Wed July 2 – Whale Watching
Hundreds of dolphins (toothed whales), but no baleen whales
Our 3rd trip of the 2025 season was the 1st time in 54 consecutive trips (since July 2, 2023) that we didn’t fin a baleen whale. It was a great trip nonetheless! The earlier rain/drizzle and dense fog gave way to incredible unlimited visibility. We were all ready to encounter cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), as well as pelagic birds. We had reports, but had a planned route to head to where we’d seen that finback whale one 6/29 and 6/30.
As we headed out, we encountered a small pod of about 20 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins, along with a few Great Shearwaters and Cory’s Shearwaters. In a short while, we encountered another group of about 50-75 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins, as well as more shearwaters, and Wilson’s Storm Petrels. The area offshore where days before we found the whale and loads of bait fish throughout the water column (surface to 170 feet) not productive. We headed closer to shore and ultimately came across a massive aggregation of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins. We watched as several pods joined together repeatedly top interact and feed. Captain Dave Marmeno told us that the bait profile on the sonar was indicative of squid, and lots of it. These dolphins were spending a lot of time beneath the surface, most likely feeding on those deep squid.We saw moms and calves, adults, juveniles. It was a pleasure to watch. Eventually we had to head back to the dock and a few saw a seal just of Gin Beach. Please note that as members of the Whale SENSE system, we are committed to responsible whale watching and will always abide by the constraints of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and never harass, chase, or disturb them.
Totals:
- 250-300 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins
- Great shearwaters
- Cory’s shearwaters
- Sooty shearwaters
- Wilson’s storm petrels
