Whale Watching in Flinders Bay Augusta from late June to mid July is peak season to see the northern Humpback Whale migration. Hundreds of whales are migrating through Flinders Bay every day at the moment as the population of around 45,000 Humpbacks is seen and heard as they rumble through the bay. Competition pods are plentiful as the boys make the most of having an audience of females slowed down by the coastline and reef line that surrounds the bay enabling them the opportunity of closing in the distance. Travelling out in the open ocean means the Humpbacks have plenty of room in-between each pod and great momentum to maintain that distance. The arrival in Augusta will see that momentum slow slightly as they move into shallow water and a bottleneck situation unfolds as dozens of pods move into the same area at the same time. Plenty of whales means plenty of conversations as the Language of the Whales is regularly on display with both defensive and flirty communications observed amongst the pods.
It is a great spot to find a suitable mate for both the males and females visiting Flinders Bay. The females will often breach and pec slap to call in the males which results in a competition pod forming as all bachelor males within cooee of the female charge towards her location. The result is a commotion of white water as the female then leads them on a chase to see who is the most suitable candidate which can sometimes last hours. The boys who miss out on winning these competition pods will find themselves generally remaining in the bay for a little while to see if any other females are nearby or wait on the next wave of whales to arrive in the bay and hopefully bring with them a few more bachelorettes. It is an exciting time to be a whale watcher with the high energy and social interactions always enjoyable to observe amongst the winter weather and dramatic skies. Looking forward to the next few weeks as we reach peak northern migration season and enjoy all the excitement of winter whale watching in Flinders Bay Augusta.
