A Wild Morning

When at a nice anchorage, I like to sit outside and have a cup of coffee just after dawn to enjoy the morning calm. This morning, the calm was broken by some wild wildlife!

All at once, the glassy water churned up as if it was boiling, when hundreds of fish started jumping. They do this to catch unsuspecting insects flying near the surface.

When that show was over, things moved up the food chain. Sandy joined me on deck from where we continued to observe fish jumping above the surface. Unlike the first spectacle of continuous jumping over a wide area, these fish would jump in a 15 foot wide circle at 10 second intervals, creating a crater-like sensation on the water’s surface. The mystery was solved when we saw a harbor seal pop up for air, then plop right down into the water below where the fish had jumped. 

Through online research, we learned the following. Harbor seals usually hunt alone, probably for mackerel in this region. When the seal locates a school of fish, he repeatedly dives through and around it. Baitfish have an instinct to bunch together and to avoid open water when under threat. Each time the seal passes to one side or another, they bunch ever tighter. Eventually the seal lunges from below into the approximately 15 foot wide “ball” of fish. Their only escape is to break through the surface, while the seal feasts on their less fortunate schoolmates remaining below the surface.

Watch for it at around 25 seconds into the video.

Finally, a family of two adults and a baby dolphin swam by our boat. We assumed they were after fish too, but they were apparently more interested in socializing. One of the adults come right alongside our boat, swam under the bow, and circled around to face us. We think he was attrracted to Sandy’s voice as she called to them.

What a wild morning!