Bremer Canyon Spectacular Striped Dolphins greeted us today as they porpoised clear of the water below. A peaceful morning of sunshine and a calm sea as the Shearwaters glided in search of brekky, they managed to find a few scraps of leftover squid to enjoy. The lack of wind meant that the seabirds had to work a little bit harder today with a few flutters of their wings creating more momentum to carry them over the gentle sea. The last two weeks in The Patch have been incredibly eventful with three days of consecutive Beaked Whale hunts (total of five Beaked Whale kills within five days) before the exhausting Blue Whale hunt on Tuesday. Observing the activity levels within The Patch and its surroundings has provided a great opportunity over the last few days to see how everyones response is to the intensive period of successful hunts. Apex predators as they are and highly intelligent the Orca have taken the last couple of days to move out of The Patch and spread their foraging zone while calm conditions persist enabling easier travel. Overfishing a prime hunting ground along with social opportunities with other pods established outside of The Patch are also a couple of factors for Orca to travel.
The ocean came to life as hundreds of spectacular Striped Dolphins porpoised their way towards us and their happy, smiling faces could be sighted from miles away! These acrobatic and stunningly beautiful species of dolphin are not frequently sighted in the Bremer Canyon region but last season we did observe them on the 10th March 2020 moving to the West just as they were today. Completely surrounded we were spoilt with streamlined bow riding, breaching and curious approaches as they surged and porpoised clear of the ocean below. Feeding on pelagic fish species, these Striped Dolphins need to move fast from one feeding ground to the next. Our Perth Canyon Blue Whale Season is the time of year we sight super pods of the Stripey’s as they feed amongst the Blue Whales. Today was a special opportunity to see them in migration mode as they take time to feed opportunistically during their move up the coastline and at the speed they are travelling they will make the journey in no time, see you in the Perth Canyon later in April lovelies!
