Whale & Wildlife Report | February 19-25, 2023
Highlights
Humpback whales
Humpback male competition pods
Humpback mom and calf pairs
Brown boobies
Reef manta rays
Whale & Wildlife Report | February 19-25, 2023
Winter weather and waves make for interesting and sometimes unpredictable days on the water. Despite a few bouts of rain and some chop, we had a lot of humpback activity during our whale watch trips. We covered what felt like the entire coastline this week with tours taking us north, south, and a few miles offshore! We found a few mom & calf pairs up north. Our highlight encounter was a pod of competitive males, about 6-8 individuals, vocalizing underwater and doing aggressive head lunges at the surface! Male humpbacks will use an array of tactics when competing as well as communicating with each other. Head slaps, breaches, pec slaps, and underwater songs are among the more common behaviors we witness. Lots of surface activity, including a few massive breaches, left us and many of our guests in awe!
For our birding fans, boobies are one of the larger seabirds that we can find in the Hawaiian Islands! There are three species of boobies that we commonly see including brown, masked, and red-footed boobies. We often spot them on the buoys surrounding the Kampachi fish pens. On occasion, we have also witnessed them diving for food beneath the surface. Boobies feed on small fish and squid; prey that is plentiful in Kona’s waters! Although we spot them inshore, boobies can spend weeks up to months out at sea.
We had a great experience at the southern manta site this week at Keauhou. The water was crystal clear and the swell was manageable during our time in the water. We had some close passes from at least 4 different mantas and also had a good view of the reef beneath us. During one of our trips we even witnessed a barracuda hunting fish below the lights of our board above. How epic!
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