A routine bottlenose dolphin survey turned into a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Brunswick Community College students Bethany Berry and Vannessa Herold.
Kim Jones, the dean of arts and sciences at Brunswick Community College, documented a rare and unexpected sighting of a humpback whale at the mouth of the Cape Fear River near Bald Head Island during a recent 2025 Saturday field trip.
“There was so much life in the area — baitfish, diving birds, dozens of dolphins — and then we saw it,” said Jones. “A humpback whale surfaced just beyond Jaybird Shoal.”
The students was participating in a collaborative research course with the University of North Carolina Wilmington ― HON-191: Research & Discovery, part of the Community College Undergraduate Research Experience, a Brunswick Community College-UNCW partnership.
A humpback whale spotted during the Brunswick Community College/University of North Carolina Wilmington dolphin survey.
The sighting marks the first humpback whale that Jones has recorded in the Cape Fear River since April 2021.
A follow-up trip of the recent 2025 trip confirmed the whale had remained in the area and was accompanied by a large pod of bottlenose dolphins and a dense school of menhaden.
A humpback whale spotted during the Brunswick Community College/University of North Carolina Wilmington dolphin survey.
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The surveys are part of a larger Community Collaborative Research Grant project titled “Bottlenose Dolphin Distribution, Abundance and Health along the Brunswick County Coast/Cape Fear River Region.” The North Carolina Sea Grant sponsors the research, which gives students firsthand experience in marine science while contributing to vital regional data collection.
Cheryl M. Whitaker covers community news for the StarNews. Reach her at cheryl.whitaker@starnewsonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Humpback whale spotted off Brunswick County, NC