A day with humpback whales

These photographs were taken with my 100-400mm lens on while aboard San Diego Whale Watch’s new boat, the Inspiration. This was its first extended trip and to say ocean conditions were favorable for us is an understatement. I've been going out with them regularly on their shorter tours for many years and have a membership which is a lot cheaper than operating one’s own vessel. This longer trip afforded us the luxury of enjoying and capturing the action without having to get back to shore for the next group. That happened to me recently when we spotted two sperm whale spouts in the distance. I had to repress the waterworks because they’re a very rare sighting in San Diego and I’ve never gotten to see one anywhere. Less aesthetic crops of the whales’ flukes will go on Happywhale for research use.

A large bait ball of sardines drew the attention of many seabirds, a large pod of long-beaked common dolphins and numerous humpback whales.

Anyone seen any seabirds around here?

A female humpback and her calf were traveling with two others for awhile.

You can see La Jolla and Black Mountain in the distance behind this humpback going on a dive.

I don’t mind shooting into the glare sometimes and think the results can be pretty magical.

Minke whales are extremely fast and I was lucky to catch proof of life.

We always stop to say “hi” to the California sea lions basking on the bait dock buoy.

Gray whales and Mylar balloons

San Diego is located along the eastern North Pacific gray whale population's migration route between their Baja breeding and summer feeding grounds in the Arctic. A perfect day of mine is sitting on a bench along the Guy Fleming trail at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve and watching them swim by with my binoculars in hand or going out to see them from the vantage point of a boat. My latest piece was inspired by a sighting of a healthy cow and her newborn calf while on the Privateer with San Diego Whale Watch. She clearly didn't make it to the nearby birthing lagoons in Mexico. Said species is in the midst of an unusual mortality event, so it was particularly uplifting to see this pair of whales doing well.

Robin Street-Morris. Baja Bound (Gray Whale Cow Calf Pair). 2021. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 13" x 20" (33 x 51cm).

And, of course, there were the usual Mylar balloon sightings. I get it. They're shiny and the perfect last minute party touch we spot while checking out at the grocery store. I've seen so many floating on the water and stuck in trees and powerlines that I must admit to fantasizing about popping every last one of them while standing in line. That action would likely earn me a court date unlike the manufacturing of these sea turtle chokers that look like jellyfish once the paint sloughs off. But that's how our society works, right? If you must buy these balloons, please pop them and put them in the trash once the festivity is over in an attempt to keep them from entering the food chain.

They’re doing it right with limited capacity.