San Diego Whale Sightings — Updated Daily!

See what our naturalists have spotted during our last 7 trips in Mission Bay and off the coast of San Diego.

25

Whales Spotted

3,010

Dolphins Spotted

7

Different Species Spotted

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Today's Sightings Summary

Detailed Sightings Log - August 3, 2026

Tour Species Count Behavior
Sunset TourFin Whale5Surface Active
Sunset TourShort-beaked Common Dolphin100Stampede
Sunset TourMola mola (Sunfish)1Breaching

Detailed Sightings Log - August 3, 2026

Tour Species Count Behavior
Morning TourShort-beaked Common Dolphin200StampedeJumping
Morning TourFin Whale5BreathingSurface Active

Detailed Sightings Log - August 2, 2026

Tour Species Count Behavior
Sunset TourOffshore Bottlenose Dolphin30ForagingSurfingSurface ActiveJumpingChin SlappingTail SlappingCow/Calf Pair
Sunset TourFin Whale3BreathingJumpingDivingRafting

Detailed Sightings Log - August 2, 2026

Tour Species Count Behavior
Mid-day TourOffshore Bottlenose Dolphin50MuggingSurface Active
Mid-day TourShort-beaked Common Dolphin350ForagingStampedeHunting

Detailed Sightings Log - August 2, 2026

Tour Species Count Behavior
Morning TourBlue Whale2Stampede
Morning TourRisso's Dolphin30BreathingSleepingMugging
Morning TourShort-beaked Common Dolphin200SurfingHunting

Detailed Sightings Log - August 1, 2026

Tour Species Count Behavior
Sunset TourShort-beaked Common Dolphin150Stampede
Sunset TourFin Whale4BreathingSurface ActiveFeedingDiving

Detailed Sightings Log - August 1, 2026

Tour Species Count Behavior
Morning TourOffshore Bottlenose Dolphin50SurfingMuggingNursery Pod
Morning TourFin Whale3BreathingDiving

Recent Sightings

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Longest Day of the Year and I Don’t Want it to End!

Midday on the Privateer really came out for the celebration of two big events: summer solstice and…

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Calm and quiet and common (dolphins!)!

California Sea Lions

We set out this morning to see who was around today off the San Diego coast line….

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Humpbacks and Dolphins: Clocking in for the Night Shift

How do whales sleep? When are they most active? The beautiful thing about cetaceans is that they…

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Something in the water!

Something MUST be in the water because the ocean has been electric these past few days. Today…

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Humpback Hang Time

Nothing beats a trip where we have TIME to hang out with wildlife. Today we had nothing…

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Highway to Humpback

For the Privateers sunset cruise we set out north towards La Jolla peninsula for 8 miles and…

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Our Typical Route

While our route varies with sightings, we typically follow a similar course near known feeding areas.

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This Year's Stats

Total: 21,007 dolphins and 332 whales.

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Departing daily from Mission Bay.

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