Monterey Bay Whale Watching

One of the main reasons for our trip to Monterey Bay was to get out on the sea and see whales and dolphins.

We'd found a really good company, Monterey Bay Whale Watching, so Jayne and I booked on to a 3 ½ hour trip. The first species we saw were Western Gulls, hundreds of Brandt’s Cormorants that were nesting on the breakwater and the Californian Sealions and Southern Sea Otters that were resting in and around the harbour itself. 

Californian Sealion

Sea Otter (adult and baby)

Once out into the Bay we soon started seeing Common Murres and then the whales! During the trip we saw a total of 17 different Humpback Whales, 2 Blue Whales  and a nursery pod of approximately 75 Risso’s Dolphins!!

Humpback Whales

Risso's Dolphins

Other species seen during the trip were: Red-necked Phalarope (1 flew past), a single Black-footed Albatross (no photo unfortunately) and 100s of Sooty Shearwater. Fantastic!!!

Sooty Shearwater

Seaside and Monterey Bay Birds - 2022

 After our first week in America, we hired a car and drove down the coast to stay in an Airbandb in Seaside, just a 10 minute drive from Monterey. On the trip down, we saw our first Turkey Vultures of the trip.

The place we were staying had a garden, and, whilst there, we spotted 1 Hooded Oriole (male), Anna’s Hummingbird (seen daily), Northern Mockingbird (1 across the road), Acorn Woodpecker (1 in the garden), Bushtit (a flock of c15 birds visiting the garden’s water feature for a drink and a bath), Oak Titmouse (2 in the garden), American Crow (regular around the garden, and flocks of c100 flying over to roost somewhere every evening), California Scrub Jay (daily in the garden), Turkey Vulture (daily over the house and beach).

Bushtit (on water feature)

Great-tailed Grackles (male and female birds) were seen around Robert’s Lake, whilst Seaside State Beach had a fantastic flock of  Heerman’s Gull (200+), Western Gull, California Gull, Whimbrel ( a flock of 29 on the beach), Long-billed Curlew, Caspian Tern (1 adult and 1 juvenile, roosting with the gulls on the beach), Marbled Godwit (1 on the beach), Sanderling (c.10 on the beach) and Western Snowy Plover (adults and 2 chicks).

Heerman's Gull

Caspian Tern

Whilst looking around Monterey’s Cannery Row  we saw Pigeon Guillemot, Pelagic Cormorant, Great Egret, Brown Pelican and Brandt’s Cormorant.

Brown Pelican

Black Turnstone and Grey Phalarope were added in MontereyHarbour, along with 20+ Californian Sealions, Southern Sea Otters, Brandt’s Cormorants, Great Egret, Surf Scoter (2), Barn Swallow, Western Gulls and Heerman’s Gulls. 

Black Turnstone