Gray Whale Photos
Gray Whales migrating March 2002 - very close to shore
Sunshine was hit and miss on this day in March as I went Whale Watching out of Newport CA.  We encountered two Gray Whales heading northbound on their migration.  They appeared to be juveniles and were travelling at a fairly fast pace.
Gray Whales migrate past the California coastline from approximately November until May.  The best months to see the Gray Whales are January to March

Gray Whales typically surface 3 to 5 times for breath before going down on a deeper dive.  Usually the Gray Whale will stay under for 4 to 5 minutes however breathing and diving patterns vary not only from Whale to Whale but for each instance.  A Gray Whale might surface only once before diving and could potentially stay down for 20 minutes if they choose.  Grays will often raise their tail flukes out of the water on deep dives.
A couple of Gray Whale Tail Fluke shots from the same March 2002 Whale Watching trip
More Gray Whale photos from previous Whale Watching trips
My very first tail fluke shot!
I know, the quality on these pictures isn't very good but I have fun with it.
During the Gray Whale migration you can usually find a boat going Whale Watching out of any Harbor in Southern California.  I prefer to go out of Newport Beach/Balboa or Dana Point.  Here are some of my favorite Whale Watching companies.

Newport is a nice harbor and easy to get out of.  These two have good boats for Whale Watching, nice people and good pricing.

Dana Point is also a nice harbor and very easy to get out of.  Dana Wharf offers lots of Whale Watching trips during the migration.  Dolphin Safari does year around Dolphin and Whale Watching and is a fun boat to go out on with nice people.

I also like 22nd Street Landing in San Pedro and Harbor Breeze Cruises out of Long Beach.  Harbor Breeze does year around Whale, Dolphin and Sealion tours and is conveniently located near the Aquarium of the Pacific but Long Beach is not a very easy harbor to get out of.  Condor Cruises in Santa Barbara is always an excellent choice but it's easy enough to Gray Whale Watch locally.
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