Lunge feeding

Another day, another Shearwater Journeys boat trip.

Bruce and I fuelled up in Petaluma and made the 40 minute drive to Bodega Bay in time to meet everyone bright and early at the dock. The swell had calmed down considerably, but the fog was more of an issue, coming and going in patches all day.

It was the same format as on Friday – get out there as far as possible and see if we can find a rare bird or two.

And, pretty much, it was the same outcome – plenty to keep us occupied, but the hoped-for pterodroma petrels and rare albatrosses didn’t materialize. It wasn’t for want of trying, and we still managed a decent haul of seabirds, this time including South Polar Skua as well as almost everything seen on Friday. I had enormous fun, of course, but the rarity-hunting birders must have gone home feeling a little short-changed again.

An additional curiosity of this trip was the deck hand fishing for shark and tuna. Now, I’m not a big fan of dragging wild creatures around by their lips, but it has to be said, watching a couple of Blue Sharks being hauled in was rather exciting. They were released again – if they’d been Mako Sharks, which, according to the captain are the tastiest fish of them all, it would have been an entirely different matter.

Once again, I was fairly satisfied with my day, but I didn’t feel as if I’d come away with anything special. But there was still time. We were already heading back towards shore mid afternoon when the cry went up once more: “Whales!”

It was the Blues again. But this time something was different. The boat set course for where the action was, and then someone noticed the surface of the sea – it was churning and boiling with krill, the tiny shrimp-like creatures so beloved of whales and many other saltwater diners. Debi then explained what we were witnessing. The Blue Whales – this time five in all – were lunge feeding at the surface, giving us incredible views as they flipped and splashed, gulping down millions of krill at a time. It was a truly awesome experience, one which is encountered on maybe one in every 100 or so such expeditions, so a rare treat indeed and something that will stay with me as long as I live.

Now on cloud nine, the rest of the journey to shore, which often becomes a chore after ten or more hours at sea, was an absolute pleasure. Also feeding on the krill bonanza were a large number of Cassin’s Auklets. They had stuffed themselves so full of the tasty treats that they could barely get up off the water to fly away, giving me much closer views of this species than ever before. As we triumphantly reentered the harbor, the pelicans put on a performance to end the day on a high.

Once more Shearwater Journeys had given me an experience to treasure. My thanks to Debi and the rest of the leaders for looking after us and showing us the special wildlife of the Pacific ocean.

Bruce and I headed back to San Jose and got an early night. There was no time to lose – I had a day and a half left in California and still had one of the most famous and iconic parks in the world to cram in…

See Debi Shearwater’s trip report here.