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California’s Autumn Seas

10,000 Birds

It was the start of the shark season, which meant I saw my first Great White Shark attacks on Northern Elephant Seals , but it was also the best season for whales. The seas were glass still, and far out we could see whales, dozens of the things. Mostly Humpback Whales , but also Blue Whales. A Humpback Whale.

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Offshore Sea Life ID Guide: West Coast–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

Offshore Sea Life ID Guide: West Coast is designed to be a quick, handy resource for use on whale watching and one-day pelagic trips. Tail, fin, blow, and back for whales; fin, back, leaping whole body, and tail splashes for dolphins and porpoises. We saw two Blue Whales on our trip, quickly identified by the boat’s crew.

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Birding Santa Cruz Island

10,000 Birds

The scenery is stunning…expansive, rolling grasslands, towering vertical cliffs, cozy canyons filled with oaks, quiet coves where sea lions and cormorants mingle over the kelp forests. In summer and fall, the waters around the Channel Islands can teem with Blue Whales. Not a bad part of the ocean to find yourself on.

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Galápagos: A Natural History, Second Edition–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

The next five chapters focus more specifically on Galápagos creatures: huge tortoises; iguanas; birds (two chapters–one on seabirds and coastal birds, another on land birds, including the famous finches); water creatures–sea lions, crabs, fish, sea turtles, whales, dolphins, and porpoises.

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Where to See Kiwi (and other birds) During the Rugby World Cup

10,000 Birds

At sea there are also New Zealand Sea Lions and Southern Right Whales. In actuality, you’ve lucked out, you’re near The Catlins , a dramatic area of well preserved temperate rainforest. This is a good place to see the endangered and beautiful Yellowhead and the endemic Yellow-eyed Penguin.

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The Emotional Lives of Animals

4 The Love Of Animals

Elephants, whales, hippopotamuses, giraffes, and alligators use low-frequency sounds to communicate over long distances, often miles; and bats, dolphins, whales, frogs, and various rodents use high-frequency sounds to find food, communicate with others, and navigate. A Grateful Whale. Photo by Flickker Photos.

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My First West Coast Pelagic Trip

10,000 Birds

I’ve been on a whale-watching trip in Orange County , twice gone out to Santa Cruz Island , and even visited Protection Island off the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. Pacific White-sided Dolphin with a Fin Whale. (At At least I think that’s a Fin Whale. I’m bad at whales.). I want to see more of them!

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