Marine Wildlife Feeding Bonanza

September 9, 2008:  NUTRIENT-RICH WATERS OF THE GULF OF THE
FARALLONES BECOME A MARINE WILDLIFE FEEDING BONANZA

Best Oceanic Society Whale Watch Trips in 25 years

SAN FRANCISCO ­ Last Saturday whale watchers aboard the Oceanic Society’s vessel Salty Lady, observed more than 60 humpback whales lunging out of the water and feeding close to the vessel, a great white shark, porpoises, and huge flocks of seabirds, among other wildlife.

“Humpback whales breaching in all directions as far as the eye could see plus a rare great white shark sighting makes this one of the best Farallon Islands whale watching trips of my career,” exclaimed Oceanic Society senior naturalist Roger Harris. “The whale spouts surrounding us were like a vaporous “Christo’s” curtain.”

Then while watching a group of whales, Harris spotted some juvenile sea lions leaping in an unusual manner. Their behavior was caused by a 14-foot great white shark. Whale watchers were afforded an exceptional opportunity to observe the shark for over 10 minutes a mere 8 feet from the boat. Other sightings included Harbor porpoises, California sea lions, Steller sea lions, Northern elephant and Harbor seals. Bird sightings included Common murre, Pink-footed, Buller’s and Sooty shearwater, Brown pelican, Brandt’s, Double-crested and Pelagic cormorant, Black oystercatcher, Red-necked phalarope, Heerman’s gull, Western gull, Elegant tern, Pigeon guillemot, Cassin’s and Rhinoceros auklet and Tufted puffin. Twenty-five humpback whales were sighted on Sunday's whale watching trip plus some 15 whale blows on the horizon.

“Sunday provided an incredible feeding event by humpback whales, Dall’s porpoise, sea lions and flocks of shearwater all feeding in one area,” noted naturalist Susan Sherman. “We can expect the current phytoplankton blooms in the Gulf of the Farallones to continue to offer spectacular marine wildlife viewing.”

Phytoplankton blooms are the foundation of the rich sanctuary food webs, which involve zooplankton, benthic and pelagic invertebrates, fishes, birds and mammals. Humpback whales feed principally on small schooling fish and on swarms of krill. These whales use a variety of feeding behaviors to catch food including lunge-feeding where the whale simply lunges and gulps its way through concentrated areas of prey. Cascadia Research Collective estimates that about 1,000 humpback whales use California coastal waters.