Whales and Dolphins enjoying Flinders Bay this morning as the warm winter sunshine flooded through on blue skies and a very calm ocean. It was a pleasure travelling in such magnificent conditions, perfect for cetacean observation and not long after departing the Augusta Boat Harbour the local Bottlenose Dolphins were sighted. All fifteen individuals were in a very playful mood and it appeared that their late night foraging in the harbour was successful as everyone in the pod were very happy and content with bellies full of fish. Racing towards us, they continued to chase after each other and incorporated us into the game which was much fun and a perfect start to any Friday morning! Shortly afterwards our first pod of whales were sighted and these two young adults were extremely relaxed as they curiously swam towards us.
Watching carefully, we could see that one of the individuals was much thinner than the other with shoulder blades visible below the skin. Although weight loss is a normal part of the migration it will not be too much longer now before this whale makes the decision to continue back towards Antarctica for a spring and summer of bountiful krill. They were gentle and enjoyed checking us out, but it was another pod just ahead who we wanted to say a quick hello after enjoying such a wonderful time with these two curious young whales. Wishing our escort pod well for their journey ahead we approached this new pod of very friendly whales and they were all enormous, not one but four mature adults surfaced together. They were interacting in a very similar way to the dolphins from earlier on in the morning and as they chased after each other and swam underneath the bow we could hear the powerful exhales of these enormous adults. Relaxed, inquisitive and in a social mood it was fantastic observing the whales and dolphins enjoying Flinders Bay on such a magnificent morning in Augusta.
