July Whale Watching in Augusta as we move into the heart of the northern migration as the urgency for the Humpback Whales of Western Australia to reach the northern calving grounds continues. Today we observed dozens of escort pods as they shuffled through Flinders Bay with the northbound migration on their mind. Ensuring on their journey through the bay that each pod keeps a respectful distance from the others is often sighted amongst escort pods as they attempt to keep a low profile from each other. The pairs of two are happy travelling together and not keen on welcoming other whale company, especially avoiding any possibility of bumping into bachelors.
The challenge in Flinders Bay is the sheer number of pods moving through the area at any one point in time. A busy migration path will often result in pods converging within a confined area and within reactionary distances of other whales especially during July whale watching in Augusta. Today was a perfect example as three pods converged and one of the more confident individuals launched in a couple of powerful breaches. The pods close by responded by clearing the room around this boisterous pod who followed up with tail lobs and a few powerful tail slaps to complete getting their message across to the others. Always wonderful to see so many Humpback Whales at once and a fantastic reflection of the wonderful WA Humpback population and their continued success story as their numbers continue to grow and stabilise.
