Harbour porpoises winter in the nearshore Atlantic waters off North Carolina, moving south out of colder waters to the north and passing close enough to shore near Cape Hatteras National Seashore to be recorded regularly. Almost every report here is a GBIF occurrence record rather than an iNaturalist photo, which fits a small, shy animal that surfaces briefly and rarely draws a close look from shore.
They’re one of the smallest cetaceans found off the US coast, and unlike bottlenose dolphins they don’t ride bow waves or leap clear of the water, so they’re easy to miss even when they’re nearby. A porpoise typically surfaces quietly, shows a small triangular fin, and goes back under within a couple of seconds.
Records here concentrate heavily in February and March and fall off through the rest of the year, consistent with a cold-season visitor rather than a species that stays put year-round.
Full species profile
