We had one fantastic trip today! It was a gorgeous day out on in the Sanctuary, and we were able to find whales very quickly. There were not only many individuals out there, but several different species as well! We came across several humpbacks, fin whales, AND a massive pod of white-sided dolphins that was several hundred strong. There was activity all around us, and we could see both humpbacks and fins from everywhere on the boat. The fin whales in particular looked like they were doing some feeding behavior! When these large whales feed, they lunge sideways on the surface of the water. It's quite an exciting thing to see, although it happens very suddenly. The dolphins, meanwhile, were showing off around the boat, and we got some very close looks at them.
After enjoying the morning in this spot for awhile, we heard a report from another boat of humpbacks feeding not too far away. We decided to venture over that way to maybe get some close looks at another behavior. Our gamble paid off, and we found at least three humpbacks open-mouth feeding! There were also one or two fin whales in this area and several hundred more white-sided dolphin! We were able to get up very close to one of the feeding humpbacks, who turned out to be a whale named Bat, and see several great examples of bubble feeding. We watched Bat make bubble nets under the water and come to the surface in the center of the bubbles with a big open mouth full of fish. Bat did this a few times, much to the enjoyment of some local birds. All while this was going on, the fin whales and dolphins were still around us, and a few of the dolphins even jumped all the way out of the water!
It was quite a show, and a beautiful day.
~Jackie O'Mara, Naturalist
Photos of white-sided dolphins, Bat feeding, and fin whale by Jackie O'Mara
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