May 20th - Humpbacks at East Point!
It was a rainy day on May 20th when we left the docks, but we didn’t let that bring us down! It’s like we always say, the whales are already wet, they don’t care about the rain!
This turned out to be the case today when we got to see three Humpback whales having a great time in the rain hanging out and doing feeding dives. Using pictures of the dorsal fin and the tail (fluke) it was determined that we were looking at Slate with her calf and Windy, another adult.
Slate (right) and her new calf (left). Note the size difference between the two! Photo by Rodrigo Menezes.
Before this year Slate (BCX1210) hadn’t been seen with a calf, meaning this is very likely the first one that she has had! The population of humpbacks found in the Salish Sea will spend their winters in Hawaii or Mexico where they will breed and calf. Once the calf is big enough to survive the journey back north the migration begins! Humpbacks have one of the largest migrations of any mammal on earth, with the average distance travelled being 5000km! Wow!
Calf is going down for a dive! Photo by Rodrigo Menezes.
The other humpback we saw was Windy (KEY0001) who has been seen in the Salish sea since 2011. She was also the first humpback seen in the Salish sea to “mug” a boat. Mugging is a behaviour where a curious humpback will come up close to the boat, sometimes rubbing against it. During one of their first muggings Windy got her name by farting near the boat!
Windy can be identified by the white patch on her dorsal fin. Photo by Val Watson.
Whale Tail Waterfall! Photo by Rodrigo Menezes.
Another great look at the ID spot on Windy’s dorsal. Photo by Val Watson.
Those are some big nostrils. Windy surfacing after a dive. Photo by Val Watson.
Windy doing a lazy dive. Photo by Val Watson.
The white patch visible is one of the ways to ID the whales. Photo by Val Watson.
One last rainy look at Windy slipping back beneath the water. Photo by Val Watson.
Its the time of year that we have more humpbacks returning to the Salish Sea, so if you want to come out and find some with us give us a call or book online through our website.