It was a shockingly quiet and typically rainy morning on Hanson Island. Not a sound other than ambient noise filled the hydrophone network. Once the sun finally peaked over the trees and lit up Blackney Pass, focus went to the 140 sea lions hauled out on the Sea Lion Rock and a small harbor seal that frequents the coves adjacent to the Lab.
The quiet day slowly lingered on. With no resident calls, there was an emptiness hanging in the air until 5:24pm when, what was thought to be the humpback Inukshuk, social calls could be heard on the Parson Island hydrophone.
This is Georgia’s recollection of the observation:
“Alone, I stood on the deck, listening to the roar of the sea lions and the blows of Inukshuk who was very near shore at our sea lion rocks. He was resting just below the surface, not having to move in order to take a breath. He eventually swam nearer to Parson Island when I went inside the lab to listen to his daytime calls. As he continued, I spotted two other humpbacks entering from the North, however the glare on the water made it impossible to identify them. I went back to admiring Inukshuk just as he dove, allowing me to capture a beautiful full photo of his fluke. A little while later, Claire tapped on the Lab window letting me know that another humpback was at our sea lion rocks very close to shore. I spun around and sure enough there he was, so close to shore. From this angle I could see the sheer size of this gigantic mammal. It was something that I had not really imagined before. I knew humpbacks were large, but seeing one so close from land was simply eye opening and jaw dropping. It didn’t seem real. Soon after, this humpback was joined by Inukshuk and another. I was able to ID them as Meniscus and Twister from their photos later on. The three of them continued to surface slowly near the shore for a while before moving towards the Lab. Still sticking close to the shore, the three of them started becoming more active, their trumpeting blocking the sounds of the excited sea lions. Meniscus started pec slapping, throwing his fluke in the air, laying on his side with both his pec and fluke in the air while the other two swam very close by. Their movements were smooth and with purpose. The only way I can describe it is angelic. I was awestruck, unable to form sentences or even words. I just stood in admiration desperately trying to capture photos that would do these whales justice. They started swimming North with even more purpose. Making big commotions in the water with lots of splashing. All three of them were side by side, traveling so close together I wondered if they were rubbing up against each other underwater. One of the three stuck just the tip of his closed mouth out of the water allowing me to see the bumps and grooves that sit on the chins. We saw them dive just as they cleared into Blackfish Sound. However, shortly after, we spotted blows all the way across Blackney Pass. We now counted 4 blows, so another whale must have joined them. And sure enough, looking back on photos, I was able to identify Yahtzee. Yahtzee has not been identified as male or female yet, but if a male then this would have been an all male group traveling and socialising together. During this whole event, Claire, inside the Lab, heard all sorts of social calls from our Local Centre hydrophone allowing us to know that they were communicating with each other. Being able to witness this associating behaviour will stay in my memory forever.”
