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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Mo’ Mola Mo’ Problems

La Jolla Canyon was sleepy for the Privateer trip this afternoon, until our deckhand Brandon spotted a…

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Short Swim!

Short-fin mako shark swam around the Privateer this morning before we even made it three miles from…

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Dolphin Party!

The ocean absolutely erupted with life on our afternoon trip. Hundreds of common dolphins lit up the…

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They can deFINitely move!

Holy mola we covers a lot of water today. Out beyond the drop-off we saw an enormous…

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Bottlenose for days!

We had a fun group out from Montana! We enjoyed nice sea conditions and cruised out to…

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What’s better than a hundred dolphins?

HOW ABOUT 700 DOLPHINS!? We were treated to a huge pod of common dolphins complete with breaches,…

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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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