2022 07-07 SB Channel
Clear skies. Light winds. Small, long period swell. Another great day with wildlife centered around the northern Channel feeding hot spots. Sighting included: 3500 long-beaked common dolphins, 2 humpback whales and 200 California sea lions.
Regular readers know what’s coming: the scattered feeding pods of dolphins began about 3 mile out from the harbor and paralleled the coast all the way past Platform Holly where we turned southeast. Seabirds and sea lions were also enjoying the northern anchovy dinner opportunities.
West of Holly, about 5 miles south of Elwood, another hot spot attracted the attention of a hungry mother humpback and her calf. The pair was all business: food, food, food. At one point the calf did a slow-motion spy hop. It had white pectoral fins. Soon, on the edge of the activity zone, two large mobs of California sea lions, the first about 75 strong and the second about 125, started cooperatively feeding.
While in the area, Captain Dave gave one of his ol’ time favorites: a drive-by tour of Platform Holly and its associated natural gas bubble seeps.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and www.CondorExpressPhotos.com
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