Tag: Albatross

Extraordinary☀ That was the best way to describe the day we had in the Bremer Canyon today as we departed Bremer Bay in picture perfect conditions. Common Dolphins greeted us and we sighted three Sunfish in under an hour, that is a new record! Beautiful Albatross and Shearwaters lingered close to the vessel but it was just after lunch that we sighted the streamlined black fluke of Orca cut through the calm Southern Ocean as they moved straight towards us.

We noticed almost instantly a recognisable Orca, she is due to the fact her dorsal fin is missing. Lucky is in great health and believed to have her calf travelling with her and is one of the easier to identify individuals because of her unique appearance, but we still think she is beautiful! A big male surfaced only meters away and his dorsal was so large it even had a wobble going after each surfacing as he followed along with the rest of the pod. A sleepy New Zealand Fur Seal was enjoying an afternoon grooming session and one of our special Sunfish was sighted carefully plucking Blue Bottle Jellyfish for his lunch from the surface, a behaviour never before seen onboard and a very special and important moment captured on another fantastic day in the Bremer Canyon.

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The Southern Ocean was impeccably calm today with a glassy Bremer Canyon greeting us on our arrival and it wasn’t long before we sighted our first morning introduction, a very sleepy New Zealand Fur Seal (aka Long-nosed Fur Seal) who had just woken up and was enjoying a good scratch and roll in-between looking up at us. A fantastic sighting from the bow was made by one of our guests as a slender dorsal bobbed above the oceans surface and this belonged to a very beautiful and large Sunfish. Soon our eyes scanned the horizon and a large muffled blow was seen… we had sighted our first Sperm Whale!

Having held his breathe for close on 90 minutes this young male Sperm Whale was replenishing oxygen levels and preparing for his next dive. The sounding dive of a Sperm Whale is rather magnificent as they lift their fluke clear of the water below before slowly disappearing into the deep blue not to be seen for another hour or more. Our journey home had a familiar pod of Common Dolphins race over to us for a quick hello before moving on to their next feeding ground and we had the chance to meet the new caretaker of Glasse Island… the very large male Australian Sea Lion Brock!

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A beautiful day in the Bremer Canyon as Orca worked hard for their morning breakfast and we watched as the first black dorsal fins broke the surface. Every Orca in the family having one job to do as they scoured the canyon for their meal and it was amazing to watch their persistence and consistency. Small jumping Bonito Tuna had the attention of the seabirds as they desperately tried to capture one but it wasn’t too long before a few small scraps appeared on the surface creating a mad scramble by the Shearwaters… the Orca had found their morning tea!

Soon after their feed we noticed the main pod separate into three and with much excitement we watched as two mothers decided to bring their young calves over. Dancing just below the surface these young babies showed us their bellies while staying close to mum and seemed pleased to meet us. A big male Orca stood off close by and observed before the call went out and all members of the pod including the babies joined together as one before disappearing once more into the Southern Ocean blue, it was time for afternoon tea. Common Bottlenose Dolphins raced us back to the harbour and we said a quick hello to the Australian Sea Lions and guess who was having another feed… yep, little Sea Lion pup

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After a few days of bad weather it was wonderful to be out on beautiful Flinders Bay and meeting some of our special gentle giants! A few Humpbacks around this morning but all keeping a low profile, they will be waiting for the arrival of a few other friends returning from their northern migration to the Kimberley’s before they all continue on their way back to Antarctica. Pearl and Mother Of Pearl also said hello today and every moment spent with them is so special.

Mother Of Pearl rolled onto her back a few times and “held” Pearl between her pectoral fins and we have seen her do this a few times but never get tired of watching these incredible interactions between mother and calf. Leeuwi was also sighted today and he is looking so much bigger! We are super happy as this is a good sign he is continuing to grow and as we start to head towards some warmer months it should be a little bit easier for him. Beauftiul big Albatross, Juvenile Australasian Gannets and Antarctic Skua were also enjoying the breeze today☀️

ID Log
Date – 20.8.16
Species – Humpback
Lat – 34 . 21. 83 Long – 115 . 13. 77
Notes – One of pod of three

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