Back to dolphin mania again today! Both of our morning trips ran into large pods of dolphins! We found the same pod of bottlenose from yesterday first thing this morning, we recognized some individuals by the strange birthmark/ scaring(?) underneath their beak. This stretch of bottlenose was maybe a mile long with different groups sticking together. Another pod was reported 10 miles north – west were left to wonder if this was all the same pod or two sperate ones. We very quickly found an enormous pod of short beaked common dolphins a few hundred of them were cruising around just past the drop off. This pod of shorties broke out into stampede! This is one of our FAVORITE things to witness and hundreds of dolphin are all pourposing as fast as they possibly can in a single direction – it’s an absolute eruption of white water all around and man oh man is it thrilling to be a part of!
Feeding frenzyyyyy! On the sunset trip, we spotted a hungry pod of ~50 Long-beaked common dolphins munching down on some supper! With the help of the terns and pelicans, we were able to locate from the sky an exciting feeding frenzy just under the surface! These seabirds were dive bombing in the water, snatching up fish and taking flight. With the help of the dolphins, everyone seemed to be having fully bellies tonight! We watched the action unfold as the sun set, a beautiful horizon of melting orange and reds. What a perfect end to the day as the dolphins swam off into the sunset!
Naturalist, Alison and Brooke
