Bill Budge was in the right place with his camera and he got this Humpback Whale breaching.
The power of this big whale hurling itself out of the ocean is amazing to see!
Thanks to Bill for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
Very warm here again today, but it's supposed to be much cooler tomorrow. Maybe some wet stuff next week!
Shari Goforth recently went on a pelagic trip out of Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg. She got some great looks at Humpback Whales. I love this first one where the water is streaming off the big whale's tail.
There has been so much food for these whales and other marine animals - and the food of choice is anchovies. Brown Pelicans eat them too, as do Gulls and many other birds.
Thanks to Shari for allowing me to share her photos with you here.
We've had a lot of fog right on the coast, though it's sunny just a little ways east. It's helped to cool things off a bit, and more cooling is predicted for the days ahead.
Two weeks ago was a great time for seeing Humpback Whales off the Mendonoma Coast.
Scott and Tree Mercer didn't have any sightings of mother/calf gray whales that week, but they were compensated with humpback sightings. Tree wrote, “Despite some challenging wind and fog conditions, humpback whales continue to be seen along our coast. This week, Scott and I documented 40 sightings of humpbacks seen at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula, Saunders Reef, and at Gerstle Cove. Seven additional humpbacks were seen by Shari Goforth at Ollie’s Straight, Gualala Point Island and off the beach at Gualala Point Regional Park. Many of these humpbacks displayed full and half breaching, tail lobbing, and taking long dives most likely to feed on anchovies.
We have also observed two foraging gray whales swimming both north and south along the peninsula at the Lighthouse. We continue to search for gray whale mothers with their calves which typically can be seen throughout the month of May and even into early June.”
Sara Bogard got a nice photo of a humpback whale tail lobbing while doing her weekly survey of harbor seals off the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula and surrounding areas.
She spotted 128 harbor seals of which 38 were pups.
Thanks to Sara for allowing me to share her photo with you here and thanks to the Mercers for their report.
Sunny and warm today, but there's a storm coming in tonight - hard to believe!
Pete and Kathie Hayes were thrilled when a humpback whale began slapping its tail on the surface of the ocean. Pete wrote, “My wife and I have been seeing so many whales from Wild Iris, Sea Ranch, particularly yesterday and today, the 29th and 30th. In addition to spouting, we've seen whales appearing to slap their tails in the water. Often multiple times. First, can you please help us identify what kind of whale this is? And second, can anyone explain why they are doing this?”
Pete sent in a video of the multiple tail slaps, which you can view here.
Humpback whale tail slapping by Peter Hayes
Whale expert, Scott Mercer, confirmed the sighting as humpback whales. I learned as a humpback slaps its tail, the theory is the loud noise causes fish to become frightened, resulting in a tightened school, making it easier for the humpbacks to feed. It’s also thought to be communication as the loud sound created by the slap can travel long distances underwater. And maybe it’s just fun!
Thanks to Peter for allowing me to share his photo and video with you here.
A few showers this morning, and several rainbows blessed us with their beauty. It's sunny and cool this afternoon. Yesterday's rain was only 0.05 inches at Rick's and my place in Anchor Bay, but in Point Arena Linda Bostwick had 1.10 inches! There were some cells with a LOT of rain in them, while other places only got a splash or two.
Shari Goforth headed out in two weeks ago on a Saturday for a pelagic trip out of Noyo Harbor on The Kraken along with 24 other seafarers. Many on board were birders, excited to see different kinds of petrels, albatrosses, skua and terns. Shari is mostly on the trip to spot whales. A blue whale was seen and Pacific white-sided dolphins. And humpbacks! Shari wrote, “It was a gray day, so here are a few photos that are not fogged-in. We were about from eight miles from the red and white whistle buoy outside Noyo Harbor when we encountered a group of humpback whales.”
Look at the green light on the water on the lower right. It's the sun reflected on the whale's body that is underwater. Shari says they can often see a whale before it spouts by noting this green reflection.
Shari got a clear photo of a distinctive fluke and she sent it in to Happy Whale to see if they had a previous identification of this particular whale. They did. Shari wrote, “That fluke is CRC-20332, Cascadia Research collective’s research number, no nickname, first recorded off Baja 01-03-2022, the only sighting before our photo record on 08-17-2025."
Another photo is of a humpback rostrum showing the mouth nearly closed after a lunge feeding event with one other whale. The barnacles visible on the lower mandible pouch show their exposed cirri, the barnacles’ feeding appendages. Needless to say, it was a great trip!”
Thanks to Shari for allowing me to share her photos with you here. If you'd like to learn more about the pelagic trips out of Noyo Harbor, here is the link: http://noyopelagics.com
To be on their mailing list, you can sign up here: https://groups.io/g/Mendocino-Pelagics
The fog bank is smaller and a ways out over the ocean. Breezy sunny weather happening now!