25+ Humpbacks with EPIC Lungefeeding!

Spectactular sightings today with well over 25 humpnback whales and 2,500 common dolphins in the channel. The day unfolded as follows.

A moderate chop and some decent winds greeted us on our way out. However when we reached the humpback feeding grounds, the wind backed off nicely, allowing us to hop from whale to whale unimpeded.

The first whales we watched quickly turned into 6 in the area. Smaller whales and larger whales all darted around the boat as they fed subsurface. One of the whales popped up right in front of us, fluking off the bow of the boat.

We slowly headed west. We watched a few more singles before encountering a cow/ calf pair. The two were tightly assocaited and actively feeding subsurface. A breach in the distance caught our attention as we motored over, we watched another oindividual before the real party started.

More and more whales filtered into our location. Soon, the thousands of dolphins in the area gathered up enough food at the surface for the whales to start lungefeeding. A group of three whales quickly devoured up a bait ball before heading onto the next. The feeding opportunities were everywhere, it was hard to know where to look. We eventually caught on to a single whale that was actively feeding. In a manuever we like to call "groundhogging," the whale would pop uo its massive head in one direction, only to appear a few minutes later doing the same thing in a total opposite direction. One of these lunges happened a few feet from out boat! Pictured below.

Everywhere we looked there were whales and dolphins. They were enjoying the incredible bounty our backyard offers. It was just one of those days.

Until Next Time,

The SBWW Crew