2018 09-06 SB Channel
A long-beaked common dolphin megapod located the Condor Express south of UCSB today. The pod was so large it was 8 miles across, according to Captain Dave and the crew. We also watched: 2 humpback whales, and 300 California sea lions. Skies had a high stratus marine layer all day, and the sea surface was flat and calm.
After watching the massive dolphin megapod, Dave headed for the Santa Cruz Channel, between Santa Rosa Island and Santa Cruz Island. Just outside this “gap” between the islands, the whales were located and closely watched. This pair was the same large mother and little calf that we were seeing a week ago. They were busy feeding subsurface on northern anchovy aggregations. Schools of anchovies were so massive that you could easily watch them swim and move synchronously around and under the boat. Several hundred sea lions joined in the feeding, as did thousands of noisy (and messy) sea birds.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com