Drove up to Monterey, CA this weekend for back to back Debi Shearwater pelagic trips. Debi is also the one we will be going to Antarctica with next winter. All six of the guides from the Antarctica trip happened to be on the boat with us, along with WINGS leader Steve Howell, which gave me ample time to pick their brains on any questions I had.
Saturday’s pelagic out of Monterey was pretty rough with swells exceeding 12′. Many people were sick, sacrificing their breakfast and lunch to the seagulls following the boat. Fortunately I was not one of them! Sunday’s boat trip out of Santa Cruz was much calmer as the winds had died down overnight. The highlight of the weekend were a pod of Humpback Whales that were being harassed by 6 Transient Orcas (Killer Whale). We suspect the group of Orcas were trying to kill one of the Humpback Whale calves. We don’t think they succeeded as we only noticed the remnants of a California Sea Lion floating in the water.
Lots of images follow:
Sea Otter
Sea Otter
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Transient Orca
Transient Orca
Transient Orca
Risso’s Dolphin
Risso’s Dolphin
California Sea Lion
Sooty Shearwater
Buller’s Shearwater
Buller’s Shearwater
Pink-footed Shearwater
Black-footed Albatross
Northern Fulmar
Common Murre
Marbled Murrelet
South Polar Skua
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Northern Harrier