Tag Archives: whale breach

Humpback Chatter

Posted on by
Aloha,
Guests aboard all our Whale Watch Cruises reported lots of whale activity all day on Wednesday. Because we operated a special schedule yesterday, I don’t have my regular trip report, but suffice it to say, from sunrise (well, actually from 8:00 am — we didn’t start that early) till sunset, we were privileged to share the ocean with the Humpbacks. Throughout the day, guests saw dozens of  Humpbacks multiple times. We witnessed the whole retinue of Humpback surface activity, including breaches, head lunges, peduncle throws, and tail lobs. When hydrophones were deployed on all boats, we could hear lots of singing and lots of “chatter”. Of course we also saw lots of those beautiful V-shaped Humpback spouts up and down the coast.
Join Ocean Sports on any of our daily Whale Watch Cruises, Snorkel Sails or Sunset Sails and see the action for yourself! Call us at 886-6666 ext. 103 or visit www.hawaiioceansports.com for details and reservations.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: Though we’ve mentioned before that only male Humpback Whales “sing”, all Humpbacks make noises and apparently use these sounds to communicate with each other. Researchers have witnessed cooperative feeding behaviors among the Humpbacks apparently “triggered” by sound, and have also witnessed Humpback Cows (moms) apparently ignoring some sounds made by their calves (researchers called these sounds “goo-goo, ga-ga” noises), but responding immediately when the calves made particular squealing noises. So it appears that Mom recognizes her baby’s voice!
Mahalo,
Captain Claire

Humpback Flukes, more dolphins, and muggings!

Posted on by
Aloha,
According to our naturalist, Nate, “the whales are here in full force!”, and Tuesday’s Whale Watches are proof! Guests aboard our 8:00 Breakfast with the Whales cruise started their morning with plenty of whale sightings — by the end of the trip, they had seen 8 whales multiple times, but spent most of their time watching a pod of 3 whales interacting with each other. The whales performed some tail lobs, and some head lunges, and lots of dives showing their flukes. Ryan, the naturalist aboard that trip said one of the Humpbacks had some very interesting “speckled” markings on the his or her tail. We’ll be looking for that whale again! At 10:00, guests saw 4 different Humpbacks, and a pod of Spinner Dolphins. When the captain deployed the hydrophone during the cruise, the singing was LOUD. And our 3:00 Whales & Cocktails trip began with a full breach about 60 yards from the boat. We were then accompanied for about 25 minutes by a competitive pod, who swam under the boat, “mugging” us several times. Guests saw 16 different whales during that trip and counted one whale performing 11 tail lobs a little ways in the distance.
Join Ocean Sports on any of our 3 daily Whale Watch Cruises and see the action for yourself. Call us at 886-6666 ext 103 or visit www.hawaiioceansports.com for reservations. And if you want to keep an eye on the sightings trends, visit our Whale Watch Blog at www.bigislandwhalewatch.com.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: One of the best ways whale watchers have to identify individual Humpbacks is by the unique markings on the ventral (underside) of their flukes (tails). Currently, the National Marine Mammal Laboratory based in Seattle maintains a data base containing more than 30,000 photos of the North Pacific Humpbacks flukes, but other researchers, including those involved in the 3 season SPLASH (Structure of Populations, Levels of Abundance and Status of Humpbacks) project have also used these patterns to identify who’s who in the whale world and estimate population levels.

Travelling Whales and Dolphins

Posted on by
Aloha,
The ocean conditions on Monday were great for watching whales, and guests aboard all three cruises had lots to report. Our 8:00 Breakfast with the Whales cruise aboard Seasmoke reports seeing 12 different whales, 4 breaches and 3 head lunges. Captain Nick, our naturalist aboard that trip noticed that all the whales they saw appeared to be going somewhere, travelling down the coast (But where would they be going? Hawaii is their winter destination after all!!). At 10:00, on Alala departing from Kawaihae, our whale watchers report seeing 3 Humpbacks and a pod of over 200 Nai’a (Spinner Dolphins). But the 3:00 Whales & Cocktails Trip aboard Seasmoke reports seeing the greatest number of whales….13! 6 of those whales were in swimming in a pod, apparently excited (or irritated) about something, because between those 6 whales, they performed 2 breaches, 3 peduncle throws, 2 pectoral slaps and 2 tail lobs!
Join Ocean Sports for a Whale Watch and see the action for yourself! We offer 3 trips daily just to see the whales! Call 886-6666 ext. 103 or visit hawaiioceansports.com to reserve your adventure today.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: We used to think that the whales that arrived on the coast of the Big Island spent their Hawaii-time here with us. Research and close observation of individuals has proved us wrong. While the Humpbacks seem to prefer to spend most of their time on the lee sides of islands and in water less than 600 feet deep, they will travel between the islands (not in any particular direction that we’re aware of)….females who have calves travel less frequently though.
Mahalo,
Captain Claire

