Today was our first day without blue whales in quite some time. A report from friends confirmed a good amount of blues moved off of Carrington Point on Santa Rosa island. So instead of watching blue whales, the rest of our commonly seen baleen whales showed up!
Near the kelp farm, we caught up with 2 humpback whales, a small juvenile fin whale, and a couple thousand common dolphins. The humpbacks put up their tail flukes as the fin whale became friendly with a close pass. After searching for blue whales to no avail, we returned to this feeding area on the second half of the trip, and it completely exploded with life!
At least 6 humpback whales, a Giant fin whale, and a minke whale had shown up to feed with ~1,500 dolphins. To see so many different species feeding in one location is fascinating! While the majority of our baleen whales have been feeding on krill so far this year, the presence of dolphins and seabirds like pelicans and shearwaters leads us to believe this group was feeding on anchovies. Anchovies have been few and far between since March, but with lots of evidence of them the last few days, we're hoping some big groups of humpbacks stick around to feed!
Until Next Time,
The SBWW Crew
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