6-2-25 Whale Watching

//  In Plain Sight Blog with Nate Collins Photo  //

Another fun day whale watching, albeit in the first batch of June gloom around here…

It was a quiet trip out to about 13 miles until we found a feeding frenzy with a ton of birds, common dolphins, humpback and fin whale.

Images below are posted at 1060×706 at 72dpi. Full size images available for printing / image licensing.

Last Look at Humpbacks Flukes During Dive: Fine Art Prints

Humpback Tail Details: Fine Art Prints

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It’s pretty cool to see these animals feeding together. It gives you an idea of what they’re up to during there day versus sometimes when they’re just traveling and they might interact more with the boat.

You can get an idea of the scale of the humpback comparing it to the common dolphins near it (the dolphins are typically 6-7′ and around 300lbs or so).

It’s always fun to see the tail as it’s a common way to identify individual whales. They can put their tail out to allow them to dive deeper with gravity.

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More images of the humpback including one I liked of the dolphins, humpback whale spouting and another local whale watching boat enjoying the show.

Humpback’s Tail: Fine Art Prints

Humpback with Common Dolphins in Background: Fine Art Prints

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A handful of images show the humpback exhaling. One of the naturalists explained that most of the spout isn’t water droplets but it’s the warm air from the whale’s lungs hitting the cooler air (kind of like when our breath steams in the cold).

One of the spout images shows the humpback in the foreground and the fin whale further in the background.

Humpback Tail with Water Roll: Fine Art Prints

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Finally a pair of images of things I found super cool, although not brilliant pics…

First is the first blue whale I’ve gotten to see. It was just for a couple moments as the boat was heading back, the whale was relatively close to shore at about 3 miles in 180′ of water. It was super cool and I’m hoping to get better shots in the next month or so as blue whale season starts. They have a super unique dorsal fin – the naturalist mentioned its the smallest dorsal fin per whale / dolphin – but I think gray whales don’t have dorsal fins? Anyhow it’s got a unique almost Dr. Suess feel (a former La Jolla local btw).

The birds are sooty shearwaters. These birds fly a 40,000 mile, figure 8 shaped migration. Can fly up to 600 miles a day! And can dive for food 200′ deep.

You can check out more facts about the Sooty Shearwaters on Monterey Aquarium’s site here.

Thanks for the read! Nate@NateCollinsPhoto com

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