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Saturday, May 28th, kicked off our 2016 Farallon Islands whale watching season—and we didn’t have to wait long to see our first whale. Within 5 minutes of leaving port, we came across two adult humpback whales feeding on anchovies near the Golden Gate Bridge. After a deep dive, they surfaced about 300 feet from the boat with one surfacing in front of the San Francisco skyline.
The humpbacks eventually followed the school of anchovies back out into the open ocean and we set off on our journey. The captain felt the waters were too choppy for a direct approach to the Farallon Islands so we traveled up the coastline towards Point Reyes. About 30 minutes into our trip, 200+ common dolphins surrounded our boat, leaping out of the water and riding our bow.
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We continued our path north and came across more humpback whales by Double Point in Drake’s Bay. At one point four whales were visible from the deck and most of these sightings ended in a slow fluking up before deep dives.
Birdwatchers had an eventful day highlighted by a rookery just offshore near Alamere Falls. Hundreds of seabirds lined the rocky outcroppings including Brown Pelicans, Brandt’s Cormorants, and Common Murres.
We arrived back in port a little before 4:00pm and received a warm welcome from windsurfers and weekenders enjoying the sunshine on a glorious afternoon in the City by the Bay.
In total, we witnessed:
Marine Mammals
- 11 humpback whales
- 200 + long-beaked common dolphins
- 10+ California sea lion & harbor seals
Seabirds
- Brown Pelicans
- Brandt’s Cormorants
- Pelagic Cormorants
- Double-crested Cormorants
- Black Oystercatchers
- California Gulls
- Western Gulls
- Common Murres
- Pigeon Guillemots
