat. At one point, it popped up so close to the boat after a long dive, we all jumped (with delight!)

It keeps things entertaining when there are California sea lions munching on big fish at the surface with all the attending bird frenzy that creates. We call it “mad-dogging” when a sea lion whips the fish back and forth at the surface to rip it apart. Of course, the birds have a field day with the scraps.

The shy harbor porpoise have not been so shy lately and all are getting some good looks at these diminutive cetaceans. The jellies have been over the top with many, many huge elegant golden sea nettles, frequent moon jellies and every so often a massive egg yolk jelly. It’s always a treat when a huge mola, or ocean sunfish, drifts by our boat.They come in to the bay to feed on the jellies, so this time of year we often see them.

The conditions have been quite nice and we have room on our Thursday and Friday trips this week at 10 am. The weekend is full-up.

09-22-2012 Humpbacks at Moss Landing and Risso’s Dolphins Frolicking

Moss Landing is the hot spot for whales these days in Monterey Bay. We had several feeding and circling around the mile buoy all afternoon today. Some surface lunges kept it exciting while the birds were actively diving all around the whales. Sometimes you see this feeding frenzy when whales are feeding on small bait fish and scaring them up to the surface. This is a bonus for the birds, as they don’t have to dive down to capture there dinner. It is flushed right up to them at the surface. It is a cool event to behold.

Risso’s dolphins were a highlight today. We found a large pod swimming in tight formation with occasional breaches and tail slaps. It was great viewing for all aboard. These dolphins are just so magical to watch. You see their entire bodies through the water in an eerie greenish glow when conditions are right. They are so large, yet so graceful. Young ones often leap clear of the water, twist backwards and then make a huge splash as they hit the water. This is clearly dolphins just having fun!

Dolphins, sunshine and feeding whales made for a great day on the bay.
We still have space on our 10 am trip tomorrow!

09-21-2012 Humpback Whale hanging around Moss Landing

We’ve had this solo humpback whale that is lingering right outside the harbor mouth at Moss Landing over the past week or so. Some days it is right here first thing out in the morning, other days it shows up on our way back into the harbor.

Today we had gone out west about eight miles looking for whales. No boats on the bay had found anything and then we got the call “humpback at the MLA buoy at Moss”. Cool. We knew we’d have a good sighting and nice calm conditions.

We’d been enjoying the sunshine, calm seas, many seabirds and several harbor porpoise sightings. We turned the boat and headed back towards Moss for the whale. Then we looked up into the sky and saw an awesome sight – the shuttle was flying overhead on its way to LA. It was very cool to see that beast of an air machine overhead!

Well, back to nature – after spending some nice time with the whale, we went over towards the surf zone to check out a small pod of bottlenosed dolphins cruising around and fishing near shore.They delighted our customers by riding the bow and passing back and forth so close we could look down and see their entire bodies through the water. It was very cool. Speaking of dolphins, two days ago we had about 500 Common Dolphins only two miles from Moss.They frolicked around our boat for over an hour, thrilling all aboard.

Some days are phenomenal out here on the bay, others are challenging just to find a whale or dolphins. That’s nature. Today we had sunshine, a shuttle fly-by, calm seas, dolphins, porpoises and a whale. Let’s sea what tomorrow may bring – still plenty of space on our 9 am trip Saturday and our 10 am trip Sunday!

09/12/2012 Breaching Humpbacks Inside the Bay

Marine conditions have calmed down and some humpback whales have re-entered the Bay. Yesterday we were treated to multiple breaches and some good views of several humpback whales. Conditions look good for the rest of this week with predicted light winds and low swells.

We have had some excellent views of harbor porpoise, our smallest cetacean here in Monterey Bay. We had hundreds of these tiny porpoises surfacing about our boat a few days back. It was truly delightful. Normally they are so shy and if you blink you miss there single surfacing. This week, they are almost showing off! Here is a photo taken by regular passenger/photographer Susan Shinkai.

09-09-2012 Common Dolphins are Back, but Rough Outer Waters Limit our Range

The last two days we have been limited to staying inside Monterey Bay due to very rough seas and high winds outside. Although conditions were quite nice inside the bay, we were not able to find whales. We will be seeing lots of people for their complimentary second trip (our “see whales or dolphins guarantee”). Conditions have calmed considerably today so we should be able to get outside the bay to those humpback whales that were reported there yesterday. We are waiting for the anchovy runs to build closer inside the bay which should bring those humpbacks close to home waters to feed on their fall fish bounty.

Last Friday we had a nice pair of humpback whales that gave us good views as they travelled along. The real prize was one of the very best dolphin days ever aboard Sanctuary! We were in a pod of perhaps a thousand Long-beaked Common Dolphins that really put on a show of a lifetime. They surrounded our boat, riding the bow and doing leaps and tail splashes. The pod was so dense it felt like you could step off the boat and walk across them. The water was clear enough to look down and see their entire bodies as they gracefully maneuvered the bow wake for a free ride. There were splashes half a mile around the boat as hundreds of dolphins surfaced in synchrony. It was truly magical. They stayed with us for over 45 minutes and gave all aboard a tremendous thrill!

09-03-2012 Humpbacks are Back In the Bay Big Time!

photo by John McCormack

The game is on for a krill and anchovy feeding frenzy inside the bay this past weekend. Wonderful humpback whales actively feeding near or at the surface, with breaches seen each day! Today, Labor Day, the humpbacks are only a few miles out from Moss and providing great behaviors to observe. On top of this great action, we had a last-minute Orca pod sighting right outside the Moss Landing Harbor Mouth on Saturday.

It has been a dramatic upswing in marine life feeding behavior recently, with many pelicans and shearwaters swarming and diving for fish as the whales stir up the water’s surface. It sure is great to have the bay come alive again. We have been treated to close-up surfacings, plenty of tail flukes and even some dramatic breaching. My favorite was a chronic tail-lobber in the late day sun off Point Pinos a few days back. Some trips are truly magical.

We wish they all were, but that is not nature’s way. Yesterday the fog came in for our 3 pm trip and prevented us from getting a good whale sighting. One fleeting fluke was seen, but at least we had some great Risso’s dolphins.

The Orca pod sighting was another magic moment. Just as we were all relaxing into our return to the harbor mouth after an awesome time with the humpbacks, what appears but the distinctive tall dorsal fin of a large male killer whale. It turned out to be a tight pod that circled about a mile outside the harbor entrance and gave us a few pretty good looks before we had to head in. This photo shows the large male. It is always a thrill to come upon these powerful predators.