Just after noon on Sunday, the waters 8 miles off the coast of Newport Beach were broken by a strange, if not spectacular, sight.
The several-ton whale broke open and leapt into the sky, like a Pacific Life insurance commercial, scattering nearby seabirds while opening its huge mouth to eat anchovies nearby.
Wildlife photographer Mark Girardeau captured the moment with a drone, a common sight in the past few weeks.
For the past two months, Orange County’s waters have become Southern California’s very own hangout.
“I’ve been working in this area for 10 years and I’ve never seen this crazy level of humpback whales,” Girardeau said. “But they are there and it’s amazing.”
Girardeau also serves as deckhand for Newport Coastal Adventureoffering cruises and sightseeing tours.
In a typical year, Girardeau would be pointing out dolphins, as well as minke and humpback whales, to tourists who want to live in the sea.
Humpbacks have started showing up recently, following large schools of anchovies, a common food source.
While it’s common to see humpbacks in Monterey Bay or Hawai’i, Southern California is a transit point for whales on their way to Mexico or Costa Rica, according to Girardeau.
A humpback whale feeds on anchovies off the Newport Coast in late November.
(Mark Girardeau)
“You know how we go to Cabo and Puerto Vallarta when we go on vacation,” Girardeau said. “Yes, they do the same except for part of their breeding patterns.”
Newport Coastal has been running a watch program since the first sighting of the whales, starting on Sept. 25. Since then, humpbacks have been seen in large numbers, including 18 on Oct. 19, over 16 on Oct. 26 and 17 Nov. 1.
A dozen were seen between 10 am and 1:45 pm on Wednesday.
Hundreds — or, in some cases, thousands — of dolphins share space with whales that push the anchovies from the shallow waters to the surface as they feed on the creatures, according to Girardeau.
That prompts the humpbacks to launch themselves into the air to collect small fish, creating an iconic image.
Girardeau said he is not sure what has led to the increase in local anchovies, but that global warming or changing currents may play a role.
“I’ve been watching these amazing creatures almost every day for the past few weeks,” Girardeau said.
The regular whale watching season is expected to resume with the return of gray whales, which will be traveling between Alaska and Mexico from January to May.
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