Minke whales put in a strong showing among the dolphins and humpbacks and sea lions.
- Bob Perry
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
2025 10–24 SB Channel
Partly sunny skies with a light breeze kept it very nice for locating and watching a splendid variety of mammal species today. Captain Eddy and the crew took the Condor Express directly S to an area about 9 or 10 miles from the harbor. Totals for the day: 5 Minke whales, 4 humpback whales, 300 common dolphins and 12 California sea lions.
West of the rigs we came upon a pair of Minke whales. We had great looks as the whales made several close approaches (see today’s photo for an example). When we were SW of habitat a third Minke whale was observed.
A lot of birds on the water, with a few pelicans crashing, caught our attention. Upon arriving on the scene, we found a dozen sea lions porpoising along. There was also a single humpback here. It had short dive times and made a few close approaches across our bow. It had good tail flukes.
After a short move W there were 300+ common dolphins moving around, perhaps feeding sub-surface. On the edges of ths dolphin zone there was a pair of Minke whales. (It is often in the case, when there’s a hotspot, that Minke’s work around the edges…not necessarily right in the middle. Perhaps they don’t want to get involved with humpback whales. I don’t blame them.
The same area produced 3 additional humpback whales. A pair and then a single. We spent quite a bit of time watching the pair that was milling around which gave us a chance to get good looks. The third whale made a quick pass so you had to be on your toes.
On the way home, our deck hand Cassidy retrieved a red, heart-shaped balloon from the ocean surface.
You never know what mother nature has in store.
Bob Perry
NOTE: our friend, and whale tail aficionada, Sussane, identified several of the humpback whales today. The very first whale was CRC 21158 and named Zephyr. One of the pair that was milling around the dolphins was CRC 18305, and the last whale/tail of the day. CRC 21718. Thanks Susanne!
