TWO SISTERS

The two whales in the two days of the second month were interesting.

At 10:30 on Tuesday the 1st, Mike Adams with Team One at Green St. called. Whales up to the northeast.  The spotters included Sue and George Miller. 

At mid-morning on Tuesday, 1 February, sharp-eyed Team 1 had a distant sighting. The story unfolded during that day and the next. People, the Beach Patrol, planes, and drones all contributed.

We responded, first going to Crescent Beach and then Butler Beach. From Butler Beach, we briefly saw distant blows and backs. And then, nothing. As it was too far and too elusive for us to launch the drone, we relayed the sighting information to FWC and their aerial crew. Shortly thereafter, two whales were photographed from the plane. They were two adult females, #3890, Babushka, and #4190, Curlew. The last two digits of their catalog numbers aroused our curiosity. They were both offspring of female #2790, and . . . they were sisters. There’s more. They are both listed as potential mothers. 

The next day, Wednesday the 2nd, Jen with the FWC called. Whales in Ormond-by-the Sea. We alerted responders in the area and got on the road. After several stops with no sightings, a call with the Beach Patrol got us connected. We quickly went to Andy Romano Park in Ormond Beach, but needed to go further south. We got in a single drone flight in increasing winds and sea state. It was the two sisters.  Their behavior was similar to the previous day but different from what we generally observe from mother-calf pairs . . . they were surfacing briefly and doing extended submergences.  And, they were moving quickly.

The two sisters, Babushka and Curlew, heading south off Ormond Beach, 2 February 2022.  (Drone image, S. Ellis, Permit #20626)

Afterwards, we wondered . . . do they know that they are sisters? Is there a communication or bonding? Are they both pregnant? Will they both have calves this season?

We are reminded that there is a lot we don’t know, but our curiosity is piqued.

And finally, even though our One Call Now system is in place, because of the difficult sighting and deteriorating conditions, we didn’t use it on this occasion.

A short stop on the way home from a sighting. The data are recorded and the images are in the can.