Tag Archives: Humpback Whales

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Ben wrote, “I saw at least two Humpback Whales a ways out. They were feeding, swimming in circles, possibly bubble netting a bait ball. I was able to catch them by following the birds.”

There’s a good clue here – follow the birds. Brown Pelicans, Gulls and other birds will often be at the seafood buffet where the whales are feeding.

Thanks to Ben for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

It's sunny today but very windy! No spotting whales this afternoon - the ocean is full of white caps!

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Sometimes you can hardly believe your eyes. Greg Talamini photographed this beautiful sight from his home in Gualala!

Thanks to Greg for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Bonus sighting: Lots of Humpback Whales have been seen swimming north.

Additional bonus sightings can be had at the Gualala Arts Center. Today was opening day for Meadow as Muse, curated by Karen Wilkinson. It's fantastic! Here's a link to learn more about it: https://gualalaarts.org/2026/05/meadow-as-muse/

Absolutely stunning day here today, with a nice breeze.

 

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Clear weather then moved in and two weeks ago Sunday looked to perfect for a pelagic trip out of Noyo harbor on the Kraken to look for seabirds and gray whales. Shari Goforth was ready her camera. She wrote, “With the break in the rain, sun and calm seas prevailed. Noyo Pelagics, on short notice, came up with enough people to take a half-day trip offshore to the Noyo Canyon. The water was perfect for the trip; the seas were calm, the air was cool with almost no wind, and the skies overcast.

“We were in the middle of the gray whale migration and were hoping to photo document gray whales for identification database. Within the first half hour, we spotted a breaching whale several miles toward the horizon. From then on, we began to see gray whale blows (forceful exhales creating a mist) and stayed the permitted legal distance of 100 yards away from them. We were surprised by humpbacks! It’s not the usual time of year to see humpbacks.

“The captain put the boat in idle (stopped the propeller) to avoid any potential propeller injuries in case we were approached by a curious whale, and we had several curious humpbacks surface near the boat. They don’t have to be very close to know that they have been feeding; their exhales smell strongly like fermented Brussel sprouts! Throughout the day, we photographed many humpback whales breaching, slapping their 15 foot-long front flippers on the water, and thrashing their tails, however, we were only able to get a few views of the underside of the humpbacks’ flukes, the view needed for ID. We had more success with the gray whales and have eight photos of individuals to submit for ID.” Shari and others submit their photos to http://Happywhale.com.

Noyo Pelagics is a collaboration between Mendocino Coast Audubon, The Noyo Center for Marine Science, and Anchor Charter Boats (the Kraken), based at Noyo Harbor, Fort Bragg. The trips are open to the public, check the website: http://www.noyopelagics.com for all day and half-day trips, or call for shorter whale watching trips.

Thanks to Shari for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

Toasty warm here today with no wind - unbelievable weather for March.

 

 

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Several weeks ago many Humpback Whales passed our coast, heading north. Most were quite far out but several photographers got interesting photos. Eric Zetterholm photographed this big Humpback breaching near a fishing boat.

And Ron Bolander caught this beautiful sight.

One last great share from Shari Goforth-Eby.

Any day you see Humpbacks...or any whale!...is a good day!

Thanks to Eric, Ron and Shari for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

It's hot here today. Overnight temps were in the mid 70's. It got up to 93 degrees this afternoon but suddenly dropped 10 degrees - hooray! The sea breeze is trying to kick in.

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Humpbacks have been seen off our portion of the coast, always a treat. John Batchelder photographed this Humpback off the coast of The Sea Ranch. Just look at all those Brown Pelicans flying by.

Here are a few photos of Humpback Whales that John took last year - a tail, a breach and a flipper.

Thanks to John for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

Today it is HOT on the Mendonoma coast! Have I ever mentioned I'm not a fan of  hot weather? Bring back our ocean breezes! Oddly enough, but most welcome, we have rain in our forecast for Monday. Rain would be such a blessing.