Image: A humpback in the foreground and a flock of Sabine’s gulls in back.
2023 07-30 SB Channel
What a gorgeous day in the Channel. Sunny skies and a light breeze. There was a moderate residual west swell from the west that did not bother the whales or humans. Sightings today: 2000 long-beaked common dolphins, 3 humpback whales and 100 California sea lions.
Twenty minutes out of the harbor we watched a small pod of dolphins. They seemed agitated and slapped their tails a bit. There was some unusual jumping. Fun to see!
Fifty minutes later we found our first humpback of the trip and the one we spent most of our time watching. It was moving at a steady pace, often following dolphin herds, and my guess is it was feeding sub-surface. At one point it passed a small flock of Sabine’s gulls that had been sitting on the water with a brown pelican. (See today’s photo).
An hour later we found a massive dolphin megapod with 2 humpbacks. It was definitely a moveable feast and the whales had a full time job keeping up with the actively feeding dolphins. Lots of sea lions here, too.
On the way home we saw 2 more whales in the distance and more dolphins.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com
Comments