Image: a portion of a large pod of coastal bottlenose dolphins
2023 03-18 SB Coast
Oh, my. It was glass-calm all day. Perfect for finding LOTS of cetaceans! Sightings included 11 gray whales, 30 coastal bottlenose dolphins and 15 Dall’s porpoise.
Three single gray whales plus two groups of 4 were encountered today. Most of the whale sightings were 4 to 5 miles offshore. The single whales were a bit shy, but the foursomes were socializing and rolling quite a bit. This tends to slow them down and makes for an even greater encounter.
A very large pod of coastal bottlenose dolphins was watched near the harbor entrance and as far west as the lighthouse. A very friendly group of typically high-speed Dall’s porpoise kept us company by bow-riding and surfing our wake, when they were not zooming past us and kicking up their characteristic “rooster tail” spray.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
Condor Express, and
CondorExpressPhotos.com