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Sunday April 13, 2008

The year has come to a complete close. Mark has packed the "house" up in the shipping container and made the next to final trip to the airport. He will head out tomorrow or the next day for home. Chantelle graduates from high school this year and time for some father daughter time.

Mark sent the blogger an email this day which summed it up..."the best year ever". The blogger certainly concurred weeks ago.

Without every single one of our members this very valuable work could not continue. This year brought any number of firsts and confirmations of reality.

The North Pacific Humpback Whales have made a remarkable comeback.

WE SHOULD ALL STAND UP NOW AND APPLAUD MARK AND DEBBIE FERRARI FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS END.

The work Mark & Debbie has chosen to do is most admirable. They have chosen to fight, for over 3 decades, to protect the habitat from the intrusions of us humans is the single biggest contribution made by any one organization.

As for a quick "research wrap up" for this year:

The list of firsts goes on...next year, since we saw Pineapple in the breeding area there just may be another record set for continuous mom next year....

Always a reason to continue the study. Please continue your memberships. Aloha and Mahalo.

Thursday, March 27 2008

The blogger headed back to the mainland so this is info acquired from Mark via email.

The year continues as the whales apparently have returned from the meeting by Kaui. It does seem that the numbers still around jumped back up a bit but not as many as prior to two weeks ago. A bit of a mystery.

Still lots to do in the final three weeks this year. Short season as Chantelle is GRADUATING from high school this year!

Friday, March 21 2008

Well this turns out to be the blog person's last day on the water for this year. As reported over the last week or so the number of whales has significantly declined.

Why? No one knows for sure. It will be interesting to follow what is happening in Alaska and if they arrive early there this year.

Today was about 25 whales studied which is in line with the previous 3 days this week.

This year has been a year of incredible sightings and behavior. If you read back thru the files you can see.

After reflection the blog person may add one more to do a year in review; now is the time to pack and migrate.

Aloha and Mahalo1



Thursday, March 20 2008

Well, if 7 days can be called a trend then there is a trend in the lack of whales in the study area. Now this may change tomorrow if they have been just out traveling around. This appears very different from prior years. For the writer this did not occur (urge to migrate home) until mid April last year.

Studied only about 25 whales today and this was about the same as yesterday. Few MC's and two comp groups.....and that is that.

Touch base again tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 19 2008

We took a few days off the water to do some of the chores that are not quite as much fun as the field work.

The theme of the last few work days going back to last week has been where have they gone. This started last Thursday when there was a very noticeable drop in the number of groups in the area. The why is a complete mystery but when this begins to string out to the 6th straight day even the optimists among us start to mention that it is an unusually early season end perhaps.

Wednesday fueled these discussions.

Not to say we did not have a good day because we did; there just are not the numbers again in the study area.

Highlight of the day. We had a repeat MC from about three weeks ago and she has remained a very curious and tolerant mom. Allowing us to observe the tremendous growth of her calf over the last few weeks. This is one very healthy youngster who has changed into a good sized animal. The down times have risen as one would expect from 2 minute area to 4.5 to 5 minutes. Signifies a healthy growth.

Always enjoyable to see the same MC in the same season to observe these changes.

Well off to another day on the water.

Winding down for the blog person as Jim arrives today and will be out helping Mark. So a few more updates to go.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Lucia Livoti sent us some great shots she snapped during a whale watch last week.

Thanks, again, Lucia for thinking of us and sharing the snaps.

Note: The whale watch boat is conforming to the 100-yard minimum distance requirement. Camera lens and shot angles can alter the perspective. Lastly, remember, CWS is allowed to be close to the whales (as per our research permit). However, the whales don't know about these distance rules. Enjoy.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Well the BBC folks are headed home after a great two weeks. A big aloha to Hugh Pearson and Tom Fitz for making the time entertaining and informative at the same time. Safe travels and stay warm somehow.

Today....Ok if you are on group 2 and it is one o'clock and only one MC is that good or bad?

If you have been following along this year that has been a really good sign...until today. By one the theories of why the humpbacks had left early were starting to fly quite profusely on the boat. Everything from climate change to the early arrival of the lunar calendar.

Thank goodness that all went away from 1:30 until after 4 when we finally finished. Seemed like the whales all decide to head very far south for an excursion today.

