[CINC] IPCO 6-20-09

[Toni Bailey]

Hello everyone!

 

Today's tally is:

2 pods of common dolphins

At least 10 Blue Whales

 

Other items of interest:

Flying fish!!

Large flock of Brandt's Cormorants

Pigeon Guillemots

 

 

Today was a day filled with fun and adventure.   As we boarded the Island
Adventure all passengers were warned by the IPCO crew that today would be a
very bumpy ride!   They weren't kidding.   The trip started out with a small
pod of common dolphins (around 50 to 75) shortly after leaving the harbor in
Oxnard.   We then had a nice look at the Anacapa Arch and then cruised along
the south side of the Island.   When we got to the east end of Santa Cruise,
the passengers were delighted to see a number of flying fish!  This was my
first sighting of flying fish and the show was spectacular!  Those fish
really get out of the water..much higher than I imagined.   After the flying
fish show, we started to hit the really rough seas that we were warned about
before we left.  Most of the passengers took the sea conditions in stride
and enjoyed the ride.   We even joked about the Whale Watch Roller Coaster.
Once we passed the Santa Cruz/Santa Rosa Gap, we began seeing the star
attraction..Magnificent Blue Whales just north of Santa Cruz.   Despite the
rough conditions we got a good showing of some lunge feeding and some nice
looks at the double blow holes.   The passengers were thrilled.    We hung
around with the whales for over an hour with whales surfacing on all sides
of the boat.    We then headed for home with a cruise along Santa Cruz
Island and a visit to Painted Cave.   After leaving the Painted Cave, we
came across a large pod of around 1,000 common dolphins in a feeding frenzy
with some Sea Lions mixed in.   There were also large numbers of sea birds.
Another good show!    It ended  up to be a great day with fellow naturalist
Carol Shoemaker on photo I.D.

 

Can't wait for the next trip!

 

Toni Bailey

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