Baja California #7 - Dolphins by the 1000's

In the Sea of Cortes there are very large pods of Common Dolphin that may number 1000+ individuals and also large pods of Bottlenose Dolphin. The Bottlenose seemed to hang out with the Sperm Whales.

I don't have a good photo to show how many Dolphin there were, they sometimes compeletly encircled the ship.

They would often run parallel to us, remember that there are at least 10+ underwater for every one on the surface taking a breath:


They would then turn toward us and take turns riding in our wake and under the bow of the ship:


Once they got close there were lots of photo opps:


You could see them below the surface in the clear waters so you could know where they would surface and be able to time the shots:


They usually exhaled a little air just before surfacing, giving them a "powdered wig" look:


Sometimes you got an artsy look when they were below the surface:


You could also hang over the bow of the ship and get an interesting shot:

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More to follow,
Bob & Nan

 

I'll add a few more from another day. We saw dolphin on at least 8 different days during the trip. :biggrin:



You can see several more just below the surface, riding on the wake:




Your timing and framing had to be just right to get a frame filler:

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Bob & Nan