Ended the day on an bit of an uplift but everyone is sure curious what Tuesday holds for us on the CWS vessel.

Aloha for a couple of days.

Friday, March 14 2008

Today was one of those days that can occur several times a year in the middle of the high season. Very few groups anywhere in the study area. Although it also was hard to see and hear due to the sea conditions there really were fewer whales around today.

What happens? Not really sure. Something that we have seen occur and then the next day back to whales everywhere. As said it is a combination of traveling to other areas offshore as well as difficulty seeing and hearing due to sea conditions.

Aloha

Thursday, March 13 2008

Actually, doing this early morning Friday. Sally emailed a great suggestion: Please write in more detail about a few things we see here. Will try to do so next week. Thank you, Sally!

Last night was Whales in the Park here in Lahaina; busy last night so thoughts are disjointed as the start of the work day is fast approaching.

Yesterday was a bit slow from on the "exciting meter" but as always there was interesting behavior involving twp MC groups. Mentioned before we see very little interaction. Thursday between two though there was interaction never seen by us.

The questions raised were......Did one mom want to have an encounter with the other and stay together? Did the other rebuke while moving away? Was the one going towards the other making sure the other understood it was her "space"?

You can see by the above why we go each day. Still lots of issues of behavior even after 34 years on the water.

HI HO HI HO.....aloha and mahalo!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Another good day on the water/ Actually admit to being a bit tired from the long day and the heat.

Good news is there are still a number of MCs here to be ID'd. Out of 11 or 12 groups studied today at least 8 or 9 included a C.

Also saw our second yearling of the year and a group of three sub adults just cruising and hanging out together. Always good to see calf but even better to see the survivors in the yearling and sub adult categories.

All for now, Aloha and thanks for your support!

Tuesday, March 11 2008

Normal....normal...normal...normal. That would be the comment for the day. Those of you who have been following know we have had exceptional days this year. The variety and quantity of whales and groupings have been terrific for this years study.

Today brought the first normal weather pattern seen since January 26; trade winds at about 15 clearing the air and bringing afternoon clouds to Maui.

On the whale side of things today brought a normal behavior type of day. The highlight was a resting MCE semi curious who allowed observation from in and above the water. Nothing too shy or overly curious just what we are used to; no complaints just interesting observation.

Again there are lots and we mean lots of MCs in the study area. Today again was a day after the above mentioned where we needed to choose between groups to follow as at times there were 5 at any one time within a quarter of a mile.

Long day so signing off with aloha.

The BBC guys "doing their jobs".

Saturday, March 8 2008

Everyday out here is a privilege and today was no exception. Six days in a row are tough on all of us that is for sure but no less of a privilege.

Interesting that this year has brought sightings and reports of separated/abandoned calf's. IF you read a prior day the difference is explained a bit.

Today we received a report of a calf with no apparent mom around being knocked about by two presumed male whales. Important to note the words used...apparent...presumed. This is the way we work until some kind of visible proof is presented to confirm the assumptions.

Arriving on scene there were two whales fighting aggressively with a calf in the middle and on the sidelines at times. First impression the report appeared correct. Dropped in the water to confirm if possible the sex of the animals. The calf was a female and the other two whales were males. So where is the mom? After observing for abbot 15 minutes guess who showed up? Yep, mom arrived from the deep to pick up her calf and then we have a traditional CG consisting of MCE and CH.

Question becomes...where was mom?...were they separated during the fighting?....was it deliberate by the males?......the answers are why we continue to do this year after year.

It is necessary to solve the questions....continued observation may lead to more questions but without the work there will never be any answers. After all the years we may still have lots of questions but we also have developed lots of answers and of course reasonable theory.

We also had a great MCE in which during the traveling behavior the calf was having a great time with repeated beaches on and around mom. Always fun to watch as in this case there were in the neighborhood of 50 continuous behaviors starting out as breaches and as the energy level was depleted ending with futile attempts at chin slaps. The child was tired after all the play time; kind of like our own at times.

Hope everyone has a great Sunday with family and friends and thanks for your support.

Friday, March 7 2008

Perhaps sounding like a broken record but another great day on the water with humpback whales.

About a dozen groups recored today and, in keeping with the trend, there still are a lot of new MCs to catalog. The groups are still in a variety of categories as far as number of whales per group.

