WHALE NEWS: THE GOOD AND THE BAD

Offspring of Halo returns
Right Whale Catalog #3546, Halo, is near the heart of our program. We saw her as a calf, with her mother, in the 2005 season. Subsequently, we have seen her, and her calves, in several years since. And, in fact, we (volunteer Becki Smith) contributed to her naming. Last year, in the 2020 season she was seen in the Marineland area, with her 2nd calf, on five occasions (see the YouTube video posted on the Marineland Right Whale Project channel). Then, this year, on Wednesday, 10 March 2021, this 2020 calf, now a yearling, was sighted alone just south of the St. Augustine Inlet.  In the two following days, the 11th and 12th, it was seen around Ponce Inlet and then the Port Canaveral area. Halo and offspring are with us. 

The 2020 calf of Halo, now a yearling, has returned to our area.  What is the value of this excursion?  Unknown.

(Photo: 11 March 2021 by the FWC aerial team.)

Right Whale Calf #17

Right whale Catalog #3593 was spotted with her first calf off Topsail Beach, North Carolina, on 11 March 2021.The sighting was by the North Carolina aerial survey team (see Right Whale News, January 2021) 31 nautical miles off the beach. She has a sparse sighting history in the photo-identification catalog and her sex was unknown until this sighting of her with a calf showed that she is female. 

 

Early in the season, we wished and hoped for 20 calves this season. We, collectively, are inching forward. Will this goal be attained?

 

Bad news for Snow Cone

Right Whale Catalog #3560, Snow Cone, was popular with our group in the 2020 season, when she and her first calf were sighted on nine occasions. She appeared to have a nearshore habitat preference―as does her half-sister, Chiminea―which brought her and calf into view of many researchers, volunteers, and citizens. This pair gained some notoriety, when, in mid-March, they swam past Miami and into the Gulf of Mexico. They subsequently returned north. The mother-calf pair is planned to be central to a right whale documentary being prepared by a Canadian film company. But, their story has changed dramatically since last season as Snow Cone appears to be snake bit.  
 
In the morning of 25 June 2020, a boater reported a floating whale carcass 4 miles off Elberon, New Jersey. The dead whale was identified as her male calf. The wounds along his head and body were consistent with two different vessel collisions.

But wait, there’s more. Just this week, on 10 March 2021 the Center for Coastal Studies aerial survey team came across an entangled whale in Cape Cod Bay. It turned out to be Snow Cone. Disentangling efforts are underway. The outlook is uncertain at this time. 

FINAL SURVEY WEEK

Weather
The wind forecasts for our final week are mixed. Beginning today (Tuesday) we will resume the surveys. There will be moderate east winds for Tuesday through Friday.  Then, on Saturday and Sunday (our final two days), we should have light and favorable winds.

Continuing the Lookouts
Our last day of formal surveys is Sunday, 14 March. We are asking our surveyors and opportunistic spotters to continue spending time along the coast looking for any straggler whales. Please take your binoculars if you have them and have the Right Whale Hotline number handy: 1-888-979-4253. We will be on call, and will respond when you phone.

Season Summary
Every whale, every day, and every season is different. The 2021 season has been no exception. We will provide a season summary toward the end of March.

WHALE SEASON – IT’S NOT OVER !

It is time for some good news.

Our last right whale sighting was on Monday, 15 February. It was Catalog #1243, Magic, and calf. In the closing days of February, we chased several reported sightings but were unable to verify them. Early March was quiet, very quiet. We had a solid week of good to excellent conditions. No whales.

Here’s the interesting part (you really can’t make this stuff up!). At 8:47 AM on Friday the 5th, Jim sent out an email wondering if there were unaccounted for whales that might surprise us. Minutes later, at 8:49 AM, Julie Albert from Marine Resources Council called with a sighting from Flagler Beach. The caller was the recently elected mayor. She was 100% certain it was a right whale. We went down, flew the drone twice, but had no success with photos. The winds were brisk and increasing, and the sea state was a Beaufort 4+ (numerous white caps). From binocular views, we categorized it as a mother-calf pair, with a large calf.  

The winds were brisk, and there were abundant whitecaps. We were not able to get images from the drone. However, Terry Clark and others were able to identify the sighting as a probable  mother-calf pair, heading south.  (Photo: S. Ellis)

But wait, there’s more. At 10:03 AM, Katie Jackson from Florida Fish & Wildlife, reported a new mother-calf pair, sighted on 4 March, 25 nautical miles east of Jacksonville (waaaay offshore). It was Catalog #3020, Giza, with her third calf. This brings the season total to 16 calves.

And, there’s still more. Up to the north, Millipede, Catalog #3520, and her calf were sighted off Massachusetts, on Wednesday, 3 March, by the Center for Coastal Studies aerial survey team. Recall that this mother-calf pair was our first sighting for this season – photographed by Martha Garito off the Flagler pier on Monday, 7 December 2020. This pair successfully made the 1,200 mile journey north. The calf is now three months old, and is described as being healthy and independent. This was the first mother-calf pair of the season for the Marineland Right Whale Project, and, similarly, the first mother-calf pair of the season for the Center for Coastal Studies.

The weather and sighting conditions will improve in the coming week for the final days of our survey season (ends Sunday, 14 March). Please keep good watch on the ocean if you are along the shoreline.