Wild Weekend Whale Watching

Posted on by
Aloha,
We had a wild weekend of Whale Watching, starting with our Friday cruises, with our 8:00 Breakfast with the Whales reporting sightings of 10 different whales, multiple tail lobs, 2 pectoral slaps, a breach and some very loud singing. Nate, our naturalist aboard that trip reported that 6 of those whales were in 2 competitive pods of 3 chasing each other down the coast. At 10:00, Whale Watchers report seeing 5 different whales with 3 close encounters and 2 really close encounters (whales swimming under the boat), and our 3:00 Whales and Cocktails Cruise reports seeing 4 different whales multiple times. Saturday and Sunday brought more of the same — with the Whales & Cocktails cruise on Saturday reporting 5 whales, but the highlight of that cruise was watching a full breach about 400 yards from the boat! Sunday’s 8:00 Breakfast with the Whales cruise reports the most sightings — 15 different whales in all, and guests aboard that boat were “mugged” 3 different times (in this case, a “mugging” is a good thing, because we use the term to describe one of those really, really close encounters!). At 10:00, whale watchers saw 6 different whales and were treated to a close encounter and some very loud singing. Sunday’s 3:00 Whales & Cocktails cruise reports seeing 13 different whales multiple times…and to end the weekend with a bang (or a splash), FIVE BREACHES!
Join Ocean Sports on one of our 3 daily Whale Watch Cruises departing from 2 different locations within the Hawaii Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Waters. Call 886-6666 ext 103 or visit hawaiioceansports.com to reserve your adventure today.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: The Whales “mugging” us are definitely taking a look at us. Though hearing is the most important sense for the whale, based on the shape of the Humpbacks’ corneas, they can certainly see us…but, they’re probably a bit farsighted when looking through water, and a bit nearsighted when looking through the air. And in case anyone asks you, Humpbacks have beautiful brown eyes (with at least one notable exception…but I’ll tell you about that in a future email)!
Mahalo,
Captain Claire

Baby Whales, Breaches, Peduncle Throws and…Pilot Whales

Posted on by
Aloha,
Guests aboard Whale Watch Cruises yesterday had some very interesting encounters to report. First of all, guests on both our 10:00 Whale Watch on Alala out of Kawaihae Harbor, and our 3:00 Whales & Cocktails Cruise on Seasmoke out of Anaeho’omalu Bay reported seeing a whale calf! The afternoon trip reports 12 whales in total, but the Cow/Calf pod were spotted right near the bay as the boat was concluding the trip. The calf even breached! Guests on the 10:00 trip saw a total of 7 Humpbacks, 3 breaches, 2 pectoral slaps, and 4 peduncle throws (that’s what we call it when we see the whale throw the “back” half of his or her body out of the water). But even more interesting and exciting than all that, we also got to watch a pod of three Humpbacks (they appeared to be two big adults and a yearling) interacting with a pod of Pilot Whales! Since the water was so clear, we were actually able to watch these two species of whales swim over and under and all around each other! it was a great example of inter-species communication.
Join Ocean Sports for the adventure of your life! We offer 3 different cruises just to watch the whales, plus Snorkel Sails and Sunset Sails! Call us at 886-6666 ext. 103 or visit hawaiioceansports.com for details.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: A baby whale, called a “calf” looks so small and cute when seen playing with her Mom. But everything is relative…when the calf is born, she can already be 10 to as much as 15 feet long, and she weighs 2000 to 3000 pounds!
Mahalo, and have a great weekend,
Captain Claire

Spy hops, Breaches, Lunges…and Dolphins!

Posted on by
Aloha,
Tuesday’s whale watchers saw a wide variety of action. The highest rate of sightings and activity was logged on our 8:00 Breakfast with the Whales cruise, where our naturalist Ryan reported seeing a “plethora” of whales — 20 to 25 different Humpbacks. Guests aboard that cruise witnessed breaches, head lunges, and even some spy hops. At 10:00, our whale watchers saw 3 different whales, 2 breaches and even some of the Humpback’s smaller cousins, the Spinner Dolphins. When the Captain deployed the hydrophone on that trip, the guests heard some very loud vocalizations. By 3:00, the wind had come up, but our Captain aboard the Whales & Cocktails trip did report that guests saw a Humpback spouting.
Join Ocean Sports on any of our 3 daily Whale Watch Cruises departing from 2 different locations within the Hawaii 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: Spy hopping is one of the ways a Humpback can see what’s going on above the surface of the water. Because Humpbacks have really big heads proportionally, their eyes are about a third of the way down their bodies. When the whale spy hops, she rises slowly and vertically from the water, head first. If she’s a fully grown whale, her rostrum may be 15 feet above the surface before her eyes get there!
Mahalo,
Captain Claire

Big Wings

Posted on by
Aloha!
Well, our 2011 Whale Watching ended with a bang…topped only by the first sightings we had for 2012! On Friday, guests aboard Alala’s 10:00 Whale Watch saw 8 different whales, including a competitive pod of three whales, 5 breaches and 3 head lunges. Seasmoke’s guests saw 10 whales and 2 breaches in the morning, and 6 whales with 2 close encounters, and one breach reported on the afternoon cruise. When the Captain deployed the hydrophone, guests were able to hear some very LOUD singing which means there was at least one male whale fairly close by.
Saturday’s and Sunday’s trips brought more of the same. Excellent sightings were reported from all boats departing from both Abay and Kawaihae. At one point on our Saturday 10:00 Whale Watch on Alala, the boat was joined by a pod of 100-200 Spinner Dolphins who seemed very excited to play with us. Guests saw 9 different whales on that trip multiple times, and one BIG head lunge. Seasmoke’s Whales & Cocktails Cruise on Sunday was accompanied by a competitive pod. Guests saw 8 different whales multiple times and 4 Pectoral Slaps (this term describes a whale lifting his 15 foot long “arm” and using it to slap the surface of the water –or another whale).
Join Ocean Sports on any of our 3 daily Whale Watch Cruises departing from 2 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: Humpback Whales have the longest Pectoral Fins (arms) of any of the great whales. They’re so distinctive that the Latin Genus name for the Humpback actually describes those fins…The Genus and Species names are “Megaptera Novaengliae” meaning “Big-Winged New Englander” and pronounced “MAY-ga-terra No-vee-ANG-li-ee.
Mahalo,
Captain Claire

Competition and Wild Surface Activity

Posted on by
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

Posted on by
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???

Posted on by
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!