Newfoundland is a great place to go whale watching: peak season (July – August) brings a vast number of whales to our shores, so it’s virtually impossible to miss them.
That said, up-to-date information about whale whereabouts is always very useful and that’s what this page is for.
Sharing your sightings
If you’ve recently seen a whale along our coast, please share your sighting here, it’s as easy as leaving a comment below:
Reports about other marine animals near shore, like seals, walruses, sharks, sunfish, tuna, and turtles, are welcome here too.
To familiarize yourself with some of the cetaceans that visit Newfoundland, here are some photos of whales that I’ve seen here:
Humpback whale:
Humpback whales – Seen from Brigus Head Path
Humpback whales are the most commonly seen whales in Newfoundland. They travel in groups and often venture very close to the cliffs in pursuit of their favourite meal: capelin. The two whales in the picture above were seen feeding for hours below the East Coast Trail near Brigus South. The bright objects being dragged alongside the whales are their long white pectoral fins.
Minke whale:
Minke whale – seen from Spurwink Island Path
Minke whales are quite common in Newfoundland too, but in contrast to their acrobatic friends the humpbacks, these smaller whales are elusive and solitary. If you’re lucky enough to see a minke whale from close up, you’ll note that it too has a bright spot on its pectoral fin, it’s just harder to spot because of its small size.
Finback whale:
Finback whale – seen from Father Troy’s Trail
Finbacks, also called fin whales, are the largest whale species you can expect to see in Newfoundland. They don’t come close to shore every year, but when they do they’re hard to miss, being substantially larger than humpbacks.
Blue whales are even bigger of course, but they’re so rare you shouldn’t get your hopes up for seeing one of them here.
White-beaked dolphin:
White-beaked dolphin – Witless Bay Ecological Reserve
White-beaked dolphins are fast and restless, they don’t hang around like whales do so get a good look when you see them. If you want to see them from the towering cliffs along the East Coast Trail, use your binoculars to scan the bay surface for their large dorsal fins and ceaseless splashing.
Atlantic white-sided dolphin:
Atlantic white-sided dolphin – seen near Summerford
Perhaps more social than larger whales, I’ve seen dolphins respond to my presence with curiosity. The dolphin in the above picture was one of a group of five animals corralling herring in a shallow cove near Summerford. I spent over an hour observing them, and every once in a while they came up to see if I was still there.
Killer whale:
Killer whales – seen in Logy Bay
Killer whales are ruthlessly efficient hunters, the summer of 2010 was the scene for several minke whale hunts that ended up on social media. Because all killer whales around Newfoundland are so-called transient or Bigg’s killer whales, an encounter with these whales is highly unpredictable and very special indeed.
Harbour porpoise:
Harbour porpoises – seen from Ship Cove Point
Harbour porpoises are the smallest whales around here, small and cute enough to cuddle and take home with you if you could. Because porpoises are tiny you’ll probably overlook them when you’re watching for whales. Your best chance of seeing them are from a whale watching tour boat, where you can ask your guide to keep an eye out for them.
Whales in the East Coast Trail Guide:
Whale watching tips and descriptions of the whale species along Newfoundland’s east coast can be found in the East Coast Trail Guide, a digital trail guide and photo book available on Apple Books.
More information:
- Wikipedia links for whale species around Newfoundland, both common and unusual: humpback whale, minke whale, finback whale, blue whale, sperm whale, killer whale, beluga whale, white-beaked dolphin, Atlantic white-sided dolphin, and harbour porpoise.
- Wikipedia links for other marine wildlife around Newfoundland, both common and unusual: harp seal, harbour seal, grey seal, bearded seal, ringed seal, walrus, ocean sunfish, basking shark and leatherback sea turtle.
- The Atlantic Whales website has information on specific whales, including ID photos of the different Killer Whale pods that can be seen around Newfoundland and Labrador.
Featured stories about whale watching:
Are there any whales today ( July 20) near Cape Spear?
Been here on and off all day! Nothing yet. But, it looks like maybe way way out their flute is up?
Might be worth the trip in an hour or so!
The same whales that were feeding at Cape Spear yesterday were feeding at Signal Hill and Cuckolds Cove the day before that, so you may want to keep an eye on both locations the coming days.
Out in a rubber dinghy with my teenage son and a group of up to fifty porpoises or dolphins came within fifty feet of us. Sometimes coming out of the water and moving fast they had a noticeable yellow stripe on the side. Any ID of type from the experts?
Sounds like Atlantic white-sided dolphins to me, they have a yellowish bar running along their flank, and they are regularly spotted in groups that size around Newfoundland.
Killer whales spotted in the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve this afternoon 🙂
Orca whale sightings today anywhere ???
No more sightings today, they’ve passed by already, heading north by the looks of it. I expect to hear about more sightings from the operators in Trinity Bay soon.
Is that means no more whales at St. John’s and Witlessbay area? We are heading that way with our son who is visiting from Oslo Norway. 🙏🐳
Lots of whales right now around St. John’s and the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, it’s just the killer whales that have passed by already. Orcas around Newfoundland are transient and far more unpredictable than the humpbacks, which will stay in the area much longer.
