East Meets West Whale Watching and our team of captains, trained as certified naturalists are thrilled to welcome you aboard and share their intimate knowledge of these breathtaking Newport Coast ocean inhabitants.
As the wildlife changes year-round, the following updates show you the current wildlife sightings making our whale watching tour so exciting.
Whales: Fin Whales, Gray Whales, Minke Whales, Humpback Whales, False Killer Whales, Orcas (Killer Whales), Pilot Whales
Dolphins: Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins
Other: Pelagic Birds, Sea Lions, Elephant Seals, Harbor Seals, Mola Mola, Sharks
Whales: Fin Whales, Gray Whales, Minke Whales
Dolphins: Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins, Humpback Whales, False Killer Whales, Orcas (Killer Whales), Pilot Whales
Other: Pelagic Birds, Sea Lions, Elephant Seals, Harbor Seals, Mola Mola, Sharks
Whales: Fin Whales, Gray Whales, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, Blue Whales, Gray Whales with Calves, False Killer Whales, Orcas (Killer Whales), Pilot Whales
Dolphins: Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins
Other: Pelagic Birds, Sea Lions, Elephant Seals, Harbor Seals, Mola Mola, Sharks
Whales: Fin Whales, Gray Whales with Calves, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, Blue Whales, False Killer Whales, Orcas (Killer Whales), Pilot Whales
Dolphins: Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins
Other: Pelagic Birds, Sea Lions, Elephant Seals, Harbor Seals, Mola Mola, Sharks
Whales: Blue Whales, Fin Whales, Gray Whales with Calves, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, False Killer Whales, Orcas (Killer Whales), Pilot Whales
Dolphins: Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins
Other: Pelagic Birds, Sea Lions, Elephant Seals, Harbor Seals, Mola Mola, Sharks
Whales: Blue Whales, Fin Whales, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, Bryde’s Whales, False Killer Whales, Gray Whales, Orcas (Killer Whale), Pilot Whales, Sei Whales
Dolphins: Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins, Pacific White-sided Dolphins
Other: Mola Mola, Pelagic Birds, Sea Lions, Elephant Seals, Harbor Seals, Sharks
Whales: Blue Whales, Fin Whales, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, Bryde’s Whales, False Killer Whales, Orcas (Killer Whales), Pilot Whales, Sei Whales
Dolphins: Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins, Pacific White-sided Dolphins
Other: Mola Mola, Pelagic Birds, Sea Lions, Sharks, Elephant Seals, Harbor Seals
Whales: Blue Whales, Fin Whales, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, Bryde’s Whales, False Killer Whales, Orcas (Killer Whales), Pilot Whales, Sei Whales
Dolphins: Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins, Pacific White-sided Dolphins
Other: Mola Mola, Pelagic Birds, Sea Lions, Sharks, Elephant Seals, Harbor Seals
Whales: Blue Whales, Fin Whales, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, Bryde’s Whales, False Killer Whales, Orcas (Killer Whales), Pilot Whales, Sei Whales
Dolphins: Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins, Pacific White-sided Dolphins
Other: Mola Mola, Pelagic Birds, Sea Lions, Sharks, Elephant Seals, Harbor Seals
Whales: Fin Whales, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, Blue Whales, False Killer Whales, Orcas (Killer Whales), Pilot Whales, Sei Whales, Sperm Whales
Dolphins: Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins, Pacific White-sided Dolphins
Other: Pelagic Birds, Sea Lions, Elephant Seals, Harbor Seals, Mola Mola, Sharks
Whales: Fin Whales, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, Blue Whales, False Killer Whales, Gray Whales, Orcas (Killer Whales), Pilot Whales
Dolphins: Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins, Pacific White-sided Dolphins
Other: Pelagic Birds, Sea Lions, Elephant Seals, Harbor Seals, Mola Mola, Sharks
Whales: Fin Whales, Gray Whales, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, Blue Whales, False Killer Whales, Orcas (Killer Whales), Pilot Whales
Dolphins: Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins
Other: Pelagic Birds, Sea Lions, Elephant Seals, Harbor Seals, Mola Mola, Sharks
UPDATES FROM CAPTAIN NICK
Newport Beach, CA – Summer recap – now into our Fall transition (our favorite time of year is upon us for whales!)
This summer was absolutely unforgettable for us. While the consistency of sightings could have been better, the diversity of marine life was nothing short of spectacular. We got to see blue whales, fin whales, Bryde’s whales, humpbacks, and even minke whales. But honestly, the dolphins stole the show. Watching large pods of hundreds of acrobatic short-beaked common dolphins was mesmerizing. There’s just nothing like the energy of a pod of ‘shorties!’
It wasn’t just about the whales and dolphins though. We spotted sea turtles, massive ocean sunfish, mahi-mahi, swordfish, and even mako and white sharks. Newport Beach is teeming with biodiversity, and every day on the water offered something new and exciting for us.
Fall leads to cooling water temperatures, the calmest sea conditions of the year, abundant biomasses of anchovies, and lots of whales gorging themselves on bait balls as they meander their way South. Humpback whales will be our focus but we also have plenty of opportunity to see fin whales, brydes whales, and minke whales also foraging on anchovies. We are stoked to see what Fall has to bring as we near the end of September, October, and November.
Super FUN week of sightings!
Newport Beach, CA
Sightings this week included: Blue whales, Humpback whales, Minke whales, common dolphins, risso’s dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, mola molas, and even an elephant seal.
This week saw a promising upswing in whale sightings including a few blue whales. Even more exciting was a massive influx of anchovies in our local waters off of Newport Beach, CA bringing minke whales and humpback whales to feed. We have seen humpback whales every tour for 3 days and there is plenty of food to keep these whales in our area.
BLUE WHALES ARE BACK in Newport Beach, CA
It’s Blue whale time again! Krill is stacking up along the dropoff and the blue whales are beginning to filter in on the food along the Newport coastline. Consistency has been good for 2-3 days and numbers of whales will be in route. We are looking forward to upcoming trips and more blue whale sightings!
Beautiful Weather and Wildlife variety all week!
What an amazing couple of weeks we have had in Newport Beach, CA including dolphin trifectas of common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, and even risso’s dolphins. Though whale sightings have been inconsistent with the occasional blue whale, fin whale, or humpback whale traveling through, we are poised and hopeful for the second spree of blue whale sightings to take place very soon as feeding blue whales south of us have began to travel north. Fluctuations of numbers and consistency of whale sightings are routine for all areas in Southern California. Whale sightings are directly proportional to food supply available in our local waters. Krill and anchovies are the 2 necessary ingredients for the whales to settle in and feed. More blue whales are coming!