Month: July 2013

07-29-2013 Humpbacks and Dolphins so close to Moss Landing in Calm Seas

Newborn Risso's Dolphin

The past ten days we have had ideal conditions for whale viewing inside the bay very close to Moss Landing. The humpback whales have been feeding on anchovies right here at the head of the Monterey Submarine Canyon swimming big circles around and feasting.

Some trips they get frisky and we’ve had incredible chronic breaching and tail lobbing events. Other trips they are single-mindedly feeding. We see short dives, many surfacings and lots of fluking. The mom and calf pairs have been fun to hang out with, as you never know when a rambunctious calf will fly out of the water in a full breach.

The Risso’s dolphins have really been stealing the show in the past three days. They seem to be actively feeding on the abundant fish near the surface and are super charging and porpoising up clear of the surface in trios that look like a dolphin show at Seaworld! But the best of all are the newborn calves.

This photo taken by Giancarlo Thomae is of a newborn calf still showing the fetal folds. The babies are all curled up in the uterus and have wrinkles when they are newborn.

07-18-2013: The Incredible Breaching Orca

Monterey-Bay-Orca-Breach
This lively male orca breached about 15+ times. Just remarkable. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-18-2013.

After nice looks at a couple of southern sea otters and a mola, we kept heading west hoping to stumble across a cetacean or two. Then we had a report of a single male orca about three miles from our position. So we made a course and put the hammer down.

Monterey-Bay-Orca-Breach
Here he is again, randomly launching. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-18-2013.

It didn’t take long before we could see the unmistakable, tall black dorsal fin of the mighty orca.

Monterey-Bay-Orca-Breach
The chronic tail lobber. This animal just didn’t stop. Tail lobbing, breaching, surfacing. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-18-2013.

This was one an epic encounter. Let me tell you. This animal was consistently active for about two hours. And it was large. 25′-30′ long. It didn’t stop tail lobbing and breaching the whole time. Just when we thought it was over, the animal would launch up and come completely out of the water. It was shock and awe every time. Just incredible.

Before we got on the scene there were reports that the beast had been feeding on a carcass of some sort. The orcas often get playful and acrobatic after a kill. And that attracts the black-footed albatross.

Monterey-Bay-Black-footed-albatross
Black-footed albatross attracted to a recent orca predation event. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-18-2013.
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Black-footed albatross taking off. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-18-2013.

07-16-2013: It doesn’t get much better than this. Humpbacks, Blue Whale, Blue Sharks, Leatherback Turtles, Risso’s Dolphins and More. Perfect Conditions All Day

Monterey Bay-breaching-Humpback-whale
A humpback calf we were with for more than an hour breached almost twenty times. The chance of a lifetime to get humpback whale breaching photos. And the lighting was perfect. Photo: Michael Sack, 07-16-2013.

Today was one of those epic days. We had calm, glassy conditions all day long and the Bay is alive and in full swing with an abundance of marine wildlife. Right now, a lot of it is happening just outside of Moss Landing.

Monterey Bay Breach Humpback whale
One of about 20 breaches this calf did. Photo: Michael Sack, 07-16-2013.

There has been a mother and calf humpback pair hanging around the Moss Landing area for the last few days. They were just outside our harbor again today. We were on them right out the gate on both our 10:00 am and our 3:00 pm trips. So that was cool.

Monterey Bay Breaching Humpback Whale
This was one one lively youngster. Photo: Michael Sack, 07-16-2013.

We’ve also had some great looks at mola molas and Risso’s dolphins.

Monterey Bay Risso's Dolphin
Breaching Risso’s Dolphin. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-16-2013.

But the Leatherback turtles were the real treat. Two leatherback turtles foraging just outside of Moss Landing.

Monterey Bay Leatherback turtle
Another great shot of one of the leatherback turtles we were with today. Photo: Eric Mailander, 07-16-2013.

Just remarkable. And the calm conditions really topped it off. Over the top really. It just doesn’t get any better than this.