Today was Day 5 in working side by side with Hugh and Tom and it is an understatement how ejoyable and just plain fun it has been. Watching the style and how easily it melts with our study has made this the experience and education of a lifetime.

Here is a picture of Team BBC. This was added so Hugh's wife and 1.5-year old daughter can glimpse the proud dad at work in this very "tough" enivironment. Mahalo to them for allowing him to be with us.

Team BBC (l/r): Hugh Pearson, Tom Fitz
(And, yes, those are the West Maui mountains in the background. So don't feel too bad for them.)

Thursday, March 6 2008

Today was another very fascinating day on the water off Maui. Lot's of groups as is the norm right now. Writing this at days end rather quickly actually as bed is calling after today; yes a good study day.

The highlight today may or may not have a happy ending. Two words will determine.

Abandoned or separated. We had a group late in the day which on approach appeared to be logically an MCE. However, after the approach there was behavior displayed by the E towards the calf that was very disturbing. The E was placing himself between the "mom" and the calf doing what appeared to be herding the calf away from "mom"; in a very aggressive manner.

The quotes are used on purpose. The "mom" turned out to be another male whale and likely were the remainders of a competitive group we had seen in the distance. So the assumption on arrival was way off base.

The reason steady observation and not jumping to conclusion is the foundation of CWS.

The experience continued by using in the water observation to determine that the two adults were males and the calf also was male. No mom in sight. The calf was being pressured heavily by the adults to stop trying to "hang out" with them. At one point the calf moved to another true MCE and attempted to join with them. There is a unique picture and viewpoint of a mom with two calf's albeit briefly together. The escort here though had the same idea about the new calf joining. He psychically pushed the calf away.

How this story ends for now is not known. Need to refer back to the two words which will determine if any hope of survival exists.

P.S. A special note.
Thank you to Hugh of the BBC who diligently reads our blog. Thank you for your sharp eyes in catching our minor error regarding the BBC. As corrected, BBC stands for British Broadcasting Corportation, not System, as accidentally written. Cheers.

Wednesday, March 5 2008

It is very interesting being involved with the merging of CWS annual field study and the BBC programming folks who are with us this week and next. There is an incredible sharing of knowledge taking place. Different insights and perspective has added a great dimension to the field work these last three days; would expect it to continue.

Today was; after the last number of truly remarkable days; an "ordinary" study day. Lots of different groupings; still plenty of new MCs to ID; and plenty of behavior to observe.

It was a day of observing mostly topside behavior with a few in water sex ID's; at least one of each today. As Mark always brings up it is all about the "3W's".....need to have whales, water and wind conditions all cooperating. Today there was a bit of water clarity issues spread through the study area with definite variables and strong at times making for interesting sea conditions.

All in all a good day cut short a bit due to the conditions.

Monday and Tuesday, March 3 and 4 2008

A bit of catching up to do.

Monday brought the beginning of CWS assisting the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) in completing a portion of a documentary along the lines of Planet Earth. Actually, Hugh (producer) and Tom (videographer) were a part of several of the original series produced by the BBC which aired in the USA on the discovery channel.

The story line is about the feeding grounds in Canada and Alaska used by many species and the importance of protecting those areas. Humpbacks use these areas.

So, back to work.

Monday was a bit of a get used to everyone's equipment and how to manage on our small boat. We of course are continuing our study with them "tagging" along if you will to observe and where appropriate video the goings on. This day there were a number of MC interactions and I would think some good work with calf and mom video.

Tuesday....well as those of you who have been following along we have had a very good year with a number of incredible encounters. Remember last Wednesday when it was perhaps the best day ever?

Yep, the same MCE came up to the boat! Now this is always one of the interesting things we think about over the years. We will see MCs and do the IDs and then never again see the same ones except on very infrequent occasions over a few months. There is always the wonder of where the heck did they go to?

And yet here they were. This mom allows us a truly up close observation of her and the calf. One of those times were it sure looks like they are studying us as much as the other way around.

Well, it is early Wednesday AM and time to head off.
Oh yeah, if you don't hear from us in a day or two, have patience with us. With this different work schedule, we may combine a couple days of notes at a time. So, hang in there with us and thank you for your flexibility and patience.

Thursday, February 28 2008

OK so yesterday was the best day ever right?

Well...today the air quality was not great due to the vog....it was a bit windy and lumpy out there....the water quality was such that you couldn't see more than 20 feet.....

