Mid-December brought some strong tides to San Francisco Bay. Our Cetacean Field Research team was excited to see a 7ft high tide in the middle of the day – a perfect opportunity to look for porpoises from the Golden Gate Bridge.
We arrived close to the highest tide. The water under the bridge moved fast, forming small, swirling eddies. There were dozens of California sea lions taking advantage of the eddies to find fish. Some appeared to be feeding in pairs. There were also a few harbor seals in the area. As the water started to flow from the bay back out towards the ocean, Harbor Porpoises started to move from the central bay towards the bridge.
Many were hunting for fish on their own, but we also spotted some mothers with their calves.
Seabirds often followed the porpoises, hoping to snatch whatever they caught.
Our final count for the 1.5 hour survey was at least 29 porpoises, in addition to the many seals and sea lions.
-Allison
This post was adapted from a blog, read the original here
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