A leatherback turtle cruises along side our boat as it forages for sea nettle jellies. Photo: Eric Mailander, 07-16-2013.
A leatherback turtle cruises along side our boat as it forages for sea nettle jellies. Photo: Eric Mailander, 07-16-2013.
Monterey Bay Leatherback
Leatherback turtle cruises for jellies. Photo: Eric Mailander, 07-16-2013.
Monterey Bay Leatherback Turtle
A leatherback turtle cruises around the Sanctuary. Photo: Eric Mailander, 07-16-2013.

And then on the way in, we came across a blue whale! Just an amazing day.

 

07-12-2013: More Fluking Blue Whales, Risso’s Dolphins, Pacific White-sided Dolphins and Northern Right-whale Dolphins

Monterey Bay Blue Whale
A massive blue whale throws up it’s tail fluke before taking a deep dive. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-12-2013.

The is the longest streak of nice conditions and close in sightings we’ve had in recent memory. Lately, we’ve been on the animals within 30 minutes of leaving the harbor. So that’s always nice. We were on two large blue whales within about 30 minutes.

Monterey Bay Risso's Dolphin
Risso’s dolphin breaches next to the boat. Photo: Giancarlo Thomae, 07-12-2013.

Calm seas and no wind. Blue whales continue to feed in The Bay. And today we had a great look at a multi-species pod of dolphins. We had Pacific white-sided dolphins, Risso’s dolphins and Northern right whale dolphins all cruising around the area breaching and tail slapping. Very cool.

07-11-2013: More Blue Whale Action, “Delta” The Blue Whale Shows Up, Risso’s Dolphins

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“Delta” the blue whale shows up in the Monterey Bay just outside of Moss Landing. Photo: Giancarlo Thomae, 07-11-2013

The blue whales just keep coming. Today we were a handful of the largest animals to have ever roamed the earth: The mighty blue whale. They were all around in a 2-3 mile area and we could see other blows in the distance. It was one of those nice days where we knew we had whales just outside of Moss Landing because we were in communication with the rest of the whale fleet. We also had a visual on them in the distance. Reports of a basking shark, calm conditions. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Monterey Bay Blue Whale
Another blue goes deep for the krill. Photo: Giancarlo Thomae, 07-11-2013.

Within about 20 minutes from leaving the harbor, we were with a mother blue and her calf for a solid hour. Every once in a while a full-size blue would pass through the area, heading to the west at a solid clip. Then we decided to do a little exploring. So we headed out west and ran across a few more blues.

Monterey Bay Blue Whale
The mighty blue whale prowling for krill on the Monterey Bay. Photo: Giancarlo Thomae, 07-11-2013.

 

We also came across a couple of sly humpbacks. They surfaced a couple of times. Then we lost them. We were distracted by slow-moving pod of Risso’s dolphins. We had excellent looks.

So it’s still pretty much about the blues and the Risso’s dolphins. Hopefully some orcas will show up. We never know with the orcas.

07-07-2013: Many blue whales, but dolphins stole the show

pwdduo
Another awesome day out on Monterey Bay today. We found a big blue whale within a few miles of Moss Landing and it just keep getting better as the day progressed. The blue whales are inside the bay and focusing on the area directly west of Moss Landing. They are cruising in big circles feeding on krill near the canyon walls. Today they were all fluking high when they dove, making for great photo ops. The real show of the day, however, were hundreds of playful Risso’s dolphins. They were frisky and airborne over and over right next to the boat! The grand finale was a speedy “fly-by” of a pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins (as seen in this photo by Chase Dekker). The afternoon lighting was magical, the sooty shearwaters were flocking all around us and the dolphins were airborne as they rapidly sped westward. Today was one of the best aboard Sanctuary for sure.

07-04-2013: The Motherlode Moves North, Great Looks at a Mola Mola

Blue whale
Friendly blue whale does a drive by. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-04-2013.

We had more of the same today as the blue whales and humpbacks move closer to home. And the conditions were near perfect. Plenty of sun and visibility. We could see spouts in the distance and had reports of whales from north of the Soquel Canyon all the way down to Carmel Bay. A lot of whales have moved in and are on the feed. Mostly krill at this point.

Humpback Whale
Humpback does a surface lunge as it turns over and shows us it’s pectoral fin. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-04-2013.

