Tag Archives: Humpback Whales

Commerson’s frogfish

A juvenile Commerson’s frogfish in the waters off Hawaii

This little lemon-yellow beauty is a juvenile Commerson’s frogfish. Frogfish are rarely seen by snorkelers because they blend in so beautifully. Typically they look like bits of the reef but some, such as this one, mimic sponges and so are more easily seen.

Frogfish are anglers. They sit motionless on the bottom. When potential prey approaches, they flick their first dorsal fin forward. This is tipped with a fleshy lure that hangs over its mouth. If the prey takes the bait, the frogfish strikes. It can expand its mouth to swallow quite large fish and it strikes with such speed that other fish in the vicinity are generally unaware what’s happened, thus allowing the frogfish to remain in place and continue fishing.

In this photo, the frogfish’s eyes and mouth are visible, as are its pectoral fins that are adapted to help it hang on to the reef and to move about.

This frogfish was spotted by my wife and we watched it for a while before we were interrupted by three whales breaching. They were half-a-mile or more away, but this was the first time I’d seen whale activity from the water and it was pretty impressive, if almost impossible to photograph.

When the whales settled down, I dipped my head below the water to try and locate the frogfish again and the first thing I saw was a white-tipped reef shark cruising by. I suspect it had been attracted by my feeble attempts to dive and photograph the frogfish, probably thinking there was some easy prey to be had. It quickly disappeared again, but it made for a memorable few minutes.

Humpback whale tail slaps

Humpback tail slap

Humpback whale tail slapThis week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Climate Change.’ (See more responses here.) Living on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean makes climate change a relevant topic. Our weather is affected, our wildlife is impacted, our food supplies could be disrupted. But I’ve chosen to picture something obvious and current – humpback whales.

I posted (here) about the decline in the number of humpbacks coming to Hawaii to breed and calve, an estimated drop of 50- to 80-percent over the last four years. I expect that decline to extend to this year’s numbers.

I’ve lived here for seven whale seasons and the drop in numbers from the first couple of years to now is visible and obvious. January through March are supposed to be the height of whale season, but the number of whales here is dropping. I spend a lot of time in the island’s prime whale viewing area and already they are few and far between.

Each year, NOAA conducts a whale count on the last Saturday of January, February, and March. Last year, at the count site I attended, we saw no whales in March – none. This was unprecedented. I wouldn’t be surprised if this month’s count repeats that result and I certainly don’t expect them to see more than two or three whales.

A conference in Honolulu last fall attributed the drop in the number of whales visiting Hawaii to warmer waters in Alaska affecting the whales’ food supply. Those waters are warming because of climate change. So what will happen? Well, my belief is that people make money off activities that cause climate change and the best/only way to change that is to make those activities less profitable or to make it more profitable to be engaged in activities that combat climate change. An alternative is to have people become less geared to making obscene amounts of money, but that, I think, is wishful thinking indeed.

In these photos, a humpback whale slaps its tail, one of several common humpback activities that are monitored during the NOAA whale counts.

Humpback tail slaps

Humpback whales

humpback mother and calf

humpback breachingWhale season is underway again. The first Humpbacks were seen back in November, but it wasn’t until late December that I started to see them regularly, if not exactly often. Also, the whales that I did see were either not terribly active or too far away to get decent photos.

A couple of days ago, out on my regular walk along the coast, I thought I was out of luck again when I came across this mother and calf. I saw the mother make only one breach, but the calf breached multiple times as they cruised long the coast.

Above, the mother cruises alongside while her calf raises itself out of the water one more time. The other photos are of the calf breaching.

Humpback whales make the long journey from their feeding grounds in Alaska to breed and to calve in Hawaii. But researchers are concerned that the number of whales sighted in Hawaiian waters has declined between 50 and 80 percent over the last four years. A recent conference in Honolulu attributed that decline to warmer waters in Alaska affecting the whales’ food supply. However, it’s not clear exactly how widespread that disruption is, how it affects humpback behavior, and whether overall humpback numbers are affected. But it is clear, at least to this casual observer, that the numbers aren’t bouncing back this year.

humpback calf breaches

Humpback whale breach

A humpback whales breaches off the Big Island
I could wish for the humpback whales to be around all year, but perhaps that would not be for the best. Aside from the minor detail that they would starve to death here, there’s also so the chance of becoming jaded. As it is, seeing a humpback breaching – raising its huge bulk out of the water and then crashing back in – continues to be a thrill every time I see it.

Humpback whale dive

A humback whale dives off the Big Island.
It’s not this time of year without the return of humpback whales to the waters around the Big Island. The whales return to give birth and to mate. It’s still early in the season, but the first returnees appeared off Kailua Kona in late October. In November, I saw four whales off North Kohala. The numbers should start to increase this month while the peak numbers tend to be January through March.

For more information about humpback whales, I recommend Jim Darling’s book, Humpbacks: Unveiling the Mysteries or go to whaletrust.org or hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/welcome.html.

Sea Monster?

Sea MonsterSeemed like a good day to run a photo I took a year or so ago, but what kind of terrible sea monster is it, rising from the ocean, jaws agape?

Truth is, it’s a humpback whale about to splash back into the water. The ‘lower jaw’ is really a pectoral fin. The ‘spiky teeth,’ are tubercles, knobby bumps on the fin’s leading edge. The ‘upper jaw’ is the lower jaw seen from below. And the ‘eye’? Well, that’s an eye, no fooling.

For more information about humpback whales, I recommend Jim Darling’s book, Humpbacks: Unveiling the Mysteries or go to whaletrust.org or hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/welcome.html.

Humpback whale

Humpback whale

In this composite photo, a humpback whale surges from the water off the North Kohala coast. It’s been an odd season so far. The first whales were spotted off the island back in early October, provoking thoughts of a bumper season. Since then, activity has been spotty with little apparent buildup of numbers. This month, there were more whales to be seen, but still not as many as expected. Yesterday was the first day when the numbers and activity seemed similar to previous years. On a walk along the coast, I followed two pairs who were leaping from the water with great enthusiasm. It’s always a thrill to see these huge animals slowly rise from the water, hang for a moment, and then crash back.

For more information about humpback whales, I recommend Jim Darling’s book, Humpbacks:  Unveiling the Mysteries or go to whaletrust.org or hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/welcome.html.