Wed July 23 – Whale Watching

What better way to celebrate World Whale and Dolphin Day than aboard another magical Viking/CRESLI
whale watch! Our transit yesterday brought us southeast towards an area we dubbed “cetacean
heaven” on Sunday’s trip. At first, it appeared as if the bait and the whales/dolphins had moved on with
zero bird activity and no sign of life near the surface. That changed as we reached an area markedly
noisier than before. Here, hundreds of great shearwaters and terns patrolled the area and we
encountered our first pod of short-beaked common dolphin. The dolphins were acrobatic and
inquisitive, swimming around our vessel with repeated close approaches to the delight of those
onboard. Shortly after, a series of blows were observed and investigated, while repeated large splashing
events occurred just beyond them. The blows belonged to at least one finback whale, while a lobtailing
humpback was the source of all the splatter. The lobtailing continued with occasional tail-throws,
presumably to communicate with other humpbacks in the area. This humpback then began feeding near
the surface, popping up adjacent to dozens of dolphins and shearwaters, and then right next to a
feeding finback whale! Everyone had great views of the action and additional blows were seen in the
distance. The lobtailing seemed to work because another humpback moved in and we later investigated
blows from a third humpback, which began bubble cloud feeding not far from our vessel. Sitting safely
out of gear, we watched as blue water turned green reflecting its rich productivity contrasted against
the bubbles produced by the feeding humpback. This humpback would then cut through the surface
with its mouth (and soon belly) full of prey, as it strained out the water through hundreds of plates of
baleen. Eventually, it was time to return home and transform these amazing experiences into lasting
memories.
4-5 humpback whales
2 finback whales
120-180 short-beaked common dolphin
200-300 great shearwaters
30-40 Cory’s shearwaters
At least 1 sooty shearwater