I watched for whales, without any luck. But I noticed some small, dark shapes appearing every now and then and with my binoculars confirmed they were Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena).
The porpoises were pretty far out — I'd guess ~3/4 mile off the coast — but close enough to see well with binoculars. I did my best to capture a few photos for the record.
Often you'd just catch a glimpse of one individual — a small back, with a short, triangular dorsal fin breaking the surface and then rolling forward:
There were some small groups of at least 3-4 individuals. Here are two together:
Some of the birds were attracted to the porpoise activity. Here's one porpoise with a gull and several cormorants:
How many porpoise can you see in the next photo? [Click on it for a larger version.]
(There are three porpoises, one on the far left and another two just right of center.)
I think I probably observed at least 15 porpoises over ~45 minutes. Because of their small size and short fins, it's usually hard to spot porpoises among larger waves or windy seas. But it's worth looking for them on days like this!
3 comments:
Thanks so much for this report and for these lovely photos.
Thanks, Alice! Happy to share the beautiful views! :)
Wonderful pics of the porpoises!
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