Feeding Frenzy

I wandered to the beach this afternoon for a brief stroll, not expecting to stay long or see much. But soon I spotted a few dolphins. They were farther out than usual and hard to see, so I headed to the Venice Pier to get a better view. I couldn't find them again and was just about to go home when I noticed them swimming near a large collection of water birds. The birds were in a frenzy, flapping around and repeatedly dive-bombing the water. So I whipped out my trusty binoculars to see what was going on. I was stunned to see not only dolphins and birds in the mix, but also sea lions!! (Well, I'm guessing they were sea lions. They could have been seals - I can't tell the difference from a distance.) Several sea lions were vigorously swimming around in a porpoise-like fashion, with their heads and tails bobbing in and out of the water. This was a breath-taking sight to behold: dolphins, sea lions, and sea birds all swimming around in a frenzy in a very small area. I figure that one of the groups must have scared up some fish, and the other animals came over to partake. This was so cool to watch!

(Aside: it's amazing how difficult it can be to distinguish birds from dolphins from sea lions in the water! Yea, I know they look pretty different on land :). But when you look out on the ocean, all you see is a dark appendage (head, fin, or tail) sticking out of the water for a brief second and then it disappears. I've hallucinated many a dolphin that turned out to be a sea bird! Or a surfer. ;)