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Today’s Orca Whale Expedition

killer whale calf

21.04.21

Today’s orca expedition felt like two completely separate days!

An almost glass-off morning full of sunshine and feeding animals turned to grey skies and grey water not long after lunch.

Our commute to the hotspot was interrupted by a BLUE WHALE! This mighty giant was travelling along with two other friends not too far behind. We managed to snap a couple identification photos, all in the name of science  The beast continued on at pace so we continued on our path!

We were greeted with feeding pilots and a sperm whale to keep our searching momentum going. However at midday a front rolled through with light showers for the most part of a few hours! The eerie feeling was overwhelming especially when a larger cargo ship was barely visible off in the distant motoring past.

Through the mist, a male orca dorsal was spotted but it disappeared sub-surface before any other trace was left! The conditions were now on the difficult end of the spectrum to find animals, although we love a challenge!

 

Another spermie appeared suddenly in front of us! A large smelly oil slick rose to surface moments after him suggesting he was mid-feed. Rebreathing and resting, while his body digested its squid lunch and replenished oxygen stores. A long back arch and tail up, but this descent was out of the ordinary. This spermy was “offloading” a bit of weight as a big green ploom of digested squid was defecated and left behind at the surface.

It was a day for the birders with 10 species in total sighted:

Shy Albatross

Black Brow Albatross

Yellow nose Albatross

Flesh-Footed Shearwater

Great winged Petrel (a winter visitor)

Brown Skua

Huttons Shearwater

Little Shearwater

Soft Plumaged Petrel (winter visitor)

and the cherry on top!!

Light Mantled Sooty Albatross

 

By Naturaliste Charter
By Naturaliste Charter
By Naturaliste Charter
By Naturaliste Charter
By Naturaliste Charter
By Naturaliste Charter
By Naturaliste Charter
By Naturaliste Charter
By Naturaliste Charter
By Naturaliste Charter
By Naturaliste Charter
By Naturaliste Charter
By Naturaliste Charter

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