Massive populations of dolphins and whales, ideal conditions, and another big “Aloha”.
- Bob Perry
- Aug 25
- 2 min read
2025 08–25 SB Channel
Conditions improved quite a bit today, it was absolutely perfect for spotting and watching wildlife. Skies were blue, it was sunny, seas were calm, and, later in the day, a very light breeze wafted across the channel. Again a large, very active, hot zone was the center of all the activity. It was located west of the farm and about 4 miles south of Goleta. Totals for the trip: 9000 common dolphins and 20+ humpback whales (we watched 14 of them).
Huge numbers of common dolphins were distributed everywhere across the zone, especially within the dozens of birdnados that came and went. Whales were everywhere, too. They were feeding subsurface, following the dolphins and the birds.
Our multi-talented deckhand, Isabel, photographed and identified a whale from the Hawaiian/Alaskan stock. It had been recorded only four times in Hawaii (one Oahu and three Maui). This was the first time seen it’s been seen mixing with our California/Central America group. (You can look it up yourself on www.HappyWhale.com using its ID number: MN 04442120).
We were watching a pair of large adults when one of them took off into the air, close to the boat, and breached twice.(See today’s photograph for an example). It followed up with a couple of nice chin-slaps before going back to it’s hidden subsurface feeding with the rest of the group. We also witnessed a “call and response” episode as a distant whale threw his tail and then a second distant whale responded with it’s own tail throw within seconds. Amazing stuff!
You never know what mother nature has in store.
Bob Perry
