Aug 12, 2014
This morning, when I checked the scenery from our window, the moon danced across Samson Inlet with a beautiful white glow. Golden sunshine on the red rock walls was a sight for sleepy eyes, as we made our way out of the inlet towards Camden Sound. Birds gently announced their territory in the scraggily bush while fish sploshed and plopped in the swirling inlet. We travelled south towards Wilson Point and then back north around Augustus Island.
The whales appeared brown in the pale green, silty water today.
When we encountered a motor-sailing catamaran amongst the islands, we were pleasantly surprised to have a chat on the VHF with a friend from Darwin, what a small world! You just never know whom you might meet around the next headland!
With the gusty morning easterly, the choppy sea was very stirred up and milky. The whales appearing brown in the pale green sea like chocolate whales in green jelly… now that’s a weird thought! I have been at sea too long!
With the birds singing, this reminded me of the whale songs we have been recording. Several times a day, Daffy has been monitoring sonobuoys and what a cacophony of sound is going on! Humpback whale song is the most complex song in the animal kingdom. The males sing to attract females by way of advertising their availability. Perhaps, they are bragging “I am the biggest and the best guy with the best sound, in the Sound for you!” The Camden Sound Cacophony Orchestra is certainly in full swing! Piped live through the wheelhouse, we are hearing are intermittent calls, as well as persistent songs. Humpback whale songs comprise themes, phrases and sub-phrases and the smallest portion is known as a unit. Songs can vary in length but often last 20 to 25 minutes. Over the years, here in Camden Sound, we have recorded a variety of song lengths including a song by a subadult or teenage whale, lasting 11 minutes compared with a mature male who boasted his prowess with a 48 minute song! It is quite sweet to observe a singer, singing away and actually successfully attract another animal… this is a humpback whale soap opera unfolding right before you! I love to hear whales sing! If I was a female humpback whale, I would go head over heels for those lovely songs!
A huge humpback whale mother exhales and sunset light catches on every droplet of her blow.
Between pods we grab quick lunches from Resty’s galley – today pumpkin soup with cheese toasties! Yum! By mid-afternoon we had found a few more cow/calf pods and enjoyed the calm and sunset vistas. Heading for the Buccaneer Archipelago we wish to continue our surveys and photo-identification, what will tomorrow bring?
The crew was glad to gather around the table for dinner to relax, enjoying delicious chicken and vegetable chop-suey with rice and salad and then begin the downloading process to prepare for the next day’s adventure!
Thrilled to see tiny calves plopping around near huge mums!
Mich
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