Dawson looked out over the water, his tour today only half-full. He drew in a deep breath and appreciated the clear blue sky, the darker blue s***h of water at the bottom of his window. A puff of white came up, and he said, “We have whales out the left side, ten o’clock.”
He slowed to a hover so the family of three inside could watch. “Those are pilot whales,” he said, their massive bodies a slightly darker color than the water, which made them easy to spot. “I can see five, maybe six.”
Increased splashing commenced out the front windshield, and he turned the helicopter slightly. “Those are spotted dolphins,” he said. “Looks like a big pod. Maybe fifty or one hundred. They’ve found a school of herring, one of their favorite foods.”
He often saw whales, Hawaiian monk seals, and dolphins
