Every week, Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching provides the Dana Point Times and San Clemente Times a report on the week’s whale and dolphin sightings from naturalist Laura Lopez, in addition to a weekly log.
Here is Lopez’s report for the past week:
Fin whales have been seen eight of the last nine days including a cow/calf pair where the baby whale appeared to be playing with the dolphin very close to shore just north of the Dana Point Headlands. On multiple days, as many as four fin whales surrounded our vessels making very close passes as they surfaced alongside and even swan under our boats. Many of these whales have been feeding on the massive amounts of krill off the coast.
Captain Tommy on the Dana Pride spotted a very active Humpback whale over eight miles off the coast. This humpback whale was extremely active tail throwing for over 15 minutes and then swam out to see. Plus, Minke whales have been spotted!
Gray whale cow/calf pairs are still passing through and some even stop to “play” close to shore north of the San Clemente Pier and Victoria Beach. These curious calves spy hop, roll showing their flukes and have lifted their heads high out of the water as they swam close to their mom while the pair is traveling north.
Humpback Whale. Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching. 
Gray Whale Cow/Calf Pair. Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching. 
Mola Mola. Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching. 
Fin Whale. Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching. 
Bottlenose Dolphin. Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching. 
Risso’s Dolphin. Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching. 
Bottlenose Dolphin. Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching. 
Fin Whale. Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching. 
Fin Whale Cow/Calf pair. Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching.
There have also been impromptu feeding frenzies with long-beaked common dolphin, sea lions and sea birds. Watching a feeding frenzy with dive bombing the California brown pelicans is quite a spectacle. These birds can consume more than four pounds of fish per day! Various pods of offshore bottlenose dolphin have been in the area. Usually very active, they engage with our boat, love bow-riding and surfing the wake behind us, often breaching several feet in the air. One day as we were heading offshore to see several fin whales, we came across a very relaxed pod of 20-30 Risso’s dolphin five miles out.
Throughout the week, we saw several Mola Mola and at times watched as they fed on the plentiful Velella Velella or By-the-Wind Sailors.
Fin Whales, Gray Whales, a Humpback Whale, a Minke Whale, Risso’s Dolphin, Bottlenose Dolphin and Common Dolphin, sea lions plus the still-present By-the-Wind Sailors made for another awesome week on the water.
Here is the latest Whale Watching Log from Dana Wharf Whale Watching:
May 4 – Common Dolphin
May 3 – 10 Fin Whales, Common Dolphin, 2 Mola Mola
May 2 – Common Dolphin, 3 Mola Mola
May 1 – 1 Fin Whale, Bottlenose Dolphin, Common Dolphin, 2 Mola Mola
April 30 – 1 Gray Whale Cow/Calf pair, Common Dolphin, Bottlenose Dolphin, 2 Mola Mola
April 29 – 6 Fin Whale, 1 Minke Whale, Common Dolphin, Bottlenose Dolphin
April 28 – 7 Gray Whales including 2 Cow/Calf pairs, 3 Fin Whales, Common Dolphin
April 27 – 15 Fin Whales including 1 Cow/Calf pair, Bottlenose Dolphin, Common Dolphin, 12 Mola Mola
April 26 – 12 Fin Whales, 2 Gray Whales including Cow/Calf pair, Risso’s Dolphin, Common Dolphin, 1 Mola Mola
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