Image: a BS2 birdnado on a hotspot that includes common dolphins and California sea lions in the Santa Barbara Channel.
2024 12-13 SB Channel
It was a nice winter Friday the 13th day in The Channel. Skies were partly cloudy and there was no wind. A residual bump from rough weather overnight came at us from the west, particularly at the beginning of the trip. Sightings for the day included: 2 Minke whales, 1 humpback whale, 1000 California sea lions and 2 ocean sunfish (Mola mola).
When we were just a few miles offshore and still north of the kelp farm, we watched two very friendly Minke whales for at least a half an hour. The pair of whales came to the boat often and were very friendly. They dove under the boat and were active around the bow. Everyone got great looks.
We moved southwest to a spot about 4 miles off of Isla Vista. We saw several small birdnados (BS1’s and BS2’s). We continued to see birdnados from this point onward, and each of them had at least 100 California sea lions actively feeding along with the birds. Our first stop was close to Isla Vista where we watched a very active juvenile humpback whale feeding under the birdnados. In addition to vertical and horizontal lunge-feeding, the humpback became friendly with the boat on several occasions.
We ended up off of Naples Reef with some good looks at two very small, dinner plate-sized Ocean sunfish (Mola mola).
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
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