Fin in the fog

  

A couple of weeks ago, Eric looked up from the surf zone to see this animal swimming by.

I was surprised how close to shore it was.  Here's a photo with the fin in the distance and the surf zone (next to the beach) in the foreground:

 

 

It surfaced a few more times, so we had some better views, but I didn't have my camera ready and it was a bit foggy and distant, so here's my best shot for the record.  Did you guess its identity?

 

 

 

A Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) near Drakes Beach on 17 August 2024.

 

I don't spend a lot of time at Drakes Beach, so I'm not sure how often porpoises are seen near the surf zone in that area.  Is it common?  If you have observations to share, please do!

 

P.S.  This sighting reminded me of an older post showing porpoises in Drakes Bay, but in this case they were photographed looking down from above the Chimney Rock Lifeboat Station — see "Breathe" on 26 November 2014.