I was working at my desk this morning (19 March 2025), when a lot of splashing offshore caught my eye. I checked quickly with binoculars and realized it was a large group of dolphins passing Bodega Head, so I went to get my camera to try for photos.
They were pretty far out, so the photos aren't great, but because this doesn't happen very often, here are a few images for the record. [You can click on the images for sharper versions.]
Look for the relatively large body size (8.5-13 feet), overall grayish coloration, and tall dorsal fin.
The dolphins were swimming south fairly quickly, but they were in view from Bodega Head for at least 30 minutes (between 10:30-11:00 a.m.).
Remarkably, we also observed a large group of Risso's Dolphins under very similar circumstances last year on nearly the same date (21 March 2024) -- see post called "Splashes, fins, and leaps!" Perhaps the week after St. Patrick's Day is a good time to be watching for Risso's from Bodega Head?
1 comment:
Nice, Jackie! As you said, it will be interesting to see if they come by in future years around this time in the calendar.
What are the birds accompanying them? And is there a reason they do like upwelling of food or is that an unknown?
Tom
St. Louis
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