Humpback whales in South Africa

Humpback whales are found in all the major oceans and undertake some of the longest migrations of any animal in the world. South Africa is one such place that humpback whales migrate past, as they move seasonally between their southern ocean feeding grounds and their warm water breeding grounds. No matter how many humpback whales I see, I can never get enough. It's always exhilarating seeing these gentle giants leaping out of the water. Humpback whales are very well known for their aerial displays that includes breaching (as in the photographs below), spyhopping, lobtailing and pectoral fin slapping.

Humpback whale breach sequence

Humpback whale flukes

Rainblow!

Another fantastic breach!

South African marine megafauna

The southern right whale is the star of the show in the South African marine scene. However there are many other bucket list species to see here. There are humpback whales, Bryde's whales, Indian Ocean humpback dolphins, common dolphins, African penguins, albatross  and a whole range of other marine birds to name a few...

Indian Ocean humpback dolphins (Sousa plumbea) in Kleinbaai, South Africa

Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) feeding on an octopus

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)

Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), funnily enough not common at all in this area

Shy albatross (Thalassarche cauta)

Southern giant petrel (macronectes giganteus)

Subantarctic skua (Stercorarius antarcticus)

Kelp gull (Larus dominicanus)

Antarctic prion (Pachyptila desolata)

and one more Cape fur seal for good measure

Breach!

A breach in the whale world is when it throws its body out of the water, often coming down with a mighty big splash. Many species breach (called "leaping" for dolphins), and this can be done for many different reasons. The animal could using the sound of the landing to communicate with other animals in the vicinity, it could be trying to remove peeling skin or parasites from its body, or simply doing it for fun. Whatever the reason, it's always exhilarating to witness an ocean giant breaching!

Humpback whale breaching

Sperm whale breaching

False killer whale breaching

Humpback whale puts on a show!

Humpback whales are by far the stars in the whale world when it comes to putting on a show. They are known to frequently breach, lobtail and spyhop. However, when these whales are undergoing their long and energy exhaustive migrations these behaviours are not seen as much. The Azores is such a migratory corridor, so when such a spectacular humpback whale show is seen here it's a real treat. The following very active whale I photographed in the Azores in 2018 was also seen off the coast of Norway (a feeding ground for these whales) in 2014, 2016 and 2017.

Humpback whale breaching

Humpback whale 'lobtailing', also known as tail slapping

Each individual humpback whale is identifiable by the unique pattern of black and white marks on the underside of its tail

Moving large volumes of water

Tail breaching! 

Some lucky whale and dolphin encounters

The first months of 2018 brought me encounters with some species that most don't get to enjoy often, or even at all in their lifetime. I was lucky to be a whale and dolphin watching guide, so being on the water on a daily basis gave me the opportunity to encounter some rare species, as well as the more common ones. The first month of the year started well, with beaked whales, humpback whale and fin whales (as well as three resident dolphin species and sperm whales). From there the fun continued throughout the last complete year of whale watching I had in the Azores. Below are just a few photos from the first months of 2018: 

Humpback whale lobtailing

Fin whales travelling together

Angel wings

The power of a blue whale blow

Yellow-legged gull with a fish

Humpback whale surface feeding - check out those baleen plates!

Big boy - bottlenose dolphin

Common tern with a fish

Great skua

A very energetic humpback whale

I could never get tired of watching a humpback whale breaching. It's not until they are completely out of the water that you realise how big these animals really are. This particular individual who breached multiple times must have been at least 14 metres long! 

Another type of behaviour we call lobtailing

Humpback whales in Los Cabos

My first trip out on the water in Mexico was already a big success. There were so many humpback whales around, and they were very active as they visit the region to mate and calve. I quickly lost track of how many whales I saw because there were blows everywhere. The blows could often be seen from land, which I wasn't expecting - I had just told a couple on the beach that they probably wouldn't see whales from shore, but shortly after we started seeing them blowing and breaching not too far away. Humpback whales are well known for putting on an amazing show.

 

Two whales demonstrating how they got their name humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)

A humpback whale swiping its tail

Humpback whale pectoral fins - the longest pec fin in the world!

Rainblow!

 

A balmy winter of whale and dolphin watching

The winter of 2011/12 was a particularly good one in terms on weather and sightings in the Azores. The Atlantic spotted dolphins in particular seemed to enjoy the Azorean waters for longer than usual. We encountered them until February 3rd, when they normally head for more equatorial waters in November/December. 

Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)

Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis)

Sperm whale head (Physeter macrocephalus)

Two sperm whales

Silver scabbardfish

Portuguese man-o-war feeding on two fish