Photography, Travel, Nature

Dolphins, Pelicans and Harbor Seals — Oh My!

An adventure on the water in Dana Point

Our friends, Doug and Linda, recently bought a boat. Yes, these are good friends to have — and not just because they have a boat! But we’d been out with them on the water one time before and had been caught in a “stampede” of common bottle-nosed dolphins and were really excited to venture out again.

The plan this time was to go all the way to Catalina Island. Doug had even hired a captain for the day so that he could have a little wine with us and also so that he could learn some of the ins and outs of the good spots to go on the island.

But Mother Nature had other plans for us. A hurricane off of the coast of Mexico had stirred the waters up into a crescendo of waves so big that we had to brace ourselves with our hands and feet to keep from bouncing out when we hit a big one. Thank heavens for Dramamine and for those little acupressure wrist guards!

It didn’t take much persuasion from the captain to sway us into hugging the coastline instead and to journey from Newport Beach, where the boat was docked, to Dana Point to have a little leisurely lunch.

We started out with our brand new little insulated wine glasses in hand. But the partaking of wine only lasted about twenty minutes. Once we left the mouth of the harbor we felt a little like the castaways on Gilligan’s Island (which, incidentally, was filmed in Newport Harbor). Trying to take a sip of wine was likely to knock out a tooth or two.

We initially headed out to sea, where the captain had been told that a school of dolphins was feeding. And we found them. There were about a hundred of them — mothers and babies jumping out of water in all of their glory. But do I have a single photo? Nope. I tried. But it turns out that it’s pretty much impossible to photograph a moving dolphin and not fall overboard in waves like that. But some pictures are just for our memories, right?

Once we headed back towards the coastline, the waves got a little smaller, although trying to focus on anything moving (like a dolphin) was like playing whack-a-mole.

But we soon saw a frenzy of birds and we knew that we’ve found another school of dolphins. The dolphins herd the fish into a tighter and tighter circle in order to feed on them. And the birds know to take full advantage of the situation.

The sea all around us began to erupt with black and white dolphin faces. I kept trying to time it right to be able to capture an image of a dolphin beginning its jump. But this was the best I could do this time around.

Last time that we were out, I was able to get a few like this one. You can see them here.

As sleek and beautiful as the dolphins are, I have to say that I am almost equally enthralled by the birds. This pelican didn’t catch his fish, but he was just so graceful in the way he lifted back up into the air after his failed attempt.

Here he is, a little more up-close.

This pod of dolphins was teeming with youngsters. Their little fins are so cute poking up out of the water right beside their mom’s. I didn't realize until I got home and put the photos up on my computer that the top photo actually had two babies in it.

As we pulled into the Dana Point Harbor, the fog began to lift and the water smoothed out. We docked and had to laugh at who was docked across from us — three Harbor Seals just hanging out on the boats.

This guy was quite a character. He’d peek his head up then roll onto his side and lift a flipper, like a little ballet dancer in the water.

After lunch, we headed home on just slightly smoother waters. On the way, we passed the black rocks of Corona del Mar. My husband and I got married atop that bluff, looking out towards the sea, thirty-one years ago. It’s always a little nostalgic to pass by it again.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride.

Erika Burkhalter is a yogi, neurophilosopher, cat-mom, photographer, and lover of travel and nature, spreading her love and amazement for Mother Earth’s glories, one photo, poem or story at a time. (MS Neuropsychology, MA Yoga Studies).

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