Tag: Wobbles The Whales

Fantastic experience today as we watched a very Pretty Woman (Whale) call in all the boys from around the bay with confident Pec Slapping which released a scent and drove the male Humpbacks crazy! They were breaching, head lunging and trying everything they could to show off to the beautiful female Humpback and try to win her heart.

A few big male Humpbacks raced past our vessel trying to push the other male away from the female and you could clearly see all the scarring and marks that were on the flanks of these big males who have had many a competition over their lifetime so far. Even the baitfish were nervously jumping with so many active and excited Humpbacks racing around at great speed and with incredible energy!

ID Log
Date – 15.7.16
Species – Humpback
Lat – 34 . 24. 95 Long – 115 . 14 . 75
Notes – Male Humpback who was moving towards/joined competition pod – unique markings

On our morning tour today we had an incredibly close encounter with a big male Humpback who moved past our bow like a torpedo! Absolutely incredible energy and he was only centimetres from our bow. He was one of the “Three Amigos” we met this morning, a Bachelor Pod of three large male Humpbacks who stayed with our vessel for almost two hours and over that period of time we became a part of their pod.

They moved around and under our vessel displaying usual macho male Humpback behaviour and even a few big Peduncle Slaps. They would cheekily come up behind our vessel or race past our bow constantly showing off, absolutely magic to be a part of this pod! This afternoon we had two very relaxed Humpbacks just outside the Augusta Boat Harbour come over to check us out and a little bit later on in the afternoon a big competition pod of eight Humpbacks. Very fun and exciting times in Flinders Bay!

ID Log
Date – 13.7.16
Species – Humpback
Lat – 34 . 21. 23 Long – 115 . 13 . 53
Notes – Large male Humpback in Bachelor Pod with plenty of unique scarring

After a weekend of bad weather it was absolutely wonderful to be back out on Flinders Bay and our gorgeous whales gave us the most wonderful welcome back! On both our morning and afternoon tours we had Humpback whales interacting with Dolphin pods and then turning their full attention to us.

Approaching our vessel you could clearly see all of the tiny details on our whales from their unique rostrums to the barnacles on their tail flukes. As one of our guests said today the question on everyones mind was, “are we watching the whales or are they watching us!”. The curiosity of our Humpbacks usually gets the better of them and they will often come over and introduce themselves to us which is always a very exciting moment.

The Dolphin and Humpback interaction today was fantastic and a wonderful visual of just how agile and well adapted our Humpbacks are in their ocean environment as they twisted and turned with the Dolphins who looked tiny compared to them!

ID Log
Date – 12.7.16
Species – Humpback
Lat – 34 . 22. 23 Long – 115 . 12 . 85
Notes – Unique marking on right tail fluke

We experienced one of the most beautiful moments we have had in Flinders Bay this afternoon as our very talented guest was kind enough to share her incredible talent as she serenaded our whales with a beautiful song❤️ A magical moment we will treasure and remember always.

Our gorgeous baby Humpback calf was again re-sighted today much to everyones excitement and thank you to all of the wonderful name suggestions from our guests. We have combined a couple of our favourite names and are pleased to introduce you to Leeuwi Augustus Flinders! Such a meaningful and regal name is very fitting for our special little Humpback calf.

ID Log
Date – 6.7.16
Species – Humpback
Lat – 34 . 22. 31 Long – 115 . 13 . 36
Notes – Nicknamed “two-tail” after the beautiful pattern of a black tail fluke

It was another happy morning out on Flinders Bay today which became even happier when we discovered our baby Humpback again! As usual he was keeping very quite so it wasn’t until 10 minutes after we had spent some time with this pod that we sighted him safe in mums shadow as usual. He is looking much bigger now and they still have the same male escort with them who is doing a very good job of protecting the beautiful family.

Only a quick image captured as we don’t wish to disturb this pod even though they are always very relaxed, when a calf is this young it is an incredibly vulnerable time for him. Looking carefully you might notice that his dorsal fin is starting to stand up straight now and although still tiny in comparison to his mum he has certainly put on some weight since we last sighted him on the 30.6.16.

A few large competition pods in the bay today with one such group of active males racing around our vessel and showing off their incredible size and strength. Juveniles and pods of male/female Humpbacks were also enjoying the lovely weather today and most seemed to be relaxing and having a bit of a rest.
Whale Watch Western Australia
Whale Watch Western Australia

ID Log
Date – 5.7.16
Species – Humpback
Lat – 34 . 20. 42 Long – 115 . 13 . 92
Notes – Large male in competition pod, distinctive scarring on left flank/dorsal

We had a great mix of very active competition pods today and many relaxed pods who seemed very curious to come over and say hello! Big males hustled through the bay and even raced across our bow on the morning tour which was incredibly exciting to be right in the middle of an intense Humpback competition pod.

On the afternoon tour we met two sleepy individuals who seemed more than happy to sleep away the afternoon just a few meters from our bow and get some good rest in before continuing their journey north. Gannets and Crested Turns dived close to our vessel while feeding today and we absolutely loved the beautiful hats some of our guests were wearing to keep warm.

ID Log
Date – 4.7.16
Species – Humpback
Lat – 34 . 22. 40 Long – 115 . 11 . 69
Notes – Large male Humpback in competition pod

Inspired by one of our youngest guests onboard today we nicknamed the two beautiful young Humpbacks who decided to surprise everyone by surfacing right on our bow! Olivia is the bigger one while Rose was a tiny bit smaller and seemed to be following Olivia’s lead. Hiding underneath us while a big competition pod moved across further away they used our vessel as a bit of protection, hiding in our shadow while the big males moved pass.

Not knowing they were underneath us everyone had a great surprise when both Olivia and Rose surfaced right on our bow and they were both just gorgeous! Such a special moment when you are so close to two magnificent creatures and they were so peaceful. Thank you Olivia Rose for your beautiful name to help give these two special whales names we can remember them by.

Very quite behaviour out on the bay with not much surface activity but plenty of curious Humpbacks (like Olivia and Rose!) who came very close to check us out and say a quick hello. Baitfish were jumping like crazy on the surface today and as their sparkly silver bodies broke the surface it made for a very beautiful sight.

Our wonderfully fun Dolphins also raced over to us today with a lot of speed and were even jumping clear of the water on a few occasions, they must have been on a mission to find those baitfish quickly!

ID Log
Date – 2.7.16
Species – Humpback
Lat – 34 . 21. 49 Long – 115 . 10 . 85
Notes – The larger whale in afternoon pod, both approached vessel

A beautiful day spent out on Flinders Bay with our wonderful Humpback whales. Lovely weather and friendly whales made this Friday a very special one. Many of our whales were taking some time to rest and recoup before continuing on their migration north and often they would be logging right next to our vessel for a while.

A competition pod was also sighted today and fantastic to see so much energy amongst this pod! The Language of Our Whales is very unique and especially on our afternoon tour today you could see how quickly the communication between pods can go from a resting state to incredible energy as one pod joins another and males compete for the right to mate with available females.

Our birdlife was active once again today with a very special moment on this mornings tour as high above our bow we could hear a ruckus as a Crested Tern tried to move away from a dominant Antarctic Skua who specialises in chasing other species until they are forced to regurgitate their last meal!

ID Log
Date – 1.7.16
Species – Humpback
Lat – 34 . 21. 28 Long – 115 . 12 . 38
Notes – One of the males from the competition pod

It was certainly a busy day today for our Humpback whales as on both morning and afternoon tours the activity was high as many whales interacted with one another. Most excitingly we re-sighted our beautiful little Humpback calf and his mum! Looking a bit bigger and moving closely to mum we managed to get a better picture of both together today, he really is so tiny.

With numerous pods moving through our bay we sighted a lot of surface behaviour such as spy hopping, pec rolls, tail slapping and general silliness as some pods mingled on the surface! Lovely interaction also today with many of these pods that we were with as they came right over to check everything out and we had some very close encounters.

Birdlife was also going crazy today with Gannets and Crested Terns enjoying the plentiful baitfish around and often diving right next to the boat. A lovely day that just got better with a huge 5 minute display of breaching, head lunging, tail slapping and pec slapping from a pod we found on the way back to the marina… even a magnificent rainbow to complete a beautiful day.

ID Log
Date – 30.6.16
Species – Humpback
Lat – 34 . 22. 90 Long – 115 . 11 . 24
Notes – Surface active pod of three HB whales, photo of largest individual 

One of our guests inspired the name of our Daily Report today as we watched a very large female Humpback call in all of the available male Humpbacks around the bay with an incredible display of repeated breaching and pec slapping! Being such a large female in size and length we determined she was a fair bit older than some of the younger females around that we have seen so far this season and she was certainly beautiful. So “The Cougar” it was!

We first sighted her with another very large Humpback who performed one of the biggest head lunges we have ever seen… it was incredible! Except for his tail fluke the entire body of this male was clear of the water below and he landed with an all mighty splash, everyone onboard was completely blown away. He must have been determined to try and deter the other males fast approaching the beautiful female who was showing off with breach after breach and then began her pec slapping which releases a scent, this scent and the sound encourages the males to come over and say hello.

So exciting to watch the very beginning of a competition pod and as we were with the female we could see the numerous other males approaching from left and right to meet this female and very quickly two whales became six as the competition began. Once she had the attention of these males she began leading them on a chase through the bay to see who was the strongest and wisest, the perfect choice for her new mate and we hope the male who performed the incredible head lunge wins!

A fantastic day all round with both morning and afternoon tours sighting a pod of Common Dolphins interacting with Humpbacks, breaching, head lunging, pec slapping and curious Humpbacks checking us out as they moved through Flinders Bay.

ID Log
Date – 29.6.16
Species – Humpback
Lat – 34 . 22. 13 Long – 115 . 10 . 62
Notes – Individuals were interacting with pod of 10 Common Dolphins

We had a huge surprise this afternoon as we met our very first Humpback calf for season 2016. After watching the pod of two adult whales for a while at a distance they surfaced a bit closer to us and we could see the tiny baby swimming next to his mom’s pectoral fin and trying his best to get that blowhole above the swell for a big breathe. We were certainly not expecting to see such a young calf so early on in the season and so far south of where he needs to be.

The little ones dorsal fin was still lying on its side and from his incredibly small size and coordination he looked to be only a few hours old. We only managed to capture a quick photo before gently moving away from this pod as not to disturb them. Being so young and with many other Humpbacks sighted close by we decided that the best thing for mom, baby and their male escort was to allow them to continue moving through the bay without us causing any disturbance or extra concern in a very vulnerable time for the baby.

It is very unusual for a Humpback calf to be born in this area and during these early months of our season. Sometimes a female who is having her very first calf can have a few problems and not be as well timed as the older females with more experience are. We will definitely be keeping a very close eye open tomorrow for any signs of this pod.

Our afternoon tour also had some amazing peduncle slap and tail slaps with a bachelor pod of three big male Humpbacks who approached our vessel at speed with incredible energy!

 

ID Log
Date – 28.6.16
Species – Humpback
Lat – 34 . 23. 23 Long – 115 . 14 . 70
Notes –  Mother of calf