The wind certainly did a good job making some wave action this afternoon. The extra rocking and rolling (and occasional spray; sorry to those of you who got a bit of salt water coming your way!) made for some extra excitement as we headed offshore today. Luckily whales, no matter what the conditions, still need to come to the surface to breath air and with plenty of whales around we had no problem getting some great looks at multiple species.
Our first whale of the day was a Fin whale. As this whale swam on through the area it wasn't until this animal went on a deeper dive were we excited to see who it was. Fjord was close by! This whale has such a distinctive dorsal fin and has been seen so many times over the years on Jeffreys Ledge it was another wonderful chance to capture this whale still swimming around the area.
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| Fjord! |
We ventured further offshore, stopped to check out a couple more Fin whales that were being a little more unpredictable in their movements, before coming across a pair of Humpback whales.
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| Humpback whale calf (left) and mom (right) |
It was Valley and her calf. These whales are also still spending time around Jeffreys Ledge! Today we got the chance to watch the calf change its behaviors from nursing, to napping, and back again to more nursing. Basically pretty much what all young critters like to do!
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| Valley (foreground) and her calf swimming just past the boat! |
Watching a mother and calf pair never gets old, and today was no exception, as seeing any young creature stay tight to and even try to catch up to mom is incredible even when it all happens in the water.
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| Valley's calf holding its tail above the waterline as it awkwardly "wobbled" in the air for a few moments |
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| Valley's tail |
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| Trying to be just like Mom. Valley and her calf in the process of going on a deeper dive |
During our time watching this Humpback whale pair we even saw a Minke whale pass on through the area. It was crashing through the waves as it was swimming against the wind making it much easier to keep track of this whale as it travelled on by us.
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| Minke whale |
Before heading for home we went and checked out one other pair of whales not too far away. It was Patches and Cacophony the Humpback whales.
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| Patches |
Looks like the associations have changed within the past 24hrs (as is very typical for baleen whales) as these two adult whales were now synchronizing their movements through the water together. What a nice way to end a nice day of whale watching.
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| Patches and Cacophony swimming side by side |
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