WSU09 6-20-2009

Despite the often cool and rainy weather recently we have still been treated to some very good whale watches. The whales themselves seem to change location quite a bit from day-to-day, perhaps indicating shifts in the location of prey.

American Sand Lance... the main prey of the whales.

Sometime the feed (meaning small schooling fish such as the American Sand lance) is very concentrated in one area and large numbers of whales are therefore concentrated in that area too… often feeding actively at the surface. At other times the feed seems more spread out and so the whales are likewise spread over a greater distance.

Regardless of whether the whales are concentrated together or not we have been seeing a lot of surface activity from many of the Humpback Whales…. calves in particular. Featured on this page are just a few of the best photographs I have taken over the past week. Breaching, tail-breaching, lob-tailing, and flipper-slapping have all been seen recently.

This video was shot in June 2009 aboard the PRIVATEER IV.

One particular whale behavior we have seen a lot of recently is the aptly called “close-to-boat” behavior from a number of different Humpback Whales. This is when the whale (or whales) choose to swim up to the boat and investigate the people onboard who have ventured out to sea to see the whales! This behavior is a favorite amongst whale watchers because you can never get such a true impression of the size and scale of these enormous animals as when they are just a few feet away from you.

On one recent whale watch we had reports of whales far to the south but since the seas were calm and the skies clear we were content on heading that way when we spotted a Humpback Whale breaching (leaping from the water) FAR to the east. By “far” I mean at least 3 miles and so we were faced with a choice: either keep heading south towards an area where we knew we were going to find a few whales or turn east and hope that the whale continued the breaching long enough for us to get a look. The risk was that if the whale stopped breaching then we would be that much farther off-course.

We decided to go for the breaching whale… and we are very glad we did! Not only did the breaching continue long enough for us to get some great looks, but when the whale finally stopped breaching it came over and “played-with-the-boat” (aka exhibited “close-to-boat” behavior) for over 30 minutes! The whale continuously crossed back-and-forth under our boat and “spy-hopped” (lifted its head out of the water) to get a better look at all the people onboard. SEE VIDEO FROM THIS TRIP ABOVE

A curious Humpback Whale approaches our boat

This was just one of many recent trips where we have seen this type of behavior. In fact, as I write this we are on the way in from a whale watch where we experienced the same behavior from a little Humpback Whale calf (“Nile’s” 2009 calf.)

So let’s hope that the weather will soon turn more summer-like so more of us can get out there and enjoy these great sightings. The whales have been doing their part, now it’s time for the weather to do its part as well.

STRANGE BIRD STORY

We also had a strange experience with a Greater Shearwater today. First off, Greater Shearwaters are large birds (nearly the size of a Herring Gull/Seagull) and they are interesting for many reasons. Not the least of which is the fact that they breed in the Southern Hemisphere! When it is winter in Northern Hemisphere these birds migrate all the way south to breed on the remote sea islands of the South Atlantic. When it turns winter in the Southern Hemisphere (and their chicks learn to fly) the adults then fly all they way back up across the equator to feed in these same productive waters as “our” whales…. and we thought our whale made a long migration!

Greater Shearwater

Anyway, today one crashed into the side of out boat and got stranded on our upper deck. Why I can’t tell you. In 20 years of working with 7 Seas Whale Watch I have never seen this happen before. It seemed as if a sudden gust of wind tossed the bird into the side of the pilot house and stunned the bird for a second... just long enough for it fall onto the deck.

Due to the fact that these are seabirds they are not very good at taking of from a hard surface. Their legs are set far back on their bodies and are used for running across the surface of the water in order to gain the speed needed to achieve flight. From a hard surface (such as the deck of a whale watch boat) they are grounded. I knew this (from past experience with other seabirds in the Southern Hemisphere that often are attracted to light of cruise ships at night) and wanted to help. The best thing you can do in this situation is to grab the bird (gently) and (gently) toss it into the air. As it falls it will achieve the momentum needed to create lift and fly once again… so this is what I did. Unfortunately while I was trying to help it the Shearwater bit me on the finger! Wow, are their beaks ever sharp! It took me a few paper towels and half the gauze we had on the boat to stop the bleeding… all while Nile’s calf circled the boat! But the Shearwater is fine by-the-way.

It just goes to show, whale watching is a nature trip and no matter how many you have been on there is always something new to see!

Nile's Calf

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All photos on this page were taken aboard the 7 Seas Whale Watch boat "Privateer IV"

Some of the BEST photographs on this site were taken aboard our whale watching trips by our good friend Oktay Kaya. To see more of Oktay's beautiful whale photographs and other wildlife pictures he has taken please visit his site at http://www.whalesandwhales.com