2015 07-01 SB Channel
One humpback whale was particularly showy. It was a smaller whale and went on a pectoral fin slapping escapade. It slapped, then moved a few hundred yards west, then slapped again. The thunder from the little guy's slaps carried far across the Channel. At one point this same whale spotted some floating giant kelp debris on the surface and did a little "kelping." About 1,000 long-beaked common dolphins were also feeding in the region.
We moved far to the southeast and by 1220 pm we were about 4 miles north of Anacapa Island watching larger #whales. It should be noted that just before getting into the LARGER whales, a single Risso's dolphin passed in front of the Condor Express. Okay, so let's chat about the LARGER whales that we watched. We closely watched two giant blue whales but there were at least three other tall spouts in the vicinity. One of the blue whales had a huge "dent" in its back that seemed to hump-up all the muscle, blubber and skin into a big mass. From a distance, even with binoculars, this injury looked somewhat like two blue whales swimming on top of each other. Captain Dave hypothesized that it was some kind of internal disease. I was of a different opinion and attributed this dent to external forces.
Speaking of LARGE whales, we had some great encounters with a single whale that was only about 25 feet long, but will certainly qualify for LARGE when it grows up. It was a very young fin whale. At one point it made a bee-line to the boat and made a fairly shallow dive under us such that we could lean over and look down at the bright white/blue color of its submerged body. It was cool. In fact, Dave and I were surprised that nobody took a whelfie.
We left for home around 120 pm and en route passed back through the humpback zone where one breached close to the boat and another rode alongside for a while...adding 2 more humpbacks to the scorecard.
----- ---- --- -- - >< o>
-
Powerful tail of a giant blue whale.
Balaenoptera musculus 2015 07-01 SB Channel-a-027
A giant blue whale with a deformed back and a story. The whale called "Camello" is a longtime acquaintance of our friends at Cascadia Research Collective. It was first reported from the Sea of Cortez in April of 1988, and has since been seen in the Gulf of the Farallones, Fort Bragg, and Monterey Bay, with the previous most recent sighting being in the Santa Barbara Channel six years ago. It was spotted off Redondo Beach in Santa Monica Bay on May 22. Thanks to members of the Cetal Fauna group on FaceBook for this information.
1-Balaenoptera musculus with big dent in back 2015 07-01 SB Channel-350
A giant blue whale heads for the camera and blasts out a tall spout.
Balaenoptera musculus 2015 07-01 SB Channel-004
Giant blue whale tail flukes.
Balaenoptera musculus 2015 07-01 SB Channel-e-066
Camello - the camel-back blue whale.
Balaenoptera musculus 2015 07-01 SB Channel-e-028
A humpback whale on its back with one pectoral fin in the air and another glowing under the water
Megaptera novaeangliae 2015 07-01 SB Channel-033
Pectoral fin of a humpback whale
Megaptera novaeangliae 2015 07-01 SB Channel-046
A humpback whale slaps its long pectoral fin
Megaptera novaeangliae 2015 07-01 SB Channel-053
Two humpback whales spouting side by side
Megaptera novaeangliae 2015 07-01 SB Channel-b-019
A humpback whale does a little kelping
Megaptera novaeangliae 2015 07-01 SB Channel-b-037
California sea lions rest in a patch of elk kelp floating in the middle of the Channel
Zalophus californianus & Pelagophycus porra paddy 2015 07-01 SB Channel-010
