2015 02-04 SB Channel
5 Gray Whales and 500 Dolphins on a Summer Day in February
Summer-like conditions prevailed in the Santa Barbara Channel today with super clear water, sunny skies, no wind and a glassy surface. Not long after leaving the Harbor a trio of gray whales was spotted heading down the coast for Baja California. It was a close-knit group with 2 large and 1 small whale that synchronized their down and up time. These were very focused migrating whales and their down times consisted of travelling just below the surface so everybody on the Condor could see them most of the time through the clear blue water. Wow, what a view! Along the route we intersected two pods of long-beaked common dolphins, one large and one small group. All together we estimated about 500 dolphins seen today. We circled out to the south for a while to see what was happening in the hot zone we had yesterday, but did not find any other species of marine mammals there. On our way back to the Harbor we found a pair of medium sized gray whales heading for Baja, and they were much more shy than the trio we had earlier in the trip. All in all it was a fantastic day weather-wise and mammal-wise.
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Read MoreSummer-like conditions prevailed in the Santa Barbara Channel today with super clear water, sunny skies, no wind and a glassy surface. Not long after leaving the Harbor a trio of gray whales was spotted heading down the coast for Baja California. It was a close-knit group with 2 large and 1 small whale that synchronized their down and up time. These were very focused migrating whales and their down times consisted of travelling just below the surface so everybody on the Condor could see them most of the time through the clear blue water. Wow, what a view! Along the route we intersected two pods of long-beaked common dolphins, one large and one small group. All together we estimated about 500 dolphins seen today. We circled out to the south for a while to see what was happening in the hot zone we had yesterday, but did not find any other species of marine mammals there. On our way back to the Harbor we found a pair of medium sized gray whales heading for Baja, and they were much more shy than the trio we had earlier in the trip. All in all it was a fantastic day weather-wise and mammal-wise.
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Three gray whales travel just beneath the surface.
Eschrichtius robustus 3 UW 2015 02-04 SB Channel-084
Head of a gray whale as seen underwater. Additional whales are underwater in the foreground.
Eschrichtius robustus UW 2015 02-04 SB Channel-139
Two gray whales side-by-side.
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Two gray whales, one up and one down.
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A close look at two gray whales - one diving and one spouting.
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The right flanks of a gray whale.
Eschrichtius robustus 2015 02-04 SB Channel-067
Two gray whales - one spouting.
Eschrichtius robustus 2015 02-04 SB Channel-111