Yeah but group 2 consisted of "SPRECKLES" THE NEW LONGEST RUNNING MOM!!!! We have not seen this humpback for over 5 years but she is one of the "old" moms that we so look forward to seeing. No way of telling the sex of the calf but it was definitely her and she was the mom. Amazing.

But just like those infomercial...just wait.....just wait....we include in the next group........................PINEAPPLE the mom who we saw in 2006 with a calf and at that time the new record holder of 29 years of having calves (not each year just seen with a calf periodically).

Mark is checking but he believes that will be 31 year span for "SPRECKLES".

So there you have it: days that are a "10" come in many varieties; today was awesome.

Friday is a "paperwork/administrative day" for the team. Be back next Monday!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Somewhere in the blog over this season the statement has been made that "if you are on group 2 and it is 2:30 PM then it is either late April and the whales have left or you are with an incredible group".

Well, today it is again the later.

Hard to put this into words actually. Started this morning with 5.....yes 5 MCs within the Lahaina roadstead. One set was actually recorded in 19 feet of water. We started on group 2 in the area just north of the harbor entrance with a MCE group. After watching for quite some time from the surface; early morning resting so do not want to disturb; the mom began to repeatedly bring the calf to the surface right next to the boat.

One of those occasions where one wonders who is the one being studied.

As you can see from the pictures, she was quite comfortable with the boat and us. She actually again brought her baby to us repeatedly between breathing cycles; as shown in the picture.

Female/Mom enjoys a look at our boat



The underwater video and still photos will prove to be very good for analyzing the behavior between the mom and calf as the water on occasion was quite clear and the mom again was very tolerant of our being in the area.

One can always argue which day is the greatest ever but one can not argue that this day was a 10 by all of our standards.

Quite a bit of silence on the ride back to the harbor; a great deal of reflection on what a privilege today was for all of us.

February 26, 2008 (Tuesday)

Truth be told it now is actually Wednesday morning at about 5:30 AM. Now why do you suppose this was not written until the day after?

How about it was a great day and last night we were a bit exhausted by circumstance.

Monday was an extremely windy day, which knocked us off the water. The day started as a catch up day but did not end for Mark and Debbie until the early morning hours of Tuesday. There was an abandoned calf reported that eventually washed ashore mid-day Monday. Mark and Debbie participated in the necropsy (autopsy) with the Federal Government and various agency volunteers. No determination for the cause of death is available at this time.

Back to Tuesday. The standard answer for all questions concerning the research during the season must from a scientific standpoint be "hard to tell until the numbers are calculated at the end of the year". That remains true. The "however" is there sure seem to be a lot of moms and calves just about everywhere in the study area.

Tuesday was a day of just about every group makeup and behavior that exists!

It was, at the end of the day, reviewing the data sheets an alphabet soup of group configurations. Hard to say that any one group was a sure standout. If pushed to choose though it was a MCE with 4 CH. We were able to observe the behavior above and below the water; very interesting and exciting.

Be back at you tonight; or I guess if we have another day like Tuesday then early moring Thursday.

Aloha and thank you for your continued support of CWS.

February 25, 2008 (Monday) and
February 22/23, 2008 (Friday/Saturday)

A bit of catching up to do with all of you. No excuse except after last week we were tired!

Today being Monday and very full of weather we are not out on the water today.

Friday and Saturday were uniquely different days showing just what happens out there. Friday had great above water behavior directly beside the boat.

The type of behavior that just sitting quietly and watching the mom and calf interact was excellent insight into the life of the North Pacific Humpback. This young female calf was just "lovin" on mom and having a great time rolling upside down, flopping her fluke occasionally and in the parlance of pure scientists...."just plain goofing off".

Also, by the way..there was behavior all over the study area. Another one of those days that had it not been for the behavior next to the boat we might have had a difficult time choosing again were to go. Some what of a pattern here during this seemingly peak whale gathering.

Saturday presented an amazing contrast. Very few times in a season to we get what is referred to as a tolerant mom with calf. Guess what? There were two such groups!

The first was a very fascinating MCE Comp group. The makeup of the number of whales changed periodically over several hours but there was this remarkable combination of a tolerant mom and a competitive group at the same time. She allowed us an up close and personal view of the underwater behavior between her and her calf. BUT....at the same time there was this intense, repeat intense, fighting behavior amongst the male whales seeking to be the escort.

