Image: an adult humpback whale is escorted by a cadre of California sea lions.
2024 08–15 SB Channel
Captain Dave and the crew ran southeast as far as the edge of The Lanes, near Platform Greece. We experienced a bright blue sky and warm sun all day. There was a little bit of a swell, no wind, and very clear water. Sightings for the day included: 4 Minke whales, 1 humpback whale, 5000 common dolphins and 200 California sea lions.
Common dolphins were found everywhere throughout the trip. We started watching them just 1 mile offshore, and continued all the way out, and all the way back. Pods were smaller near the coast and larger out near The Lanes. A couple of birdnados were observed. The crystal clear water meant we could pull right up and see the anchovies.
Dave slowed down and narrated a short tour of Platform Charlie. He discussed the presence of oil platforms in The Channel, both historically and during modern times. We left Charlie and headed towards Habitat where we found the first of 4 Minke whales. It was a fast sighting, but everyone had a decent look. A little bit later we found a spot with two more individual Minke whales. They were seen working on the anchovies near the surface and did a little bit of lunge feeding. Many of the bait ball hotspots were not only attracting birds, but there were plenty of sea lions joining in the banquet.
At this point a small humpback whale popped up. It had white pectoral fins and turned out to be the same individual we watched yesterday. It had a group of sea lions escorting it around. (See today’s photograph for an example of this).
On the way home, there were more common dolphins and we did a slow pass by the fourth Minke of the day.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
Condor Express, and
Comments