Dana Wharf Blog

Babies on Parade! As the last phase of the Gray Whale northbound migration begins to peak, we are seeing several cow/calf pairs.  The highlight of the week was watching a northbound gray whale cow/calf gray pair swimming together off Victoria Beach. They clearly entertained whale watchers and beachgoers as this calf was “playing” displaying surface behaviors…

By-the-Wind-Sailors Along For the Ride! This week’s sightings include Gray Whales, cow-calf pairs, Fin Whales, Bottlenose, and Common Dolphin, plus By-the-Wind-Sailors or Velella velella and a Blue Shark. With the recent red tide, we saw hundreds of By-the-Wind-Sailors or Velella velella in our local waters.  This organism is actually a colony of many polyps that…

Gray Whale Calves Join Northbound Migration Each year by mid-February, most, if not all, of this season’s gray whale calves have been born.  These cow-calf pairs are the last to leave the lagoons giving the calves time to grow, including developing a blubber layer before beginning their first migration north to their feeding grounds.  Traveling…

Record-Breaking Day Set as Gray Whale Migration Peaks On Saturday, March 18, our sightings included 29 Gray Whales, 6 Fin Whales, 1 Bryde’s Whale, Pacific white-side Dolphin, Bottlenose Dolphin, and Common Dolphin   On our first trip of the day ~ the Epic 4-hour Whale Watch on the New San Mateo ~ our newest vessel…

Gray Whales continue the migration North, great sightings on the days we could get out, but Sunday was a Festival of Whales GRAND FINALE! Ending the weekend with 13 Gray Whales, Bottlenose, and Common Dolphin! Nona the Naturalist started the day with story time inside the belly of a whale teaching kids some fun facts…

Gray Whale Migration Transition Continues! As we move toward spring, we should continue to see more northbound whales each week.  Once the southward migration starts each fall, pregnant females usually arrive first, then non-pregnant but fertile females, followed by other adults and immature females, with the immature males arriving last.  Most southbound whales we are…

Gray Whale Southbound Migration Transition Begins to Transition to Northbound! Gray whales travel as much as 14,000 miles each year, migrating from their feeding to calving and mating grounds.  The length of the whales’ migration can vary depending on where they begin, as their feeding ground covers hundreds of miles and whether they travel offshore…

Love is in the Air!    Multiple Encounters with Gray Whales Courting, Plus Fin Whales, Minke Whales, Pacific White-Sided Dolphin, Bottlenose Dolphin, Common Dolphin, and several Mola mola! An exceptional experience was watching three gray whales courting, likely mating, with lots of surface activity, including rolling and socializing showing their pectoral fins and flukes.  This spectacular show…

Baja Style Gray Whale Day with 16 Gray Whales, including a cow/calf pair ~ Breaching, Courting, Spy Hopping, Mugging on Every Trip! The day started with a breacher in front of the Dana Point Harbor.  The cloudy skies turned to sunshine; soon after, a cow/calf pair was heading south close to shore.  We were mugged…

Gray Whale, Fin Whales, Minke Whales ~ Bottlenose Dolphin & Common Dolphin Most Gray Whales continue to be northbound, with one juvenile southbound pair observed, and all have been spotted close to shore.  As many as five fin whales at a time have been feeding off our coast from 1 mile to 7 miles out. …

Gray Whale Sightings Continue to Increase, Including Cow/Calf (Mom/Baby) Pairs! Most gray whale cow/calf pairs keep a low profile and are often spotted by the trailing fluke prints while traveling close to the water’s surface.  The calves lift their heads when surfacing alongside mom and sometimes change sides from right to left as they swim…

“Blanco” the Leucistic Risso’s Dolphin, A Rare Bryde’s Whale, Gray Whales, Pacific White-sided Dolphin A nursery pod of Risso’s dolphin, including the leucistic Risso’s named “Blanco” with very distinctive, almost all white coloration and believed to be the only one known off Southern California, was found about 15 miles offshore on our 8-hour Ultimate Whale…