What was very interesting was her behavior at those time the fighting that was close to her, It appeared numerous times over hours that while she clearly did not mind our closeness with the cameras if the males came to close to her and the calf she would suddenly just move. Not far to continuing resting but enough to make her point. She allowed us to reenter with no problem each time; appeared clearly again that she was fine but had zero tolerance to the males fighting close to her. Again, IT APPEARED, that the males finally got the hint and the fighting behavior moved away from here to up to 50+ yards while she remained resting. None of the males appeared to try to violate her boundaries but continued the fight away from her; everyone seemed to accept her set of rules.

THIS WAS VERY FASCINATING BEHAVIOR FOR HOURS FOR US!

The next MCE was again tolerant mom allowing us close to observe. This group did not have the level of conflict of the first.

All in all a great two days. Off day as was said before here on Monday. Back to you after Tuesday as the weather changes for the better.

Aloha


The whales had company on Thursday: a nuclear sub, pleasure boat, and a cruise ship.

February 21, 2008 (Thursday)

Well, what a difference a day makes. (check yesterday)

We likely have a highlight video for next year's conference from today's encounters. Another day with a number of groups identified and multiple groups with calves and moms associated.

One of the first encounters was an MCE with the E singing during all the resting behavior pattern. Recorded some very fun and unusual singing and social sounds.

An absolute wonderful experience was observing a new calf (guesstimate by Mark at between 2 weeks and 3 weeks old) with just about the most beautiful pure white underside. When the calf is that new there are no blemishes and the grooves and color are perfect. There is the added plus of just plain fun behavior; rolling, breaching, throwing flukes and all the rest.

The mom and escort were right there and the "training" appeared to be in full swing. At one point, the calf was active close to the boat in such a way we backed up just to make sure that, in case the calf did not have sufficient coordination in the breaching attempts, to not bump the boat.

Both the adults allowed us to drift close enough in the water to take some excellent still and video pictures. After a lengthy time of mom getting comfortable with us that she knew we were not a threat she also allowed the calf to come by and check us out. Times like this are very special; also wonder who is being studied.

And now the drum roll...................it is a girl!

A bit later in the day we had another very tolerant and curious MCE. Allowing us to visit at great length in the water and above. The recorded behavior was very interesting. A bit less curious after the initial visit but still close and fascinating. Oh, this was boy!

All in all a big contrast to yesterday....any day on the water with the humpbacks is a privilege.

February 20, 2008

Again thanks to Steve and Nick for finishing up the repair to the steering.

Back on the water today after the repairs and Whale Quest.

Today was the flip side of the 45 minute highlights of 2007 presented last weekend. If one were to show today everyone would be asleep in under 5 minutes.

Research in the wind and seas can, like today, turn into a very frustrating experience; still beats being on land though.

We have difficulty when the conditions are like this in a variety of ways. First, it seems the humpbacks are traveling more and behaving more. The problem today was "normal" behavior of fluking to get ID's just did not happen very much. Second, there was a lot of whales around so it seems like we miss a lot if we do not move to a new group more frequently yet we need to stay and get the id's; but then again they were not happening.....

See the point here? Trying to do the job...whales not cooperating...less than ideal sea conditions...feelings of missing something elsewhere... leads to frustration along with being tired being bounced about.

Interesting in speaking with several whale watch boats on the way home these same feelings were shared by the captains...

Anyway, thanks to all our supporters and tomorrow is another day.

February 17 & 18, 2008

February 17 the program was full of excellent speakers and images from around the world.

The CWS presentation of our 2007 season was well received by the enthusiastic crowd.

The crowds were big as usual and thanks to Ruth and Sue for keeping everything organized and fun at our booth.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to visit and say hello and aloha.

The parts to replace the hydraulic steering that broke last Thursday are here and hopefully all will be well Monday morning for a Tuesday work day. Many thanks to Steve and Nick of Hawaiian Rafting Adventure for all their help. Mahalo.

February 14, 2008

Update on the water clarity....it is getting better. The recent rains are settling and there was a "bloom" of organic matter. Yet there are areas that are clearing and that makes the underwater ID's easier.

Today was another great day on the water up to the end; more later.

