The Summer has Begun!

We have officially started blue whale season as of the 22nd of June and we have been seeing some amazing things in the meantime. As mentioned in the last blog, we have been witnessing some incredible feeding frenzies with multiple species all chowing down on small bait fish like anchovies or krill. Fin whales, humpback whales, minkes, and the blues have been spotted feeding alongside dolphins, sea lions and marine birds! Since we have already been spotting some blues, we hope to be able to see many more in the months to come even during this El Niño season.

Some toothed whales were spotted very recently that we have not seen on our whale watch tours in months: the Risso’s dolphins! We were very surprised to see them since they had not been seen in a very long time. Risso’s dolphins are easy to differentiate from our commons and bottlenose dolphins because of their very long pointed dorsal fin and their white scars and rake marks all over their skin. These rake marks are scrapes from the teeth of other Risso’s dolphins and their white exposed skin can be seen under the water since it refracts as a blue color. I happen to be able to be a part of this tour and was so excited to see them since they are one of my favorite dolphins.

One of the most interestingly unusual sightings we had this time was a juvenile Magnificent Frigatebird! They look like albatrosses and are tropical birds that can have a wingspan of up to seven feet wide! Check out the photo that was captured of this unique pelagic bird.

In the blogs to come, we will be introducing new whale photo ID interns and their work. This week we will be highlighting Gabi! She recently received her Master’s in Marine Mammal Science from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and is also a UCSB alumnus. Her passion is cetacean ecological research – particularly communication, behavior, and sociality – and science that supports conservation and management efforts. She’s been pursuing this career for as long as she can remember and is thrilled to have the opportunity this summer to assist the Aquarium and the CRC (Cascadia Research Collective) with their research on the largest animals on the planet.

“I hope that their work (CRC) helps protect these species against challenges they face now and in the future and that the brief moments I capture of these incredible creatures can help inspire another generation of passionate and curious individuals.” – Gabi

You can see some of Gabi’s photos, along with Erik Combs and Tim Hammonds excellent photos with this week’s blog, so check them out.

The weather is warming up and the tours are now a half hour longer (leaving dock at 12:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.) which gives us plenty of time to enjoy the sun and all of the wildlife our coast has to offer! So, come on out and spend your summer learning and experience these animals in their natural habitat.