We had an action-packed trip today! We hung out with 2 Humpbacks and ~400 Long-beaked Common dolphins! We left the Mission Bay jetties and zoomed out to the west. Inside of the drop-off, we encountered a small pod of ~25 Long-beaked Common dolphins traveling to the north. We continued on and sighted a couple of southbound Humpback whales! Initially, they had 10-min dives with 4 to 5 spouts. We got to see their tail each time they went down for a sounding dive. We were waiting for them to surface after a dive, when they popped up in front of of us only 20-ft from the bow! It was amazing! They must have gone underneath our boat! We noticed some birds going crazy to the south of us! It turned out to be a huge feeding frenzy! We thought maybe the Humpbacks would enjoy the anchovies feast, but they continued on. We hung out with ~400 Long-beaked Common dolphins, 3 California sea lions, and hundreds of seabirds! The dolphins were amazing! They surrounded our boat and began to travel to the north! The sight was incredible! They all synchronized their leaps as they cruised along! There was even a rare sighting of a Flesh-footed shearwater in the feeding frenzy!
Hope to sea you all on the next tour!
Naturalist,
Vanessa