The true highlight was a pair that allowed us in the water ; with the water clarity in the area improved; we were able to video the ballet and interaction between these two animals. It never ceases to amaze the ability they have to be graceful in their element. The mental picture right now is a graceful dance between the two that displayed almost exactly the symbol for Yin and Yang. At peace for sure.

These humpbacks allowed us to be with them for about 45 minutes and stayed close by the boat so they could be observed under and on top of the water.

In total there were 10 groups with 7 containing a MC in all the different combinations we see. Year is starting with encouragement for the reproductive rates as there appears to be a large number of MC's in the study area.

Back to the... and then later......it seems the shaft which is part of the hydraulic steering system has sheared off. Made it a bit difficult to return to the dock. So, no water time today and we will start to find the part to repair.

This weekend is the third annual Whale Quest at Kapalua. We will be presenting our 2007 year in review on Sunday at 12:15.

May be down for a few days...talk with you soon.

February 13, 2008

This is rather late Wednesday night and we are exhausted. May not be a very talkative blog.

The reason of course is because we had a great day with lots of water time. A lot of being exposed. Every bit worth every minute.

When you look at the time and it is 12:22 and you are at Group 2 on the data sheets there usually is only two possible reasons. One, it is late April and there are few whales left in the study area. Two, one of the first two have been so great to be with that you never leave them. Today the later is the case.

The second group of the day was an MCE with challenger. The challenger left quickly leaving us with an amazing three humpbacks. Friendly calf, friendly tolerant mom and an over the top very very tolerant and curious escort.

Above the water the mom and calf would come right up to and pass under the boat repeatedly. The calf showing off all the new learned behaviors. The escort also was curious of the boat and much to our astonishment was curious of what was IN THE BOAT! That is correct in the boat. He also many times went to the front of the boat and spy hopped holding himself out of the water and elevating and bending to peer into the boat at a level higher than we were standing.

And no this does not happen very often. It has been many years since this has occurred.

Under the water the mom, calf and escort put on a display of body control rivaling any world class ballet. Truly magnificent.

And to top it off later in the day we had a curious single male who stayed with us close by for about thirty minutes. Another display if curiosity and friendly behavior.

Starting to hit the wrong keys so time to stop. Will post some new pictures of this day as soon as time permits.

February 12, 2008

Another day on the water; a good day as usual.

Interesting as always. So....what exactly goess on under the water since that is were they spend more than 90% of the time?

That would be today's theme because in the morning close to Lahaina there were "humbacks everywhere"...interestingly though they were mostly either singles or pairs. The group compositions were everything from MC to BHP's to sub adults but only in pairs?????

Then we followed a MC to the mid channel area and when they left us after ID's and documenting their behavior there was around us..............................nothing.

For a period of about an hour while we ventured forth to Lanai shore we saw blows in the distance back towards town but nothing mid channel to Lanai.

Which brings me back to my earlier point of what is going on down below. That is the question and why we enjoy those encounters with clear water (still a little murky here due to the recent rains) and friendly stationary whales. This enables us a glimpse...only a brief glimpse.

We often joke at times like this morning that someone called a meeting down below since they are there ( a lot) and then they are gone.

The day went that way until late when we followed and documented a female, escort and Challenger. Lots of surface behavior in the beginning. Pec slaps, tail throws, head lunges and full out of the water breaches multiple times. This occurred for about 30 minutes; a nice long show; and then the behavior went below the surface. This enabled us to take underwater still and video of what was going on "down below". This involved escort asserting his position over the challenger but also some easy resting by the female. This latter behavior really afforded us some quality observation of the various interactions. The female and escort actually were curious of us a few times and "checked us out by swimming close by.

All in all another interesting day in the Maui study area.

Check again tomorrow......

February 8, 2008

Today dawned as another very promising research day. Light winds and sunny skies.

Why is wind so important? When the wind combines with an ocean swell you may find it hard to believe but it makes it difficult to see the humpbacks. We only see probably less than 10% of what is going on in a the life of a whale. Surface behavior is always fascinating but what is going on under the water?

On a day with winds and swell we actually use our ears as much as our eyes to find the humpback. With the swell and wind it makes it difficult unless there are dramatic actions such as tail throws, pec slapping, head lunges etc. Mothers and calves are often just moving along breathing and barely showing their dorsal fins breaking the surface. Being quiet though we can often hear their breathing a thousand yards away; the sound being carried by the wind. This allows us to look in a specific direction to see the surface water change and hopefully where their are traveling.

