The Buoy continues to be “the spot”

Image: a young humpback whale throws its tail, as it must. (See below).

2026 07-26  SB Channel

The hotspot near the buoy continues! No endless driving around searching or taking dead-end routes, the buoy has been a honeyhole for the last 2 weeks. Conditions were a little bit mild today. Although there was a bit of a swell and a small bump, the wind was in the “light breeze” category all day. Sightings were very good today: 2500 common dolphins, 300 California sea lions, and 12 humpback whales (we closely watched at least 6).

Several medium-sized birdnados popped-up and, of course,  there were thousands of dolphins which attracted a good number of whales. Several large mobs of California sea lions were also working here.

All of the humpback whales that we observed were sub-adults. As the scientific literature has shown recently, young humpbacks must vigorously exercise by engaging in repeated breaching, pectoral fin-slapping, chin-slapping, and tail-throwing. (This has been linked to promoting the production of the oxygen-binding myoglobin molecule found in their muscle tissues, and so essential throughout the life of the whale). It’s a win-win situation: great for us to see, great for them physically.

As a final note, several of these behaviors, especially tail-throwing and breaching, took place close to the Condor Express today. (See today’s photograph for an example).

You never know what mother nature has in store.

Bob Perry

CondorExpressPhotos.com

NOTE

Our friend and whale ID maestro, Mark was out today. he identified the following: CRC-22766, CRC-504152, and a whale named Pillar. You can find out more detailed information about their lives using the citizen scientist app, happywhale.com thanks Marc!