A summer day in February yields tons of cetaceans.

2022 02-09 SB Channel

What month is this? Skies were bright and sunny. The water was blue and clear. Air temperatures were in the 80F range, and the ocean surface was mirror glass all day. Sightings included: 4 gray whales, 10 Dall’s porpoise and 3000 long-beaked common dolphins.

Captain Dave and the crew headed offshore about 6 miles then turned west towards Goleta. This was a natural path that followed little hot spots full of northern anchovies and their predators (seabirds, dolphins, sea lions). The scattered hotspots had various small groups of dolphins, some 50’s, some 100’s.

From Goleta we crossed the Channel and headed for the west end of Santa Cruz Island. Along the way we crossed paths with a small group of Dall’s porpoises who were a bit shy today. Santa Cruz Island is still very green from the December rains, and provided a wonderful backdrop for watching the gray whales we located up inside Santa Cruz Channel. There were 3 adults and one sub-adult/juvenile traveling together with a synchronized dive cycle that made for wonderful and easy watching.

On the way home we found a much larger pod of dolphins about 4 miles from the harbor entrance.

You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com