This day brought bright sunshine in the morning allowing the study and ID's for multiple groups. The morning highlight was a male and female breath holding (BHP). This type of group has a tendency to just "hang out" in one area allowing us to get in the water for ID's and to watch the interaction if there is a challenger in the area. In this case there was an we were able to video the underwater comings and goings of the challenger and the male of the pair.

The afternoon started as predicated to grow increasingly more cloudy. Makes underwater work more difficult as there is less light penetrating the surface. The highlight was following a MCE group. Remember the acronyms? (mother calf and escort). The behavior was fascinating as it appeared that the mom was not particularly pleased with the job the escort was performing. There was mutual tail throws going on directed at each other. Interesting also was the calf was imitating mom's tail throws albeit a bit uncoordinated; good laughs on board. Now remember that is a pure guess on my part it just seemed that way and until behavior is viewed many times can any conclusion be drawn, In this case the "dance" was unusual so ??????

Anyway, after a lengthy time out of the corner of our eyes we saw a VERY large male whale come zooming ( I know not very technical term) in from a distance. Our first thought was this is a new challenger and there would be a "discussion" among the two males as to who would be the escort from that point on. Well, much to our surprise the original escort put up no fight and literally disappeared. Also the tail throw dance stopped immediately.

One of those were even Mark stops and says "Not that was interesting and unique"; 34 years and things are still interesting and unique!

Weekend is upon us. After first two days that means more than a few sore muscles and aches so we shall see what next week brings.

February 7, 2008

First day on the water. Those great guys from the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources came by yesterday and did our vessel inspection so we were ready to go.

Today dawned bright and sunny with very mild trade winds. First day like this for at least two weeks. I choose to believe someone is on our side.

First day....always fun. The excitement of the last week reaches a peak as we head out of Lahaina Harbor. Of course there is an immediate list of...oops forgot that...oops need to get that....

We were able to catalog Group 1 thru 7 today. Due to the recent rains and wind the water clarity was a bit disappointing but we were able to get a few minutes of underwater video of a competitive group.

We did get lots of fluke identification photos...ID's as we abbreviate. Will not know until everything is looked at tonight but an estimate of about 25+ ...a great start to the year.

Of these we followed and were able to get a few of the "moms" id's. In all there were 5 mom and calf combinations mixed in some all alone or in the competitive groups ( CG's) or in the MCE (mother, calf, escort) groups.

That was today...and we could not have asked for a greater kick off to the 34th year!

Note from the Board of Directors...as we all know the economy is a bit down and we no longer receive funding by way of grants. This years fund drive is a bit down and we sure could use any help...The gas for the truck and the boat this year is ....$3.84 per gallon!

How about passing along the newsletter to a friend or neighbor. If you receive the newsletter and contribute less than $50.00 consider sending us an additional check..you know it is worth it! This is a no overhead non profit every dollar goes directly to the field data collection and the tedious data analysis.

As always we thank you for the years of support.

February 5, 2008

A day or two late but catching up in the islands is OK.

Imagine if you will moving your entire family along with your home office to an island over 4500 miles away? But only temporarily!

That is what Mark, Debbie and Chantelle do each and every year. This is the 34th year that Mark and Debbie have done this and for Chantelle it is her 18th; she graduates from high school this year.

Since last Thursday, it has been as you just imagined a lot of work and moments of chaos.

Pick up the truck that Randy Miller has kept clean and running. Trip over the Pali Highway to unload the shipping container; back to unload at the rental house.

Trip to the storage unit for the "incidentals"; desks, chairs, lamps...... Set up house; stop and think about that one!

Stop by Clyde and Penny Wakida's house to get the boat keys; they watch over for us.

Check the boat for the inspection required for DLNR and the permits.

All the while this is going on do the "regular" daily things like grocery shop.......

Meanwhile each minute left over is unloading the field equipment specifically cameras; they require assembly, re-charging, placing into underwater housings.

Oh and by the way, have to finish those taxes, so as you see it has been a busy time these last few days.

Some consolation to the ansy feeling of wanting to get out there and visit our friends the humpbacks is the weather has been a bit wet and windy lately as you may have seen.

Hopefully......the field season will get started this week.

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