It was MINKE MADNESS out there! On our morning trip, we caught up with FOUR Minke whales and hundreds of Long-beaked Common dolphins! Tons of birds were surrounding the area and feeding! On our afternoon trip we caught up with ~700 Long-beaked Common dolphins off of La Jolla!
To start the day, we cruised out to the west and noticed thousands of birds diving! We got to the scene and spotted splashes from hundreds of dolphins! They zoomed around and were actively feeding! We were stoked to see a Minke whale that passenger noticed beside us. Before we realized it, there were two more hanging out in close range and then a fourth stayed on the edge of the madness! We even got to experience why Minkes are called STINKY Minkes, and multiple times at that! One of the Minke turned toward us and dove under our boat getting us the BEST looks! We also got to witness LUNGE FEEDING!! The Minke burst up to the surface while turning to its side! We got great looks at its expanded throat pleats! The Common dolphins were super playful and we got to see so many calves!
On our afternoon trip, we zoomed up to the NW crossing our fingers for more of the feeding frenzy. We spotted the same bird activity but by the time we got there, they had settled. We were in luck though, as we caught up with at least 600 Long-beaked Common dolphins traveling west. We scanned the area near the La Jolla canyon and turned back in as the dolphins turned to meet us on the drop-off. We were completely surrounded, enjoyed amazing views of them breaching and porpoising!
We have one more trip, stay tuned!
Naturalist,
Vanessa
