The first major birdnado in a couple of weeks was magnificent.
Image: a pair of hungry humpback whales are seen surface lunge-feeding on a huge northern anchovy bait ball birdnado in the Santa Barbara Channel.
2026 09–18 SB Channel
Captain Eddy and the crew ran a big circle along the coast N as far as Holly, then looped around and ended up 9 miles S of the Harbor. We had sunny clear skies and beautiful clear water, but… it was rather bumpy from overnight winds in the NW. Sightings today were excellent: 1200 common dolphins, 200 California sea lions, 2 Minke whales and 2 humpback whales.
Our first wildlife encounter was about a mile S of Holly where we crossed paths with a large nursery pod of common dolphins. They were milling around and doing some slow cruising. It was a treasured moment to see all the little tiny calves.
After doing the loop we got into a large and persistent birdnado. There was a vast area with northern anchovies on the surface and we watched continual feeding at the Spot for over an hour. Captain Eddy maneuvered the Condor Express so we could look at the bait ball along the side of the boat. We observed nonstop feeding by 2 sub-adult humpback whales that were surface lunge-feeding, including both sideways and vertical orientations. (See today’s photograph for an example).
Meanwhile, at least 1000 common dolphins and a couple hundred sea lions join the countless birds taking advantage of this banquet. A pair of Minke whales made a quick pass through the bait ball.
You never know what mother nature has in store.
Bob Perry
