Saddles overhead

 

We were getting ready to do some grilling in the backyard tonight when Eric looked up to see a dragonfly cruising around overhead.  Then a second dragonfly appeared.

We don't see Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) in our yard very often, but they're known for moving long distances when dispersing.

Watching them overhead provided great views of the "saddles," the large black patches at the base of the hindwings.

 

What fish?

 

We were exploring a rocky intertidal zone site near Carmel this morning when I looked down to see (or not see?) this sculpin with amazing camouflage colors.  It looked just like the surrounding pink crustose coralline algae and the green Aggregating Sea Anemones (Anthopleura elegantissima).

I tried to get a view from the side.  What beautiful fins!

 

Here's one even closer:

 

 

And you know me, I can't resist sculpin eyes:

 

Quiet times

 

We've had to do some field work down near Carmel, CA, so here are a few quick shots from the Point Lobos area on 30 August 2019.

Below, these sea otters were a bit distant, but it's always nice to see them.  (The otter in foreground with a paler face is an adult, while the otter in the background with the darker facial fur is a juvenile.)

 

Not too far

 

We were lucky to encounter several Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) offshore near Bodega Canyon/Cordell Bank on 25 August 2019.  

You can tell individual Blue Whales apart by the details of the patterning on their skin and the shape of their dorsal fins.  Here's a different individual than the one shown above:

 

Below, this is the same individual as shown in the first photo, but the view is further forward and the "splashguards" surrounding the blowhole are visible (right side).

 

It's always nice to see Blue Whales and fun to think about them feeding offshore, not too far away.

 

Just visiting

 

A few Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) images from a boat trip to Bodega Canyon/Cordell Bank on 25 August 2019.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

 

P.S.  For an introduction to Laysan Albatross, see the post called "Incoming" on 2 September 2012.  (And note that they also breed on Guadalupe Island off the west coast of Baja California, Mexico, which I neglected to mention in that earlier post.)  And for some fun audio recordings of Laysan Albatross, check out "Largely silent at sea" on 9 September 2015.

Offshore light

 

Even though we were 20+ miles offshore yesterday, the ocean was incredibly calm.  Because there was fog, sometimes it was hard to tell the ocean from the sky.  When the sun started to break through in places, the light and patterns were mesmerizing.

It also made for interesting backgrounds and reflections.  Here are two examples with Buller's Shearwaters (Ardenna bulleri):

 

 

More to come, so stay tuned!

Shadows of the sea

 

Ready for pelagic week?  I joined a trip to Bodega Canyon and Cordell Bank today (25 August 2019).  So I'll be sharing some photos from offshore during the next week.  Above, a Northern Right Whale Dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis) leaps from the water next to the boat.  They look unusual because they lack a dorsal fin.

Northern Right Whale Dolphins are fast and unpredictable, making them difficult to photograph.  When they break the surface, they produce an impressive splash:

 

These dolphins are very dark above, so they almost look like shadows when swimming under water.  But check out the paler frosting on the flukes:

 

Here's another example of their shadowy silhouette:

 

Because they lack a dorsal fin, when viewed from a distance Northern Right Whale Dolphins can look a little odd. Below, here's one surfacing — note the very streamlined shape: