Humpback Spouts and Soundings

Aloha,
Thursday brought us more windy conditions, so though we know the Humpbacks are going about their lives around us here in Hawaii, it was pretty difficult to get to them. Guests aboard our 10:00 Whale Watch on Alala did spot and then parallel a whale for more than 40 minutes as he or she travelled along the coast. We saw lots of spouting, and a few sounding dives (that’s what we call it when the whale dives– often showing his or flukes– prior to a longer breath-hold submersion). And our hydrophone was able to pick up some faint singing. Luckily, for all of us whale watchers, the local meteorologists are calling for slowly diminishing trade winds this weekend, so that should provide for some spectacular end-of-the-year whale watching!
Ring out the old year or ring in the New Year with a cruise aboard any of our 3 daily Whale Watch Adventures. We depart from 2 different locations within the Hawaii islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Waters. Call us at 886-6666 ext. 103 or visit  www.hawaiioceansports.com to reserve your adventure today.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: A fully grown Humpback Whale can hold his or her breath for around 45 minutes. Usually, that’s not what we observe in Hawaii though. We’re more likely to witness 10-20 minute breath hold dives, and if the whale is really active, s/he surfaces to breathe a lot more frequently!
Enjoy your weekend and Happy New Year!
Captain Claire

Competition and Wild Surface Activity

Aloha,
Our Wednesday whales seemed to have moved up the coast… After 3 days of great viewings near Anaeho’omalu, yesterday, guests aboard our 10:00 Whale Watch on Alala which departed from Kawaihae Harbor were treated to sightings of 6 different whales. Jonathan, our naturalist aboard that trip, reported that guests got to watch a competitive pod of 3 whales — 2 of them sizing each other up and chasing the third. We also saw three complete breaches, two tail lobs, a complete body lunge and a couple of head lunges! When the hydrophone was deployed, singing was detected, but it was pretty faint. Guests aboard Seasmoke’s 8:00 Breakfast with the Whales and the 3:00 Whales & Cocktails Cruises also reported seeing spouts and a few dives.
Join Ocean Sports on any of our 3 daily Whale Watches. We depart from two different locations within the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Waters. Call us at 886-6666 ext 103 or visit hawaiioceansports.com to reserve your adventure today.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: Humpback Whales have two blowholes. Actually, all Baleen whales have two…toothed whales only have one blowhole. Humpbacks use their blowholes like you use your nostrils – they exhale thru both and inhale thru both.
Mahalo,
Captain Claire

3 Pods of 2

Aloha,
Our Tuesday Whale Watching was a lot of fun. Guests aboard our 8:00 Breakfast with the Whales Cruise on Seasmoke out of A-bay reported seeing 6 different whales, all of them in pods of two. Two of the pods consisted of a sub-adult and larger adult (not a cow/calf though) and one of the sub-adults breached right in front of the boat. The other sub-adult/adult pod cruised right next to the boat (possibly taking a look at us?). The other two whales we saw were spouting a bit further away.
Join Ocean Sports on one of our daily Whale Watch Cruises departing from two locations within the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Waters. For more information, call 886-6666 ext. 103 or visit hawaiioceansports.com.
Humpback Fact of the Day: Humpback Whales (and, in fact, all Baleen Whales) demonstrate something called “reverse sexual size dimorphism”. This means that an adult female Humpback is larger than an adult male. Though researchers are not sure of the exact reason for the difference in size, they theorize that the increased size allows the female to store more reserves to feed and care for her calf, and also to give birth to a bigger calf who might have a better chance of survival than a smaller one.
Mahalo,
Captain Claire

Aggression, Excitement, Irritation???

Aloha,
Once again, we spent a windy morning on the water on Monday, but the guests aboard our 8:00 Breakfast with the Whales Cruise on Seasmoke were treated to sightings of 12 different whales. They got to see 7 peduncle throws (that’s when the whale throw the back half of his or her body completely out of the water). And if that wasn’t already exciting enough, they also got to witness a complete breach about 130 yards from the boat! Guests on our 10:00 Whale Watch on Alala out of Kawaihae also had some action, with 3 different Humpback sightings.
Ocean Sports offers 3 different cruises to see the Humpbacks daily from two different locations within the Hawaiian Islands National Marine Humpback Whale Sanctuary Waters. Call us at 886-6666 ext 103 or visit www.hawaiioceansports.com to reserve your adventure today.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: Why would a whale waste the energy to throw the back half of his or her body out of the water in a Peduncle Throw (sometimes repetitively)?? Since the whales aren’t telling, all we can do is try to interpret their behavior in terms of what else is going on in their lives at that moment. We know that Humpbacks very rarely eat while they’re in Hawaii, and since a Peduncle Throw is a huge expenditure of energy (if you don’t believe me, try it yourself next time you’re in the ocean), it’s got to be important to the whale. Throwing half of yourself out of the water results in a huge splash and might be a way to communicate location, health, excitement, aggression or irritation to near-by whales. Especially if the near-by whale happens to be so near that he gets landed upon!

Melon Heads, Spinner Dolphins and of course, LOTS of Humpbacks

Aloha,
The past few days have been interesting ones for us on the water. Besides the winds we encountered off and on throughout the weekend, we did encounter lots of whales…and they weren’t all Humpbacks! On Friday, guests aboard Seasmoke were amazed to see a pod of Melon Head Whales. These small toothed whales look a lot like really big dolphins, growing to about 9 feet long and weighing in at around 200 pounds with huge foreheads (thus the name) adorned by a black mask. They travel in pods ranging from about 100 animals to almost 1000, feeding on squid and small fish and though they’re permanent residents around the islands, we hardly ever see them.
Guests on Saturday’s Breakfast with the Whales Cruise got to see a huge pod of Spinner Dolphins. Known for their aerial behavior, these animals seem to enjoy interacting with our boats…surfing on the pressure waves the boat creates as we drive along the coast….and of course we did see lots of Humpbacks. On that same trip we saw at least 6 different whales, and twice had them approach our boat within about 40 yards (we stay 100 yards away from them, but they can choose to approach us if they want)! On the 10:00 Whale Watch on Alala from Kawaihae, we saw 6 whales…and several tail slaps.  Sunday brought more Humpback sightings…lots of spouts and a few sounding dives complete with fluke shots.And on our Christmas Whales & Cocktails trip, we paralleled a competitive pod of 3 whales for most of the trip, even witnessing a couple of head lunges!  When we did get to deploy the hydrophone on Friday and Saturday, we heard faint singing….
Which brings us to our Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: On Friday, I mentioned that we believed Humpbacks didn’t sing their distinctive songs during the times they spend in higher latitudes while feeding.  Researcher Chris Gabriele was quick to send me a link to a paper he co-wrote, documenting the songs sung by a few male whales in Alaska. According to his research, the whales do sing sporadically in late summer and fall, corresponding with the beginning of seasonal hormonal activity in the males prior to their migration. Mahalo Chris, for helping to reveal another clue to explain this complex behavior!
Join Ocean Sports on any of our 3 Whale Watches departing daily from 2 different locations within the Hawaii Islands National Humpback Marine Sanctuary. Call us at (808)886-6666 ext 103 or visit hawaiioceansports.com.
Mahalo,
Captain Claire

We can hear the Humpbacks’ Songs

Aloha,

The first official day of winter on the islands was certainly a windy one! Guests on our 8:00 Breakfast with the Whales Cruise that left out of Abay did get to see two whales as they travelled down the coast. On the 10:00 Whale Watch which left from Kawaihae, guests saw a couple of whales spouting in the distance and a breach that was also pretty far away. When Captain Will deployed our underwater hydrophone on this trip, guests reported hearing the whales singing, but it was pretty faint. Since our hydrophone can pick up sounds from at least 10 miles away, we know that there are some adult male whales that have already arrived to our area!

Ocean Sports offers 3 cruises every day to see the whales, departing from 2 different locations within the Hawaii Islands National Humpback Marine Sanctuary. For more information and reservations, call our friendly crew at 886-6666 ext. 103 or visit us at www.hawaiioceansports.com.

Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: All whales, regardless of species, age, or gender make noises. Only Humpback Whales sing an organized song…and only male Humpbacks sing…and they only “sing” when they are in the warmer waters where they mate. So, is their song a mating song? Researchers have observed that female whales will not approach a singing male, so if this is a mating song, it seems to be a pretty ineffective one. I’ll share more theories about the purpose of the Humpback Song in future emails.

Mahalo,

Captain Claire

Breaches in the Wind

Aloha!

Yesterday was the last official day of Autumn and the season sure blew out with some gusts! The windy weather didn’t seem to affect the Humpbacks though, as both morning trips reported seeing some whales. Guests on the 8:00 am Breakfast with the Whales out of Abay saw only a couple of whales, but they did see a full breach. Guests on the 10:00 Whale Watch out of Kawaihae saw 4 different whales multiple times and a couple of breaches (or the splashes from breaches) on the horizon. It’s not unusual for us to see a lot of surface activity (like those breaches both boats reported) on windy days…why? Well, we’re not sure if the wind excites the whales or just makes it more difficult for them to communicate in other ways.

Ocean Sports offers 3 different opportunities for Whale Watching daily departing from 2 different locations within the Hawaiian Islands National Humpback Marine Sanctuary Waters. For reservations or information, please call us at (808)886-6666 ext 103, or visit  www.Hawaiioceansports.com.

Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: The first whales to arrive in Hawaii each year from Alaska are sub-adults (usually males) — the teenagers of the Whale World. The next arrivals are adults who are looking for mates, and the last to arrive are pregnant females.

 

Mahalo,

Captain Claire

Close Encounter of the Humpback Kind!

Aloha,

Regardless of the windy weather by the end of the day, guests aboard Tuesday’s Whale Watches enjoyed some wonderful Humpback surface activity. On the 10:00 whale watch, we saw 5 whales…but 7 breaches! There also was some head lunging and pec slapping going on, and since it was calm enough in the morning, we were able to deploy our underwater hydrophone, but we weren’t able to hear any singing. The highlight of the trip though, had to be the CLOSE ENCOUNTER. We love it when the whales accept our presence comfortably enough to swim right next to our boat!

oin us on any of our 3 daily Whale Watch Excursions departing from 2 different locations within the Hawaiian Islands National Humpback Marine Sanctuary. For more information or reservations, call us at (808)886-6666 ext. 103, or visit hawaiioceansports.com.

Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: There are Humpback Whale populations in all the oceans of the world. The whales we see here each winter are part of the North Pacific population. “Our” whales feed in the waters of the Gulf of Alaska during the summer months. They swim the 3500 miles to Hawaii each year to calve in warm waters (and to mate).

Mahalo,

Captain Claire

12 Different Whale Sightings!

Aloha!

We had another GREAT day on the water yesterday, and the guests joining us on our 8:00 Whale Watch on Seasmoke were treated to sightings of 12 different whales! But it wasn’t the sheer number of whales that delighted the guests…it was their obvious interest in our boat. After stopping the boat about 150 yards from a pod of whales, 2 big adults approached the boat. According to our long-time Humpback Naturalist Captain Nick, these Humpbacks spent more than 20 minutes circling the boat, and diving between the hulls! The whales got so close that guests could actually see the hairs on the whales’ tubercles…and lots of people onboard actually got sprayed when the whales spouted alongside the boat. Now that’s what we call a mugging!

If you’d like to see photos from this trip, or a video clip, visit Hawaii Ocean Sports on Facebook.

Ocean Sports offers 3 cruises daily to see the Humpbacks from two different locations within the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. For information or reservations, please call our reservations lines at (808)886-6666 ext. 103, or check us out at hawaiioceansports.com.

Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: All mammals have hair. Humpback Whales are mammals… so where is their hair? Humpbacks have rows of bumps on their chins that we call “tubercles”. Out of each one, sticks a hair that’s about 1/2 inch long that we call a “vibrissa”. Because there’s a nerve ending underneath each hair, and blood flow to the nerve, we know the whales use these hairs to sense something…but we’re not sure what they’re sensing. Quite likely, they use their hairs like cats use their whiskers– to feel some sort of proprioception.

Mahalo,

Captain Claire

Strong Start to 2011-2012 Humpback Whale Season!

Aloha!

We’re seeing a very strong start to our 2011-2012 Humpback Whale Season. Over the weekend, both the Seasmoke (departing from Anaeho’omalu Bay) and the Alala (departing from Kawaihae harbor) reported multiple sightings during each two hour cruise. Coincidently, guests and crew aboard each of our trips reported seeing 7 different whales during their cruises (were they the same whales??? We’re not sure — but since the season is just beginning we think it’s safe to guess that at least a few of the 7 are travelling the 10 or so miles between the bay and the harbor).

On Saturday, the Seasmoke crew deployed the hydrophone and heard what they described as some “very interesting sounds”. Perhaps they were hearing the newest version of the Hawaii Humpback’s song. And last night, guests aboard our Whales & Cocktails Cruise were treated to 15 breaches (some quite close to the boat), 2 pectoral slaps, and some interesting “tail sailing” activity (that’s when the whale lifts his tail straight out of the water and lets the wind blow him around…this behavior is often explained as an efficient method for the whale to cool down — evaporation can decrease the temperature of the blood close to the surface of the skin, and Humpbacks have a lot of surface capillaries in their flukes.

Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: It takes an average of a little over two months for the Humpbacks to migrate from the summer feeding grounds in Alaska to Hawaii (although at least one Humpback was seen in Alaska and then in Hawaii just 45 days later). That means on average, the Humpbacks are swimming about 4 knots (a little bit faster than we travel when taking a brisk walk)!

Ocean Sports offers 3 Whale Watch cruises daily. For more information or reservations, please call us at (808)886-6666 ext. 103.

Mahalo,

Captain Claire