Dana Wharf Whale Report: Humpback, Fin Whales Sighted Off Coast

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:

“First you feel it, then you see it, and then you’ll experience it.” Our passenger’s quote after seeing a massive breach by a humpback whale just feet off the bow of the Dana Wharf vessel Lot’ A Fun! 

There is nothing like the thrill of seeing a humpback breach! We kicked off December with cold weather and whales every day. Both fin and humpback whale encounters included feeding with the whales often staying in the same general area for many hours or even an entire day. The humpbacks surface behavior included breaching, head lifts and even tail throws.

Baleen whales, like fins and humpbacks are known to migrate south annually to warmer waters where they birth calves usually born between December and March. In spring, summer and fall they feed on anchovies, sardines and krill off the California coast.
 
In addition to the baleen whales, six of the seven days we saw long-beaked common dolphins including nursery pods and megapods of 1,000 or more. On two days, we found small pods of very active offshore bottlenose dolphin.

Here is the latest Whale Watching Log from Dana Wharf Whale Watching:

Dec. 8 – 2 Humpback Whales, 1 Gray Whale, Bottlenose Dolphin, Common Dolphin

Dec. 7 – Pacific Whitesided Dolphin

Dec. 6 – Bottlenose Dolphin

Dec. 5 – Common Dolphin

Dec. 4 – 7 Humpback Whales, 3 Fin Whales, Common Dolphin

Dec. 3 – 2 Humpback Whales, Common Dolphin

Dec. 2 – 2 Fin Whales, Bottlenose Dolphin, Common Dolphin

Dec. 1 – 2 Fin Whales, Bottlenose Dolphin