Davey's Locker Whale Watching

01/09/2024

Gray whales are passing by Newport Beach right now! 🎉 These amazing animals make the longest migration of any mammal as they swim 13,000 miles between their Alaskan feeding grounds and Mexican breeding grounds. In addition to gray whales, we’ve also had sightings of fin whales, a humpback whale, common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, and Pacific white-sided dolphins too. While the orcas have been stealing all of the media attention lately, we want to remind everyone there’s plenty of incredible wildlife to see out there on a whale watch!

Photo from

10/05/2023

We had another BLUE WHALE sighting today! A large, lone adult was spotted midday traveling up our coastline. The Ultimate Whale Watch also found a pair of humpback whales offshore on their morning trip!

Drone photo from

05/07/2023

You don’t see that every day! 😱 Yesterday we had a rare encounter with multiple SURFACE-FEEDING MINKE WHALES! It appeared that these whales were feeding on krill along the surface, giving us rare looks at their light-colored baleen plates. We also spotted a FIN WHALE, COMMON DOLPHINS, RISSO’S DOLPHINS, BOTTLENOSE DOLPHINS, and MANY SUNFISH.

Wonderful capture from

04/17/2023

Bring on the babies! The last week has been all about the mom & baby gray whales. In order to keep their calves safe from predators, these pairs are often spotted in VERY shallow water - like seen in this photo from today!

Awesome photo from Captain Dani

03/15/2023

Remember to keep your eyes peeled on those morning beach walks! 👀 Yesterday we spotted a northbound gray whale rolling around and blowing bubbles near Balboa Pier. While it may seem odd or dangerous, gray whales are completely at home in the very shallow water. We lovingly refer to these sightings as “beach whales” and they are much more common to encounter during the Northbound season!

Photo by

01/26/2023

We got a BREACHER! 🎉 Captain Clark on the Ocean Explorer found an awesome pod of 3 gray whales playing with dolphins this morning! A few individuals split off from a nearby pod of 2,000 common dolphins to interact with the whales. We don’t exactly know why, but dolphins seem to excite the whales! We observed rolling and this little half breach. Later in the day, we also saw a newborn baby gray whale migrating south with mom!

Photos from

01/09/2023

OH BABY! 👶 We spotted a newborn gray whale on Friday, likely no more than a few days old! The calf will grow big and healthy on a fat-rich diet of whale milk provided by mom. By the time we see this pair again in Spring, returning to Alaska, this calf will likely triple its size in weight!

Photos provided by

01/04/2023

Most passengers are surprised by the size of the bottlenose dolphin when they see them for the first time! While many dolphins around the world average between 6 to 8 feet, bottlenose dolphins can get as big as 12 feet long and weigh 1,000lbs. It really leaves you speechless when you see such a big animal effortlessly leap from the water!

Photo taken by

12/08/2022

BLUE SHARKS! 😍 In the cover of thick fog last Friday, the crew of the Catallac spotted what we suspect to be two blue sharks! The ocean is always full of surprises and we felt lucky to enjoy this special encounter several miles off the coast of Newport Beach!

Photos from

12/05/2022

The magic of common dolphins is something that must be seen to be believed! 😍 While their name might make them seem uninteresting, these dolphins are often the highlight of whale watching tours in Southern California. These gregarious creatures are often very playful with the boats they encounter and pods can sometimes contain hundreds or thousands of individuals!

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11/24/2022

What does Thanksgiving dinner look like for a humpback whale? 🤔 Probably something like this! We bet the seagulls in this photo are thankful for escaping this sticky situation!

We will be CLOSED on Thanksgiving so our crew members can spend time with their families. We look forward to seeing you after the holiday!

Photo from

11/01/2022

Happy Halloween from this HUMPBACK WHALE! 🎃 Late this afternoon, our friends at spotted this young humpback that dazzled with a few tail throws! We also spotted an incredible group of bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins too.

Photos from

10/25/2022

Today we got another visit from our friend, Patches! It was a wonderful day of dolphin sightings, including encounters with bottlenose dolphins and a few hundred short-beaked common dolphins. The Ultimate Whale Watch also spotted a humpback whale and 2,000 long-beaked common dolphins on their morning trip!

Photos from today’s encounter with Patches from

10/15/2022

An OCTOBER BLUE WHALE surprised us today! Captain Larry spotted a blue whale on his last trip this afternoon. While it was tricky to watch, it’s a special treat to see one of these “summer” whales in Fall!

Other sightings today for us included some amazing bottlenose dolphins and a large pod of common dolphins! The Ultimate Whale Watch also spotted 1 humpback and 3 minke whales today in addition to all the dolphins!

