Drone captures incredible video of a group of 20 humpback whales

Drone captures incredible video of a group of 20 humpback whales with one repeatedly breaching near a sightseeing boat

  • Drone videographer and photographer Dominic Biagini captured incredible video of humpback whales breaching off the coast of San Diego on Tuesday
  • Biagini said he saw at least 20 humpback whales after having gone two years without a single sighting, in addition to one friendly mammal near the boat 
  • That whale in particular kept coming up for air and slapping its pectoral fin against the ocean’s surface, almost as if to say, ‘Hello!’ to whale watchers 
  • The first round of footage was captured by Biagini while out with Pacific Offshore Expeditions under the guidance of Captain Ryan Lawler
  • Later Biagini captured lunge feeding footage with San Diego Whale Watch 

Incredible footage captured with the help of a drone shows a humpback whale repeatedly breaching near a sightseeing boat.

Along with the single friendly see mammal, a group of at least 20 more humpback whales hung out nearby.

The viewing experience was made possible by Pacific Offshore Expeditions under the guidance of Captain Ryan Lawler. 

The video was filmed on Tuesday in San Diego and shared to the YouTube account DolphinDroneDom owned by Dominic Biagini.

Biagini was overwhelmed with joy at the footage he captured off the coast of San Diego, showing a single humpback whale repeatedly coming up for air and slapping its pectoral fin against the ocean’s surface, almost as if it was waving, ‘Hello.’

‘Today was one of the absolute best whale watching experiences of my life,’ Biagini wrote in the YouTube video caption. 

‘It’s been almost two full years since I’ve seen surface active humpback whales, and the wait was sure worth it. 

‘Hours of breaching, mugging, and pec slapping from at least 20 different humpback whales. 

‘The highlight was a single whale that literally did at least 100 pec slaps right next to the boat! Thank you to Pacific Offshore Expeditions and Captain Ryan Lawler for making today happen!’

Drone videographer and photographer Dominic Biagini captured incredible video of humpback whales breaching and feeding off the coast of San Diego on Tuesday, and shared it on YouTube and Facebook. A still from the footage is shown

Biagini was overwhelmed with joy at the footage he captured off the coast of San Diego, showing a single humpback whale repeatedly coming up for air and slapping its pectoral fin against the ocean’s surface, almost as if it was waving, ‘Hello.’

‘Today was one of the absolute best whale watching experiences of my life,’ Biagini wrote in the YouTube video caption. ‘It’s been almost two full years since I’ve seen surface active humpback whales, and the wait was sure worth it’


Biagini wrote: ‘The highlight was a single whale that literally did at least 100 pec slaps right next to the boat! Thank you to Pacific Offshore Expeditions and Captain Ryan Lawler for making today happen!’

Biagini shared more footage late on Tuesday, local time, on Facebook, writing: 

‘By now you’ve heard…Humpback Whales put on a show off the San Diego coast today!’

The whale enthusiast decided he hadn’t had enough and went back out for more footage later in the day on Tuesday.

‘After our morning trip, I jumped on my personal boat to try and chase the whales down from the morning trip in the hopes of having the best opportunity to film lunge feeding with my drone,’ the caption in a Facebook posted including another video shared by San Diego Whale Watch (SDWW) said.

‘Captain Cristin called me on the radio to inform me that she had found our whales again on her afternoon SDWW trip.’

Along with a single friendly see mammal who kept breaching near a sightseeing boat, a group of at least 20 more humpback whales (shown) hung out nearby

The drone footage was captured by Domenic Biagini (pictured) who is a professional ocean life videographer and photographer

Lunge feeding is a tactic used by humpback whales to gather their prey to make hunting easier.

The whales scare their small prey, which prompts them to clump together tightly in groups, making it easier to capture more in a single mouthful.

Biagini was able to capture additional footage of exactly that. 


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In one final excited post, Biagini compared the views in San Diego to those much further north in California, where whale watching is also very popular.

‘I still can’t believe this happened today,’ Biagini wrote on Tuesday, sharing the SDWW post. 

‘Lunge feeding like we were in Monterey! Believe it or not, these are the first lunge feeds I’ve ever filmed!’

Biagini is a professional ocean life videographer and photographer. He also served as presenting speaker at an American Cetacean Society San Diego Chapter’s event on January 9, according to this YouTube page.

In one final excited post, Biagini compared the views in San Diego to those much further north in Monterey, California, where whale watching is also very popular. A still from Biagini’s footage of a single humpback whale is shown

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