Natural Attractions: whales and where to find them

Gina Fabiano, our director of marketing and media relations, recommends visiting Bodega Head to look for humpback whales

I don’t have to convince you that our coast is magical—but a visit from humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) certainly adds to the wonder. These powerful swimmers recently appeared off Bodega Head, putting on spectacular displays of feeding and breaching and coming close enough to shore that you could hear their blows and see the spray reaching several feet into the air.

Humpbacks typically begin appearing along the Sonoma Coast around April and stick around until November. Wildlife photographer and friend Benedicta Justine recently joined me on an outing to see if we could get lucky and time our visit with theirs. Whale watching can be a bit of trial and error, so we checked Guy Mohr and Kelly Bode Mohr’s Facebook page, Sonoma Coast Whale Watch, for recent sightings. Their reports led us to a small pod that included a mother and calf, and Benedicta’s long lens captured some spectacular displays of feeding and breaching.

We are lucky to live in a place where some of the world’s oldest plants grow along our coast and the largest animals swim in our waters. All we have to do is make the time to see them.

I’ve found that driving the coast with a friend who can watch for spouts or blows is one of the best ways to find them. Whales move faster than you might think and can have you traveling from one pullout to another, from Salmon Creek Beach all the way up to Jenner Headlands.

Once you settle on a pod to observe you may be treated to all sorts of behaviors like fin slaps, spy hops, and large synchronized displays as they hunt together pushing the fish to the surface and openings their large mouths like nets, filtering fish and water through their baleen in a very showy performance.

If you can’t get out to the coast this month, you’ll have another opportunity beginning in November, when California gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) return to our coastal waters on their southward migration to the warm, sheltered lagoons of Baja California, where they give birth to the next generation.

Some days, several whales may come close to shore. Other days, you may not see any at all, or they may remain far offshore. Much depends on food availability, shifting currents—and perhaps a little luck.

See you out there!