New York City onlookers were surprised on Monday when a whale was spotted swimming under the Brooklyn Bridge on Monday, spouting water and emerging from the surface.

A humpback made a shocking splash beneath the Brooklyn Bridge Monday — marking the species’ first visit to the East River in two years. “It’s much, much more common to see them in the ocean along the coastline.

New Yorkers were delighted to see a whale in the water, and the sight may well become more common as the whale population is reported to be growing off the coast of Brooklyn

Video shows a whale swimming under the Brooklyn Bridge on Monday, surprising onlookers. The sighting came after a mother and calf whale were seen near Spring Lake, NJ. (Credit: Helena Lippolis)

People on the Brooklyn shore got a glimpse of the whale flashing its tail out of the water, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, which received multiple reports from spectators