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<p class=MsoNormal>Condor Express<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>June 28, 2009<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Here’s the score:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>2 small pods of common dolphins<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>1 very active blue whale<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Today was a magnificent day in the channel. Fellow
naturalists Ginny Fischer and Kevin Bailey on Photo ID were onboard. The crew
on the Condor Express today was Captain Dave, Dennis and Amanda. We left
Santa Barbara in the morning with overcast skies and smooth seas. The
approximately 70 passengers on board were excited and looking forward to the
trip. About 5 miles out of the harbor, we saw our first small pod of about 50
common dolphins. We didn’t stay with them too long since they
weren’t overly interested in us. Around halfway across the channel we
came across a larger pod of around 75 common dolphins. This group was much more
interested in playing around the boat, riding the bow wave and playing in the
wake of the boat. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Once we neared The Santa Rosa/Santa Cruz gap, we started
looking for the whales and soon we found a blue whale. This whale was
actively lunge feeding and seemed oblivious to the fact that we were nearby.
We witnessed over a dozen lunges very near the boat. The krill was at the
surface and this whale was taking full advantage of it. The whale surfaced
near the boat with its mouth wide open and its ventral pleats fully expanded
with water and krill. The whale would then go just below the surface and we
could see the bubbling water movement of the whale squishing the water out of
its mouth to trap the krill. The whale would then surface to breathe several
times in a row before lunge feeding again.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>This was quite a show that we were all extremely fortunate
to see. This whale stayed near us for over an hour lunge feeding over and over
again….quite spectacular!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Thanks Captain Dave and the rest of the crew for finding this
very special site.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Toni Bailey<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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