And the Mola Mola sighting was one of our best. This beast had it’s head slightly out of the water and it’s mouth wide open, eyes looking at us. Ah yes, the Giant Ocean Sunfish. This one was about 4′-5′ long. They mainly eat the jellies. We’ve been seeing some large blooms of the sea-nettles, AKA the Chrysaora. The leather back turtles also eat the sea-nettles. So we’re always on the look out for the leather-backs when were in a lot of jellies or there are Molas around.

Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale cruising. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-04-2013.

After about an hour or so of smooth cruising, we started to get into the zone. Multiple blows in the distance. Clearly blue whale spouts. We can often do a preliminary species I.D. by the size and structure of the spout. A circular, tall blast-like spout is likely a blue whale. Humpback blows are usually not as tall and more heart-shaped in structure.

We also started seeing some humpback spouts. As we got a little closer to the blows we slowed down and started drifting to get an idea for what they were doing and what direction they were headed.

The next thing we knew, a big blast 40 yards off to our right. A massive blue whale surfaces with it’s pectoral fin in the air, slightly exposing it’s throat pleats. Oh yeah. We’ve got some surface lunging going on. Then, this 80’+ animal seemed to change course and slowly move in our direction. It just kept coming. We could see it just below the surface as it cruised toward us. I’m thinking friendly blue whale. Sure enough. That’s about as friendly as a blue whale will get. It cruised right up to us and surfaced parallel to the length of the boat then across our stern. Very cool. Passengers on the stern were looking down the blow holes of the biggest animal to have ever roamed the earth.

We also had a handful of humpbacks that were in the area feeding. A few times we had a blue and a humpback feeding within 25 yards of each. A regular feeding frenzy.

And then of course the black-footed albatross like to get in on the action. So these amazing birds can have a wing-span up to 7′ wide.

07-03-2013: Perserverance Payed off, We hit the Motherlode

Holy mackerel. The marine conditions have been unstable lately. When I woke up this morning the ocean conditions were pristine off of Moss Landing.

A Blue whale on the hunt for krill. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-03-2013.
A Blue whale on the hunt for krill. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-03-2013.

I like to enjoy my morning coffee while I check out the ocean conditions at the Moss Landing harbor mouth. A set of binoculars nearby. Sometimes I get lucky and and see a spout or two in the distance. I love when that happens. That means the pressure is off to find whales because they are right out in front of Moss. I didn’t see any whales off the beach today. But I was encouraged by the near perfect conditions. But we never know on the Monterey Bay. It changes from hour to hour.

Blue whale lunge feed.
Surface lunging blue whale shows us it’s pectoral fin and throat pleats. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-03-2013.

By the time we left the harbor at 1000, the fog came in and the wind picked up. We call this fog wind. It can be jumpy out there in these conditions. But we kept going because we had reports of surface lunge-feeding blue whales and humpbacks. The reports on the radio were beautiful, clear conditions with little swell and no wind. The only problem: The motherlode was still 15-20+ miles to the south west off of Point Lobos and we were in dense fog as far as we were concerned. Running on instruments.

Blue whale
More blue whale action. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-03-2013.

But we were on it. Visions of whales and honey. Because at this point, the thick fog and brisk wind made the going tough. We couldn’t see anything. And if we didn’t get out of the fog, we were not going to see anything. So we kept charging south.

Black-footed albatross
Black-footed albatross skims above the water. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-03-2013.

It was a tough call. But we kept heading south and finally got on the scene when conditions calmed down and we enjoyed the spectacle of a lifetime. Blue whales and humpbacks surface lunge feeding. Calm ocean conditions, but with limited visibility because of fog. Some of the passengers even got a look a nice handful of Pacific White-sided dolphins as they cruised through the area. The visibility was marginal because the fog ended up piling up from the west. We still managed to stay with these incredible blue whales and humpbacks that just kept surfacing around the boat.

Blue whale
Black-footed albatross is cruising for the leftovers from the lung-feeding blues. Photo: Chase Dekker, 07-03-2013.

We also had some good looks at some passing black-footed albatross. This was one of those trips where we had our work cut out for us. We can’t go as fast in the fog because of the visibility issue. So the trip ended up being almost 6.5 hours. But it was worth it. We rarely get to see blue whales lunge feeding. These animals are 85′ long for crying out loud. What an incredible day.