We had a super fun day today! During the morning trip, we set out and came across a huge scattered pod of Long-beaked Common dolphins that were moving toward the coast. Then we found a couple of Fin whales 10miles from Mission Bay! We hung out with with one that was making tight circles at the surface, indicating that it may have been feeding down below. It had relatively short dive times of ~8 to 9 mins and 5 or 6 breaths up a the surface. During our afternoon trip, we found our first sighting of ~30-40 Short-beaked Common dolphins at the drop-off! They surprised us by popping up right in front of us. They hung out all around the boat giving us some great looks! Big breaches and leaps were seen too! Out a few more miles we encountered a group of 5 Gray whales headed north. The trio was socializing with a pod of 5-8 Offshore Bottlenose dolphins! One of the whales in the pair flukes consistently. On our way in, we spotted another NB Gray whale! The seas were nice and smooth! Hope to see you soon!
Photos by our crew member Oscar!
Naturalist,
Vanessa
