2021 07-12 SB Channel
Very early gray skies turned sunny and blue as we left Santa Barbara harbor astern. Seas were flat. Sightings today were splendid: 4 humpback whales, 250 long-beaked common dolphins, 80 Risso’s dolphins, 150 offshore bottlenose dolphins, 100 California sea lions. Eight terrible floating, deflated, helium Mylar balloons were scooped up in an effort to help save the environment.
Captain Dave and his crew ran south to an area southeast of the NOAA East Channel buoy where a spread out pod of offshore bottlenose dolphins was mixed together with a more tightly-packed group of Risso’s dolphins. It was very interesting to see the two dolphin species mix together, but this is not an uncommon phenomenon. Sea lions were around anyplace that feeding was happening.
On the edge of The Lanes, our first Humpback whale was followed as it slowly moved west amidst large groups of common dolphins. (Three species of dolphins today!) Not far away, northwest of the buoy, a pair of humpbacks swam together for a while before they split up.
On the way home we found lots more dolphins and another whale.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com
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