(Pelecanus Occidentalis)
(Pelecanus Occidentalis)
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| Santa Barbara, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Santa Barbara, California. A whale watching trip that's a little early in the season starts out with low expectations - the best way to have a great time when it comes to wildlife. Just outside the harbor, a bunch of California Sea Lions are lazing on a buoy. Grunting and snarling at each other while catching 40 winks - it makes a great photographic opportunity... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California Sea Lions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Suddenly our captain spots a school of dolphins, leaping in and out of the water as they head out to sea... and he sets a course to intercept them... when we catch up with them, they continue swimming at high speed just under the prow of the boat - quite an awesome sight for someone sitting at the prow of a short 20-foot motorboat. We're half afraid we'd hit them, but the dolphins are as sure-flippered as mountain goats... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leaping Dolphins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Suddenly the dolphins come to a halt and begin diving into the water... we slow the boat to a stop and edge closer to take a look - a school of anchovies!!! The school tries to form a large menacing mass, but the dolphins playfully dive through the school, feeding happily. Then the birds arrive. Pelicans, Gulls, Coromorants.... the Pelicans and Cormorants dive into the water to get the fish, while the lazy gulls stand by waiting to peck fish out the beak of a pelican who's not fast enough to swallow it... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brown Pelican (Pelecanus Occidentalis) |
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| The feeding frenzy carried on for hours. As we switched off the engine and let the boat come to a stand-still, the fish realized that the safest place for them to stay was under the boat. Just imagine this. A stationary boat out on the sea, a shoal of anchovies hiding under it, and thousands of birds diving under the boat, trying to get at the fish. A couple of sea lions show up to add to the party. The dolphins continue to feed.... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brown Pelican (Pelecanus Occidentalis) |
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| Brown Pelican dives in for fish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The feeding frenzy - note the dolphin on the lower right corner... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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