Whale, whale, whale…
Winter whale season is in full swing here in Kona, and what a season it has been! They say a photo is worth a thousand words, so let’s let some pictures do the talking:
This season is all about the babies! Humpback whales migrate 5-6,000miles from the food-rich waters of the Pacific Northwest and Russia to breed and give birth in the warm, safe waters of Hawaii. Just like toddlers, humpback calves are full of energy and curiosity. We’re fortunate to get glimpses of their first weeks spent exploring their new world.
While the calves get a crash course in “How to be a Humpback 101” from mom, the adults are busy with other pursuits… When it comes to passing along your genes to the next generation, things can get heated. Male competition can lead to some truly spectacular surface activity, and when they’re not displaying at surface-level the males are often down deep singing their song. These are moments when our hydrophone comes in handy.
While humpbacks dominate the whale scene from December 15-March 15, here in Kona it is often other species that will steal the limelight. The deep waters just offshore of Honokohau Harbor bring many pelagic-oriented species into nearshore environments, a setup that sets Kona apart. On this particular trip, 250-300 melon-headed whales surrounded us while socializing at the surface.
We’ve been seeing a lot of Hawaiian spinner dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins, and bottlenose dolphins lately. It’s not uncommon to find bottlenose socializing with the visiting humpback whales, particularly when humpback calves or juveniles are in the mix.
Pods of pilot whales socializing at the surface is one of our favorite sights (left photo). These blackfish often show just as much curiosity in us as we do in them. We’ve also been lucky enough to encounter the illusive Blainville’s beaked whale (right photo) several times this winter. This deep diving species can potentially stay under for hours at a time while they forage thousands of feet beneath the surface, so catching them during a surface interval is a true treat.
As our crew will always remind you, every day on the water is unique, we never know what we’re going to encounter when we leave the marina but we are seldom disappointed!
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