09.02.2021
Morning Munchies
We were barely even out of the harbour this morning when we spotted our first pod of cetaceans! The residents of Bremer Bay were feeding! A large pod of Bottlenose Dolphins were creating a bit of commotion by chasing after fish in the shallow waters of Back Beach. Playful and fun to watch but we wanted to see the largest of all dolphins… ORCA! So we continued on to the hotspot with a nice big rolling swell to accompany us. Just a breath of wind around, the seabirds were trying their hardest to keep up in the air.
On arrival to the hotspot, there was clear evidence a KILL had just occurred. The orca had fed sometime in the morning and it had all the tell tale signs. Fresh oily scent filled the air and accompanied with a silky ocean surface. We spied the orca up ahead, they were cruising EAST! This sleepy pod was made up of our regular favourites! Blade, Razor, Nibbles, Digby, Lil Dundee, Slug, Mia and Akama. They were on their way to the Hood. Hood canyon that is, the sub-canyon to the Bremer. These orca australia were super relaxed, Digby and Nibbles seemed to be occupied with other females. Different to their ‘usual’ antics, for example being occupied with each other.
With synchronised breathing these orca were rolling with the swell through some of the thickest Tricodesmium blooms I have ever seen! In some places it could have easily been INCHES thick! Thick filamentous red soup anyone? The orca were unfazed by the sea sawdust as it covered almost the entirety of our field of view! It produces a red/orange colouration which can be seen from OUTERSPACE!!
Afternoon Delight!
After lunch we were on an adventure WESTWARD! We sighted a pod of Pilot Whales who appeared to be spread out over a very large area! They were “popping” out of the big swell and racing down the face of the waves!
For our bird readers: We spotted the first Jaeger of the season! Fluttering along near the pilot whales, it looped and circled back a couple of times before making a swift flight path for the west. As a result, this means more diversity of our bird life out in the canyon system!
