
Wow! in the Santa Barbara Channel
Eye level with a Black-vented Shearwater The past few days have been outstanding. We have had great weather, calm seas, and a bounty of wildlife streaming into the Santa Barbara Channel. I have been fortunate enough to be scheduled to work on a few whale watches and I took full advantage of the current events. Gray Whales have been returning from Mexico on their long migration back up north to the Bering and Chuckchi Seas. We have seen some mating activity and some exciting d

What's been happening in the Channel lately?
Things have been pretty nice out at sea these past few days with great weather and calm winds. Yesterday (9.15.16) we saw a Green Sea Turtle in the shallow waters around Santa Cruz Island. Sea Turtles are a very rare sighting in our area with only a few a year if that. They typically come during the warmest water months, but not always. Right now the water is hovering in the high 60's to low 70's. We also spotted a small blue shark today as it swam down the side of the boat o