Wildlife
Whales near the airports
May to September, says the province, which counts the world's largest population of humpback whales off this coast. Many headlands need no boat.
When people see them
Share of reported whale sightings near our drives, by month. Most reports: Jul.
Coming in June? About 10% of the year's reports fall in June against 76% in July: whales are arriving, not yet at their peak. Late June beats early June; icebergs are the opposite, best in late May and June.
Jan 0%, Feb 0%, Mar 0%, Apr 0%, May 0%, Jun 10%, Jul 76%, Aug 13%, Sep 1%, Oct 0%, Nov 0%, Dec 0%
Humpback whale, Fin whale, Minke whale. These are reports people sent to GBIF, the shared record of wildlife sightings: they show when whales are here, not how likely you are to see one. A busy headland gets more reports because more people look.
Where, and how far
- BrigusHumpback whales reported most in June and JulyGander 280 kmDeer Lake 583 kmSt. John's 75 kmPort aux Basques 850 kmArgentia 78 km
- Cape BonavistaHumpback whales reported most in July and AugustGander 248 kmDeer Lake 551 kmSt. John's 309 kmPort aux Basques 818 kmArgentia 264 km
- Cape SpearHumpback whales reported most in June and JulyGander 346 kmDeer Lake 649 kmSt. John's 24 kmPort aux Basques 916 kmArgentia 144 km
- Cape St. Mary'sHumpback whales reported most in June and JulyGander 354 kmDeer Lake 657 kmSt. John's 177 kmPort aux Basques 923 kmArgentia 71 km
- FerrylandHumpback whales reported most in June and JulyGander 357 kmDeer Lake 660 kmSt. John's 86 kmPort aux Basques 926 kmArgentia 155 km
- Harbour GraceHumpback whales reported most in June and JulyGander 298 kmDeer Lake 601 kmSt. John's 108 kmPort aux Basques 868 kmArgentia 96 km
- L'Anse aux MeadowsHumpback whales reported most in July and AugustGander 740 kmDeer Lake 436 kmSt. John's 1071 kmPort aux Basques 701 kmArgentia 1027 km
- La ScieHumpback whales reported most in July and SeptemberGander 324 kmDeer Lake 208 kmSt. John's 655 kmPort aux Basques 475 kmArgentia 611 km
- SalvageHumpback whales reported most in July and AugustGander 97 kmDeer Lake 400 kmSt. John's 296 kmPort aux Basques 667 kmArgentia 252 km
- Trinity (Trinity Bay)Humpback whales reported most in July and AugustGander 200 kmDeer Lake 504 kmSt. John's 261 kmPort aux Basques 770 kmArgentia 217 km
- TwillingateHumpback whales reported most in July and AugustGander 114 kmDeer Lake 360 kmSt. John's 447 kmPort aux Basques 627 kmArgentia 402 km
- Witless BayHumpback whales reported most in July and AugustGander 316 kmDeer Lake 619 kmSt. John's 46 kmPort aux Basques 886 kmArgentia 114 km
Out on the water? Boat tours run from some of these harbours, Witless Bay and Twillingate among them; the route pages say which. Also: iceberg odds by month →