Tag Archives: whale song

Big Wings

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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

Humpback Spouts and Soundings

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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

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

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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

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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

Strong Start to 2011-2012 Humpback Whale Season!

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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