Thank you 🙏
Killer whales spotted at Spillars Cove near Bonavista yesterday 🙂
Small pod of Killer whales spotted from land In Kingston area (Conception Bay North), swimming south-west. Managed to get a few photos for ID purposes, but they were quite far off.
Awesome 🙂 Wonder if this is the pod spotted near Bonavista yesterday, if so, it’s likely they’ll be spotted from tour boats and cliffs along the East Coast Trail tomorrow or the day after 🙂
2 fin whales spotted off Burnside, Bonavista Bay around 8 PM, July 28.
Thanks Shirley, colossal creatures, aren’t they 🙂
Tour boat operators in both the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve and Trinity Bay continue to report encounters with finbacks, humpbacks, minkes and dolphins. 🙂
Saw a pod of orcas (5-7 adults 4-5 juveniles) off the NE coast of South Twillingate Island today on a boat tour! Played around the boats for a solid half hour 🙂
Awesome! Thanks for sharing, I just saw their picture from a Twillingate tour boat operator 🙂
Killer whales spotted this morning near Twillingate (see Darren’s post above), also today in St. John’s (lovely video here), but also spotted last Sunday off Salmon Cove in Conception Bay 🙂
A tour boat operator in St. Anthony (Great Northern Peninsula) also reports killer whales in the area, along with all the other usual whales.
Any whales still around St. Vincent’s?
Where are the whales now
Tour boat operators in the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve and in Trinity Bay are reporting humpback whales daily now. Operators in other parts of the island don’t share their sightings as frequently, but I’m sure they’re having good sightings too, it’s early August after all 🙂
We’re in St. Anthony. Has anyone had any whale sightings? We’ve been to Cape Onion & Fishing Point in foggy conditions (can see 300 meters off shore). No seabird congregations hunting capelin, etc. seen within those parameters. Any sightings greatly appreciated!
Northland Discovery Boat Tours out of St. Anthony reported whales and dolphins this weekend, maybe give them a call tomorrow to ask about their sightings 🙂
Just saw a pod of finback whales playing in the waters around Ferryland.
Thanks for sharing, gotta love those finbacks 🙂
At Cape Norman (Wild Bight), we saw Humpbacks, Minkes and White Sided Dolphins in the Strait of Belle Isle. Off of Cape Onion, we saw Humpbacks feeding. Both yesterday.
Oh, to be in Newfoundland 🙂
Killer whales spotted yesterday in Twillingate 🙂
I just posted a story with some whale watching photos from our visit to St. Vincent’s beach last month. 🙂
Tour boat operators in the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, Trinity Bay, around Bonavista and Twillingate, and in St. Anthony are all reporting wonderful whale sightings this week. Humpbacks in particular are reportedly friendlier and more eager to ‘socialize’ with the tour boats, an observation that repeats annually when the whales shift from a schedule that’s heavy on feeding to a schedule that allows for more for playfulness. 🙂
Sperm whales have arrived in Trinity Bay 🙂
Minke and sperm whales in Whiteway.
That’s pretty exciting, thanks for sharing 🙂
A bowhead whale spotted in Trinity Bay yesterday, a super rare sighting, as this whale’s range is much further north, up in the Arctic!
Killer whales reported from Twillingate again yesterday, no mention of which direction they were headed but if it’s east, expect to see them around Bonavista and Trinity today.
Lots of whale activity today at cape spear I caught 2 of them breeching in the same video!
Nice!!
Humpbacks still being reported all around the island, and sperm whales spotted in Trinity Bay again today 🙂
Sperm whales in Trinity Bay yesterday and today too 🙂
Tour boats in Trinity Bay and along the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve are still reporting whales, so now’s the time to go on a trip if you haven’t gone already. Whales are already on their way south for the winter, but some of them will hang around a while longer. Let us know if you spot something during these few weeks of summer 🙂
There was a couple of Minkes feeding today in the Small Point, Blackhead area, very close to shore.
Good to hear it, thanks for sharing 🙂
I saw a minke whale in Motion Bay on Sept. 11 and one in Logy Bay on Sept. 15. When do they generally leave and where do they go?
Hi Sandra, minke whales stick around Newfoundland as long as a meal can be found near shore, they move with the fish. Migration-wise, they don’t do a whole lot of travelling, our minke whales stay around the island and a little further south in winter, but mostly further out to sea where the food is. It’s not unusual to see them from the East Coast Trail through September and into October if you keep looking for them 🙂
Many Thanksgiving whales off of The Beamer in Flatrock today.
What a lovely sighting, thanks for sharing 🙂
Six Fin Whales, one Humpback and lots and lots of White Sided Dolphins October 9-12 Trinity Trinity viewed with Trinity Eco-Tours. See pictures on Instagram and FB pages of Trinity Eco-Tours
Thanks Robert, I just saw the pictures, I think it’s great you’re still going out in October! 🙂
A sunfish sighting right off the dock on South Twillingate Island the other day 🙂