Tag Archives: whales behavior

Lots of Whale Songs, and a bit of Competition

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Aloha,
Guests on all three of our Whale Watch cruises from both locations reported good sightings on Tuesday. Both the 8:00 Breakfast with the Whales departing from Abay, and the 10:00 Whale Watch departing from Kawaihae reported seeing 4 different whales (with the folks on the 8:00 Whale Watch reporting some dolphins accompanying the boat for awhile too)..but the highlight of each of those trips happened when the hydrophone was deployed. Both trips reported LOUD singing, and the guests aboard the 10:00 Whale Watch were able to hear 3 different whales singing. At 3:00, guests aboard our Whales & Cocktails trip not only heard a lot of singing, but also watched 8 different whales. At one point, one of the whales swam directly beneath the stern of the boat! And there seemed to be a bit of competition going on at 3:00 with some tail lobs and pectoral slaps too.
Ocean Sports provides 3 opportunities daily to see the whales, and we depart from two different locations within the Hawaii Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Waters. Please call us at 886-6666 ext 103 or visit hawaiioceansports.com for more information.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: When we say we heard LOUD singing yesterday, just how loud do we mean? Well, Humpback Whales have been recorded producing sounds at around 185 decibels. Because the decibel scales use different references for sounds underwater than thru the air, that’s the equivalent of about 123 decibels for us on the surface..which is as loud as the amplified music at a rock concert when you’re standing directly in front of a tower of speakers!
Mahalo,
Captain Claire

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

Competition and Wild Surface Activity

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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