Rottnest Island Whale sightings during October will see hundreds of mother Humpback Whales migrating past the island each and everyday. Today started with calm waters and a light easterly breeze following us out to the sighting grounds where we first spotted a mum and calf cruising alone. A few mums and calves having a little Sunday sleep in which was nice too see them taking it easy before a huge migration back down to Antarctica. After a little while we had three pods come together with one of them being some bachelor males looking out for a female to escort down the coast and while searching a nearby female took notice. She was very flirty with pec slapping used to call in these boys even though she already had an escort male travelling with her.
It didn’t take long for these two boys to notice as they spun around and started heading towards this female with pace. A few moments were spent under water as they approached with the original male chasing one of the boys away then racing back to his female. The two bachelor boys got the message and headed off towards another few pods a bit further out to try their luck there instead. Our local Bottlenose Dolphins came over just after for a quick hello before heading towards the coast, most likely looking for Sunday brunch in the morning sunshine.
The afternoon breeze had started to ruffle the waters surface as amongst the resting grounds mothers and calves filled the area and were enjoying an afternoon of relaxation. One mum in particular was logging, a term used when a whale will rest at the waters surface and takes on the appearance of a rather large log drifting in the sea. She was fast asleep as her calf occupied her time with plenty of twisting and rolling around mum while she snoozed before exploring a couple of nearby clumps of seaweed. A while later she decided to make a little shuffle to adjust her position and we wished her well as she continued on with her restful afternoon. Nearby mums and calves were sporadic with a few breaches and tail lobs indicating there may have been possible shark activity in the area. The local Bottlenose Dolphins visited us briefly again as they darted across our bow while we also were able to join with one of the mums and calves we had interacted with earlier on in the morning. Rottnest Island Whale sightings are always interesting during October and with so many mums and bubs about it is a wonderful time to get out on the water.
