This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Sighted: First Humpbacks of 2011

The whales are spotted about a month earlier than usual in Long Beach waters.

The first humpback whales of the 2011 Long Beach whale watch season were seen this morning, four miles off San Pedro on board the Christopher out of Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach.

Crewmember Scott Louie said it was an incredible sight. “The whales stayed on the surface for 10 minutes and at one point came right up to the boat.” For the lucky whale watchers on board, it must have seemed like they had been magically transported to Hawaii, where humpback whale sightings are commonplace.

“It was near 80 degrees," said Louie, 'the ocean flat calm, the water clear with humpback whales spy hopping and slapping their fins over and over again.” (See his video at right.)

Find out what's happening in Belmont Shore-Napleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Humpbacks have been seen recently around Santa Barbara, but for Long Beach, they are about a month ahead of schedule. Coincidentally, there were humpbacks also seen today near Dana Point.

Humpback whales are known for their magical sounds, which can travel thousand of miles through the world’s oceans. Scientists continue to study these sounds to as they try to decipher their meaning.

Find out what's happening in Belmont Shore-Napleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The whales of San Pedro today appeared to be feeding on krill which may keep them around for a while. If there is enough of a food source, the leviathans may be content to hang out for a while.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Belmont Shore-Naples