I cried today, literally. Today’s morning was, on its own, spectacular. Grey whales appeared everywhere we looked, some 15 in all, and we settled on a group of four heading north. Not just Grey’s two (additional) Humpbacks joined the group and our passengers were afforded the rare opportunity to photograph both species in the same shot! On our way home, a massive pod of roughly 600 Risso’s Dolphin appeared, which we watched until it was time to head- wait, could it be? Yes! Casper, the albino Risso’s Dolphin (one and only in the world) made an appearance. We watched him well into overtime, and got – by far – the best looks I’ve ever seen of him. Finally, we had to head back. Truly, it was our second trip that stood out, and for much different purposes. Just as we left the harbor, we received a reliable report of Killer Whales in the middle of the bay. The catch: they were 45 minutes away unattended – and no other whales had been seen in the vicinity that day. Not being ones to bow down to against risk, we laid all of our cards on the table, and went for it. Once in a while, however, wildlife has a way of reminding you that it is exactly that: wild, and unpredictable. We reached the area and searched around for some time until accepting that sometimes, you can’t win ’em all. With precious few minutes left on the clock, we raced full throttle out to the west to reach the Grey Whale grounds. Suddenly, massive bird appeared of the port side, gliding barely 20 yards away. Could it be? Yes! Sweet mother of mercy, it was a Short Tailed Albatross!!! While the passengers scratched their heads, the crew went wild as the massive, extraordinarily rare, and critically endangered creature flew lap after lap around the boat. Having worked on the boat for 10 years, I’ve only recently said that I would probably cry if I ever saw one. Laughter, and literal tears of joy poured from my face as it suddenly banked back and flew so close to the boat that I could have jumped off the rail and tackled it. Finally, it flew off, and I explained to our passengers that there are captains who have run whale watching trips in Monterey since the SIXTIES who had never seen one. Truly, they are the holy grail of birdlife sightings in North America. Oh yeah, we found whales too. Six Greys, and stayed extra just to make sure everyone left the boat happy as usual.
-Naturalist Isaiah