February, 2019 Monthly Report

As February ran through its last few days the wildlife patterns have been slowly changing in the Santa Barbara Channel. Most notably we have had the continuing migration of Gray Whales but now they are starting their return trip north to the food rich arctic waters and can potentially be seen closer to the mainland shore. Humpback and Minke whales have also been found throughout the channel as they venture north and stop in our local waters for the excellent seafood.

As far as the birds go there is confirmation of Brown Pelican nesting on Anacapa with even a few chicks already hatching! Bald eagles are back on the nest too and can be seen with the web camera link on the home page of this website www.thesaltybird.com

March 9th, Island Packers is the running our annual Island Scrub-Jay Pelagic trip (sold out) and due to the popularity we are adding an encore trip in April on the 6th. You can book trips here or learn more about the trip here.

Brown Pelicans are looking good this time of year

Basking sharks also showed up a few times towards the end of the month... Basking Sharks... big sharks. 20-26 ft big. Yah big.

Basking Shark Dorsal Fin

These sharks are not to be feared they just skim their meals from the water rather than take chunks of flesh out of mammals. They are very big, like jaw dropping big.

Basking Shark feeding

February has been a wet month, with winter hitting us with an atmospheric river and windy after parties. Winter can be a hard season to navigate but if you are ready and prepared you can get to the difficult places and see the sights others only dream of.

March will bring more exciting vistas, animals, and experiences...