Look for strand feeding at low tide (generally within three hours on either side) along exposed mud banks. Dolphins choose their locale carefully to avoid oyster beds, with their razor sharp shells, and to maximize their ability to corral a school of fish.
Wild spinner dolphins feed off-shore at night and return to sheltered bays and coastlines during the day to rest, socialize, tend to their young, and avoid predators.
Look For SplashesThe first thing you should do when dolphin spotting is to scan the horizon for splashes. Keep your eyes open, scanning from left to right, then moving back to the right. Look for something new and check for any disturbances in the water.
The California coastline between Santa Barbara and San Diego is home to one of the densest populations of dolphins in the world, according to the Dolphin Project. Bottlenose dolphins, Risso's dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins, and short-beaked “common” dolphins have been known to form megapods in the thousands.