Humpback Whales communicating today as Flinders Bay was filled with the activity and enthusiasm of many Humpbacks. Escort pod after escort pod travelled through the bay with bachelor males keenly looking for females. Our fist interaction was a calm juvenile having a rest just on the other side of the Augusta Boat Harbour and it was easy to see this youngster wasn’t wanting to take part in any of the competition pods as he was just looking for a nice quiet place to rest until he was ready to continue the long swim north.
Huge white water behind us caught or attention with four whales chasing each other, with no hesitation we knew straight away we had our fist competition pod. Tail lobs and tail slapping started across the bay with pod after pod spotted as we sat and watched these incredible animals communicate their language towards each other.
Everywhere we looked there was a blow and it didn’t take long for the female who was being chased by the boys to approach our vessel to try and distract the male Humpbacks, with a huge fluke of one of the males coming up sideways alongside us before he straightened and turned upwards to finish off with a spectacular chin slap. Scenes soon became very beautiful as two Humpbacks from a seperate pod started tail slap together with a vibrant rainbow right next to them creating a beautiful photo opportunity.
Today was a great example of the Language of the Whales with some defensive tail slapping to tell others to keep their distance while flirty pec slapping to let other whales know they wanted to socialise, we loved every minute of it with non stop action throughout the tour. A quick hello by our cheeky local Bottlenose Dolphins added to the fun of the day as they were also enjoying the high energy of Flinders Bay with hundreds of Humpback Whales moving through each day now.