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09/27/2022

WEEKEND RECAP! 🐳 Our first HUMPBACK WHALE of the Fall made an appearance on Saturday! It was spotted steadily traveling up the coast and jumped twice for the Catallac! On Sunday, we spotted PATCHES the famous bottlenose dolphin. Other sightings included hundreds of active common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, and a thresher shark!

Photo by

09/22/2022

An amazing launch by a bottlenose dolphin captured last week by ! We saw more of these incredible acrobats today before things got windy! 💨

09/09/2022

Two blue whales were spotted by our boats today! It’s been a very long time since we’ve had blue whale sightings continue into the month of September. We never know how long these lucky streaks may last, hop on a boat as soon as you can! 🐋

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09/05/2022

Stunning dolphin encounters lately! Today’s tours encountered hundreds of common dolphins and several pods of bottlenose dolphins.

The Ultimate Whale Watch also spotted a blue whale, 2 fin whales, and a minke whale in addition to all of the dolphins!

Photos by

08/27/2022

08/25/2022

Today we spotted a blue whale less than 1 miles from the harbor! 🐋 We’re feeling lucky that we’re still getting opportunities to spot the largest animal that ever lived!

Photo from

08/23/2022

We are excited to be seeing more BLUE WHALES right now! 🐋 Near the coast, a single blue whale was spotted traveling up the beach by our bigger boats. Meanwhile, the Ultimate Whale Watch caught up with 2-3 more blue whales feeding offshore! In addition to all of the great whale sightings, we spotted an outstanding pod of 500+ short-beaked common dolphins! It was an awesome day to be on the water.

Come and join us while you can! Book your whale watching cruise today using code “INSTA50” to save $$$ on your adventure with us. Code only applies to Standard Whale Watching.

Photo from

08/10/2022

Incredible friendly Minke Whale encounter on the Catallac today! Thanks to passenger for capturing this amazing footage! We’re whale watching every day of the week, if you’d like to schedule reservations with us at 949-675-0550 or book online at www.NewportWhales.com

Please remember, our engines were off, and the boat was not moving, which is the safest thing to do when whales decide to approach the boat. This curious whale made multiple passes under & around our boat, the Catallac this afternoon, and it is very rare that we have special encounters like this where the whales initiate such a special & close encounter.

07/20/2022

Minke whales are the smallest baleen whales spotted off of Newport Beach. 👋 While they don’t often exceed 20-25 feet long, they can sometimes pack big personalities! We’ve seen a handful of these whales the last few days in addition to hundreds of dolphins!

Photo by Kristin Campbell

07/07/2022

Do you recognize this famous dolphin? It’s Patches! Unlike other bottlenose dolphins which are entirely gray, Patches is piebald with light pink splotches all over his body! This is caused by a genetic condition called leucism where, similar to an albino, his skin is lacking pigment. As far as we know, Patches is one-of-a-kind here on the West Coast!

Photo by

07/04/2022

Nature’s fireworks! 🎇 Bottlenose dolphins are some of the largest and most acrobatic dolphins we encounter, meaning they know how to make a splash! We’re excited for our trips tomorrow and we wish you all a happy and safe 4th of July! 🇺🇸

Video from

07/01/2022

JUST NOW!! Captain Harry spotted a humpback late this afternoon and Captain Mike got to see it jump THREE times! Highlights from earlier in the day included countless pods of common dolphins, some offshore bottlenose dolphins, and even a handful of out-of-season Pacific white-sided dolphins too!

Spectacular photos from

06/30/2022

A Blue whale was spotted on the Catallac’s afternoon tour yesterday! We’re hopeful that more of them might settle into the coastline in the coming weeks. While sightings lately remain mostly offshore, the coastal waters have been abundant with common dolphins!

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06/28/2022

Do you know the difference between seals and sea lions? 🧐

1) Harbor seals have short front flippers with nails. Sea lions have extended front flippers without nails that they can walk on.

2) Sea lions have noticeable ear flaps on the sides of their head. Harbor seals do not have ear flaps, they only possess an ear opening resembling a hole.

3) Harbor seals have spotted coats that come in a variety of shades. Sea lions have an even coat without spots and minor shade differences.

So… which is which in these photos?

06/24/2022

One of our favorite types of whales visited us today - a Humpback! A juvenile Humpback whale made a brief visit to Newport Beach as it was spotted traveling up the coast midday. Though summertime is the season for feeding whales, some are simply keen on traveling too. Best of luck wherever you are going, whale!

Photo by Dale Frink

06/17/2022

Whatcha lookin’ at?! 😳 California sea lions have the funniest facial expressions and personalities! We love watching them lounge around and play near the Newport Harbor bell buoy. We see sea lions enjoying this spot daily as they warm up and dry off.

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